Graduation and Installation

February 4, 2014

Finally the moment has arrived for us to graduate to Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs).  Not that any of us had any doubts, as G25 (the 25^th group of Guinean Peace Corps volunteers) is a very strong and cohesive group.  We all have been keeping our expectations reasonable as we have already seen the difficulties that the average Guinean faces on a daily basis. 

The festivities began at 11 am at the newly built (but not yet completed) Peace Corps training center in Dubreka.  Because we were inaugurating a new complex, some very important people were invited, including the Prime Minister of Guinea and the American ambassador to Guinea.  In addition, a (or THE) Guinean television station was present to record the ceremony and broadcast it later that day.  There were many introductions, speeches and some Guinean music and dancing, The festivities ended with a traditional lunch of rice and sauce.  (I was a bit disappointed that the fete did not include any American culinary specialties, but perhaps because so many people were invited, it wasn’t in the budget??)



Good music...



and dancing!



Graduation photo with my host mother, two brothers and Alex Laskaris, the U.S. Ambassador to Guinea

 

Then it was off to Conakry for final preparations for our sites.  This included receiving our settling in allowance and first payment as a volunteer. This allowance is comfortable enough to purchase a luxury or two, such as a portable propane stove, a smart phone, or even an American style mattress, but not too comfortable as to make us inaccessible to our villages.  Finally on Friday, we all said our goodbyes to each other as we headed off to our regional capitals and eventually to our individual sites.  (We will be rejoining one another again in three months for a two week training session.)  Soon, we will all be installed, learn a new language, and eventually, begin a project or two.  I for one am looking forward to permanently unpacking my suitcase and finding items that I forgot that I had brought!





Dinner at the Boke volunteer house with the regional support staff.