Finally!!!?

Katie, Kate, and I were sitting in the beautiful library 4th floor nook (they have a nice comfy nook with big windows on the four corners of 4th floor) when my phone suddenly rang. I picked it up to see who the 202 number was, and ran to the fire escape as if the place had been set ablaze. It was my placement officer, calling to give me my final interview and see where I'd be going to in the Peace Corps. Originally, he said I'd be good for Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe, but I was secretly hoping neither of those. He was pretty lenient and said he'd let me choose from my options, and unless he called me back chances were that I'd be going to the region I chose. I told him I'd been hoping for something south of the equator, and would take anything there.

"Well, you said you'd be willing to leave after June 30. Are you willing to bump it up 5 days?"
"It depends..........."
"Well I have one in Sub-Saharan Africa that leaves 5 days before."
"/calm/ Really? /calm/"
"Yes."
"Sure!"

So.... here things are. I had no idea where I'd be going only that I knew it'd be Sub-Saharan Africa at the end of June. Oh, and he told me I should receive my invitation either the second or third week of April. Right after we got off the phone, Katie and Kate received the same call. I was so excited for the both of them! Katie is either looking at Eastern Europe or the Carribean. Kate is looking at Sub-Saharan Africa as well (excited!!) but not leaving til September, so not the same place.

After I got out of the class I TA for, I got a call from Lauren saying that she was told her and I are going to the same country! She got some extra details such as it's an Anglophone country, and I'd be doing Youth Development while she's doing Health. YAY! Lauren and I are together!

So I looked online at the Peace Corps Wiki (the Peace Corps equivalent of Wikipedia) to look at their timeline, and the 3 countries around that date are Benin, The Gambia, and Swaziland. Now I'm really hoping it's not the first two, because I don't want to go to West Africa. But I'm SUPER excited about Swaziland, AND it's the only country that has both programs we've been assigned for.

Now... Lauren and I have pretty much accepted that we are going there, googling everything in the world about it and prepping ourselves to learn siSwati. We've also been reading a chunk of Peace Corps blogs about Swaziland. I promised I wouldn't get too excited til I got my invitation in April, but it's hard not to get excited. Both of my roommates (Greg and Ambuj) have now received theirs. They're both doing economic development in the Dominican Republic!! It's awesome that they'll be together like Lauren and me.

Here's what I know so far about Swaziland:
Capital: Lobamba (royal and legislative) and Mbabane (administrative and largest city). The international airport is in Manzini, always important information.
Area of the country: 6,704 sq mi
Population: 1,185,000. Roughly half of whom are married to or sired from the king....... JOKES!! (or is it?)
Official languages: English and siSwati
King with absolute power: King Mswati III (with 14 wives and 26 kids)
It used to be a British colony until 1968 when it gained independence.



Disclaimer: Nothing is set in stone until I get my invitation hopefully by the 3rd week of April. *fingers crossed*