We're in the midst of our last week of training here in Thies, and I couldn't be more excited to move south on Sunday. PST has been a fun but long 9 weeks, and while I'm still not exactly sure what I'm actually supposed to be doing out there in the bush all on my own, I'm pretty confident that I can figure it out. The most frustrating part of PST - beyond not speaking the language, having any control of your daily activities and sitting through 8 hours of tech lectures - is the purposeful withholding of information. "You'll learn this at IST" is a phrase I never want to hear again. But I get it - if they don't teach us to do anything technical, then we can't do anything technical, and that's the whole point of our first 2 months: looking (and listening and talking) but no touching (or fixing or building). Unfortunately, the Peace Corps is filled with overachieving go-getters who find this idle time infuriating. Fortunately, I am not one of those people. The prospect of two months of sitting around, drinking tea and reading under a mango tree is infinitely appealing to me. After 9 straight weeks of 24/7 socializing and daily emotional debriefings, I'm about ready to move on. Of course, after two months of doing nothing I'll probably be ripping my corn-row braided hair out.
Here's what's up the next few days before the big move:
Thursday: last tech session, then a party with our homestay families here in Thies. This will be awkward and will probably involve an embarrassing dance circle.
Friday: Swear-in and reception at the US Embassy in Dakar, plus more administrative business at PC HQ. Pictures of my fabulous complet to come.
Saturday: Free day to shop, sleep and eat cheeseburgers. Let's skype!
Sunday: 12 hour drive down to Kolda.
Monday/Tuesday: Meet with government officials in Kolda, party hard at the regional house, catch some rays by the pool.
Wednesday: INSTALL. Hopefully there will be a party/some sort of animal sacrifice in my honor.
That's all for now - pictures to come on Saturday post-swear in. I'll say hi to Ambassador for you.
kp
No comments:
Post a Comment