12 August 2009

Mozambique Romances Recaptured

Some of my family and friends perusing this newly-christened blog may be under the impression that I have been in Africa during the last year. Some might (understandably) think I am still working in Fargo or that I am still hitting the books at St. Olaf. So to get everyone on the same page (bad pun), here is the scoop: I am leaving for Mozambique at the end of September to teach biology as a Peace Corps volunteer (and yes, I did graduate college).
I applied to the Peace Corps during my senior year of college and was accepted and slated for departure to Portuguese-speaking Africa (effectively Mozambique) in September 2008. Later that summer, the Peace Corps was following-up on my application and learned of a recent death in my family. After 12 months of applications and preparations,
I was suddenly deferred due to their "major life event policy". Since I hadn't known this policy existed, it was a bit of a surprise; in short, it was time to get a job.
Thankfully, I found one. For the last 10 months, I worked as a medical writer at a clinical research facility in Fargo, which was a great experience. But when my "major life event" deferment expired, I found I was still itching to volunteer with the Peace Corps and work on my Portuguese. So here I am. Here we are. Hence the blog.
Speaking of the blog itself, in case some folks are curious about the titles of the blog and of this post, they are borrowed from Walt Kelly's Pogo (above, left). His subtle views and voice seemed appropriate, but it's mostly a nod to my dad, who was a Pogo fan and a former Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines.
So without further ado, here is alycia's will be that was, or highlights and musings from my upcoming 27 months in Mozambique. I hope you like Technicolor-inspired color schemes.