The FAQ

Ok, so I love everyone. Seriously. But I'm starting to feel like I need to have some things tattooed on my forehead, cause my voice is wearing out from saying the same things all the time. So here are the answers to your questions.

Where/When/How long are you going?
Cameroon--that's just under the horn of Africa. I'll leaving on June 3rd. It's a little over 2 years, June 2009-July 2011.

But wait, that's crazy!
Yeah, I know! And awesome!

What will you be doing there?
I'll be teaching middle/high school level science.

What language do they speak?
80% of the country is French, 20% is English. I'm working on my French with Rosetta Stone, plus I did 4 years in High School. I'm hoping this will work out!

What/where is the training?
On June 3rd, I'll fly to most likely Philadelphia, where I'll meet my training group, get the basics of health and safety, and my shots. We leave from there on June 6th for Cameroon! Then, I'll spend my first 10 weeks in Bangangte, in the Southwest, doing intensive foreign language training, cultural and technical training. I'll be living with a Cameroonian Family for that time.

Where will you be eventually placed?
They don't tell you that until about halfway through training--they want to see how you do first, especially in language.

What's the weather like?
Variable across the country--it's desert in the northeast, mountains and cooler in the northwest, beach on the west, tropical in the south, grassland in the middle. Cameroon is sometimes called "Africa in miniature"--it has all of the biomes in Africa present in the country.

What about food?
Well, I won't be holding fast to my vegetarianism--to make things easier on me there. They have a variety of grains, lots of couscous, and lots of fish apparently. And some interesting bushmeat--armadillo, porcupine, monkey....I probably won't eat monkey.

Please ask me any other questions, I'm actually happy to answer! And I'll probably add to this post as things come up, so check back!