Getting Started

Ok. Finally a first post. Not a lot to tell since we're not there yet but we do have a little more info about what to expect. After staging in Miami for a couple of days starting on May 15th, we're off for Suriname where we'll be staying at a training center for about a week. The activities in Miami are known as PST (...not the project scoping tool for my NPS buddies) or pre-service training. Peace Corps uses a lot of acronyms. For a very funny description of this, see a blog posting from a current PCV (see if you can figure that one out on your own!) called "Brannagan Abroad". His post about this from about June of last year is great. His and other blogs can be found on a Peace Corps Journals link where we'll also post ours. We'll send emails with these links.

At the end of the first week, we should know where we will be stationed for our two-year stint and what language we'll be learning. We've been studying (I'm using the term loosely...but at least we'll know how to say hello) Sranan Tongo which is a language common to most in Suriname but apparently not a primary language for many. Once we know where we'll be, we'll start learning the language we'll need to know at our final location.

We can also expect to be human pin cushions. There's a list of nine vaccinations required and that doesn't include malaria prophylaxis, which is also required (apparently without needles though). Can't wait.