Q: Where and when are you going?
A: I leave in mid-September for Connecticut to spend time with my family (meaning there will most likely be a big party just before then :> ), then October 2nd for "staging" which is basically a big orientation session (I don't know where yet). October 5th, I leave for Maputo (the capital of Mozambique), Mozambique, a country on the eastern coast of Africa, directly north of South Africa and directly west of Madagascar. The ten weeks between when I arrive and when I leave for the community I will be teaching in, I will be training for my service. Training includes learning the language, learning customs, learning how to teach, and just basically how to survive.
Q: Portugese?!?
A: If you're wondering about Portugese, no I don't know the language! I know French and a decent amount of Spanish, and today I bought two books and tapes on learning the language. It certainly looks like Spanish, but a lot of the pronunciation is like French in that it isn't quite literal. The basic grammar and sentence structure is very familiar, and much of the vocabulary. It will be a challenge to teach in Portugese, but I'm definitely up to it.
Q: What are you doing there?
A: I will be teaching Biology to eighth through tenth graders, to prepare them for the national exams. I will most likely only have a chalkboard and chalk -- chairs, desks, and other materials are rare, textbooks (even for the teachers) are nonexistent. I will be teaching classes of between 40 and 50 students, and doing HIV/AIDS education as well as after-school clubs.
Q: What are the economic and health conditions like in Mozambique?
A: I'm glad you asked. Mozambique is the seventh-poorest country in the world. The per capita income is $220, or about $.60 per day per person. HIV is rampant (about 30% of the adult population is infected) due to ignorance and myths. Most do not know or see HIV/AIDS as a problem. Teaching biology in conjunction with education about the HIV/AIDS epidemic will help stem the spread of HIV.
Q: Where will you be living?
A: I will be living with a family for my training, and my training will be with other volunteers. After training, I will be assigned to a community, where I will live with another teacher (or volunteer, if there is one) in, well, modest accomodations. As a volunteer, you live at the same level as the rest of the community. I will most likely not have electricity most of the day, if at all. I will be either in a concrete-walled dorm or basically a thatched-roof hut. Either way, I'll have my own bedroom and either an indoor or outdoor bathroom. Bathing will probably be every week. The climate is much like a Cleveland summer, and since Mozambique is in the southern hemisphere, I will be arriving in Spring. Winter is temperatures in the mid 70's, sometimes in the high 50's at night. I *will* miss snow :>.
Q: How do we keep in touch?
A: Communication will be difficult. There may be telephones in the community, but maybe not. I won't be further than a day's ride to a telephone, however, and in an emergency less than a day from any news (via Peace Corps). In any extreme governmental issue, Volunteers are some of the first people to be removed. Mail can take up to a month to arrive from the States, and to be sent back to the States. Often, Volunteers find travellers to mail things for them (the African version of "air mail"). Computers will be few and far between, except in Maputo, where there are a couple Internet cafes.
During training, my address will be:
John Dutton, PCT
Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo, Mozambique
[IMPORTANT: Write "Air Mail" and "Par Avion" on all letters and make sure to date and number them.]
My mother will probably be updating my website (http://john-dutton.com/) with journal entries and post-training contact info, but please never hesitate to write, even if it's just a postcard. I will probably also have her check and print out my e-mails (and not the spam), so if you don't want to write an actual letter, send an e-mail and I'll get it (eventually :>). [BTW, her name is Alice, so make sure to thank her for printing the e-mail out and sending it along!] The best thing in the world will be to receive some news on what's going on, and I promise I'll be the best African pen pal ever :> ! Keep in mind that even if I write back the same day, you may not hear back for two months. So just keep on writing and include little bits of American culture that I can show the locals.
Q: Do you have any vacation time?
A: Yes, I get three weeks per year (or two days per month of service). The schools have four weeks of vacation time, two of those in June. Because it costs so dang much to get to the US, I will probably end up vacationing in South Africa or Europe. If you are at all interested next June (or the June after) in doing either of these, let me know!
There's so much more, so if you wanna ask me anything, feel free. If you wanna hang out sometime before I leave (and I don't see you every day :>), I've got a really flexible schedule for the next few weeks in Cleveland and in Connecticut, just let me know! Please, please, PLEASE keep in contact and I will be back mid-December 2004 (hopefully it will be snowing :> ). I'm going to miss everyone so much!
Proxima ("Later"),
John
