Correspondence Match Program + Mailing Address + Staging Details

Correspondence Match Program

One of the programs that volunteers can choose to partake in is the correspondence match program. What it basically is is a pen-pal program where volunteers chronicle their experiences with an educator back in the states, who can talk about it with their class, the kids can write back and ask questions, etc. It's a really neat program and when I heard about it I was eager to join it. In the brochure, it said they can match you with an educator, or you can choose one -- and if you have one that you would like to correspond with, then go with them.

I'm really excited about this, because the educator I chose to partner with is none other than my own third grade teacher from Virginia, Mrs. Swartz. I was in her class 18 years ago, and now I will be sharing my experience in Mozambique with her current class. I'm really looking forward to it! You can actually partner with more than one teacher, so I might do that as well. We'll see how it goes!

Mailing Address

I finally have my mailing address! If you want to send me letters or care packages, you can reach me at


Helen Shaw
Corpo da Paz/U. S. Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo,
MOZAMBIQUE

Staging Details

We got a bunch of e-mails just now about all the stuff coming up in these last few months before departure. So many things to do! I'm so glad I found the Facebook group for my training class. They seem really awesome already and it's so nice to be able to talk about these things with people who are in the exact same boat I am.

It looks like staging will be in Philadelphia on the 25th, and then on the 26th we will be flown to Johannesburg, South Africa, and then on to Maputo, Mozambique! I'm so excited. If I can, I think I am going to fly out to Philly a few days early, rent a car and drive down to Virginia so I can see one of my oldest friends there before I go. It would be nice to see her before I leave the country for two years.

It's looking more and more likely that I probably won't leave Africa once I get there, unless a magical flying money man drops a thousand dollars for a plane ticket to Europe on my house. I'm looking forward to traveling around Mozambique and the surrounding areas (Lake Niassa, Botswana, Madagascar, etc...) but I already know that I am going to get incredibly homesick, especially around the holidays. Well, I suppose I'll just have to channel that frustration into something productive! No point in being pessimistic about the matter!