Letter from the House of Reps...say what??

On a completely random note...I was handed a letter from my Country Director on our first day of training and when asked what it was; she simply said she wasnt sure, just that Washington DC told her to give it to me. So I opened it up and was quite surprised to find a letter on the House of Representatives stationary from my Congressman, Frank Wolf. The letter stated,

"Dear Caitlin:
I recently learned that you will be serving as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Botswana. As your representative in Congress, I was pelase to hear of your strong civic committment. Peace Corps volunteers make significant and sustainable contributions in countries around the world and I wish you the best in your time in Botswana.
Best wishes,
Sincerely,
Frank R. Wolf
Member of Congress

The letter was signed and a small, handwritten "Best Wishes" were placed on the bottom. (Normally I wouldnt think much of this--but I thought it was odd that no one else got any letter from their congressman's; not even the other volunteer from VA.) Ha. If I couldnt feel like I could leave before...now I really can't. I mean, I cant let my Congressman down...

So I've been at the Peace Corps In-Service Training (IST) since August 25th. The first 5 days, all 50 of the Bots 9 group volunteers were there. The NGO/Life Skills group had already been there for 2 weeks; and these 5 days were an overlap of the 4 groups. It was nice to finally see everyone after 2 months of lockdown; but at the same time I was really overwhelmed.

IST has mostly consisted of Setswana classes, presentations from various organizations (Ministry of Local Government, PEPFAR, support groups, etc.), and presentations on other topics or by other PCVs (on ARVs, OVCs, gardening/composting, Male circumcision, grants, project design management, etc.). The format of IST has been very similar to PST; and overall I think there have been several presentations I found to be useful.

I mostly find IST to be a valuable experience because it allows the volunteers to come together and share our experiences; and it has really helped get my mind thinking. During our District Community Liason de-briefing session, I actually got pretty emotional and found myself crying while trying to explain my situation. I think this actually helped showed my APCD that I'm not happy with my situation at the moment; and that I really need some help.

During a talk with my APCD, I was able to get a lot out of chest and I walked away feeling better. I drafted up a list of my wants/needs (going to SOS twice a week; being able to work on projects with other volunteers; being able to work from home; etc.) and showed my APCD. I wanted to make sure the list seemed reasonable and that it didnt come across to harshly. She said everything seemed to look good and that she planned to sit down with me, her, and my counterpart to go over everything. Now I can only hope that the meeting goes well...

Some exciting news...I booked my bus and plane flights for Cape Town!!! I will be heading down to Cape Town to see Irina and her family on October 9th-15th!! I am SUPER EXCITED!!! I have heard AMAZING things about Cape Town and I'm excited I'll get to see Irina!!

I have also found out that I will be getting my kitten on Sept. 19th!! It is a girl and I am currently looking for ideas on names...so if you have any suggestions let me know!! I'll post pictures as soon as I get her!!!

Up Next: Hopefully a good report about my meeting with my counterpart; birthday festivities; and pictures of my new kitten!!

** On a sad note, some of you may know; that a PCV in Lesotho was killed after a possbile attempted robbery. Im not sure how much media coverage is being displayed at home; but we were told this morning. I dont know the full details, but here is an article...
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/09/05/lesotho.peace.corps.death/index.html#fbid=vhON0Kyb6JS&wom=false
I also dont mean to scare anyone by telling you this, as I am very safe in Botswana; but merely wish to pay respects. I urge you to keep him and his family in your prayers.