Cait Has Arrived

Hi everyone, this is Nolan, Cait's older brother. She hasn't been able to gain access to the internet yet, and she wanted me to put something up so everyone knew she had arrived safely. She arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday, Nov. 10th, where the PCT's (Peace Corps Trainee's) stayed in a hotel. They left the next day on a plane to Windhoek, Namibia. The next day it was a bus headed for Omaruru, Namibia. Cait was able to call us from some sort of market pay phone, and Mom, Sean, and I were able to talk to her for about 20 minutes. She sounds GREAT :) She said she felt safe, and that everything was working out pretty well. It sounds like she might be getting one of the better jobs, working in a city with teachers as opposed to moving around in the countryside to train teachers. It was sort of wild to be sitting in a car in the middle of Minnesota (we were at a wedding over the weekend), talking to someone standing in a market in Africa. She said it was 90 degrees in the daytime, and cooled off to 60 at night. She said that there are lots of children, and that they had the most beautiful voices when they sang. I'm sure she'll delete this post when she gets access, but she just wanted everyone to know she was okay. If we get any more news, I'll make sure you all know :)
N.

P.S. Here is one of the better maps I have been able to find of Namibia. You can see Omaruru, directly North-West of Windhoek.

http://solarcooking.org/fi/pics/namibia.gif

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that freightens us most." -Nelson Mandela

After many, many months of waiting and preparing, my bags are stuffed to the top (it's amazing all you can carry with an 80lb weight limit) and I finally leave tomorrow to begin my Peace Corps journey. I figure it will be a few days of logistics and "get-to-know-yous," followed by a horrible few days of travel (I've heard up to 40hrs), and then 8 weeks of intense skills and language training as well as some serious cultural immersion-- all very exciting!

These past two months spent in La Crosse with my family and good friends have been excellent, and though saying goodbye has been hard and will continue to be, I am excited for what the next two years have in store for me. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of me thus far, and who I know will continue to be supportive throughout this experience.

I still don't feel completely comfortable with this whole blog thing, and I have no idea how easily I will be able to update it, but I will do my best to keep you all up to date with my travels, so check back often. Please keep in touch, and be well. I love you all!