Jeff's main page can be found at http://web.mit.edu/iggy/Jeff.
This page is the email that Jeff sent on: Oct 9, 1999:
Hello everyone again. First an apology for any repetition, as I don`t quite recall what i have and have not said already.
Next a note about mail. I'm in Tana for the next week (until 10/15) so I expect to cxheck my email one more time (probably on the 15th) but after that I don't expect to get any more email for a long time as I'll be going off to my site far far away. Please send me real mail, it's great to get it, and I most likely won't get email.
Now about life - Training ends on Thursday, 10/14 when I am sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer and an employee of the United States Government. I leave for site the next day. My site is a town called Andapa in Northeast Madagascar. It's been described to me as a city of gardens, surrounded by rainforest and mountains--hot, rainy, and ready to learn English.
Training's been great. I really feel like I've accomplished a lot here--I've made some really good friends and gotten a good base in the Malagasy language. It's been emotional--at times quite difficult, tremendous at others. I taught in a Malagasy school for 3 weeks which gives me a lot more confidence to go to my site and have my own classes for 2 years.
I don't have much of an idea what my life will be like at site except that in 2 weeks, I'll be on my own to sink or swim (and avoid the sharks in the Indian Ocean). Believe it or not, that's 100 times more exciting than it is frightening to me.
Well, good luck to all, and keep in touch. It's questionable whether or not all my mail gets to me, but keep trying. When I get my new address at site, I'll make sure everyone knows because it'll be much quicker and more reliable thanmy current address, but until then, I can still be reached at:
Jeff Allen/PCV - note the change from PCT to PCV!
PEACE CORPS
B.P. 620
101 Antananarivo
MADAGASCAR
Airmail via Paris
Take care, all.
Jeff