I'm official!

Sorry, but all of these pics are all over the place. But the I will do my best to describe! At the top, is a pic of my house during training. Next to that is Jess and I preparing bruschetta for the party. There are some scattered pics from swear in, one with Meagan, JaNise, Kealan, Keiko, and Jess and another picture of me and Terry. I've also posted a pic of my host family (although my dad wasn't in this one!). I will post more pics when I get a chance!

I am in Phnom Penh getting ready to head to site right now, wrapping up what has been a crazy week! We've all said goodbye to our host families, swore in as Peace Corps volunteers, and spent our last few days together before we are out on our own (and not to mention spent WAY too much money on western food and drinks!). The past 2 exhausting months have all been preparing for this very day, and I am pretty nervous!

But before I get to that, I will update about the crazy stuff that is the life of a Peace Corps volunteer. Last Monday, we had our language proficiency interviews (LPI's), which was a major source of stress for many. There are basically 3 tiers- novice, intermediate, and advanced. Within each tier, there are 3 levels- low, mid, and high. In order to be able to swear-in, all of us had to score at least novice high. The interviews consisted of sitting individually and talking to a Khmai person for about a half an hour about different topics (talk about ourselves, compare America to Cambodia, role-plays, etc). My interview went really well, and later that day I found out I had received intermediate-mid, which was the highest score that anyone received. One other girl from Traing received this score and 5 people from Tramkok, so I was very proud of myself and happy that I did so well! My language skills have been coming together quite nicely, which definitely makes everything easier!

On Wednesday, the volunteers from Traing organized a going-away party to thank our LCF's and say goodbye to our host families. We formed different groups and each brought a different dish we liked to eat in America (obviously having to improvise due to lack of ingredients). Jessica, Ben and I made bruschetta, which turned out really well and was a huge hit. Other groups made pancakes, pb&j, carnitas with handmade tortillas, and an array of other stuff. It was a really awesome day and almost all of our families came out to say goodbye and hang out! My host sister and brother came to the party, which I really appreciated. Earlier that morning, I said goodbye to my host mom, sister, and dad and was really surprised how emotional they were! My sisters and mom were crying, which I definitely did not expect. It's weird that in such a short amount of time, people can really make an impact on you and vice-versa. They told me how much they were going to miss me, and I said the same. I printed out a picture of all of us and had it framed and printed a few other pics out, which they proudly displayed in the kitchen. It was the best present I could have given them.

We all headed to Takeo and checked into guesthouses because the following day was our last seminar day as trainees! We spent Thursday discussing logistics and then headed to Phnom Penh that night. Friday was the big day, and we swore in! We met the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia (who gave us the official oath) and the Cambodian Minister of Education (he's a pretty big deal!). It was such a great feeling to have made it to this point, and signifies another exciting journey that lies ahead as we head our separate ways and do what we came here to do! Friday night was a TON of fun, and we all went to a bar and celebrated being official volunteers, along with some K2's who joined in the festivities. Yesterday, I literally ran errands all day in Phnom Penh, trying to stock up on items I can't get at site since I'll be on lockdown for 3 months. I bought oatmeal, pasta, lots of peanut butter, jelly, crackers, olive oil, spices- quite expensive. I am responsible for 2 of meals every day, so I am going to try to cook. Anyone who wants to send me a package, non-perishable foods that I can't get here are always welcome! I also went to the market and bought some hideous long running shorts (gotta keep it conservative here), postcards, a knock off Northface traveling backpack and some other odds and ends. After a long day, Keiko, Jessica and I treated ourselves to a Swedish massage at a steep $18, but well worth it! Then we had DELICIOUS Lebanese food and I left way too full, but definitely very happy!

Sorry this blog is lacking specific details, but I want to load pics, which is going to take a while...so I will post some more later and try to post pics now! I am going to update my address in Svay Rieng, where letters and/or packages can be sent directly to me, in a few days so look out for it!

Miss everyone!