so here's the first entry in my new blog! sorry, my old e-mail address expired so i opened up this new one. to catch you up, i finished my ten weeks of training i'm now officially a peace corps volunteer! i was sworn in at the beginning of december and i got to give a speech in french at the ceremony to the rest of the trainees, our host families and the ambassador. it was short and sweet and a bit sappy. i tried to use the phrase "you are the wind beneath my wings", but i think the meaning may have been lost in translation.
the next day i made my way up to maroua, the capital of the extreme north province, to pick up my new dog :) he's a loveable two year old mangy mutt that i inherited from a volunteer who just finished her peace corps service. i named him mclovin after the superbad character, but i think now that houdini may have been more appropriate as he is able to jump fences and squeeze through crevasses like he has magical powers. other than that and the one time he caught a chicken and brought it into the yard, he is a really great dog.
when i reached my village, i moved into my new house. it's big, with a spare bedroom for visitors (hint, hint) and i have running water and electricity, so i feel like i'm living the good life after three months of bucket baths. it's also really nice to cook my own food and plan my own schedule.
work-wise, right now i'm doing a lot of observation at the hospital and meeting people in the village. there was a big vaccination campaign my first week in kolofata and the surrounding villages, so i got to spend a bouncy day in a land rover touring the health district and another couple days giving vitamin a to swarms of little children. this month i'm hoping to start teaching at the women's center, get regular kanuri lessons, and start doing a big community health assesment.
i'm settling to village life little by little. i have a very motherly neighbor conveniently named mommy who has given me some cooking lessons. there is kind of a funny gang of foreigners here- there's the french medical student fabian, the linguistically challenged egyptian teacher at the franco-arab school, me (the wholesome midwesterner?) , and my funny post-mate and temporary roomate adam from oregon who i think is a bit apalled at my well, my low ambition to bring modern comforts like a fridge and couch into my house. i like a lot of things about this place, like how i always feel like i'm on a beach walking through the sandy streets, how i have a regular egg lady and meat man, and that people greet me in multiple languages.
right now i'm back in maroua spending the holidays with my friends in the province. maroua is by the way a wonderful city with cheese, hamburgers, pizza, and smoothies. we created a christmas tree with neem tree branches and exchanged secret santa gifts at the peace corps house here.
i hope everyone had a merry christmas and has a happy new year, i miss you all very much!
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