Swear In Ceremony

Saturday, September 18th

On Friday I became an official Peace Corps Volunteer! There was a surprisingly short ceremony at the ambassador’s house in Cotonou, we (the trainees) repeated an oath and now we’re all official. Yay! It was actually really fun, the ambassador’s house is gorgeous! It was overwhelming to be in such a nice place. He and his wife are extremely personable and nice as well. His wife wasn’t even phased when I was gushing about the wonderful bathroom and the mirrors…I never see mirrors!

It was dumping rain throughout most of the ceremony, but we were luckily shuttled back to the Bureau. A group of us managed to get shuttles to Erevan which is this giant American like store in Cotonou with pretty much anything you want. Everything was ridiculously expensive (small thing of maple syrup was $14). I bought Pringles, two snickers bars, cleaning gloves, incense and lots of stuff for a puppy!! I bought dry puppy food, a few things of wet dog food, a collar and a flea collar! I’m definitely going to get a puppy I decided. Maybe if I have a rodent or bug problem I’ll get a kitten later, but I think a puppy will be better companionship at my post. Plus, to be honest, I’ve never lived alone and I’m a huge wuss, so a puppy will aid with that too. :)

When I got back to the Bureau I was sitting in the lounge and heard Kristen, a 3rd year volunteer talking about how she needed to find homes for her puppies! It was so perfect, I already had bought the stuff. So, she and I are going to meet tomorrow (Sunday) and I’m going to take one of her puppies. She thinks they’re around seven weeks old. I don’t know if I’ll get a boy or a girl or what he or she will look like, but I’m so excited! Especially to be getting one from an American. Beninese just don’t really care about dogs. The puppy my host family has is so food crazed and psychotic, I would never want to take her. I’m not sure if they got her like that, or if it’s just because they feed her pate (nutritionless carb) and keep her chained 24/7, but I just feel better about getting a puppy from an American. Anyway, I’ll let you know what he or she is like!

After Erevan and talking to Kristen, me, Jenny and Lissa went to a restaurant and bought these sandwich/wrap things called shawarma. It was SO good! Grilled chicken, tomato, cabbage, pepper and sauce (ketchup and mayo), all grilled together in the wrap. Mmmm. I love food in Cotonou :)

Finally, we were all shuttled back to Porto Novo. We had a party at a hotel, and all stayed the night. It was fun to relax, dress like an American, and have one final get together with the whole group. I don’t think we’ll all be together again until our close of service meeting two years from now, weird!