Training

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:45pm

It is still impossible to fully grasp that for the next 27 months, I will call this beautiful country my home. Walking around the grounds of the nunnery that we are staying at for these first 8 days, it’s hard to even convince myself I am in Africa.

These next days will be long, filled with paperwork, medical information, rules, and a lot of Kiswahili – preparing us for the 8 weeks of training that we will be doing in Tonga. I am so tired from so many nights of not sleeping that it is barely possible for me to stay awake in the hot stuffy classroom, very much absorb what is being told to us. I am hoping to get a full night’s sleep tonight and perhaps feel human again tomorrow.

We each have our own room here in the nunnery. A bunk bed with mosquito nets, a small closet with shelves, a table, chair, sink, a toilet without a seat, and a shower head that puts you precariously close to standing in the toilet in order to shower. There is only one temperature of water, but it is room temperature, not cold, and it is hot here so it isn’t so bad at all. You have to make sure not to open your mouth while showering, because the tap water is unfiltered. We brush our teeth with boiled water and drink bottled water for now. They showed us during class today how we will make large filters for our water. We will have to boil it for 3 minutes, then pour it through a bucket/filter system to filter out the solids.

I had to take out my nose ring. Some current volunteers who are here to help with our training said that women in the villages wear them – Muslim women and Christian women, but it is still against PC policy.

My camera is locked up under my bed. I probably won’t even bring it out until after I am finished my training, even perhaps more than a month into my post. I have my little point and shoot and I will hopefully be able to post some pictures for you soon. I don’t know how much access I will have to the internet. I am writing this now because I know we will be going to PC headquarters tomorrow and have a little time planned in as internet time.

Tomorrow begins the real training. Friday we get more shots. .