I'll make this email brief but do something fun... like include a link to pictures! Hopefully it works. Not all of them are real artistic masterpieces, but there are a few good ones that provide a little scenery, visual aid, and me in interesting outfits.
As of about 10 days ago, I am officially sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer! They gave me a new ID card that says "VOLUNTEER" instead of "TRAINEE" to commemorate the occasion. We all had a fabulous day of eating crazy things like guacamole on bread and sausage on sticks and BROWNIES, and it was especially fun because everyone was dressed up absolutely ridiculously.
The day before, we had a reception with our training host families, which was also super fun. One of the other volunteers basically had the man version of my Princess Jasmine outfit, which prompted everyone to take pictures of us all day yelling about how we looked like the wedding scene from Aladdin. We were treated to a performance by some Pulah Futa performers, which felt like going to the Senegalese circus... except, things that are mere illusions at the American circus actually just really happened. LET ME ILLUSTRATE: at one point, one of the men threaded a string through his cheek. And he actually... was just doing it... and it was bleeding everywhere. Just stuck a pin through his mouth and his cheek and pulled a string through for 3 minutes. In the audience, all of the Americans were just staring, shocked and kind of frightened and confused, and all of the Senegalese were cheering because it was a feat of human strength... But there was also a lot of tumbling and dancing and drumming, and at one point, some of the volunteers in my stage did a fiddle/guitar/harmonica version of "Wagon Wheel" and then all the Senegalese performers joined in -- it was a beautiful moment of Americana crossed with Senegal!
But yes, as of last Monday, I have been living in my new place! It is just really great. The space, the family, and most of all, the newfound free time! My house is basically a guest house next door to a family. I have a living room, a bedroom, and my very own bathroom -- quite the luxury! I even... GET READY FOR THIS... have my own Western-style toilet? I don't know, I'm skeptical of whether it is actually going to work for 2 years, but we'll see. So I've spent a lot of the past week settling in, buying stuff like cots and drapes and giant trunks that small animals and insects cannot destroy.
And my family! They seem awesome. First of all, I feel super safe because my father is a gendarme, one of my... I don't know, nephews or something? is in the military, and my host sister is a nurse. The three youngest kids in the house are legitimately ADORABLE, and we've already had a few dance parties. There is also a 2 month old baby boy, which will continue to feed my need for having a baby around to hold on bad days. Everyone also just seems really respectful of me having my own space, which I think will be invaluable for the two years I'll be there.
I've slowly started going to my job, but I'm really not going to be working "full-time" per se for about two more months... until that point, I'm supposed to be settling into living my Senegalese life, practicing Wolof, and getting to know the people I'll be working with. I'm also catching up on all sorts of literature about previous projects my organization has done -- many of which are written in French, so it's kind of slow going.
It has also been kind of a hard week because on my first night in my new house, I received news that my Uncle Larry in South Bend had passed away after a battle with cancer. It's very strange to be in a place so far away from my family when everyone is going through a rough time. So any thoughts or prayers that anyone can pass along to my family right now would be appreciated.
But on the whole, I'm slowly adjusting here and feeling better every day. I have a bike that sometimes works, I found a place that sells giant delicious cream-filled donuts for about $1, and today I went to a Catholic church that had music like the soundtrack from The Lion King (will The Lion King be the recurring theme of my time here? WE SHALL SEE!). Wish me luck as I try to find the balance of doing lots of integrating while still trying to feel productive for the next few weeks... much love!
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