The Next 2 years.... Site Placements!

 Ok, so today was a big day full of nerves, excitement, anxiety and of course… it wouldn’t be peace corp without this… a lot of waiting!  Today was an IFP day (the one day a week all the PCTs are together at the IFP in Namaacha and we have what they call Core).  We got information on Model School next week, had a wonderful session on STDs (saw several wonderful pictures) and presentations by several groups about different STDs.  I have to say I think my group was the best… we up a song about Gonarreah (still not sure how to spell it haha) to the tune of Mama Mia (imagine… “Gonarreah, Here we go again Mae Mae How Can I protect myself”).  Then we had lunch, had an info session with the CD (country Director), Carl, then a session on transportation safety and then finally around 15:30 we found out our placements.  Throughout most of the sessions we all tried to listen because it was important information but let’s be honest… we were all pretty anxious, imagining what our placements were going to be. 

So we went outside where the staff had drawn a giant chalk outline of Mozambique (the size of a basketball court), had us all stand in a line, passed out envelopes that we were instructed to read the letter on the outside but not open them yet (because more waiting is needed) and then finally after they thought everyone was done they counted to three and we were able to read where we were going and went to that place on the map. This was followed by Chocolate cake, soda, and some other good food and lots of chatter about everyone’s sites. So now that I’ve made you wait a proper amount of time as well J here it is…  I will be heading north to Cuamba in Niassa providence to be a teacher trainer at the IFP in that city.  This is in the northern region and I am super excited about this.  It will give me a chance to see and live in a completely different area of the country plus I am close to the border of Malawi and just north of the Niassa is Tanzania.  So I will have the potential to do a lot of traveling.

The Heart is my new site Cuamba and the little pink star down by Maputo is where I've been living in Namaacha

It was very interesting and a little surreal to see everyone spread out on the map.  I have grown very close to a lot of people over the past few weeks and it will be very different not being in the same town as them all.  I have some great people around me and will be roommates with Sam a girl from my group.  We have actually been in the same language group since week 2 or so.  We are very excited to get to site and set up our house and get to know our site and the north.  According to Sam Niassa is where all the endangered animals are and there are some reserves and I’ve heard there are some elephants up there so I’m very excited about that!  Cuamba is also surrounded by mountains, so I can hike a lot, and my info and the APCD of the north said that the best way to get around the area is to get a bike!  I’m very excited about this… it will give me a legitimate reason to stay in shape. 

            I am also by a train that can take me to Nampula, (a large city in Nampula province) and along the way, apparently there is a lot of produce sold… although it sounds like Cuamba itself is pretty big.  From what I can tell, I will have a pretty good selection of food!  According to my sheet it is the economical capital of Niassa providence (but the actual capital of the providence is Lichanga).

 I will be living a pretty chique life.  I will have both running water and electricity (for most of the time), will have a pretty good selection of foods, I am close to some of my other good friends, and will be meeting a whole lot of new PCVs because Sam and I are the only two going to Niassa from our group!  I am very excited about the future and actually to actually know where I’m going to be!

Also I'll have a new address at the Northern Moz PC Office.  So here it is:
Caitlin Josten, PCV
Corpo da Paz/US Peace Corps
Rua Dar-Es-Salaam, Nr 14
Bairro Central, Caixa Postal 526
Nampula, Mozambique