“Demyst, Demystified”

After a few weeks of intensive training, they give us the best present we could ever ask for…Demystification! This is an opportunity for us to spend a long weekend with a current volunteer and see what it’s like to be a PCV in Niger. I was placed in the Tillaberi region with two agricultural volunteers who have been in country for 6 months. It was really awesome to hear their stories, reassuring to hear how much of the language they spoke within such a short period of time, and the best part was being able to get away from the stresses of training for a few days. We ate dinner a few times with a counterpart (a member of the community who you work with on your projects), but one of the best things about Demyst was being able to eat something other than rice, beans, and millet. I had different types of pasta and even an egg sandwich. Yeah…I get excited over an egg sandwich – It’s that desperate. The absolute BEST thing about Demyst was when the volunteer I was with had her mom call my mom and I got to talk on the phone for the first time in 3 weeks! I spoke with Momma, John, Matt, Grandma, Grandpa, Amanda, Kate, Emma, and Miller – I honestly couldn’t have been more excited about anything. You all made my life! I returned from Demyst re-energized and everyone kept asking me why I was so happy over the next few days…So thanks for the phone calls – I appreciate them more than you will EVER know!