i'm official

Yesterday, at the US Ambassador’s house, I and twenty-three other agro-forestry trainees were officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) of the Gambia. We had to raise our right hands and take an oath and everything! We celebrated by hanging out at the beach for most of the day and in the evening we had a party at the PCV hostel with current PCVs who came into town just for the occasion. We spent most of today shopping for items to take with us to our sites. I purchased staple food items, a trunk, a propane tank and cook top, and quite a few miscellaneous items. Let’s just say I managed to spend every last cent of my ‘move-in-allowance.’
Tomorrow I will move to my permanent site. We will leave at 8am, but I probably won’t arrive at home until after 5pm. I super excited to finally get settled in and not have to live out of suitcases and trunks. I am also looking forward to getting to know the member of my community, practicing language, and learning more about the Gambian way of life. In three months, we will have an In-service training (IST). By then, I hope I will be able to better understand how to implement the skills I will be taught because I better understand the situation and circumstances of my community and the people there.
Even though I have only been here for two and a half months, I feel like I have learned so much. I am being forced to think about things I used to have the luxury of ignoring. I am getting to interact with people (Gambian and American) that I would otherwise never have had the opportunity of meeting.

Well, I it's getting late and i have lot to do. I probably won't have access to the internet for a long while. But when I do, I will be sure to write an update.

hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!