It's Official

I applied to the Peace Corps 1 year, two months, and 23 days ago. And now, finally, I can officially say I am a Peace Corps Volunteer. It's surreal!

The end of training went smoothly. Highlights included a talent show (I showed off my ability to lip sync to the Spice Girls), practice school awards ceremony, and farewell ceremony with our host families. The practice school awards were given out to the top three students in each class. The ceremony was held at the Lycee de Dubreka, and of course consisted of the trainees being forced to dance in front of all of our students while they crowded around taking pictures. We've gotten used to being a dancing spectacle. I was the "professor principale" (basically the homeroom teacher) for one of the Terminale classes, so I got to read off the rankings of the students and give the awards to the top three. The top student was not at all a surprise -- a girl named Maimouna Barry who is incredibly sassy but is incredibly devoted to learning English. Each of the top three students were given certificates and gifts of notebooks and pens for the coming schoolyear.

The farewell ceremony with our host families was held the morning we left Dubreka at the same location where the adoption ceremony took place, so it was nice bookends to our eleven weeks! The ceremony had lots of speeches (including one I had to give in Malinke, the local language of Haute Guinea) and dragged on as almost everything does here in Guinea, but I didn't mind because I was sitting with my favorite petites from my host fam. They got all dressed up for the occasion; it was adorable. The 4-year-old that my family decided is my "husband" spent the ceremony on my lap. The one downer is that, at the end of the ceremony when I went up to get a bowl of rice for my family, my camera was stolen... meaning all of the pictures I've taken of Dubreka and my host family in the past three weeks are gone. I'm working on figuring out a way to get a new camera, but I'm really disappointed and it was a sour note to leave on.

I've been in Conakry, the capital, since Wednesday, staying at the lovely volunteer house. We've had running water, a kitchen, air conditioning... it's unreal. Things I have eaten in the past few days: delicious omlettes and hashbrowns for breakfast, pizza (times two), salads (with LETTUCE and CARROTS ... unable to find these things in Dubreka), brownies and ice cream, the list goes on... Last night we celebrated two volunteers' birthdays that are coming up our first week at site. Julie, the country director, let us take over her house and kitchen (which feels like a little America, it's too bizarre), and we made a giant salad, mashed potatoes, chicken on the grill, and CAKE! We got to swim in Julie's pool, drink some beers, and hang out. It was lovely, and she really does feel like our surrogate mother.

We officially swore in as Peace Corps Volunteers on Friday evening. The ceremony took place on the Peace Corps compound. It was loooooooong (surprise surprise) but we were all so excited for the day to finally be here that I didn't mind. We all got matching fabric and tailored different outfits from it; we looked pretty great if I say so myself. At the end of the ceremony, we finally all stood up, raised our right hands, and recited the oath that all PCVs state and sign. It's a rite of passage (and felt a little bit like graduation all over again). After the oath there was much rejoicing and hugging. We ate a delicious dinner and proceeded to have a dance party (taking advantage of the fact that there was a DJ with real speakers) and a night of celebration.

On a heavier note, for most of our time in Conakry we've been unable to leave the Peace Corps compound due to unrest around the capital. The clashes are not part of the anti-American demonstrations that have been occuring so we are not in direct harm, but there has been some ethnic violence stemming from political strife. You can read about the situation here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/guinea-police-use-tear-gas-to-disperse-fighting-between-ethnic-groups-in-conakry-market/2012/09/21/5cbe1b7c-03e8-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html
It's unsettling to be living in such an unstable country. Although I know I'll be perfectly safe in my little village away from Conakry, the future of Peace Corps Guinea and of the country as a whole seems to be a giant question mark. Peace Corps has evacuated Guinea twice since 2007; we are all hoping that things settle down for our sake and for the sake of Guineans.

On Tuesday I'll be leaving Conakry for INSTALLATION! I don't actually move into my hut until Thursday since I need to go to Kankan to meet the governor, but I'm really almost there. It's a terrifying and exciting prospect. The school year starts almost immediately, so I'll be busy busy busy which is definitely for the best. I'm sad to be leaving the 25 trainees that I have come to love so dearly. This group is so unique and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it! From here on out, I'll have internet access once a month, so I'll update my blog when I can. Thank you to everyone for all of your support. Let the real adventure begin!