Go Time

Yesterday was the day where I can officially call myself a Peace Corp Volunteer. It is still so bizarre to think that I am considered "qualified" to do these life-changing projects and to live on my own in an African village. I guess it is just daunting to see the task at hand. I am sure once I am there things will begin to come into perspective. Yesterday, we went to the US Ambassadors house to have the Swearing-In Ceremony in our African-style dress. The ceremony was wonderful and really inspiring. I took an oath to defend against evil and to repent America the best I can... we'll see how both of those promises turn out. It was directly followed by a buffet of DELICIOUS foods, including quiche, meat-sticks, and brownies. Yummy!!! Directly after, we went to the Atlantic Club (nicknamed the American Club) for a beer and a dip in the pool. We were also given all of our banking things, so I am now armed with an ATM card... dangerous.

Today was a day just to hang out, say some goodbyes, and pack up my things. I already stopped by the Bon Marche for some needed snacks and treats. Then I went to pick up my trunk to aid in my packing. Now, I figured that I should write a little bloggy post, and get my life together. I think it all still needs to hit me. I am going to go live in the middle of Senegal, by myself... (kind of). On that note, my site mate, Josh Profitt, will be coming to Thies to bum a ride home with us tomorrow morning (bring and early at 6am!!!). I am very excited to spend some quality time with him and pick his brain. Once we get to Tamba, we will be able to chill out a bit before they have our "Welcome Party!". Ours is themed "Back Tie Affair". I feel like Im back in DG again... What will I wear???? I forgot all my good formal dresses and heels... didnt think I'd need them. Little did I know...

One another note, I was reading some of the amazine blogs some of my fellow PCVs have been writing and I came across an entry that I loved from a fellow DG who is serving here with me. Her name is Katie and she had a great breakdown of some terminology that we have here in the PC, below is an excerpt from her blog: Click Here to read it as well.

A great benefit of the Peace Corps is the language instruction we receive. Some volunteers end up learning two or more new languages throughout the course of their service. One of these is the language of the Peace Corps itself. I’ve sprinkled in a few acronyms already, but here’s a list that might be helpful in the future.

Annciene: Volunteer who you replace at site

Site Mate: Volunteer who lives in the same town as you

PST: Pre-service training

IST: Inter-service training; happens about 2 months after installation

Installation: Moving into one’s permanent site

Swear-in: Taking the oath to become a real PCV; this will happen on May 13^th at the US Embassy

PCV: Peace Corps Volunteer

PCT: Peace Corps Trainee

ET: Early termination; deciding to leave early

Ad-sep: Administrative separation; getting kicked out

Med-sep: Medical separation; getting sent home for a medical reason

Med-evac: Medical evacuation; getting sent away for a medical reason and then usually getting to come back (there’s a 40 day limit on how long you can be out of the country)

Wack-evac: getting sent home for going crazy

Stage: Training cohort; pronounced “staaaaaj”

Stagiere: Trainee; “staaaaj-eeee-air”

Inshallah: Godwilling. Nothing happens without godwilling it to happen.

Sept-place: 7 seat communal station wagon for long car rides

LCF: Language and Cultural Facilitator; teachers and surrogate parents during PST/regional language seminars

Douche: bathroom/shower area

Fukijiye: Flea market

Site mate: another PCV in the same site (I don’t have one)

Gargolying: To lose one’s lunch via opposite orifices at the same time.

Med Hut: Rooms in PC offices dedicated to rest and recovery. I am in one now and it is glorious.

PC Sectors in Senegal:

Health – preventative health education

EE – Environmental Education

Agfo – Agroforestry

SusAg – Sustainable Agriculture

Urban Ag – Urban Agriculture

SED – Small Enterprise Development

EcoT – Ecotourism