We finally made it! 

Our 11 week training period has ended, and yesterday we were officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers! We're the first group to do so since the evacuation in 2009, and it was incredibly exciting to be part of such a big event.

Backtracking a little to our last few days of training...

The final days of the "stage" were a whirlwind in Dubreka, mixed with excitment and last minute activities to close out our training. Practice school ended well, and we had a big ceremony...
Continue reading ...

Continue reading ...

As it turned out, Mecca overrode the non-moon seeing Guineans, and we did end up having Ramadan the same day as the rest of the world! Waiting to know for sure about the holiday was a lot like waiting for a snow day back home, except there wasn't any snow, and I knew at 4:00am that the fête was on when I heard the obnoxious banging of drums and a xylophone-like instrument outside my window.


The fête was a long day of praying and eating, and I was up to four meals before two PM rolled ar...
Continue reading ...