Pat's Post // 'Bout Baba

Pre-IST (4 May - 14 July 2019) Install:     After feeling on top of the world, we packed our lives into sept-places and headed off to our respective regions first thing in the morning, lacking sleep and proper hydration after celebrating swear-in. And reality set in. In Kounghuel, my road town a few of us bought all of our furniture over a couple days with the help of nearby, older, volunteers. And then I was dropped off in my new site, with my new hut, and my new family, and it was all very real. Wolof Rekk.     Here I received my new and final Senegalese name: Babacar Sy . For better or worse, this is also the name of a well-renowned religious leader and I sometimes get called Serigne Babacar Sy. It took a couple days to adjust, but I am blessed to have some key people in this town that have made my integration as smooth as possible. They are: Marie Ndaiye – Selected by the village to come to Thies and learn about Peace Corps and help me integr...

Pre-Service Training (24 Feb. - 3 May 2019) Staging:     After months of questions, paperwork, doctors appointments, packing, and definitely stressing, about seventy of us conglomerated at a hotel outside of Philly for what Peace Corps calls staging. In a nutshell, returned volunteers now working for Peace Corps gave us a full days worth of information on what to expect, what to know, and a healthy reminder that this is the best opportunity to turn back if you have any doubts. One did. Conversations were very heavy at times. Other times, it was very exciting to meet 67 or so like-minded people. We all came from different backgrounds, some with the years of experience in health or business, some willing to travel anywhere and unperturbed by foreign challenges, some with exceptional language skill – you name it – but all with the common goal of helping others. To this day, I think the ability to bring in so many diverse and talented people is one of the greatest quali...