Swear-In and Installation!

Lots has happened over the past week and I want to talk all about it (is there ever anything I don't want to talk about at length? Hah) but here in Sikasso, we share a powergrid with Cote D'Ivoire and since it's the hot season and they are relatively unstable at the moment, my electricity and internet accessibility are at their mercy. Without further ado, the last week and a run down of the next few:

Swear-In: In a word, incredible. For starters, it was held at ATT's PRESIDENTIAL PALACE which was a first for Peace Corps Mali. It was held there to celebrate 40 years of Peace Corps in Mali and Peace Corps as well as Mali's 50th anniversaries. ATT presided and even gave a little speech! In it he said that if he were American, he would join the Peace Corps. That was really touching. It was absolutely incredible to be able to look at a man sitting in the same room as you and think "that man led a revolution that freed an entire nation." I got goosebumps just thinking about it. The palace was beautiful, too: it was on top of a hill that overlooked the whole of Bamako. There was even air conditioning and running water (but no toilet paper, Malians have got to get on that train). When I raised my right hand to pledge a vow to serve the nations of Mali and the United States for two years, I got goosebumps again. I still can't believe that I'm a real Peace Corps Volunteer now. It blows my mind that I'm actually doing this after thinking about it and wishing for it for so long. Here's a link to the press conference.  After the ceremony we had a light reception outside where I promptly ate about seven chocolate eclairs and had some delicious hibiscus ginger tea. Then, we all went back to Tubaniso (the training center) and had a nice dinner (french fries and chicken) and got ready to leave in the morning.

The next day we got on buses to go to our regional capitals. I played a fun game with my friends called Malian Roulette. It's a really simple game. All you have to do is make a decision to do something in Mali that may or may not result in a situation that is preventable under normal circumstances. On this particular day we played Malian Street Food Roulette. It was really fun and really tasty, but unfortunately, I lost. How do you lose Malian Roulette? Well, you make the bus driver stop every twenty minutes until you stop losing. Welcome to Peace Corps Mali. You win some, you lose some, but there's always tomorrow. :)

Once in Sikasso, we did some protocol, such as meeting the regional governor, and did some shopping for our houses. It was nice to have a few days to get to know the city, the other Volunteers who are already serving here and also just to relax before going to site. I am getting installed tomorrow in a Peace Corps vehicle, since my site can't be accessed by public transport. I'm excited and nervous to actually begin my service. I know that it's going to be a difficult two months at site especially because my Bambara is not that good and my Senufo is non-existent. I am going to try my hardest to stay at site as much as I can in the first two months so that I can make good connections, get better at Bambara, and learn more about what my projects will look like. I have vague ideas, but I'm really looking forward to understanding how I can help my village specifically. I hope I can discern some goals by the time I go back to Tubaniso for In Service Training.

Thanks again to everyone out there who is reading this, especially my Maryville professors, friends from New Hartford, Mrs. Bartolozzi, and the Peace Corps hopefuls who are looking for a better insight into this crazy life. I appreciate it all! I should be back to Sikasso in a few weeks to do some banking and to check email, et cetera. Until then, enjoy your running water and refrigeration and think cooling thoughts for me. Hot season's not a joke, y'all. :) K'an ben sooni!