As of Thursday April 14, 2011, I was officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer for the Republic of Namibia. Twenty-one other health volunteers were sworn in as part of Group 33. For the ceremony, all of our Namibian friends and family came to join us as the Country Director gave us the oath of office and were accepted for service by the US Ambassador to Namibia. We were also honoured by a keynote address from the Minister of Health and Social Services, and he also read a letter on behalf of the President of Namibia. We sang and danced. It was nice to begin the ceremony with the national anthems. The TV crew came and we were even on NBC (Namibian Broadcast). Volunteers from each of the language classes gave speeches in the languages they learned. Even though they did not write the speeches, at least not in the languages, they spoke with proper pronunciation and such emotion!
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| My broer Zorro en ek. |
It was also great to see the women of our group in Namibian dresses. It was fun to see all of the different patterns, styles, fabrics, and colours, not to mention that they wore them all so well. It would have been fun to wear something local, oh well. I also can’t wait to wear my Peace Corps Polo’s. They’ve got my name, the Peace Corps logo, and both the Namibian and American flags, one on each sleeve.
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| Elizabeth in a traditional Herero dress and I |
It was an emotional day. We were really relieved that PST is over, excited to be official Peace Corps Volunteers, but sad that we’re not going to see each other on a daily basis. My good friend Helen, helped keep things in perspective and helped me make sure that I enjoy the moment and take a second to celebrate and be proud.
Tomorrow I’m off to Kamanjab and to start my 24 months of service!
Chad, I really don't think that local dress would look so great on you. The shirt and tie is nice, though!
ReplyDeleteI am VERY PROUD of you! You are such an amazing person! I'm excited for what lies ahead for you! I wish I could have been there, but thank you for sharing your experiences with all of us! Love you!
ReplyDeleteWishing you the very best, Chad, as you head to Kamanjab to help our friend Alexia&Pots of Hope! We (at Meridian International Center) are very excited about the micro-garden kick-off on May 7th that she's been telling us about. Hope to see lots of pictures ;-)
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