Almost a Volunteer...

Hi Friends.

Well, I'm approaching literally the last day of Peace Corps Training. I've made it through (almost). Tomorrow is my last day of language class until IST and then we probably have a culture and last tech class (an important last tech class at a local restaurant and PC haunt). Today was the LPI (Language Placement Interview)and then all of the PCtrainers and training staff and APCDs locked themselves in a training room and talked about all of us for about 3 hours. It was nerve-wrecking to think about, esp since I didn't feel like my LPI went very well. Two weeksago, during the site visit, I tested into the minimum level required to become a Volunteer, which is awesome, but you have to be continually improving. Yesterday was not a good language day for me and most of the questions I received during my LPI were not things that I had been studying, but rather aspects ofthe language we only covered in class within the past two days. Great, huh? Plus, many of my questions were about my job and how I would handle different things that I don't even know how to convey in English, let alone Serere. Anywho, it made for a not very good day as we waited around for the results and I was in a bit of a bad mood and thus did not want to hear my results. Well, then around 4:30 or so, the loud and boisterous parade of language trainers come out of the decision room and people swarmed them, well, kind of. I kind of avoided it, not wanting to know how poorly I did and especially not hear in front of other people. I tried to wait for my language trainer to be apart from the group and when I did, I totally lost her! Anywho, almost an hour later I found her while standing around waiting to leave and the trainee/trainer soccer match creating general chaos. A fellow trainee "encouraged" me to ask my level and by "encourage" I mean asked for me, in Wolof even, haha. At least I had the vocabulary to joke back in Serere and explain that she wanted me to know, haha (thanks AZ, and just wait until you start you Serere training!) Anyway, it was a good way to break the ice and put myself at ease and I even wound up, by some grace of God, testing a level higher than I did two weeks ago,which is rockin'! Tomorrow I will actually hear feedback about it and I'm sure I only attained that level based on my performance last week and not from the fact that I kept confusing verb tenses during the test today...oh well. It's a good feeling and weight off my shoulder, in anticipation of Installation (see: Abandonnement by a PC rangerover) on a Mefloquin day (notoriously bad days). My family tells me that my Serere is good, but I'm also comfortable with them and their accent, but in just a few days I return to the crazy accent of the Delta!

Friday is Swear-In at the US Ambassador's Residence, alongside Korean and Japanese Volunteers who are starting their own various terms of service. After Swear-In in Dakar, we return to Thies for a party with our families and then our stage starts parting ways early Saturday morning. I myself, leave my family Saturday, head to Kaolack with 2 others Sunday and spend Sunday and Monday shopping for thingsfor my new home, and am officially Installed on Tuesday. Prayers, thoughts, and phonecalls would be really appreciated that week and the following weeks as I adjust to life as a Volunteer in a village of about 500.

A shout out to all of the family and friends who have sent letters, emails, and carepackages. I really really appreciate them and they will basically become the mental health savers during my two years of service in Ndiomedi.

Here's a picture of me with the "special" present in the package from my fam