It's Official

The papers are signed, selections of the ceremony shown on national TV, and the boubous packed away. As of yesterday when I swore to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, I am a fully-fledged, no-more-skirting-around-with-beurocratic-lingo Peace Corps Volunteer. We all dressed up in colorful clothes - mine is really pretty, a complet in tan-colored wax with big, bold designs in brown and red, but I can't put the pictures up yet because this Internet cafe has no disk-drive. Anyway, it was a nice ceremony. They kept it short and sweet, which everyone appreciated, as there was a buffet afterwards. A note on buffets: in the US, people are very good about standing in lines. We understand that if somebody gets there before you, the proper thing to do is wait for them to be served, and as long as the person behind you also follows this unspoken rule, everyone will get through the buffet line without incident. Forget about those rules. Americans are the easiest people to take advantage of in a foreign buffet. Everyone else is fighting for a place at the bar to order a drink, barging through your neighbors to reach a plate of hors d'oeuvres, and all-around jostling for position. Meanwhile, the polite Americans placidly wait their turn on the outskirts, until they get thirsty enough to be unnaturally pushy. It's amazing! I probably stood in the same place for half an hour waiting to get a drink, while some people were on their third glass. I learned my lesson afetr that and mobbed the poor servers carrying trays, along with the others who had clued-in, to grab snacks. Depsite the atmosphere - every man for himself in this buffet - I had a wonderful time. The food was delicious, and contrary to the actions of us all madly grabbing at it, there was more than enough. I stuffed myself silly, knowing that it's going to be a long time before I eat such wonderful things again. Mini-hamburgers, tiny cheeze pizzas, tomatoes stuffed with creamed shrimp, chicken dumplings, and the sweets: jam-filled crepes, fudge brownies, and creme puffs. Oh, I'm salivating again! The party was at the Ambassador's residence in Dakar. A very elegant place, though unoccupied at the moment, as apparantly Senegal is between-Ambassadors. Afterwards we did more paperwork (with the government, theres always paperwork involed) and headed back to Thies for a little relaxation before enjoying a big dinner with our host parents. That was the end of our stage, and the last time all 39 of us will be together until IST in February. Some people left this morning. My taxi is heading out tomorrow at around 6am, so I spent today packing up my things. They barely fit into my baggage, and I have a lot of loose stuff now: the medical kit, water filter and bulky mosquito net issued by the Peace Corps, as well as my bike. At the moment it's hard to imagine how all my stuff will fit in a single 7-place taxi, but I'm prepared to be amazed because tomorrow I and two others are sharing one to Kaolack. There, I plan to go shopping for things to "make my hut a home". It'll be fun!