Lots of News to Report!
Hi Everyone!
It's been a long time since I last blogged and a lot of exciting events have happened!
First off, we had an AMAZING swearing in ceremony at the American embassy in Dakar, Senegal. The embassy property was alongside the coast; there was a breath-taking view of the ocean. It was a truly special event. My mom's Senegalese friend, who she's known for over 30 years, even surprised me at the ceremony! I had zero idea he was going to come. The ceremony was a wonderful end to 10 weeks of intense language and agricultural training. All 51 of us swore-in as official Peace Corps Senegal Volunteers, with the American ambassador to Senegal giving a speech!
Right after swearing in, we were whisked away to our sites. I installed at my beautiful village of 130 people a few days after. Long story short, I love my village. Integrating here is a long process, that requires loads of patience and persistence, but is probably one of the most rewarding endeavors I've ever undertaken. A small (and cute :) example is how when I arrived this little girl from a neighboring compound, Mariama, would run away from me every time she saw my face. It was pretty amusing, but I also wondered if this would go on during my two years of service. Just yesterday, a little over a month after my installing, Mariama ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and had a big smile on her face! It honestly brought me so much joy, and she is just one of the wonderful kids I get to talk, play, and joke around with every day in my village. This is a picture of myself with some of my favorite kids in village, Jennaba, Samba, Wourribella, and Oussmane.
About ten days after installing, it was Christmas! I decided to join my volunteer friends at our Tambacounda regional house to celebrate, and it was one of the best Christmases I've ever had, despite being far from my family and friends. I got to jam out to Christmas music, have loads of yummy cookies, eat a wonderful Christmas eve dinner, and even go to mass! I never thought at this time last year that I would be spending Christmas in such a different place with people I had barely known, but I'm SO grateful that I had this opportunity. It was truly wonderful.
After Christmas, I went back to village for a 23 day stay before leaving for language seminar. These 23 days were great for integration and gave me the time to get to know my family better and the wonderful village members. I decorated my hut and put up pictures of all my family and friends from home and got to show my family and friends in village! This stay was also great for learning the language. I walk around all day every day with a tattered little notebook where I write down new words I hear and ask people about. I'm slowly understanding people's conversations much better, which is so encouraging and rewarding!
One of my joys at site are my evening runs. Every night, my runs are #blessed with beautiful sunsets. After speaking pullu fuuta all day with my family and community members, it's nice to run and zone out to American top 50 songs! This is just one of the amazing sunsets I've encountered:
Today, I got to beautiful Kedougou for 5 days of language classes before heading back to site. I'm so glad to be able to be reunited with my Peace Corps friends who speak the same dialect as me and go chasing some waterfalls down here in Kedougou. We'll be spending the next few days at one of my Peace Corps friends' village with her family and a Peace Corps language teacher. I'm excited to continue making progress in the language and discover a new part of the country!
I want to send a huge thanks out to my family and friends because you all give me so much strength and encouragement while I'm here! I can't wait to share more of this wonderful roller coaster ride with you all :)
xo,
Sophie
It's been a long time since I last blogged and a lot of exciting events have happened!
First off, we had an AMAZING swearing in ceremony at the American embassy in Dakar, Senegal. The embassy property was alongside the coast; there was a breath-taking view of the ocean. It was a truly special event. My mom's Senegalese friend, who she's known for over 30 years, even surprised me at the ceremony! I had zero idea he was going to come. The ceremony was a wonderful end to 10 weeks of intense language and agricultural training. All 51 of us swore-in as official Peace Corps Senegal Volunteers, with the American ambassador to Senegal giving a speech!
Right after swearing in, we were whisked away to our sites. I installed at my beautiful village of 130 people a few days after. Long story short, I love my village. Integrating here is a long process, that requires loads of patience and persistence, but is probably one of the most rewarding endeavors I've ever undertaken. A small (and cute :) example is how when I arrived this little girl from a neighboring compound, Mariama, would run away from me every time she saw my face. It was pretty amusing, but I also wondered if this would go on during my two years of service. Just yesterday, a little over a month after my installing, Mariama ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and had a big smile on her face! It honestly brought me so much joy, and she is just one of the wonderful kids I get to talk, play, and joke around with every day in my village. This is a picture of myself with some of my favorite kids in village, Jennaba, Samba, Wourribella, and Oussmane.
About ten days after installing, it was Christmas! I decided to join my volunteer friends at our Tambacounda regional house to celebrate, and it was one of the best Christmases I've ever had, despite being far from my family and friends. I got to jam out to Christmas music, have loads of yummy cookies, eat a wonderful Christmas eve dinner, and even go to mass! I never thought at this time last year that I would be spending Christmas in such a different place with people I had barely known, but I'm SO grateful that I had this opportunity. It was truly wonderful.
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One of my joys at site are my evening runs. Every night, my runs are #blessed with beautiful sunsets. After speaking pullu fuuta all day with my family and community members, it's nice to run and zone out to American top 50 songs! This is just one of the amazing sunsets I've encountered:
Today, I got to beautiful Kedougou for 5 days of language classes before heading back to site. I'm so glad to be able to be reunited with my Peace Corps friends who speak the same dialect as me and go chasing some waterfalls down here in Kedougou. We'll be spending the next few days at one of my Peace Corps friends' village with her family and a Peace Corps language teacher. I'm excited to continue making progress in the language and discover a new part of the country!
I want to send a huge thanks out to my family and friends because you all give me so much strength and encouragement while I'm here! I can't wait to share more of this wonderful roller coaster ride with you all :)
xo,
Sophie
Thanks for this post, Sophie! It's great to get a window into your life in Senegal, and hear about all your learning (especially that language instruction - teach us some phrases in pullu fuuta next time!). Sending warm thoughts to you, your host fam, and your Peace Corps family there. - Kyler
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Sophie!! Think of you often so it is great to hear you are having such beautiful experiences! I agree with Kyler on Jan 19th, post a few words for us to learn - be sure to include phonetic pronunciation :>))
ReplyDeleteSharon