"Peace Corps training is like no other training in the world, having something in common with college life, officer's training, Marine basic training, and a ninety-day jail sentence." (Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle by Moritz Thomsen)
Alright, it's official, I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia!!! You might think that with this official announcement and change of events that the stars would align and I would somehow become a new person overnight. But honestly right now, I'm still trying to comprehend the fact that training is over and that I now have two years ahead of me as a volunteer. It's a weird feeling. Like a state of limbo...I'm not in training anymore yet haven't really started my life here in Opuwo. It'll take some time to adjust to my new life here but so far it's been great.
Let me back track though to the swearing-in ceremony we had on Thursday. After 8 weeks of training, we were finally ready to become Peace Corps Volunteers. And it was a great feeling to know that an item on my bucket list is actually coming true. I still can't believe I'm here in Africa doing HIV/AIDS prevention work. It's amazing. That feeling of awe was with me all day...
....as we sang both the Namibian and American National Anthems
....as I pledged as a US Peace Corps Volunteer
....as I gave my swearing-in speech in Otjiherero
....and especially when I took a bajillion pictures with my fellow Volunteers
Man, it seemed like I was in a wedding or something with all the pictures we took together. There were so many moments in time that I just wanted to capture and remember forever. It's often impossible to actually capture the feelings and emotions of the moment, but at least here are some pictures of the day you can see....
And then on my last night in Okahandja, my host mom's friend came over and surprised me by bringing a traditional Herero dress that I could try on. She felt bad that I didn't wear a traditional dress for the swearing-in ceremony, so this was the next best thing. And it was awesome! We ended up having a photo shoot all night long!
And to give you a background on the dress.....Cattle is very important to the Herero people, so the traditional Herero dress depicts that. The dress usually has several petticoats to give the dress volume (similar to the Victorian era, Herero women like big butts :) ) and the otjikiva is the headpiece that represents the horns of a cow and is usually made from rolled fabric.
I was so happy that I didn't have to wear that dress and headpiece all day though...man, that dress was hot!
Alright, it's official, I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia!!! You might think that with this official announcement and change of events that the stars would align and I would somehow become a new person overnight. But honestly right now, I'm still trying to comprehend the fact that training is over and that I now have two years ahead of me as a volunteer. It's a weird feeling. Like a state of limbo...I'm not in training anymore yet haven't really started my life here in Opuwo. It'll take some time to adjust to my new life here but so far it's been great.
Let me back track though to the swearing-in ceremony we had on Thursday. After 8 weeks of training, we were finally ready to become Peace Corps Volunteers. And it was a great feeling to know that an item on my bucket list is actually coming true. I still can't believe I'm here in Africa doing HIV/AIDS prevention work. It's amazing. That feeling of awe was with me all day...
....as we sang both the Namibian and American National Anthems
....as I pledged as a US Peace Corps Volunteer
....as I gave my swearing-in speech in Otjiherero
....and especially when I took a bajillion pictures with my fellow Volunteers
Man, it seemed like I was in a wedding or something with all the pictures we took together. There were so many moments in time that I just wanted to capture and remember forever. It's often impossible to actually capture the feelings and emotions of the moment, but at least here are some pictures of the day you can see....
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| Ramsey, my language trainer, and I |
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| A few of the volunteers and I with Zorro (one of the trainers) |
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| Me giving my Otjiherero speech during the swearing-in ceremony |
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| (L to R) Elizabeth, me, my host mom's friend and my host mom |
And to give you a background on the dress.....Cattle is very important to the Herero people, so the traditional Herero dress depicts that. The dress usually has several petticoats to give the dress volume (similar to the Victorian era, Herero women like big butts :) ) and the otjikiva is the headpiece that represents the horns of a cow and is usually made from rolled fabric.
I was so happy that I didn't have to wear that dress and headpiece all day though...man, that dress was hot!
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| My host mom's friend, me and my host mom |
This is great!
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