From PCT to PCV- HEADING WEST!

After completing summer training, I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer!
Site Placement Ceremony: Before swearing in, our directors laid out a large map of Mongolia on the gym floor in Zuunmod and all the PCTs (me) lined the boarder of the map shoeless. One by one, they called out our names and site placement. After they called the name and site of the PCT, the PCT walked onto the map and stood in the location of their new site. I was the second name called… “6th School, Jargalant Soum, Khovd Aimag: Suzanne Cunningham.” I was heading west, far west.
Swearing-In Ceremony: All our school directors and supervisors attended our swearing in ceremony in U.B. At the ceremony, we took an oath and officially became Peace Corps volunteers. After taking the oath, some of the PCTs preformed for the directors and supervisors. For the second half of the summer, Mandy, Mindy, Alyssa, Cassie, and I studied Mongolian Dance. We learned a dance that we preformed at the ceremony- Hilarious! We actually preformed better than we normally do- thank goodness J
Here is a link to checkout traditional Mongolian dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIShdGph8hs
(thanks for the idea J-J-J-J-JACKIE)…Can you believe Shorty even attempted to do this???!!
Khovd Aimag: Although going west initially seemed terrifying, I am happy with my placement. After researching the city, I realized PC did a great job matching my skills and personality to my site placement. All of the community development and school projects I hope to do during my 2 years of service are available in khovd.
If you are interested, wiki highlights khovd aimag…but to really get a feel- COME VISIT!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khovd_(city)
VIVA KHOVD!