Call out your names & I'll tell you what hut you're in.

Stepping off the plane, all 64 of us were surprised to see the removable stairs that led directly onto the runway. From airplane to pavement. The heat at 10pm was surprising, but 2 days later, it's cool and there's a breeze. Sleeping under a mosquito net and using the bathroom by squatting in a hole in the ground in a cement outhouse-like structure is interesting, to say the least, but it's refreshing. Like camping, but much more permanent. Our week here at Tubaniso -the training center is apparently luxurious compared to what we'll experience at homestays and later at our own sites: we have running water (though cold) in our outdoor showers, and electricity in the dining hall (though it goes out on occasion), which is where the internet is. Also, our water is purified for us and our food is prepared by staff. It's a lot like summer camp. We have iteneraries and daily sessions- immunizations after lunch, breaks in between language courses, etc. In a few days, we'll receive our cell phones (yay!) and have been told that texting the US is as cheap as twenty to thirty cents a text and receiving calls and texts for us is free. Pretty excited about that.
Our group of huts is the married people compound. 3 married couples are here and then theres our hut of 3 single gals. Everyone is bright eyed and curious, wondering what language we'll be assigned and to what region. Since I ranked "novice low"-the lowest French level possible, I will most likely be speaking Bambara, since it's spoken in the majority of the country, making travel for me easier. The pros at French will be taught a minority language and will have French to fall back on when travelling.
I'm still excited and no, I haven't freaked out  yet, but apparently that kicks in later, once we're alone in our village for the first time. Like many others, I prefer to be somewhat close to another volunteer and would LOVE if another volunteer was in my same village, though that's not common. There are more than a handful that want to be in isolation. I can't imagine.
So far, I'm journaling at night and pretty busy during the day, enjoying the company of everyone in our training group, who is made up of some pretty interesting, but surprisingly normal people. We're from all over, something I was excited for. Something annoying (a word of advice for new parents): every list and nametag has me as Patricia, so no one gets my name right. Everyone gets confused and wonders who Lauren is. Thanks Kim & Jeff.