Peace Corps Orientation in DC - Week One

We were not really sure who we were going to be working for this year given the unique "public-private partnership" involved in GHSP. The confusion has dissipated after a week of training at the Peace Corps office in downtown DC. We are Peace Corps Response volunteers. It has been a long week sitting for 8-10 hour sessions with presentations, group exercises and small group discussions etc.

 Ennui

 Jim from GW - a fabulous teacher.

 Henry on the right is our Tanzanian coordinator and will take care of us.

 More group exercises - this was "draw pictures of your fears and aspirations".

No shortage of material for discussion here!

There is a tremendous amount of information to absorb both about our looming jobs, teaching methods, the Peace Corps itself, medicine in Africa in general and conditions in our respective countries.

The slide above has the school calendars for 15 plus locales where our cohort of 38 volunteers will be deployed (10 in Uganda, 13 in Malawi and 15 in Tanzania). The group is predominantly in their 20's although there is a strong contingent of middle aged folks close to our age.

Our cohort

Despite some false starts this week it is clear the Peace Corps does have a system and a wealth of experience. We are optimistic this will all work.

The Boston staff of Seed Global Health from Mass General Hospital has been present for much of the week augmented by leaders from George Washington University which is across the street from our hotel. We go to the GW medical school Sim Lab Monday to practice some rusty skills and to develop some new ones (bedside ultrasound).

About 5 of the volunteers from this past year are here and have provided incredibly useful insights and answers to a myriad of questions much to their credit and our relief.

Today we took a nice early morning walk on the Mall which is quite close.

 Laurel on the Mall

Check out the plane at the upper right of the building. 

 Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial

 WWII Memorial

With a full kitchen in our room and Whole Foods and Trader Joe's around the corner we have been well fed and watered. We are staying right on Washington Circle so last minute shopping has been easy although we are topped out on our weight allowances already.

Laurel heads out tomorrow for a MSF Mental Health training course in Nairobi. She will meet us with the Tanzania group once we get to Dar late next week. We have a week's training there then two additional weeks in Dodoma, the capital, before actually going to our assignments. The focus for the next week is tropical medicine. Once we are in country it is all about local language (Swahili) and Tanzanian culture.