Community Based Training is over and I can’t be any happier about this fact. Ok, so it was not all bad actually there were some really great moments in class and of course on days off. One of my friends actually got placed in 3in Amir, Fes for her final site and Peace Corps could not have picked a better person for that site. It is really a lovely place and not far off from anything that a person would need, but if I had grown up there I would feel trapped. Samantha, the girl that is going there is going to be such a great influence on all of the youth there and just do wonders. 3in Amir is one of those communities that is going to benefit so much from a Peace Corps Volunteers. What made it not be the best CBT site was that any time we actually did something and the told them that we were leaving in two months they were disappointed and lost interest in us. Samantha is going to be living with a wonderful host family and is going to make such a difference in this place and I can’t wait to hear more of her story.

On Wednesday May 23, 2012 I was officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. We all piled into bussed from our hotel in Rabat and made our way to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Surrounded by my friends I could not stop myself from thinking back to College graduation last May, bound with the same knowledge that all of my friends tomorrow would be off to all different parts of the country. We sat and listened to speeches from our lovely Country Director, the Ambassador, and fellow volunteers. In just a few moments we would be volunteers, and we would be off to our own little corners for the countries to try and make even the slightest of differences.

I actually felt something at this ceremony unlike in college. Yes we sat in boredom just like our college graduation, but when we stood and stated our oath I felt as though something not only had been but was going to be accomplished.  That night was spent with friends , talking about our sites, plans for the future, goodbyes, and  see you at Christmas in Kazakhstan (for those of us what were transferred late to the Morocco group).  We stayed up much too late seeing as we all had long days of travel ahead of us, but it was totally worth it.

The next day I packed up my things and made my way to OuedZem with my site mate and two other volunteers that were living nearby.  Jasmine and I lucked out. Our karma has been justified after such horrible CBTs. OuedZem is amazing, our host family and the house we are currently living in is remarkable. According to our Peace Corps emotion chart we are still in the honey moon period so we are not going to get our hopes to far up, but as of now OuedZem has welcomed us with open arms and are excited to have us here, as of now one of my biggest concerns is letting people down.

 OuedZem  is the epitome of posh corps, and one knows that you are here as a government pawn, but there is still so much to be done.  The list of potential projects grows with each walk around town, and I can’t wait to get settled into my own place and really get started. I can now see myself living in Morocco for the next two years which is not something I was able to say before the swearing in ceremony. My Peace Corps experience will not be stereotypical, and I am definitely as far away from living with a nomadic tribe in Kazakhstan as one can get, but this will be an experience none the less with many ups and countless downs. 

I, Jenna Spencer Mc Ewan, 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 purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps, serving Morocco to the best of my abilities and maintaining the respect due its people. So help me god.