We're Official

As of 10 AM this morning thirty of us swore in as the newest volunteers in Niger. Our swear in was at the US Ambassador's House which could not be more beautiful. The best part of the entire ceremony was our early morning cocktail hour in which they served such American staples as BBQ CHIPS and cake! I really love BBQ chips. Three trainees gave very funny speeches in our native languages and the Ambassador had some really nice things to say as well.

So now we get ready for the really hard part...goodbye. Due to some circumstances we said goodbye to another trainee this week. He was a great guy and a close friend of mine and was definately not an easy goodbye. Not to mention just the beginning of a lot of other really hard goodbyes I have to say in the next couple of days. We have tomorrow off to hang out and prepare to move in to our permanent posts then on Saturday I say goodbye to some of my closest friends that are in other regions. The rules of Peace Corps Niger go a little something like this...first month at post don't leave your village...first three months at post don't leave your region. Considering I've spent everyday in this country with my fellow trainees right beside me it's really scary to imagine being away from them.

But for now I'm pretty darn happy..I got to eat a burger, fries and beer for lunch! It was no Chili's but it was still pretty good. I really love Chili's. In fact I suggest anyone reading this go Chili's today for lunch, order the chips and salsa and a mango tea. (Casey and Kimie's moms if you're reading this please tell them that you want to take them to Chili's for their first meal back. Trust me they'll laugh really hard and seeing as I won't be seeing them for three months I want to send them some humor).

Okay, there are a ton of people waiting to use the computers so I am going to go but hopefully I'll be able to post about the wonderful dinner we're having tonight to celebrate. Just as a teaser it involves mashed potatoes and chocolate cake.