Moving to Botu

Today is the day!  It feels a lot like the Dr. Seuss book,  Oh, the places you'll go right now.  Today after visits to government officials in Tamba, I will be driven in my last official Peace Corps approved ride to my village of 2500 people and install into Botu.  I will also be accompanied by a current Agfo volunteer, a Mandinka speaker (in the Mande family) for support and company, a nice tradition.  As I install we will walk around and greet the village leaders, Almami, village chief (my host father), among others. Then they will move all of my stuff into my hut...if they can fit everything, and set off!  It's exciting, scary, and freeing all at the same time.

After install I'll spend 5 concentrated weeks at my site, learning as much Bambara as I can, soaking up the daily life, and settling into my new home.  I've bought chalkboard paint to paint the inside walls of my hut, pictures to hang, maps to stretch out, and a beautiful garden to start planting in.  The 5 week challenge is a Peace Corps tradition where volunteers try and spend 5 consecutive weeks (35 nights) in your village.  This does not preclude a trip or two to skype with my family, but it is a concerted effort to show your village that you are there for them, to live with them, and to immerse yourself in what will become your life.  I'm ready.

I want to thank you all for reading and commenting about my training with Peace Corps Senegal, the struggles and the successes, but do stay tuned.  This is only the beginning.  Now is when the real work begins, the real work partners forged, and the relationships formed across cultures.

This is where my two years in Peace Corps will be: