There!

So, I've got a ton of news. Last Wednesday was the swearing-in ceremony and now I am a full Peace Corps Volunteer. Very early Thursday morning we left Morogoro and six other volunteers and I came down here to the Southern Highlands where our schools are. If you want more details on where I am, for paranoid security reasons you'll have to e-mail me.

I'm hanging out in my banking town for the weekend. I haven't been to my actual site yet, I'm told it's 2-3 hours away by bus. For now I'm buying things I think I might need, which is difficult since I'm replacing a volunteer and I'm not exactly sure what all she's left me. So far today I've bought a big bucket (70 L), some food in bulk, cleaning supplies, bug spray, and when this rain lets up I'm gonna get a little charcoal stove and make a run back the the (absolutely amazing) hotel to drop stuff off.

The weather here is great! It doesn't feel at all like Africa. A few people have commented that the town feels like a ski-town, maybe Lake Tahoe or something, though it's definitely bigger than that. There aren't big mountains around, just big rolling hills everywhere, but we are well elevated and there's even pine and eucalyptus trees, adding to a Northern California feel. It's also pretty cold at night, I'm sleeping under a nice blanket and it's the summer now! I even wore the sweater that I brought and thought I would never use a little bit last evening.

I'm feeling really lucky because I get to teach A-Level Math and Physics (there were only 2 A-Level teaching spots for the 39 in my training group). However, A-Level is on a different schedule, so I may start teaching about as soon as I move in. I'll tell you all about my site as soon as I can.

A bunch of PCVs in the area have been traveling in to greet us, which has been pretty fun (one even brought chocolate chip cookies), and I can't wait to see my site which is supposed to be gorgeous. I think there may be some mountains around there, and it's reasonably close to a big lake. As I've got some time to kill here I'm going to be very persistent about getting some pictures uploaded later today or tomorrow.

Also, due to the distance to my site, I'll warn that my Internet access is probably going to drop to once every 2 or 3 weeks or so. I'll still be really happy to get e-mails from anyone, I'll just be a bit slower in the replies.