Adoption Ceremony

December 6, 2013

Today we arrive at a conference hall in Dubreka, where the place is buzzing with people.  Leaving our luggage in the vans, we enter the building and see rows of chairs lined in front of a stage. Our adoption is a simple affair, with each host family being called to the front, followed by their respective PCT adoptee.  There is lots of dancing and the music that plays before and after our adoption is WAY, WAY, TOO LOUD.  We all partake in a traditional Guinean meal of white rice and sauce before collecting our luggage and leaving with our host families.  We will spend the weekend with them before returning for class at the Peace Corps training center in Dubreka on Monday.

My family made sure I new some French for thinggs in my bedroom

My host family lives a long 25 minute walk away from the training site, and are practicing Muslims.   85-90 percent of Guinea is Muslim, along with a small percentage of Christians and traditional African religions.  Some families are more devout than others, so not all of the community wears the traditional dress all of the time.  I have three brothers, age 19, 14 and 13, and two sisters, age 15 and 5.  My aunt lives with the family as well, along with her three daughters, age 13, 7 and 1. The family owns several chickens that roam inside and outside the family compound.  Typically, domesticated animals roam free here so that they can forage for food during the day. Sadly, they don’t own any goats, though many Guineans do have them.

My mother is widowed, having lost her husband in traffic accident a couple of years ago.   Her husband’s name was Ibraham.  Shortly after arriving and while I am unpacking, I am given my new name.  All of us PCTs are given African names by our new hosts, and we can choose to keep them or take a new one once we arrive at our village in February.

The name I am given is Ibraham.