Swear In and Affectation!

A ni sogoma! (Good morning, for you non-Julaphones). I thought I’d give you all a quick update on what I’ve been up to since swearing in and becoming a “real” Peace Corps volunteer…

Our swear-in ceremony coincided with the 50^th anniversary of the Peace Corps so it was a huge celebration complete with a fair and lots of publicity. I even got to give an interview in French on national TV and radio! To see the video that was sent to Washington covering the event, go here. The biggest rap star in Burkina, Floby, even wrote a song about the Peace Corps for us. During our swearing in ceremony, the U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso had us raise our right hands and take the oath of office. There’s only one oath for all federal employees so it’s the same one Obama fudged at his swearing in.

So after swearing to uphold the constitution of the United States and defend against all enemies foreign and domestic (I’m not kidding, that’s in there), we were greeted by the first lady of Burkina Faso and spent a few more days in Ouaga to buy things for our new homes.

Yesterday, we were “affectated” (I’m not sure if there is an English word for that), which basically means we are on our own. Some of us are already at our sites and some of us, myself included, are staying at hotels in our provincial capitals picking up a few last minute items (aka lounging at the pool) before Peace Corps takes us to our sites tomorrow.

I’m excited and anxious to begin my service and have no idea what to expect. Having no expectations up until this point has been the best way to go and I hope I continue to be pleasantly surprised. It’s hard to leave the very close friends I have made here who are now scattered all over the country, but I know that they are only a phone call away and that I will see them in three months at in-service training.

My beautiful site makes the whole moving process a lot easier. My neighbor and I rode in on our bus yesterday through the sugarcane hills and palm trees and remembered that we won the lottery when it comes to regions. Even more important, my village is very motivated and happy to have me, and when I need to escape Banfora is only a short bike ride away and has everything I need. Everyone is friendly and helpful and actually talks to me in Jula. I’ve got a lot of great Peace Corps neighbors nearby, too.

So what’s next? Well, for the first three months, my main task is to get integrated into my community. I will be conducting an “etude de milieu”, or a needs assessment. Basically, I’m talking to people to learn about my community and what its development priorities are and building relationships at the same time. Before we can engage in any substantial projects, we have to be integrated (so that people have a reason to listen to us) and we have to build relationships (so that our projects continue even after we’re gone). All of this socializing doesn’t amount to what Americans would consider “work,” but I think it’s crucial to my effectiveness as a volunteer and my personal happiness. I have two whole years in my village, so there’s no rush to jump into projects right away.

I will also be spending a lot of time with my Jula tutor in village so that I will be able to give sensibilizations on various topics in the local language of my community. This is extremely important since a significant portion of my village, especially women, doesn’t speak French. Really, only the government employees who work at the health center and the primary school speak French fluently. I have a great counterpart who works at the health center who is related to the village chief and who I can bounce ideas off of and have introduce me to important people.

I hope all is going well in the good old U.S. of A! Keep the letters coming and let me know if you want to skype at any point since I’ll be riding into Banfora at least once a week to visit the market and check my email. Love and miss you all!