I do solemnly swear...

“....that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 I officially began my service in Jordan as one of the Peace Corps' 25 newest volunteers!

The ceremony itself was great. The US Ambassador to Jordan was there to conduct the official swearing in. More exciting for me was being in the same room with all of my friends (PC friends that is...), my host family, Peace Corps staff, and people from different organizations in Jordan who were there to support us. 

The Peace Corps ladies, dressed in Jordanian traditional dress

Myself, Georgina, Elenoire, Daniel, and James-- the folks from my Arabic class and village during all of PST.

My host fam giving me some celebratory (and good bye) hugs! 

Every new beginning seems to be bittersweet, in the sense that it usually means that something else is ending. Pre-Service Training is known throughout the Peace Corps community as being quite tedious and some even consider it the hardest part of being a volunteer. That's kinda true. But--- I loved the village I was in, my host family, and that I got to see the other volunteers every weekend. So amidst the excitement, it was hard coming to terms that that was all ending.

Busses left bright and early Wednesday morning. Hugs and goodbyes were exchanged as luggage was being dragged and carried to their respective vehicles. I got in a smaller van with 3 other girls who are in the same governate as I am and before I knew it we were off! 

About 40 minutes later, I get a phone call from Aqmad, a PC staff member, telling me there was a giant blue duffel bag with my name on it back at the center. My bad. Our driver was cool and pulled a quick u turn. Back to Madaba we went. We got my bag and decided to get some falafel sandwiches while we were at it.  Then, off we went, for real this time. 

I made it safe and happy. But more on that later.