Wednesday, April 25, 2007

It's Official.

Hello all! I've got a lot of big news, obviously, but the coolest is that I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer as of today. I took the oath at the Ambassador's house this morning after finishing up with training yesterday. I also got my site placement. Since I'm not supposed to be saying my exact placement on the internets, I'll provide a more subjective description:
I'm in the Northern Region. This is a good thing. I have a beautiful, huge 4 room mud house with thatched roof. I've got two patios, one that faces my Forest Reserve and one that faces the worlds largest mango tree. There are monkeys everywhere. My counterpart is a rockstar, and everyone in my village is so so so welcoming. That's about it. Oh. And my bathtub. My bathtub is amazing.
My bathtub is Lake Malawi. I'm close enough to hear the waves from my bed, see it from my front patio, and go to the tropical, lush beach EVERY SINGLE DAY. I find it somewhat ironic that the closest I've ever lived to a beach is in a landlocked county in Africa, but the toilets flush counterclockwise down here (or would if i ever used a flush toilet), so nothing is what you would expect.
Alright, I think my internets access will be a little better from here on out, write me or send me stuff, I'm having a *great* time.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Time to change the world one beehive at a time. Love you, take care of yourself, mom

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Thats so exciting!

Unknown said...

Matt, It sounds idyllic and we're so glad you sound so good. I'm forwarding your info to Danielle's friend Jen who will be in Malawi soon. Love, Georgia and Lenny

JenB said...

Matt that sounds amazing!!! I think I'm going to take the ferry to Nkhotakhota and definitely from you description would love to stay a few days!! let me know what you are craving from the US otherwise i will just have to guess...some cornmeal? JK!!!
love, jen

Auntie M said...

Hey, grand nephew. Congratulations on completing training. So glad you got the primo part of the country and the big hut with the lake view and friendly neighbors. Life is good. Tell us more about your village and the work you're doing. Take good care. Love you. Auntie M

Anonymous said...

Hi,how's life going in Malawi these days? We hope the bees are beeeehaving? Take care, we love you G & G Wiz.

Anonymous said...

Congrats Matt!!

Hey i have things to send you, what is your address now?

I miss you dearly!

Love KT

Sivan Tuchman said...

Matt! It's so great hearing someone else's PC experience, ok, a paragraph, but yah know. I'm jealous of your monkeys and beach, but I have a view of the Carpathians from my balcony, and a slanted toilet that flushes. I miss you!