staging

i am currently 2/3 of the way through staging here in philly, and it's going well. the getting to know each other and informational activities are relatively painless as those things go, and everyone is really nice. it's pretty amazing to be in a room full of people and know that you have a shared purpose and are like-minded in many significant ways, despite any differences in background.

so, a little about my group: we are 58 (one person couldn't come at the last minute due to health reasons); we are about 2/3 female and 1/3 male; we are approximately 1/3 health volunteers and 2/3 teachers (english and science); we range in age from 21 to 29; we come from all over the country (there's even another vermonter!); and as far as i can tell to this point, we are all really interesting, friendly, thoughtful, committed people (assuming i can count myself in those categories!).

the more i talk with people the more excited i get about getting to know them better, getting on that plane and getting to mozambique. although i have to admit, i am still largely in disbelief that this all is happening. i've been reading about these steps of the process for so long that it feels almost routine....

i have no idea what my communication will be like after i leave here tomorrow morning, so don't worry if i don't post or email for quite a while. but do send me messages!

my address til mid-december

Sarah Farnsworth, PCV
Corpo da Paz/U.S. Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo
Mozambique

tips: padded envelopes are better than boxes for things bigger than letters; write "par avion" on the envelope; possibly write "educational material" or "religious material" on the outside so people are less likely to steal stuff; don't send anything expensive/important; number your letters so i can know if i'm getting them out of order

explaining the title

hello to all the people who have an interest in this blog. i am soon running off to meet with some people who have done missionary work in moz to check out their pictures, but to explain the title of this blog: soon after i got my invitation to pc, i wrote to a bunch of current volunteers to ask them their advice on some packing issues (of which there are so many). the first one to respond was named Mark and he told me that Mozambique is a bottle of awesome sauce, and i loved the description, so i'm using it. thanks Mark! multiple people have also referred to moz as "the jackpot." not a bad note on which to head into two years of the unknown!