I`ve been installed!

Hey everyone! I have many amazing things to say today! Im in a cyber cafe so please excuse the typos. Im in a rush, and having issues with the keyboard.

Ok, down to the good stuff. i have started my life as a volunteer! I was sworn in at the ambassadors house on Nov 7th and we were on national news, so i heard. I said goodbye to my host family in Pout and set off qcross the country to start my 2 years of service. Yes, this includes 2 years being the only white person in my village, working on making the lives of the locals better. I am oficially a newbie in the area. there are 16 voluteers in my region and we all consollidate in Kedougou, where there is a peace corps center, just for this purpose. I will be going there every week or two to do this and that.

I was installed nito my village, Thiabedji, on November 11th in the evening. It was a humbling experience being dropped off in a village in which u know nobody, and watching the car drive away knowing that you are about to be on your own for two full years. Well, i realized that i am gratefull for the training i received, and the time i spent with my family in pout because in my new village i made myself right at home! i whipped out the crappiest Pula Futa, all that i know and they loved it. I got some 'me time' to unpack all of my belongings. I have a lot of stuff. Almost too much for my tiny hut. oh yes, my hut! It is so cute! it is small and round. the roundness gives me a bit of a fung shuei feeling. i have my own hole in the ground to potty in, and i have a mostlu private fence, kinda falling apart, tiny back yard. its all mine! I wanted to get a puppy and raise it, but (mom will be happy to hear this), they alredy have a dog, named Aggie, who is very friendly and just like an american dog. She was the dog of a former volunteer that left over 2 years ago. the family loves this dog and take great care of her. and the dog likes me, yay! She is just darling.

Ok, a bit about my family. Right away my favorite members are my sister and her husband who live in the hut right next to me. They both speak French which instantly closes a huge communication gap. I have only spent 1 full day in my village and my sister took me in right away, and we spent the whole day together. She taught me loads of Pula Futa. I got to cqrry water on my head. She taught me to cook and let me help a bit. We talk a lot and if Im quiet she asks me what i'm thinking. I was told that she is 20 years old. She has three kids, ages 6, 3, and 1. Her husbqnd is nice too, and very helpful. My sister's name is Dallanda and my brother is Omar. Last name.... Ba

There are a lot more people in the house. Dallanda and i sat for over an hour going over who everyone is. my host mom is named Adema. She is pretty old and her husband has passed away. She has 7 kids. The older daughters are married and living in other places. I think 2 are in Thiabedji. Some of her younger kids qre in other cities going to school. two of her kids are living in my household, Omar and Kadietou, who is 14 years old. there are two other couples living in the household. I think they are the brother of the diseased dad and the other is rzelated so,ehow but i dont remember. anyway. between those couples there are 5 kids. That makes 9 kids all together. There is one 14 yearold. The next oldest is 9. The rest are 6 and below. Several are 3 or under. In other zords I have rugrats coming out my ears! They are great though. I need more time to get to know them. Usuman, Dienabou and Fatu are my favs so far, they are Dallanda's kids.

My village is breathtaking. The car ride to it was breathtaking. There are mountains everywhere and lush forests. The whole aera just has a great vibe. The bike ride is very hilly! this is the only area in all of senegal that isnt flat! in other words, i am going to get in great shape biking back and forth. i biked to town this morning for a meeting. Its 17 miles away. i got up and left at 6am, before the sun rose. Other than almost biffing it when riding rediculously fast down a hill in the dark and running into a trench, the ride was great. I got to watch the sun rise. It was beautiful and exhausting.

So, i am starting a new life. i have tons of people to get to know. I have a new lanuage to learn. Engligh? It will have to beco,e my third language because it will not be in my village! I love that part a lot. Its quite a test of character being the black sheep. i know there will be hard times. I already got teased by some local lazy guys. They were teasing me for being tired because i dont work like the women. I told them to try to spend 8 hours in a classroom learning english and not being able to speak anything else and see how they felt. ha.

There are two baobab trees in my compound.

well im running out of time. ill be back in town for thanksgiving, so ill prolly write more then!
en ontuma!

my new name is Dienabou Diallo. Named after a village elder.