Site Announcement!

Yesterday was a big day! Thursday was the last day of official full time language training, so the first thing we did on Friday morning was the final written exam. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible - I think I passed, and that's what matters right!? The OPI, or Oral Proficiency Interview is in a week and a half and will be the real challenge.

After the exam was done, we got what everyone has been waiting for - site announcements! Peace Corps gave the event a little African flavor by hiring a bunch of dudes with drums for some pre and post announcement music. And we got Snickers bars. Which is what I was really most interested in.

Anyway, where am I going!?

My banking town (largest town nearby - the town with a bank) is Mbeya. Mbeya is a good sized town of 280,000 in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. It mountainous and coolish, which is what I was looking for.

I don't really know much about the school I'm teaching at or place I'm living yet, but here's what I do know. I'll be teaching at a school called Rungwe Secondary School. Its an A-level only school, meaning students are all in forms 5 or 6. That corresponds basically to the last couple years of high school in the states. I believe its a boarding school, but not 100% sure on that yet. My house has electricity and running water and I think is on the school grounds. Its very typical for teachers to live in a "compound" attached to the school itself. I'll have my own house and everything though, so seems like a pretty good setup. Oh I guess there's a garden with the house, so maybe I'm going to become an expert gardener. Maybe. I am replacing someone, but because of scheduling issues it's been a year since the last Peace Corps person was there, so I'm not sure if any of his/her stuff is still there or if I'll be furnishing my own house. I guess they had a pet dog, but no one knows the status of it after a year...

Anyway, lots of questions to be answered this week as I go visit my site! I'm leaving tomorrow, shadowing a nearby volunteer for a few days and then hopefully spending some time at my site getting things figured out and meeting my future coworkers and such! I'll keep ya updated with pictures and such as I get them!