Finally South Africa

12,000 km later and at a cool 5 degrees C. At most airports you get off the plane an walk threw the terminal. Well, we got off the plane and stepped onto the landing strip and caught a bus to customs. After retrieving our bags we were greeted by Peace Corps South Africa staff. The Director, McGrath Jean Thomas, she spoke with us in the lobby for about 15min. By this time everyone was dancing and taking pictures. I was still kind of not-all-there. I really didn’t do too much talking; I was tired, hungry and could not believe that I was in South Africa. We loaded yet another bus, drove 2 hours and arrived at Ndebele College of Education in Siyabuswa.

Mailing Address for training. This will be the place you can send things to until August 25th. It takes about 2 weeks to arrive. Make sure if you are sending a package, to write educational or Religious literature. I guess there has been a problem with theft here in South Africa.
Randall Anderson
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 9536
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
I would send mail from the post office to make sure the postage was correct.
This is the letter we receive when we settle in.





Dear Trainees,

On behalf of the entire staff and our host country counterparts, we are pleased that you accepted the invitation to work with us here in South Africa. The success of each Trainee/Volunteer is our goal. Every staff member at Peace Corps South Africa is committed to providing you with the support you need to successfully transition from life in the US to meet the challenges of your new work assignment so you will have a safe, healthy, and productive Volunteer service.

During the next 2 months we hope to learn more about each other, and how we can best work together in the School and Community Resource Project. Our goal during PST is to prepare you to serve at rural primary schools in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal Provinces, since you will be making a 2-year commitment to live in and share the cultures of these communities to assist educators in improving teaching and classroom practices in the areas of science, math, life skills and English.

PST is a time for both you and the Peace Corps staff to assess your readiness to assume your work assignment. A 2-year commitment should not be entered casually and is one that you may need to re-affirm in many ways during PST and, in fact, throughout your service.

Let me reemphasize again, that most of our volunteer sites will be in rural communities served by public taxis, and many sites will not have access to running water or flush toilets. If you were told something different it is best that you forget that and think carefully about whether you are ready to take on this challenge of living and working in a rural South African village.

Today is the beginning of your Peace Corps services. The first things you should unpack from your luggage are patience and flexibility we asked you to bring along on this journey because you will need it.