Yes, I passed all the tests and took the oath.  It was a nice little
ceremony including speeches from the country director and the U.S.
ambassador to Mali, who surprisingly speaks awful French.  After that
we got celebratory pizzas and a latte at the Broadway Cafe, a cool
little place run by a Malian who lived in NYC and decided to build an
American-style coffee house in Bamako.  Later in the evening Thor and
I had our last meal together at a cheesy Mexican place that caters
mostly to expats from the USA.  I got a burrito and a beer/tequila
drink called a Desperado which is made in France of all places. 
After that we had our big party at the bureau with about 150
volunteers from all across Mali, some of whom rode 16 hours all the
way from Gao or Kayes to be there.  All told there were 1,200 beers
for the event, so many that we had enough leftovers to throw three
more parties at Tubani So in the ensuing three nights.  It was all
fun while it lasted, but it will be nice to actually get to site and
start doing what we came here to do.  So much of training involves
being in transition that it is REALLY good to be close to getting
settled in.
     Yesterday we finally embarked on the 400 kilometer bus ride; the bus
that goes to Sikasso is actually fairly nice by Malian standards,
though the quarters are narrow and it gets extremely hot in there
this time of year.  I brought my cat with me, so he will be coming
down on Friday when I finally make the move to my village.  So, in
the meantime I will divide my time between taking care of mundane
details like food shopping and getting a rack put on my bike and such
and seeing what Sikasso has to offer as far as entertainment and
dining and so on.  Also, I plan to watch at least a few movies since
I will not get to do that again for two months once I get to site. 
Apparently Sikasso has some interesting historical monuments to the
fact that it was one of the points of strong resistance to the French
invasion in the late 19th century, such that more folks gave their
lives fighting the French here than just about anywhere else. 
Another interesting point is that almost no one in Sikasso City was
actually born here; most inhabitants are either farmers who came to
the city seeking greater opportunities or immigrants from the nearby
Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, especially with the civil war in the
Ivory Coast.  The situation in the Coast is rather stable right now,
but since I am only 25 kilometers from the border, it is important to
have a plan for evacuating just in case.  I don't think it is really
anything to worry about, since evacuations tend to go very smoothly
when they happen, but it is still strange to think that just a couple
years ago the Ivory Coast had volunteers, and that Haiti did until a
few months ago, and that the volunteers in both nations had to pack
up everything and abruptly end their service.  Mali is peaceful,
stable and democratic enough that I don't worry about it much, but
it's still somtething you have to at least consider.
     Well, I think I will save further comments for a detailed letter.  I
look forward to hearing further news from home.  Dad, tell me more
about the promotion you're getting, and congratulations.  I'll be
working on letters to send before I get to site, but after that don't
expect to hear from me for a little while since Peace Corps
encourages you to stay at site as much as possible in the first 3
months of service to show the villagers you intend to work with that
you really do wish to be part of their community.
     Anyways, a good day and best wished to all.
     Peace and be happy,
     -Eric