I've moved my blog for several reasons, so if you want updates, wander over here:
http://jenpcvsouthafrica.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
South Africa Stats
Just to help you get to know my future country of service a bit better, here's a bit of info about SA.
Population: about 49,991,300 million people (2010 estimate)
There are 11 official languages, plus several unofficial languages. They are: Afrikaans, English, Ndebel, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. Don't worry, I will not need to learn them all. Most likely I will end up learning some Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, or Tsonga, which are the more popular languages in the areas I may end up. I could end up in the provinces of Limpopo, Northern Cape, or Northwest.
About 80% of South Africans are Christians, and religion is an important part of their life. It is a more conservative society, and I am told that people will ask whether I am married and have kids, because it is pretty much expected in rural SA. Oh boy. :)
Since SA is below the equator, the seasons are switched. This means that July is in the dead of winter, while January enjoys the middle of summer. Luckily, it seems like SA will be warmer than Iowa in the winter. Average temps during the winter months range from the mid 40s-60s, while average summer temps hover around the 70s and 80s. SA is also drier than Iowa.
There are 3 capitals: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), and Cape Town (legislative). However, Johannesburg is the largest city. As you can tell from the capitals, SA has a 3 branch parliamentary government.
SA is a recent history of racial segregation, called apartheid, which ended officially in 1994. However, the country is still overcoming this legacy. Instead of trying to explain the history apartheid, I will lead you here if you are interested: http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html
A bit more technical: SA has a Gini coefficient of 57.8, which is high. The Gini coefficient indicates economic equality. A score of 0 means complete equality, and 1 means vast inequality. Therefore, SA is a large divide between the rich and the poor.
I'm sure I will stumble upon a lot more interesting info on SA, but I think this is sufficient for now.
-Jen
Population: about 49,991,300 million people (2010 estimate)
There are 11 official languages, plus several unofficial languages. They are: Afrikaans, English, Ndebel, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. Don't worry, I will not need to learn them all. Most likely I will end up learning some Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, or Tsonga, which are the more popular languages in the areas I may end up. I could end up in the provinces of Limpopo, Northern Cape, or Northwest.
About 80% of South Africans are Christians, and religion is an important part of their life. It is a more conservative society, and I am told that people will ask whether I am married and have kids, because it is pretty much expected in rural SA. Oh boy. :)
Since SA is below the equator, the seasons are switched. This means that July is in the dead of winter, while January enjoys the middle of summer. Luckily, it seems like SA will be warmer than Iowa in the winter. Average temps during the winter months range from the mid 40s-60s, while average summer temps hover around the 70s and 80s. SA is also drier than Iowa.
There are 3 capitals: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), and Cape Town (legislative). However, Johannesburg is the largest city. As you can tell from the capitals, SA has a 3 branch parliamentary government.
SA is a recent history of racial segregation, called apartheid, which ended officially in 1994. However, the country is still overcoming this legacy. Instead of trying to explain the history apartheid, I will lead you here if you are interested: http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html
A bit more technical: SA has a Gini coefficient of 57.8, which is high. The Gini coefficient indicates economic equality. A score of 0 means complete equality, and 1 means vast inequality. Therefore, SA is a large divide between the rich and the poor.
I'm sure I will stumble upon a lot more interesting info on SA, but I think this is sufficient for now.
-Jen
Application Timeline
I wanted to document my application process, and highlight the timeline of my acceptance with Peace Corps, in case anyone stumbles on here looking for this info (which I combed through blogs for as I was applying). It is important to note that applying to Peace Corps is a loooong process, and is pretty much guaranteed to test your patience. Here's a pretty good glimpse at my application process. Bear in mind that I went through it quickly, and the average timeline is 9-12 months, though mine was only about 6 months.
November 9, 2010: Finished the online application, and the preliminary health questionnaire.
December 9, 2010: Had my interview in Washington, DC. I was able to expedite this process because I was studying in Washington, D.C. at the time, and the semester was ending. My recruiter wanted to interview me before I returned home to Iowa.
December 9, 2010: Nominated to service as a university-level English teacher in Asia, departing in late June. I was nominated the same day as my interview!
Mid-December, 2010: Received my Medical Kit.
Late-December 2010-February 2011: Visited the eye doctor, orthopedic surgeon, regular doctor/gyno, dentist, and collected vaccination information for shots I had previously done.
February 2011: Dental Clearance!
March 26, 2011: Got the letter stating I was medically deferred until June 2011-a short but important deferment. I had major knee surgery April 29, 2010, and PC decided I wasn't up to par in terms of my knee rehab. Therefore, they deferred me for a short time. I decided to appeal! I was also informed I was missing several medical papers.
April 5, 2011: Panicked because I could find anywhere to get a polio booster after age 18-finally had to travel up to Des Moines-NOT easy to find!
April 15, 2011: Sent in my deferral appeal forms. I had gathered my most recent physical therapy forms, and faxed them in. I also sent in my missing medical papers (tests my doctor didn't give me the results form, polio vaccine proof, retest for iron levels and diagnosis of slight anemia).
April 29th, 2011: My medical deferral was lifted!
May 4, 2011: Asked to submit a final resume and told to send a transcript after graduation.
May 5, 2011: Notified that the Asia/late-June/ESL program was full, and asked several questions via email about how I felt about a new program. It was indicated that I would end up teaching ESL in Asia/Africa leaving in July.
May 12, 2011: Status update! Saw online that I was invited, but had to wait for the invitation packet that came via mail stating when/where/what.
May 14, 2011: Graduated college! :) Not PC-related, but exciting.
May 16, 2011: Invitation packet was stealthily delivered by the UPS man-nobody heard or saw him, not even our 2 dogs.
May 17, 2011: Mom wakes me up super early with my invitation packet in hand! She found it on the porch with the newspaper. I am headed to South Africa as a Resource Specialist with the Schools and Community Resources Programs on July 5th! Accepted the invite later that day!
Sigh...waiting for the mailman can be torturous-if you are applying for PC, you will find this out!
-Jen
November 9, 2010: Finished the online application, and the preliminary health questionnaire.
December 9, 2010: Had my interview in Washington, DC. I was able to expedite this process because I was studying in Washington, D.C. at the time, and the semester was ending. My recruiter wanted to interview me before I returned home to Iowa.
December 9, 2010: Nominated to service as a university-level English teacher in Asia, departing in late June. I was nominated the same day as my interview!
Mid-December, 2010: Received my Medical Kit.
Late-December 2010-February 2011: Visited the eye doctor, orthopedic surgeon, regular doctor/gyno, dentist, and collected vaccination information for shots I had previously done.
February 2011: Dental Clearance!
March 26, 2011: Got the letter stating I was medically deferred until June 2011-a short but important deferment. I had major knee surgery April 29, 2010, and PC decided I wasn't up to par in terms of my knee rehab. Therefore, they deferred me for a short time. I decided to appeal! I was also informed I was missing several medical papers.
April 5, 2011: Panicked because I could find anywhere to get a polio booster after age 18-finally had to travel up to Des Moines-NOT easy to find!
April 15, 2011: Sent in my deferral appeal forms. I had gathered my most recent physical therapy forms, and faxed them in. I also sent in my missing medical papers (tests my doctor didn't give me the results form, polio vaccine proof, retest for iron levels and diagnosis of slight anemia).
April 29th, 2011: My medical deferral was lifted!
May 4, 2011: Asked to submit a final resume and told to send a transcript after graduation.
May 5, 2011: Notified that the Asia/late-June/ESL program was full, and asked several questions via email about how I felt about a new program. It was indicated that I would end up teaching ESL in Asia/Africa leaving in July.
May 12, 2011: Status update! Saw online that I was invited, but had to wait for the invitation packet that came via mail stating when/where/what.
May 14, 2011: Graduated college! :) Not PC-related, but exciting.
May 16, 2011: Invitation packet was stealthily delivered by the UPS man-nobody heard or saw him, not even our 2 dogs.
May 17, 2011: Mom wakes me up super early with my invitation packet in hand! She found it on the porch with the newspaper. I am headed to South Africa as a Resource Specialist with the Schools and Community Resources Programs on July 5th! Accepted the invite later that day!
Sigh...waiting for the mailman can be torturous-if you are applying for PC, you will find this out!
-Jen
Invitation
This morning I woke up to a great surprise: My Peace Corps invitation! I had been waiting since last Thursday for this to arrive via mail. However, sometime last night the UPS guy delivered it (no knock on the door) and Mom discovered it outside this morning. What a wonderful way to start the day!
I will be serving for 27 months in South Africa, beginning July 5th, 2011 and ending in September 2013. I have been selected to be a Resource Specialist in the Schools and Community Resource Project, which means I will be doing some teaching and some teacher training.
In the next few posts I will be back-tracking and covering the application process a bit, in case anyone who's going through the PC application process stumbles upon it.
-Jen
I will be serving for 27 months in South Africa, beginning July 5th, 2011 and ending in September 2013. I have been selected to be a Resource Specialist in the Schools and Community Resource Project, which means I will be doing some teaching and some teacher training.
In the next few posts I will be back-tracking and covering the application process a bit, in case anyone who's going through the PC application process stumbles upon it.
-Jen
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