The Day it Officially Began

Monday, August 12^th, is the day I officially became a Peace Corps Volunteer.  That morning, we woke up and got dressed in our “Obama lappa” (also known as the finest lappa suits we owned), and boarded the bus for Monrovia.  We were all bluffin’ to the best of our abilities and more than ready to be sworn in as volunteers.

Each volunteer was allowed to bring one family member from their host family, and I chose to bring my middle sister, Mona.  My host father had attended this ceremony twice before with my family’s previous volunteers, so I asked him to let Mona attend with me instead.  He approved of this idea, and I was so grateful Mona was able to attend this year.

Mona and I after swearing in

We were hosted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the presence of Her Excellency, the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  Also in attendance were several Ministers of Liberia, our Country Director, and many other important Liberians and ex-pats.  After speeches from several government officials, our own country director, and a dance from a local traditional dance troupe, we all rose and were sworn in as volunteers.  (Did I mention we swore the same oath that the President of the United States takes!?) 

After our swearing-in, Ma Ellen made some remarks.  She spoke of the importance of Peace Corps in Liberia and how excited she was to finally see volunteers in all fifteen counties of Liberia.  Her excitement about our contribution to the educational system of Liberia was obvious, and I think that it really encouraged all of us to make the most of our next two years of service.

Following the ceremony, we were invited to a brief reception with our host families.  We also took a group picture with Ma Ellen, so that was pretty neat.  This was a bittersweet ceremony, however, due to the fact that our country director, Vince, was leaving soon after.  His time in Liberia is now finished, and he is living in Washington, D.C. with his family working for Peace Corps Headquarters.  The associate country Director, Jason, was also wrapping up his time in Liberia, and headed for other opportunities.  While we were all excited to be official volunteers, we were sad to see two people we had just met leaving us. 

Sarah and I as Volunteers!

Sarah, Vince, and I
We miss you!

The new group of Volunteers
Ma Ellen, the President of Liberia, is in the front in the green.

Overall, the day was more happy than sad.  We were now official Peace Corps Volunteers and we were headed off to our real jobs around Liberia.  I have waited for this moment for the last year, and it’s finally here.  Good things do come; they just sometimes take time.