Swearing In

So as of Thursday I became an official Peace Corps Volunteer! After a greuling week of seminars at the training center and a very intimidating language exam (who knows how I passed...), we finally finished training. The swearing in ceremony was at the American Embassy, where we sat dripping in our Malian gear and pretended to understand the lovely French speech given by Madame Ambassador. The rest of the day was spent poolside at the American Club, where we got ready for our huge swearing in party. We all piled into a few clubs in Bamako (probably the most American thing about Mali), met up with tons of current PCVs, and were still roaring at 3am.
Right now I am in Kita, soaking up all the indoor plumbing, VHSs and market vegetables I can get before I plunge into my village. On Friday my sitemate Kristen and I will head to our nearby villages. While the thought of having to get by with my fractured Bamabara only with the only English speaker a few miles away is pretty frightening, I am so looking forward to finally making myself a home after living out of a suitcase for the past two months. Looking back on training, I am so struck by the unbelievable people I have met here -both PCVs and Malians - and am continually impressed by the immense value that volunteerism has in this country. Yes, it has been fun learning how to turn human urine into fertilizer, trekking to our boutigi for the occassional cold drink, and all crowding together to watch the occassional Flight of the Conchords off one of our laptops. But the dialouge I have had with so many volunteers and those who have worked with the Peace Corps had been one of such optimism. It is definitely energizing, and important to remember that even just sitting and having tea with my neighbors and comparing our cultures is progress. Dooni dooni (little by little...)!