And now back to the beginning.... Training Part Kiling! -- (Thats 1 in Mandinka!!)

So I have been in country almost two months and obviously have some catching up to do. The thought of writing about what has happened thus far is daunting at best but I guess I have to start somewhere. Over the next few weeks I am going to try and write a few longer posts about training and such. Now that training is almost over I should have more time to actually keep up to date on this damn thing. Why is it so hard to learn new habits sometimes? Anyway….

I am going to go back to before I even left MI. I spent my last night with my family in Ann Arbor at my Aunt Jennifer’s house. It was me, Mother, my sister, Aunt Jennifer and Gracie. I had Whole Foods sushi for dinner and it was AMAZING. God I miss sushi so much. I stayed up on the phone pretty late trying to talk to the last few people before I left and went to bed around 1 or 2. Of course I had an early flight so I had been planning to get up at like 5AM but sadly the phone I was using died :( Instead Mom comes in a wakes me up when I am actually supposed to be leaving the house! So it was kind of a disaster getting out with everything, but we moved quickly and I was kind of a wreck and we made it anyway. We had a quick teary eyed goodbye (but not too terrible or that would have sucked) and I made it to the plane right on time. I, of course, am so tired and totally out of it, but as I’m literally stepping to get on the plane the guy in front of me turns around and says “Hey, you are Samantha aren’t you?” Turns out that Nathan, another trainee that I facebook friended, is also from MI and was on the same flight as me and even recognized me. I was so scatterbrained that I couldn’t even make a complete sentence. Small world, and certainly an interesting start to my trip.

So 16 of us met in Philly about two months ago to meet for a few days and fly to Gambia together (I know it sounds like Real World meets Road Rules and sometimes that is exactly how it feels). It was actually pretty great. I really liked everybody in my group and we all had a shit ton of luggage etc. It was however very strange to know that I would be spending the next 27 months with all of these strangers in a country that I probably did not know enough about. In Philly they just debriefed us on what was going to happen when we arrived in country and we talked about safety and security and our worries and goals and such. We also did some MORE medical stuff and paper work. Our last night in the US we all went out to dinner and then went to a few bars. Most people went back a little earlier but 4 or 5 of us stayed until about 2. Nothing too crazy happened, but we all said our goodbyes and started to become friends.

The next day they packed us on a bus with all of our important documents and luggage and shipped us to the airport. As you can probably imagine 16 kids with huge bags of luggage trying to get to Africa can be a pain in the ass and Newark did not make it very easy on us. It took about 1.5hrs to get us checked in and our luggage situated. Because I was the one coordinating all the boarding passes and passports and such I was the last one to leave with Nathan (the other trainee that was coordinating stuff). After everyone was gone we grab our stuff and do one last check and that is when I realize that I do not have my WHO card (verifies all my immunizations). This piece of paper is literally like one of three things they told us we absolutely had to have AND they told us all these horror stories of trainees forgetting important things last minute and not being able to leave with everybody etc. So of course I’m super stressed for a variety of reasons and I panic and start thinking worst case scenario stuff. I started calling all of these people who are supposed to be able to help but are not answering their phones and eventually I just start crying in the airport. Poor Nathan had to awkwardly deal with me and talk me down for a minute but in the end somebody finally did answer their phone and told me to just wing it and go anyway (worst case they would have to give me multiple shots AT the airport in Banjul). Of course nobody ever asked for anything and it wasn’t an issue, but I think that is still the one crying episode I have had thus far. Once we got through security we got some sushi, ice cream and a drink and that helped a ton.

The actual trip to Africa was not very eventful. I slept and read pretty much all the way to Brussels. During our Brussels layover I got my last Starbucks (so sad) and stocked up on candy. Then we had a quick layover in Dakar where we did not even leave the plane and, not kidding, half the plane was still walking around when we took off again.

I officially arrived in Banjul around 5:30PM on July 1st, 2010. Several Peace Corps members met us at the airport and we got through security and were shuffled onto a van/bus pretty quickly. A few of the current Education volunteers were on the bus as well and were answering the questions that we had but it was all a little surreal. We knew that these people knew so much about what was going on and we knew how clueless we were, but I felt like I did not even know where to start. With two months of training ahead I assumed most of my questions would be answered eventually.

The bus took us through some of the city but more of the country and we got our first view of Gambia. Eventually we arrived at Yuna were we spent our first week of training…

Made it alive!

Ok, so I have a few more minutes to write. I just wanted to let you know that I made it alive and that I will have very very limited internet time from what I can tell.

Everything is pretty good so far, but definitely overwhelming. There are a lot of things that you would expect (kids running after your car and colorful clothing etc.) and also other things that are surprising (the termites and the thunder storms etc). I am still trying to adjust after the long traveling, but nothing too dramatic has happened. The thing that makes me most sad at this point is that there are 12 girls and only 4 guys! My chances of coming back married are looking slim.

Overall though everybody is pretty nice and there havent been any real issues. They are treating us great to gradually get us used to the change I suppose. We will be in the training compound for another week I think and then they will move us to villages in groups of three or four to start more intense language training. After a week or so of that we come back and its more of the same. Overall though, I find out where I will be for good on July 20th and will move there in early August.

Love,
Samantha

PS You can text me at 022 788 0517 - Its really cheap for me, but I dont know what it will cost you :( You can also call in emergencies or if you want to talk, but its like $3 per minute (free for me I believe). I should always have service :D

Final Countdown -- 5 days to arrival in Africa / 3 more days in MI

So I head to Philly on Tuesday for a 1.5 day staging event where I will meet the other 15 volunteers headed to The Gambia to participate in the Education program (not sure if they are also Math/Science specific, but I think so). I am scheduled to arrive in Philly on the 29th, leave for Africa on the 30th and arrive in The Gambia on the 1st of July.

I have been spending most of my time packing, taking care of loose ends, eating at any place that I might miss and saying goodbye to as many people as possible. I had a great going away party this past weekend so thanks again to all the people that came to visit! I am still way more excited than I am nervous and I hope I don't forget anything important :)

-- Samantha

Address Update!!!!

When sending letters and such, for the first three months (July - September) please address everything to Samantha Jarema, PCT. The PCT is very important! It means that my mail will be tracked and is more likely to reach me.

However, After September address everything to Samantha Jarema, PCV (I move from training to actual volunteer).

Thanks!
Samantha


July - September
Samantha Jarema, PCT
U.S. Peace Corps
PO Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa

After September
Samantha Jarema, PCV
U.S. Peace Corps
PO Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa

Blogger Failure

Turns out I am not very good at keeping up to date with my blogging. Maybe once I am gone I will get better... at least that is the hope.

I am officially back in MI until I leave for Gambia. I am scheduled to fly to Philly on June 29th and I leave Philly for the Gambia on June 30th.

For anybody who wants to write me letters I have included my address below. You should write! It would be very very much appreciated :D

Cheers,
Samantha

Samantha Jarema, PCV
U.S. Peace Corps
PO Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa

Also, Here are a few suggestions for writing from previous volunteers. They are pretty good:

************************************************************
With mail, “patience” is the watchword. The mail service in The Gambia is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service. It can take approximately three to four weeks for mail coming from a Volunteer’s post in The Gambia to arrive in the United States via the local postal system. Sometimes mail is hand carried to the States by a traveler and then mailed through the US postal system. This leg of the trip can take another several weeks as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S.

The following suggestions may be helpful:
-- Determine, in your first letters, an estimate of how long it takes for transit and establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other.
-- Number your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he/she has missed one.
-- Send postcards in envelopes, as they tend to get lost or stolen.
************************************************************

Is this for real?????

So I have officially been unemployed for over a week. Even after the marathon 24hr packing and moving trip from Boston to Michigan it still does not exactly feel real. I keep expecting to head back to my apartment in Cambridge and then to the ZS Boston office. Knowing you can do something and then actually doing it are two totally different feelings. However, I am just as happy as I expected and then some.

I arrived to Brazil this morning and the start of this trip has been something totally unexpected. I had a 1 in 100 million encounter that makes me think these next few months will be very interesting.

The weather here is perfect and the beaches are amazing though I wish that I knew how to speak Portuguese. I feel so rude talking to everybody in English.

I suppose I should learn how to post pictures on this thing... That is my next task.

-- Samantha

PS I am very unhappy that the Christ statue is under construction. The major landmark of Brazil... can I still cross Rio off my list of places to visit if I cannot this statue? That is TBD.

Medical Clearance Granted

Yay! Medical and legal Peace Corps clearance granted finally… though Mother is decidedly less excited than I am.

Now moving on to the placement process :D Hopefully this will go a bit faster.