Site Announcement and Site Visit

Site Announcement - PCTs standing where they will be serving in Madagascar (map not actually to scale)

Peace Corps includes site visit during our 3 months of Pre-Service Training. This is so that we'll get rid of the mystery that surrounds our site and to help us decide if we can fully commit to serving in this site for 2 years.

Before we do this, we have site announcement where we first go through a process where we complete a form about our preferences (weather, needs, site size etc). My personal preferences only included the need for colder weather and electricity. Afterwards, we had an interview about the form we submitted and also talked about any additional information that needed to be clarified. My interview was less than 3 minutes as I only had two needs. I did talk about wanting to work with NGOs at my site as an additional preference.

The following week, site announcement took place. In order to find out where we would be serving, we had to look around a room at the Peace Corps Training Center and find our names on a piece of paper that included the name of our site. Once we found the paper, we then went outside to the basketball court and found our site that was numbered on a map drawn of Madagascar (see above). I would also like to mention that I was really sick during this day and running a fever but I refused to miss such an important event such as site announcements. 

I found out that I will be serving in the Merina/Highlands region of Madagascar. 

The Highlanders - photo courtesy of Viggo Labbe

Fast forward, when it came time to go to our actual site, we all traveled with the host family that we would be staying with for the course of the two weeks that we would be at our sites. We were also given tasks to complete during our stay that included getting prices for various items that we need for homes, visiting various authorities around our sites to make introductions, work on our first lesson plan for practicum, etc.

 I really enjoyed me time at site as the people that I met were very friendly. I enjoyed me time with my host sisters and their friends as we got to play games along with me teaching them some introductory phrases for greeting others in English. I also set my schedule for teaching (Peace Corps Madagascar requires us to teach a maximum of 16 hours a week).

My Teaching Schedule - minus a few things

The director of the private school that I will be working at is very friendly and accommodating, he and his wife took me along with my host family on a picnic to show me around my site. I got to see the different villages that make up my site along with this beautiful lake -

Sunset at the lake in my site

I made a couple of new friends at my site and have thought of the different secondary projects I would like to implement. I was extremely sad when I had to leave because I had become quickly attached to some of the people that I met there. But I will be returning in October and will be spending the next 2 years there so tsy maninona (no problem). 

Seriously, Peace Corps is one the best decisions I have ever made.