Tomorrow I'm a PCV!

Ben goes Tamasheq while Katherine sleeps. This is where we had our classes.
My host mother Awa at a baptism, holding the newborn.

Alright, I had a third picture on here but the internet hates me. Also, I tried to upload more photos, but my patience has run out. Here is my entry:

Homestay is over, and we’re back at Tubani So for the last time. The last few days have been spent in sessions going over last-minute administrative details, and packing. Friday is “Swearing-In,” the ceremony where we officially transition from Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) to Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). Swearing-In is at the American Embassy, and afterward there is a brunch at the ambassador’s house. That night the current PCVs are hosting a party for us in Bamako, and most of us are staying in a hotel that night. We can spend all day Saturday in the city (and it’s Mali’s independence day – September 22).

I’m pretty nervous for Swearing In, because there is going to be a speech in each language, and I’m giving the Bambara speech. It’s not a long speech, but the event is going to be broadcast on Malian television! Our host families have been invited, but I don’t know if mine will be there, because they have to get to the embassy on their own.

On Sunday we leave for our regional capitals via public transportation. We’ve already sent the bulk of our luggage on Peace Corps vehicles. When we get to the regional capital, we will have some time to shop for the necessities for our houses. I’m going to have to buy pretty much everything since mine is a new site (I’m not replacing a volunteer) – that means furniture, a stove, dishes, cooking utensils, buckets, everything. Then a Peace Corps vehicle will take each of us to our sites with all our stuff.

And then I’ll be at my site! For the first three months, we’re not allowed to leave our regions. We are supposed to be focusing our efforts on improving our language and getting to know the community, rather than starting any real projects. For health, we are supposed to conduct a “baseline survey” and other needs assessment activities, and spend time hanging out at our CSCOM. I’ll also be going around meeting as many people as possible, and hopefully touching base with the already-existing community groups, like the Women’s Association.

In January we return to Tubani So for 2 weeks of in-service training (IST). This is supposed to be intensive technical training, preparing us to go out and actually do projects.

Today we had a session on snakes in Mali. They had this guy come and bring in a bunch of snakes that live here, and he told us which ones are poisonous, how to avoid getting bitten, and what to do if we are bitten. Then we got to play with the non-dangerous ones, especially the ball pythons, which roll into balls as a defense mechanism. They were cute. Apparently there has only been one incident of a PCV getting bitten in the last 10 or 15 years. Mostly it’s farmers, because they are walking through tall grasses or brush. They should really bring snakes into all the sessions because everybody was really into it.