Swearing-In Speech

Posting the press release about my Peace Corps group's swearing-in ceremony reminded me that I never posted the text of my swearing-in speech. I know I've slipped a few Sepedi words into my blog here and there, but I wanted you all to get a better sense of the language I (attempt to) speak virtually everyday. For you budding Sepedi scholars at home, I've made the translation closer to literal as compared to what my friend and fellow PCV Jeff read aloud during the ceremony.

Thus, without further ado, le a ipshina [Enjoy yourselves]:

Madume. Ke rata go le dumediša bohle. Legatong la baithaupi ba Peace Corps, ke rata go le leboga bohle ge le tlile mo lehono. Ge nkabe e se thakgo eo le re filego yona, nkabe re se mo lehono go tlo kgatha tema ye ya go ba baithaupi.

[Greetings. I would like to greet you all. On behalf of all Peace Corps Volunteers, I would like to thank you all for coming here today. Without the support you all have given us, we would not be here today to become full-fledged Volunteers.]

Pele re fihla mo dikgwedi tše pedi tša go feta, ke motho e motee feela eo a bego a kile a tla mo South Afrika. Re be re sa tsebe Sepedi, isiZulu, Siswati, goba Setswana. Re be re sa tsebe setšo sa South Afrika. Re be re sa ka ra ja bogobe, morogo, mala a kgomo, goba mašotša. Go feta moo, re be re sa tsebe go bina ‘sika le khekhe’ goba ‘ngwazi’.

[Before we arrived here two months ago, only one of us had ever come to South Africa. We did not know any Sepedi, isiZulu, siSwati, or Setswana. We did not know about South African culture. We had never eaten pap, wild spinach, cow intestines, or mopane worms. And, even worse, we did not know to dance ‘cut-the-cake’ or ‘ngwazi’ {if I have a lot of bandwidth, I’ll send a demonstration video of each}.]

Ka morago ga ‘kgwedi tše pedi tša tlhahlo mo South Afrika, re kgona go dumediša le go itsebiša ka maleme a rena ao re ithutilego ona. Re kgona go lora ka Sepedi, isiZulu, Siswati, le ka Setswana. Re kgona gape le go fehla bogobe ka lefehlo, ka bokwari bjo bogolo. Godima ga fao, ba bangwe ba rena ba šetše ba kgona go bina ‘Jika Majika’. Le ge e le gore re sa tlo dira diphošo tše ntšhi kudu ge re leka go itlwaetša bophelo bja mo South Afrika, le re file motheo woo o tlo re kgontšhago go kgotlelela, le gore re dire segwera mo ditšhabeny tša rena mo South Afrika.

[After two months of guidance here in South Africa, we can greet and introduce ourselves in our target languages. We can even dream in Sepedi, isiZulu, Siswati, and Setswana. We can use a ‘wooden stick with metal loops on one end’ to stir pap with much skill. Even better, some of us are ready to compete on Jika Majika {a very popular house dancing show on eache evening}. And although we will still make many, many mistakes in our attempts to integrate into live here in South Africa, you have given us a foundation that will enable us to persevere and gain the trust and friendship of our host communities here in South Africa.]

Mo mengwageng e mebedi eo e tlago, ke a tshepa gore re tla fihlelela dilo tše ntšhi tše botse, rena gammogo le mekgahlo ya rena mo ditšhabeng. E mongwe le e mongwe wa rena o tla gola a ba a fetoga ka tsela eo re bego re sa e lebelela. Ka go šoma ka boima le ka katlego ya rena, re tla ithuta kudu ka rena, le ka fao re nyakago gore re be ka gona.

[During the next two years, I believe that we will accomplish many great things in partership with our host organizations and communities. Each of us will also grow and change in ways we could not have anticipated. Through our hardships and successes, we will learn more about ourselves and about the people we want to become.]

Re fihlile mo dibeke tše pedi feela ka morago ga go bewa setulong go mopresidente wa rena, Barack Obama, eo a thopilego dikgetho, mme a re botša gore re swanetše gore re be le kholofelo ya dilo tše botse tšeo di tlo tlago ka moso. Bjalo, ge ke eme mo pele ga lena, ke bona sehlopha sa batho bao, ka thušo ya Peace Corps, le ka thušo ya ditšhaba tša rena, ba nago le monyetla wa go dira gore kholofelo eo ya mopresidente wa rena phethagale.

[We arrived here only two weeks after the inauguration of our president, Barack Obama, who won an election on the promise of hope {literally: ...who won elections because he told us that we must hope for good things to come in the future}. Now, as I stand here before you, I see a group of people who, with the help of Peace Corps and our host communities, together have both the opportunity and the potential to fulfill that hope of our president.]

Go bagwera ba ka ba Peace Corps, ke le lakaletša katlego moo le yago go dula gona mengwaga e mebedi ka moka. Ke leboga mmušo wa rena le wa South Afrika ka tšhomišano ya dinaga tše go lwantšha HIV/AIDS. Gape ke leboga le Peace Corps bohle ba re šomišanego mmogo le bona me leetong le la rena mo Afrika Borwa.

[To my Peace Corps friends, I wish you success during your entire two years {here in South Africa}. I thank the governments of the US and South Africa for working together to fight HIV/AIDS. I also thank the entire staff of Peace Corps for working together with us on our journey here in South Africa.]

Ke a leboga. Ke leboga kudu.

[Thank you. Thank you very much.]