Training is finished! I have officially been sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Now on to Installation, a fancy and awkward term for moving to your new home for two years! Another sentence that ends with an exclamation point!
Here is me and the others from my language class at our swearing in ceremony with our wonderful teacher.
The next day four of us loaded up in a car and started driving to our sites. Day one was 12 hours of beautiful vistas on the way to Antsohihy!
The next day we drove into Ambanja to drop off the first volunteer along the way. There we met Mama Peace Corps, a beautiful Malagasy woman who loves Peace Corps volunteers and baked us an amazing cake and a spectacular dinner!
After a few days in Ambanja getting our friend settled we left to Nosy Be to install the next volunteer. Here we are going out of Ankify the port city/gateway to Nosy Be!
And here is Nosy Be! This was taken just a few steps down the street from the Lycee Mixte where our fellow volunteer will be teaching!
We stayed at a hotel just a few miles outside the main city of Helle-ville. The beach was gorgeous, and we were treated to views like this every morning and night!
But all that time on one island got boring, so we took a side excursion to Nosy Komba to see some Lemurs! Here's me on the boat ride over looking quite dashing if I do say so myself...
And here's me with a lemur on my shoulders! They go wild for bananas, so our awesome tour guide put some on your hand and stood back to let them go to work. Their feet are so soft and they are very gentle and fluffy, just don't touch their tails!
On the way out of Nosy Komba the local women have all their tablecloths and sheets out for sale on the beach leaving views like this for all to see!
Next we hopped over to Tany Kely, a tiny little island with an amazing beach where we swam with sea turtles and relaxed in the sand. Of course we also left a message for all our friends and family back home to see!
But, alas! All good things must come to an end! And so it was that we departed from Nosy Be for Antsiranana (AKA Diego Suarez). This was a very cool map of Diego in the Chief of Police's office. We were here for another install at the university.
To welcome ourselves to Diego, we all chipped in and cooked a few quiches for dinner. They turned out amazingly delicious.
By the time this posts, I'll be installed in my permanent site just outside of Diego called Sadjoavato! I've already stopped by and seen my house and met some neighbors, but I forgot to take pictures. The next post will be all about it though, I assure you. I'd update this from my site when I'm installed, but there is no electricity at my site, so also no internet. Fear not though my faithful followers, for my bank is in Diego and so is the regional Peace Corps office so I will be able to access the internet enough to keep you all informed!
