Thursday, February 3, 2011

Here

We've arrived at training. An energetic group of Peace Corps staff and current volunteers met us at the airport, loaded our luggage in the back of a truck and we all piled into vans/busses late last night.

The PC training center is called Tubaniso. Trainers live at the same site as the volunteers. We will be at the training site for the next 5 days. On Tuesday the 8th we ship out to homestays for the remainder of training. Homestay sites are TBD.

Accomodation highlights:
  • Electricity in each hut and ceiling fans. We are enjoying the luxury while we can.
  • We arrived at the end of the "cold season." This means it was 85 when we went to bed last night. (In the coming months we will provide a Fahrenheit vs. Celsius lesson)

Other notables:
  • George rallied volunteers and Malian trainers for a game of sand volleyball before dinner.
  • I saw a lizard let itself into our hut. Since apparently lizards eat bugs, I welcome our new roommate.
  • Peace Corps language exam today confirmed the fact that I (Anna) am a novice at the French language. George's exam is on Saturday.
  • Peace Corps is hosting a Cultural Festival on Sunday at the training center which should give us a glimpse of traditional Malian food and music. We hope you all enjoy America's annual Cultural Festival (aka the Superbowl) on Sunday as well.
  • We will be getting cellphones and it is free for us to receive calls. Don't hesitate to take advantage of your West African long distance calling plans. Phone numbers TBA.
Photos:
  • We will try to take some soon. Based on the internet connection here we may or may not be able to upload much.

3 comments:

  1. Formidable! So impressed and proud of you both (et bravo pour le lézard)

    Papa Andrew

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  2. So looking forward to the pictures and more stories. Got your postcard today...immediately W went to work drawing pictures for you. Maybe you'll have them in a month or so. ;)

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  3. Good work W! I have already requested shower flip-flops, a small mirror for shaving, and more shampoo from Tom, who will be here on Monday. We are excited for contact from home.

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