Site Announcements!

 Last Monday was a very exciting day for all of the stagieres; we had site announcements in the afternoon!  All of us had been waiting anxiously for the past month to find out our new homes for our next two years in Burkina Faso, and Monday was the official day.  But before the afternoon announcement festivities, we had to suffer through morning classes, which was really anticlimactic.  I did find out, however, that I officially passed out of my French classes too, as I passed to Intermediate-Mid on my Saturday language test! 

                

After lunch, our Country Director, the Assistant Country Directors, and other staff members came to the training centre for the site announcement afternoon.  To begin, the staff pulled out a huge map of Burkina Faso and taped it to the wall.  Then, two stagieres came to the front of the room, drew two site descriptions, and each read the description to all of us gathered in the conference room.  After hearing the description, all of guessed whose site was announced, and then, when we guessed the correct person, the person came up and put their picture on the map.  Slowly, descriptions of sites and projects were read, and each sounded exciting and exotic.  I was trying to wait patiently, but my name had still not come up towards the end.  Finally, after I listened to an intriguing and wonderful sounding site description, my name was called, and I had my new Burkinabe home!

                

For security reasons, I am not able to disclose on this blog my actual site location (you can email for the actual location), but I am very very very pleased with my assignment.  I will be living in the lush, cool, southwest corner of Burkina Faso, near Banfora.  Banfora is supposedly one of the most beautiful places in Burkina Faso, known for its mangos and waterfalls, and I am thrilled to be in the area.  As a result of my assignment, I will be learning the language Jula, in addition to French, so I am excited to start those classes soon.  Also, I was thrilled to hear that my new home is wired for electricity, so I will be able to purchase a fan and have lights!

                

In addition to living in the most beautiful part of Burkina, my site project sounds wonderful.  I will be a first-time volunteer in my community, which is a great opportunity, but also a bit intimidating!  I will be working with a highly motivated, intelligent supervisor, who I have only heard amazing things about.  He started an association that teaches young people to be tailors, and apparently, the organization is extremely impressive.  He has been asking for a Peace Corps Volunteer for a long time, and I have heard that he is extremely excited to meet and work with me.  I will be working primarily to streamline their business practices, especially their accounting system.  In addition to the association of tailors, I will also been working with a mango-drying organization, which is a great income-generating activity (IGA) opportunity. 

                

Though by the end of site announcements, the map of all our new homes was a bit intimidating (everyone is so spread out), all of us were energized by the news.  Our country directors did a great job of matching us with specific programs and sites that complement our work experience and interests, and now all of us are counting down the days until swear-in!  We still have four weeks left in stage though, and there is still a lot of things that we have to do before we finish.  Until then, I am going to continue poring through my travel book, trying to imagine my new home as much as possible!