It’s official….

I’m a Peace Corps Volunteer now!

I swore in this past Friday morning at the American Embassy. It was raining so hard that the streets of Bamako turned into rivers and all the festivities had to be moved inside, but the ceremony was still a moving way to remind us of our purpose here in Mali, and trainees gave speeches in all 5 languages that were studied during this Pre-Service training. Everyone looked great in tailored outfits and bright fabrics. The whole thing was short and sweet. Afterwards we enjoyed our first free afternoon (!) at the American club, relaxing, and got to go out in Bamako that evening. It was a great way to end an extremely intense training and spend some time with people I won’t be seeing for awhile.

Now, I move out to site! Internet access will be questionable for at least a month until I come back into my regional town for continuing language training in October, but as always, I very much welcome letters, email and any correspondance. I will get back to everyone now that I have the time to do so. Check out the “contact me” page for info about sending letters.

In the meantime, I leave you with a few Swear-in pictures (be patient, more to come–they are slow to upload but they are up on Facebook if you are so inclined)