PST

Hi all,

Right now I´m in what is called PST or pre service training. In Cape Verde it consists of 9 weeks of living with a host family and taking classes in a town about a 30 minute drive from the capital called Sao Domingos. Its a wonderful place to live and everyone I have met has been so warm and welcoming. My typical day so far has been:

5:45 Wake up
6:00 Meet other PCTs for a morning walk up the mountains
7:30 Breakfast- This is usually bread with butter and either an egg or yogurt and coffee
8:30 School starts- We usually have Kriolu for 4 hours divided up during the day, classes on medical issues, etc, and technical training. For me, this is learning about development and different types of organizations and how they function
We go home in the middle of the day for lunch.
5:30 School ends. After school I like to play soccer with my host brother and other PCTs and their families or go on a hike or sit and chat with my host mom and her friends. It gets dark here around 7:30 so I´m not out that late.
I eat dinner around 8 or 9 which tends to be leftovers from lunch or soup or something small. I like that dinner isn´t the large meal at my house.

Like many Cape Verdians, my family likes to watch their novelas- Portuguese soap operas. When the electricity is working, you can guarantee that they are watching them.

Right now Im with a few other PCTs shadowing a volunteer to see what PCV life is really like. Its been a great experience so far and we spent the morning touring a place that is kind of like a shelter for children who come from homes that aren´t necessarily the safest places to be.

I miss you guys and I hope everyone is doing well. If you get bored at work, feel free to send me mail. I´m not really going to have Internet for the next 7 weeks so any bit of news and connection with the outside world is always appreciated.

Ciao for now,
Jules

I´m here!

Hello everyone. It seems like our plane trip took forever but we are finally here in Cape Verde! It is very exciting to be here and see our new surroundings, meet the current PCVs and get a grasp of the next 2 years of our lives. I spent 3 days in DC for staging where we got a general overview of the Peace Corps and its policies, got stuck with needles, and made friends with eachother. Everyone has such a unique background and its so nice to see that everyone brings something completely different to the table. Staging in DC was also great because we got to see the fireworks on the mall one last time before we left the states. I´m not the most patriotic person in the world but it was really cool to be in the nation´s capital with fireworks flying ahead the Washington monument before we boarded a plane and head over.

I don´t have any exciting stories to report yet but I am having a spilling problem. I spilled an entire glass of water on myself at a restaurant in DC. Then on the plane I spilled more water all over myself and on the shuttle from the airport to the terminal in Dakar, the leaking air conditioning decided to conveniently downpour water from the ceiling.

This afternoon we have lots of interviews and then maybe some more exploring the area.

Hope everyone is well. Keep in touch and I´ll report more soon.

Peace Corps contact info

It's finally here- I've been waiting for what seems like forever to begin
this next stage in my life. Tonight is officially my last night in North
Carolina. I head back to DC tomorrow for the staging process and beginning
of my Peace Corps experience. For those of you who wish to write, my address
from July 6- the end of August is:

Julia Kramer, PCT
A/C Corpo Da Paz
C.P. 373- Praia
Republic of Cape Verde

It is recommended that you include "Air Mail" AND "Par Avion" on the
envelope and if possible, ask your local post office to route the mail
through Boston.

Please feel free to check out my blog at www.pcjules.blogspot.com for
additional info, etc while I am away.

And you always have the option of sending me emails at jhkramer@gmail.com
but I won't know my internet situation until I'm in country.

Thank you all for the support and friendships you have shown me and I look
forward to hearing from you and keeping you informed of my next 2 1/2 years.

Love always,
Julia