IST done: check. 10 extra pounds: check. more delicious food than I could possibly eat: check. Yesterday a group of us made our way to Dakar from Thies after IST was over, and spent the day planning the week of English camp (while we enjoyed a delicious catered lunch, no less) with the teachers of the English Access Camp run by the US Embassy. It's going to be a great week, basically playing games all morning with the kids and enjoying Dakar every afternoon.
For our last night in Thies, we trudged through the pouring rain and flooding waters to Big Fam, our favorite restaurant in Thies, where my friend Sarah and I shared a Croche Madame, Big Burger, 2 beers, and a large creme filled beignet (basically a huge donut). Following that, we jumped in the pool while it was pouring rain (so fun).
Our trip back to the center was even more ridiculous... as we waded through knee high flooded streets trying to get to the tailor to pick up another volunteers clothes, our friend stepped right into an open sewer hole and fell waist deep into the muddy, sewer infested water (my biggest fear as we walked through the darkness not knowing where we were stepping...!) All was ok though, since this was not her first time this has happened to her (what a trooper).
Last night we enjoyed delicious Thai food, which I've been dreaming about since the last time I went there when we were in Dakar...it was just as amazing as I remembered it to be. We went to enjoy Nice Cream following dinner to get ice cream, and I had the worst experience ever...and now I hate Nice Cream. Somehow I was the last to order of our group, and had to wait like 40 minutes while person after person got helped before me (welcome to Senegalese customer service). By the time I got my ice cream I didn't even want it any more and everyone else was done eating. Then we went out to get a taxi and I was harassed by Talibe for 10 minutes while we tried to flag a cab...I almost cracked. And, unfortunately for Nice Cream, all my anger and frustration of that night is now channeled into hating them and never wanting to go there again (unless we order ahead/get it delivered/take out etc...which they do. amazingly).
I've decided that being a PCV in a small village breeds borderline eating disorders... all we can do when we are in Thies or Dakar is eat obscene amounts of food that we are usually deprived of. I also feel like all I've talked about in the last week has been food, but I swear, I do not have an eating disorder...I'm just a PC Volunteer! Food becomes so much more important when you don't have enough or are nutritionally deprived, so really I'm just stocking up for when I return to village and Ramadan starts. Don't get the wrong idea though, I am never truly hungry- there's always enough food- just not enough quality. But hey, I'm faithful in taking my pre-natal vitamins every day (given to us ALL by Med to keep us healthy and strong!!).
Well now that I've written an entire blog almost completely about food, I will wait till something more interesting happens before I post again. I'm sure some interesting scenarios will result from a week spent with a group of 85 fourteen year olds :)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
livin the tough life
my life today: slept in (8am); watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother; went to brunch and had a cappuccino, chocolate croissant, and egg/cheese/ham/mushroom crepe; walked into the depths of the Thies market and bought a new skirt, some laundry soap, and a cold beverage; did my laundry then took a long running water shower; spent a few more hours watching more episodes of How I Met Your Mother; and currently, drinking a glass (I mean plastic cup) of red wine while browsing the internet/updating my blog.
Now, let's picture a normal day in village: wake up at 5:45am to the first call to prayer then try to go back to sleep for a while; actually wake up, bucket bath, eat, get my water for the day; either go water my garden at the school or visit the dispener; sit; read/socialize/walk around the village/sit in my hut and listen to music; eat lunch; take a 4 hour nap or sit; by around 6pm, go back to school, dispenser, or someone else's house (and sit); sit; come home and shower again; sit; read or hang with family; dinner; sleep.
Disclaimer: I am not lazy, I swear, and after returning to site, my "normal day in the village" will hopefully be a great deal more productive in terms of work and self productivity. Also, today is our one day off during IST, and I have fully taken advantage of it to the best of my ability.
We have one more week of IST, and then I'm off to Dakar for a week to help with an English Camp for kids in the city. Training has been in some ways very beneficial and motivational (I'm even more ready to get back to the village and start projects) and in others slightly mind numbing and drawn out. It's great to be around so many native English speakers and friends that I don't often get to see...but it will also be very difficult to leave this all behind again and return to the seclusion of my village/life in the village. The excitement of starting work on so many great projects is really what makes me ready to get back to my family and village.
Ramadan starts on August 13th, and lasts for about a month. For those of you that aren't aware, Senegal is, in fact, a Muslim country, and the majority of people will fast from sunrise to sunset for a month (and such is Ramadan). I'm looking forward to this opportunity to cook lunch for myself and have more control over my diet for a short amount of time, but on the other hand, nothing will be accomplished. It's actually pretty horrible timing in terms of work for us since we will be returning to our sites after IST all pumped and ready to get work started, and then Ramadan will begin and all work will cease. People will be tired and cranky, and expecting me not to work as well. This will hopefully be a good opportunity for me to do my own type of work (like grant research, getting paperwork for grants organized, researching project related anything, etc) and when it is over, we will all celebrate and kick it back into gear.
Initially I was not the slightest bit interested in fasting myself...I mean, who in their right mind would not eat or drink WATER in the scorching hot desert of Western Africa if they are not devout Muslims (or even if they are...no water??!! really??)? Well, to my surprise, many volunteers do choose to fast along with their families as a way to bring solidarity or relate or whatever...and many families really do respect volunteers for trying. But, to me, not drinking water or eating for that long in a climate and environment that is already so incredibly harsh on my body, is not a smart idea at all. Even when I do drink 5 liters of water a day or more and eat as much as I possibly can, my level of energy is about equal to that of one of my laziest days in America...I'm constantly dragging my feet around and trying to stay up beat. So, I then considered maybe just trying to fast with them but still drink water, and just be super lazy for a month with everyone else. But, then I decided that I would rather take advantage of the time that I do have and do my own work, with energy, and stay happier (most likely) and healthier by eating my own cooked food.
With this decision made, I will now be spending a large remainder of my mandat (pay) on a visit to the "Casino" supermarche in Dakar to stock up on rations for the next month. This store, my friends, is like heaven in Senegal. It is within a MALL (yes, a legit, tile floored, florescent lighting, high class mall), and is the most beautiful and overwhelming picture of perfectness...everything you could ever want is available here. I literally didnt know what to buy when I visited for the first time...it is definitely a place where you need to have a list already created before you enter (so that you don't splurge and buy a $14 dollar pint of Ben and Jerries Phish Food every time...not that I did that or anything...well maybe just once...). To say the least, I am very, very excited to go back to this wonderful magical land. There, and also the American Club deserves another visit while I'm in such close proximity.
And so that is my plan for the next few weeks. IST, Dakar, back to the village for Ramadan, and then really getting to work! I am satisfied. Content to be where I am and happy with the way things look in the future. Hope everyone and anyone reading this finds themselves enjoying life in the same way :)
Now, let's picture a normal day in village: wake up at 5:45am to the first call to prayer then try to go back to sleep for a while; actually wake up, bucket bath, eat, get my water for the day; either go water my garden at the school or visit the dispener; sit; read/socialize/walk around the village/sit in my hut and listen to music; eat lunch; take a 4 hour nap or sit; by around 6pm, go back to school, dispenser, or someone else's house (and sit); sit; come home and shower again; sit; read or hang with family; dinner; sleep.
Disclaimer: I am not lazy, I swear, and after returning to site, my "normal day in the village" will hopefully be a great deal more productive in terms of work and self productivity. Also, today is our one day off during IST, and I have fully taken advantage of it to the best of my ability.
We have one more week of IST, and then I'm off to Dakar for a week to help with an English Camp for kids in the city. Training has been in some ways very beneficial and motivational (I'm even more ready to get back to the village and start projects) and in others slightly mind numbing and drawn out. It's great to be around so many native English speakers and friends that I don't often get to see...but it will also be very difficult to leave this all behind again and return to the seclusion of my village/life in the village. The excitement of starting work on so many great projects is really what makes me ready to get back to my family and village.
Ramadan starts on August 13th, and lasts for about a month. For those of you that aren't aware, Senegal is, in fact, a Muslim country, and the majority of people will fast from sunrise to sunset for a month (and such is Ramadan). I'm looking forward to this opportunity to cook lunch for myself and have more control over my diet for a short amount of time, but on the other hand, nothing will be accomplished. It's actually pretty horrible timing in terms of work for us since we will be returning to our sites after IST all pumped and ready to get work started, and then Ramadan will begin and all work will cease. People will be tired and cranky, and expecting me not to work as well. This will hopefully be a good opportunity for me to do my own type of work (like grant research, getting paperwork for grants organized, researching project related anything, etc) and when it is over, we will all celebrate and kick it back into gear.
Initially I was not the slightest bit interested in fasting myself...I mean, who in their right mind would not eat or drink WATER in the scorching hot desert of Western Africa if they are not devout Muslims (or even if they are...no water??!! really??)? Well, to my surprise, many volunteers do choose to fast along with their families as a way to bring solidarity or relate or whatever...and many families really do respect volunteers for trying. But, to me, not drinking water or eating for that long in a climate and environment that is already so incredibly harsh on my body, is not a smart idea at all. Even when I do drink 5 liters of water a day or more and eat as much as I possibly can, my level of energy is about equal to that of one of my laziest days in America...I'm constantly dragging my feet around and trying to stay up beat. So, I then considered maybe just trying to fast with them but still drink water, and just be super lazy for a month with everyone else. But, then I decided that I would rather take advantage of the time that I do have and do my own work, with energy, and stay happier (most likely) and healthier by eating my own cooked food.
With this decision made, I will now be spending a large remainder of my mandat (pay) on a visit to the "Casino" supermarche in Dakar to stock up on rations for the next month. This store, my friends, is like heaven in Senegal. It is within a MALL (yes, a legit, tile floored, florescent lighting, high class mall), and is the most beautiful and overwhelming picture of perfectness...everything you could ever want is available here. I literally didnt know what to buy when I visited for the first time...it is definitely a place where you need to have a list already created before you enter (so that you don't splurge and buy a $14 dollar pint of Ben and Jerries Phish Food every time...not that I did that or anything...well maybe just once...). To say the least, I am very, very excited to go back to this wonderful magical land. There, and also the American Club deserves another visit while I'm in such close proximity.
And so that is my plan for the next few weeks. IST, Dakar, back to the village for Ramadan, and then really getting to work! I am satisfied. Content to be where I am and happy with the way things look in the future. Hope everyone and anyone reading this finds themselves enjoying life in the same way :)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
adventures
Well, I nearly just threw my computer across the cement floor accidentally as I jumped off the couch away from a disgusting looking bug. Thank god for quick reflexes, I can’t imagine life without my little netbook…I could cry if I broke it because of a bug. It has been a very long time since I’ve had a chance or the desire to write an update, and for that I apologize! This last weekend I was sick (for the 2nd time) with some stomach thing, and spent a few days at my regional house to recover. Being sick in the village really sucks…no ice for cold beverages or electricity to watch movies (when you’re laying in bed all day bored to death). Not to mention, puking into a smelly latrine hole isn’t quite as nice as the clean tile floor and porcelain toilet I’m used to back home (or that we have at the regional house…just a little less clean). So I decided to come spend a night at the house and relax/recover, but getting out of the village is a whole nother story now that the rains got here.
Since the rainy season river arrived, you have to go around to the next village to get to the main road, which means less people in general go anywhere, and therefore it’s harder to get a cheret. And since the one and only bush taxi has been out of service (aka needs a new engine), I could end up waiting almost an hour before a cheret happens to go by that is going into Pete. Well this Saturday, as my counterpart is helping me look for a cheret, I soon realize that everyone is going to the fields to farm, and nobody is going to Pete. After trekking all around the village feeling like I’m going to pass out, I start to panic as I realize I might not get to leave… and then with a stroke of luck we see another bush taxi about to leave for Pete. Now this isn’t the same as the other bush taxi, which has bench seats below the covered truck bed. This is a more burly truck with big roll bars on the back with big wooden boards strapped across them…which is where you sit. It’s hard to describe, but when you crawl up onto the boards, your ass is level with the top of the cab roof, and your feet dangle into the space above the bed of the truck. You better hold on for dear life that you don’t fall the 7 feet to the ground as you fly down the bumpy dirt road and dodge the thorny tree branches that reach out over the road. Unless you are sitting in the first row, all you have to hold onto is the board you are sitting on, but this time I was in front so I had the front roll bar to hang on to. It was the most exciting and thrilling bush taxi ride EVER! Despite being sick, for that short 20 minutes to Pete I held on for dear life and felt the exhilaration of the whipping wind on my face and was amazingly happy—it was too exciting to think about being sick! My excitement ended when I got off and realized that a goat had peed on my backpack that was in the bed of the truck along with several tied up sheep and goats. Welcome to the life of a PCV…at least I didn’t have goat pee drip all over me from goats tied to the top of a mini bus (true story).
So one adventure of many accounted for….others include a few more sand storms (see pics on facebook!), a huge thunderstorm followed by a half a day of constant rain, the 4th of July in Kedegou, and much much more. The 4th was a great trip, got to see monkeys, lots of friends, eat pig, swim in a pool, and use internet in my air conditioned hotel room for 2 whole days. The rain and sand storms that we had after I got back weren’t quite so nice. Unfortunately, after the 15 straight hours of rain, and the day before I left to come here (before In Service Training- IST), I realized my doors had expanded with all the water and no longer shut or lock. Awesome. Great timing. Fortunately, I trust my family enough to do what they say and call a guy to come fix them soon, and to protect my keys while I’m gone for the next 2 ½ weeks! (I didn’t leave anything valuable anyways, but still, it would be nice to not have to think about it). My family is so great, and my neene (mom) is finally back in the village (she was sick for the first month I was there and I didn’t see her until I came back from a language training seminar in Podor), which has been great—she is the nicest woman ever and always makes me feel appreciated (she says thank you to everything I say to her…it’s cute). I’m slowly getting more comfortable in my house, but still definitely have a long ways to go…I feel guilty about doing anything that isn’t “work” or socializing with either them or other families in the village (aka, doing anything for myself)…so I’ve got that to work on. But people in the village are really great, so nice, and they all want me to come to their houses.
It is a little overwhelming at times dealing with the constant “toubob” calls and people assuming I have money because I’m white and asking me to give them things on a daily basis, but I’m working on new come-backs every day. My go-to’s for the toubob remarks are either “my name isn’t toubob, it’s fati,” or I call them “black” (it sounds a little racist when I write it like that, but the word for black is less prejudice than “toubob”….that’s not even the proper word for “white”—it’s a slang term that I find slightly derogatory…) and point out the obvious just as they are (why yes, you’re so smart! I am white!!)…so depending on the context, I either say those things or just ignore them (which isn’t a very good tactic since they just try harder to get your attention if you pretend not to hear). As for the people asking for money, if they are clearly old enough to know better, I tell them to go work and make their own if they want money, or if they’re young I say go ask your mom or dad, or I just flat out say no. Some days are better than others, but getting used to the constant attention and harassment has been a decent challenge…sometimes the attention is nice and getting special treatment can work out in your favor (like getting great food or help getting around to different places).
So. Now I am here again, back at my regional house for another day before we head to Dakar for a party at the Country Directors house (a reward for staying every night at site for the first 5 weeks), followed by IST in Thies for 2 weeks! I’m super excited to have a longer break and to have training…I’m hoping to learn some very valuable things to get some projects started in the village! The main projects I already know I’ll be working on are: building a maternity room for the Dispenser, building another latrine at the school, taking over a radio show left to me by the previous volunteer, making a community women’s garden, and continuing the garden at the school along with my other work there (doing some murals, environmental lessons, etc). I’m sure other things will come up and plans will change, but right now those are the ones I’m expecting to start on when I get back to the village in August.
So that is all I have for now, I will have more access to internet over the next few weeks and will try to update again at some point. Check out the new photos here if you are interested: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053142&id=36202042&l=d04923fede
Since the rainy season river arrived, you have to go around to the next village to get to the main road, which means less people in general go anywhere, and therefore it’s harder to get a cheret. And since the one and only bush taxi has been out of service (aka needs a new engine), I could end up waiting almost an hour before a cheret happens to go by that is going into Pete. Well this Saturday, as my counterpart is helping me look for a cheret, I soon realize that everyone is going to the fields to farm, and nobody is going to Pete. After trekking all around the village feeling like I’m going to pass out, I start to panic as I realize I might not get to leave… and then with a stroke of luck we see another bush taxi about to leave for Pete. Now this isn’t the same as the other bush taxi, which has bench seats below the covered truck bed. This is a more burly truck with big roll bars on the back with big wooden boards strapped across them…which is where you sit. It’s hard to describe, but when you crawl up onto the boards, your ass is level with the top of the cab roof, and your feet dangle into the space above the bed of the truck. You better hold on for dear life that you don’t fall the 7 feet to the ground as you fly down the bumpy dirt road and dodge the thorny tree branches that reach out over the road. Unless you are sitting in the first row, all you have to hold onto is the board you are sitting on, but this time I was in front so I had the front roll bar to hang on to. It was the most exciting and thrilling bush taxi ride EVER! Despite being sick, for that short 20 minutes to Pete I held on for dear life and felt the exhilaration of the whipping wind on my face and was amazingly happy—it was too exciting to think about being sick! My excitement ended when I got off and realized that a goat had peed on my backpack that was in the bed of the truck along with several tied up sheep and goats. Welcome to the life of a PCV…at least I didn’t have goat pee drip all over me from goats tied to the top of a mini bus (true story).
So one adventure of many accounted for….others include a few more sand storms (see pics on facebook!), a huge thunderstorm followed by a half a day of constant rain, the 4th of July in Kedegou, and much much more. The 4th was a great trip, got to see monkeys, lots of friends, eat pig, swim in a pool, and use internet in my air conditioned hotel room for 2 whole days. The rain and sand storms that we had after I got back weren’t quite so nice. Unfortunately, after the 15 straight hours of rain, and the day before I left to come here (before In Service Training- IST), I realized my doors had expanded with all the water and no longer shut or lock. Awesome. Great timing. Fortunately, I trust my family enough to do what they say and call a guy to come fix them soon, and to protect my keys while I’m gone for the next 2 ½ weeks! (I didn’t leave anything valuable anyways, but still, it would be nice to not have to think about it). My family is so great, and my neene (mom) is finally back in the village (she was sick for the first month I was there and I didn’t see her until I came back from a language training seminar in Podor), which has been great—she is the nicest woman ever and always makes me feel appreciated (she says thank you to everything I say to her…it’s cute). I’m slowly getting more comfortable in my house, but still definitely have a long ways to go…I feel guilty about doing anything that isn’t “work” or socializing with either them or other families in the village (aka, doing anything for myself)…so I’ve got that to work on. But people in the village are really great, so nice, and they all want me to come to their houses.
It is a little overwhelming at times dealing with the constant “toubob” calls and people assuming I have money because I’m white and asking me to give them things on a daily basis, but I’m working on new come-backs every day. My go-to’s for the toubob remarks are either “my name isn’t toubob, it’s fati,” or I call them “black” (it sounds a little racist when I write it like that, but the word for black is less prejudice than “toubob”….that’s not even the proper word for “white”—it’s a slang term that I find slightly derogatory…) and point out the obvious just as they are (why yes, you’re so smart! I am white!!)…so depending on the context, I either say those things or just ignore them (which isn’t a very good tactic since they just try harder to get your attention if you pretend not to hear). As for the people asking for money, if they are clearly old enough to know better, I tell them to go work and make their own if they want money, or if they’re young I say go ask your mom or dad, or I just flat out say no. Some days are better than others, but getting used to the constant attention and harassment has been a decent challenge…sometimes the attention is nice and getting special treatment can work out in your favor (like getting great food or help getting around to different places).
So. Now I am here again, back at my regional house for another day before we head to Dakar for a party at the Country Directors house (a reward for staying every night at site for the first 5 weeks), followed by IST in Thies for 2 weeks! I’m super excited to have a longer break and to have training…I’m hoping to learn some very valuable things to get some projects started in the village! The main projects I already know I’ll be working on are: building a maternity room for the Dispenser, building another latrine at the school, taking over a radio show left to me by the previous volunteer, making a community women’s garden, and continuing the garden at the school along with my other work there (doing some murals, environmental lessons, etc). I’m sure other things will come up and plans will change, but right now those are the ones I’m expecting to start on when I get back to the village in August.
So that is all I have for now, I will have more access to internet over the next few weeks and will try to update again at some point. Check out the new photos here if you are interested: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053142&id=36202042&l=d04923fede
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
first month at site!
Well it’s been about 3 weeks since my last access to internet, and it feels like a lifetime ago but at the same time, the weeks have flown by. Since we swore in as volunteers in Dakar, all of us living in the North headed to our regional house for a few days before we were installed into our villages. My install day was amazing—we arrived in the afternoon at the school, and were welcomed by all of the elementary school children holding hand drawn welcome signs and singing in unison a song welcoming me (“Fati Awe”—my Senegalese name). It was the coolest moment ever—to have all these kids so excited for my arrival and for everyone to be so welcoming. Following that was a meeting with important community members and then an amazing lunch at my house.
Week one at site was…hot. And by the end of my second day, I had already gotten some stomach bug and felt like death for the next 4 days. It was also the hottest week we’ve had since I got here, so being sick on top of that was miserable. Once I started feeling better though I was able to start getting out of my house more and meeting people and getting to know my family better. They took great care of me while I was sick, got me ice every day (which has to be brought in from Pete, which is 7 kilometers away), and didn’t hassle me too much about not eating anything for 3 days. I’m feeling much better now.
I can’t really think of what else I did for the first two weeks at site... probably because I really didn’t do much of anything! I’m definitely getting the hang of sitting. Lots and lots of sitting happens. I also did a lot of reading, listening to music, napping, some studying, and trying (sort of) to improve my Pulaar. I usually go to the school or the dispenser (health post) every evening to visit with either the teachers or my counterparts. I really enjoy hanging out at the school at night because two of the teachers speak English really well (but they don’t speak Pulaar) and always provide really interesting conversation. There is also one teacher that speaks Pulaar very well so between all of them, I can usually get whatever I want to know translated. So far the teachers at the school are my best friends (probably because I can actually communicate with them!) and have been very helpful with anything I want to do.
This past week has been very productive, I started my pepenier at the school with a group of students to help. We made 400 sacs so far (you have to mix the soil and manure together, and then fill the bags…not easy in the heat!) and I have to do another 100 before IST in July. I also had a meeting with the college age students (like high school or a little younger) to form a club to do radio skits since I’m inheriting a radio show from the volunteer before me. This way I can have the students learning about health and environmental issues, teaching the public on the radio, and I get to avoid having to speak horrible Pulaar on the air :). A few days ago I also was able to teach my ICP (like a nurse sort of, at the health post) and her nanny how to make nutritional porridge for babies 6 months to 5 years old and about the different food groups and nutritional value of foods important for growing children. Now that they know how to make it and know about the food groups, they can help me do a “causerie” with the women in the village where we teach them how to make the porridge and about nutrition (but this way I don’t have to speak a whole lot either and the ICP will do most of the talking/explaining/answering questions).
I stayed in my village for about two weeks before I went to visit my closest neighbors in Medina and Aram. It was fun to get out figure out the transportation to see friends, but I definitely know now that it’s not just a day trip. I went for the day and forgot my phone in my friends room, so I went back the next day and spent the night. The cheret (horse pulling a wood platform with two weels…) out of my village takes 45 minutes, then I have to get a car or alhum or bus to the cross road that leads to Medina, and then take another cheret from there (30 min or so) to Medina. If I want to go even further and visit my other friend in Aram, I have to take ANOTHER cheret that takes about 45 minutes to get to her village. It’s not simple…and you have to take into account the hot times of the day, lunch times, etc. when it might be more difficult or impossible to get a car or cheret. Visiting my friend in Aram was really nice though, she has the river about 300 yards from her house. We had about 30 kids follow us down to the river and watch us swim for a half hour…we swam to the other side for some peace (it’s a decent size river, it was a good swim). Makes me wish I had the river in my village!
So. Anyways, I came yesterday to the regional house in Ndioum to do some research, check email, buy some gardening supplies, and watch movies. It’s been very hard to focus on what I came here to do and actually do anything other than lay around and watch movies/mess around on the internet... :) But it is a much needed break that will keep me from going insane from just sitting. All. Day. Long. A little bit of the familiar comforts like running water, ice, cooking my own food, and having a connection to the rest of the world (internet) has been so nice!
I love my village and am definitely getting more comfortable being there and meeting the people. I have a lot of work to do before we go back to Thies for In Service Training (IST) in July, but plenty of time to get it all done. I plan to make a map of my village, get my actual garden going (not just the pepenier), do at least one radio skit with the student club, and do the baseline survey that we are required to do in order to asses our village. Next week we have a 3 day language seminar in Podor that our language teacher is coming up North for…I’m excited to get to travel again and also to see some friends that I haven’t seen in a while. A little bit after that is the 4th of July when everyone goes down south for the yearly 4th of July party! And another short time after that we head back to Thies for IST. It’s nice to have the time broken up so nicely in and out of the village, I love always being on the go!
Well that’s all for now, I’ll try to update again next week when I’m back for lang class if I have the time. Next time I’ll try to write more about my observations and not just what I’ve been doing…there’s so much to write about it’s hard to remember all the “blog worthy moments” but I’ll take some time to write them down for next time!
PS. if you want to see pictures, i've posted three albums on facebook so check them out at the following links: (you don't have to have facebook to see just the pictures!)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050652&id=36202042&l=97d4a7f607
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051452&id=36202042&l=66e2605650
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052322&id=36202042&l=9a58ccad59
Week one at site was…hot. And by the end of my second day, I had already gotten some stomach bug and felt like death for the next 4 days. It was also the hottest week we’ve had since I got here, so being sick on top of that was miserable. Once I started feeling better though I was able to start getting out of my house more and meeting people and getting to know my family better. They took great care of me while I was sick, got me ice every day (which has to be brought in from Pete, which is 7 kilometers away), and didn’t hassle me too much about not eating anything for 3 days. I’m feeling much better now.
I can’t really think of what else I did for the first two weeks at site... probably because I really didn’t do much of anything! I’m definitely getting the hang of sitting. Lots and lots of sitting happens. I also did a lot of reading, listening to music, napping, some studying, and trying (sort of) to improve my Pulaar. I usually go to the school or the dispenser (health post) every evening to visit with either the teachers or my counterparts. I really enjoy hanging out at the school at night because two of the teachers speak English really well (but they don’t speak Pulaar) and always provide really interesting conversation. There is also one teacher that speaks Pulaar very well so between all of them, I can usually get whatever I want to know translated. So far the teachers at the school are my best friends (probably because I can actually communicate with them!) and have been very helpful with anything I want to do.
This past week has been very productive, I started my pepenier at the school with a group of students to help. We made 400 sacs so far (you have to mix the soil and manure together, and then fill the bags…not easy in the heat!) and I have to do another 100 before IST in July. I also had a meeting with the college age students (like high school or a little younger) to form a club to do radio skits since I’m inheriting a radio show from the volunteer before me. This way I can have the students learning about health and environmental issues, teaching the public on the radio, and I get to avoid having to speak horrible Pulaar on the air :). A few days ago I also was able to teach my ICP (like a nurse sort of, at the health post) and her nanny how to make nutritional porridge for babies 6 months to 5 years old and about the different food groups and nutritional value of foods important for growing children. Now that they know how to make it and know about the food groups, they can help me do a “causerie” with the women in the village where we teach them how to make the porridge and about nutrition (but this way I don’t have to speak a whole lot either and the ICP will do most of the talking/explaining/answering questions).
I stayed in my village for about two weeks before I went to visit my closest neighbors in Medina and Aram. It was fun to get out figure out the transportation to see friends, but I definitely know now that it’s not just a day trip. I went for the day and forgot my phone in my friends room, so I went back the next day and spent the night. The cheret (horse pulling a wood platform with two weels…) out of my village takes 45 minutes, then I have to get a car or alhum or bus to the cross road that leads to Medina, and then take another cheret from there (30 min or so) to Medina. If I want to go even further and visit my other friend in Aram, I have to take ANOTHER cheret that takes about 45 minutes to get to her village. It’s not simple…and you have to take into account the hot times of the day, lunch times, etc. when it might be more difficult or impossible to get a car or cheret. Visiting my friend in Aram was really nice though, she has the river about 300 yards from her house. We had about 30 kids follow us down to the river and watch us swim for a half hour…we swam to the other side for some peace (it’s a decent size river, it was a good swim). Makes me wish I had the river in my village!
So. Anyways, I came yesterday to the regional house in Ndioum to do some research, check email, buy some gardening supplies, and watch movies. It’s been very hard to focus on what I came here to do and actually do anything other than lay around and watch movies/mess around on the internet... :) But it is a much needed break that will keep me from going insane from just sitting. All. Day. Long. A little bit of the familiar comforts like running water, ice, cooking my own food, and having a connection to the rest of the world (internet) has been so nice!
I love my village and am definitely getting more comfortable being there and meeting the people. I have a lot of work to do before we go back to Thies for In Service Training (IST) in July, but plenty of time to get it all done. I plan to make a map of my village, get my actual garden going (not just the pepenier), do at least one radio skit with the student club, and do the baseline survey that we are required to do in order to asses our village. Next week we have a 3 day language seminar in Podor that our language teacher is coming up North for…I’m excited to get to travel again and also to see some friends that I haven’t seen in a while. A little bit after that is the 4th of July when everyone goes down south for the yearly 4th of July party! And another short time after that we head back to Thies for IST. It’s nice to have the time broken up so nicely in and out of the village, I love always being on the go!
Well that’s all for now, I’ll try to update again next week when I’m back for lang class if I have the time. Next time I’ll try to write more about my observations and not just what I’ve been doing…there’s so much to write about it’s hard to remember all the “blog worthy moments” but I’ll take some time to write them down for next time!
PS. if you want to see pictures, i've posted three albums on facebook so check them out at the following links: (you don't have to have facebook to see just the pictures!)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050652&id=36202042&l=97d4a7f607
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051452&id=36202042&l=66e2605650
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052322&id=36202042&l=9a58ccad59
Saturday, May 15, 2010
installation
I'm officially a peace corps volunteer! Swear in yesterday in Dakar was great, had a relatively quick ceremony followed by some delicious food, and then relaxing at the American Club for the afternoon. Spent the night in Dakar with some other PCV's and enjoyed the city before leaving this morning to come back and pack....tomorrow we are leaving for our sites! I will be installed by Mr. Chris Hederick himself, Director of Peace Corps Senegal, this Wednesday. It's late, and we've had an exhausting last few days, so I will leave it at that, but I hope I'll have the chance to update in the next few months. May or may not have internet access for quite a while, but feel free to send me mail!! My new address is:
PCV Sarah Keyes
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 2
Pete, Senegal
West Africa
...I will love you forever if you send me a package :)
Peace and Love
PCV Sarah Keyes
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 2
Pete, Senegal
West Africa
...I will love you forever if you send me a package :)
Peace and Love
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
End of PST
April 30th, 2010:
By the time I post this, there will be less than a week left until we swear in as volunteers! As I type this I am at my home-stay for our last few days of language training. It’s sad to think that Saturday is our last day with our families here in Nguekokh, but I am so ready to move up north and install into my village. It’s a little scary too that we only have a few more days to study Pulaar and somehow become “intermediate-mid” for the last test next week. If for some reason that level isn’t reached, I’d have to stay back a week to study more before installing, which would not be fun whatsoever, which means I really need to get better at Pulaar ASAP. All I can say is wish me luck, and enshallah (god willing) I will pass. (Why does Pulaar have to be the hardest language?!!)
Last week:
Day one of counterpart workshop: Wake up, 6am. Drop my phone into the douche, have to stick my hand in after it…well, now I can say I’ve had that experience. CHECK. It was all fine after a bottle of hand sanitizer was smothered all over everything. The drive back to Thies in the early morning was amazing- baobabs, small villages, and a beautiful dusty sunrise turned my day right around to a great start.
The rest of day one was interesting, full of awkward interactions with my counterparts from Boke Salsalbe, the school director and a health relay, two people that I will be working closely with and who will help me integrate/get work done/etc in my site. One claims to speak Pulaar but really only speaks French, Wolof, and a little English. The other only speaks Pulaar and French, but no English. Somehow I managed to make it through the day and get to know them a little bit through a ridiculous combination of bad French, Pulaar, and my diminishing English skills (as my Pulaar gets better my English gets worse).
Each of us in the Pulaar language group had the awkward experience of standing up and reading in front of everyone, in Pulaar, one of the objectives of PROSPERE, the PC Health and Environment Program in Senegal. The majority of the day was spent trying to understand what was going on, since the whole workshop was conducted in Pulaar and French (it’s focused on the counterparts, not PC trainees—it’s to train them on what PC is, what training we go through, how to help us at site, what everyone’s expectations are etc).
After a long day of CPW, we had to commute back to Nguekho to sleep for the night. I decided it was the right time to try and teach the kids how to play UNO since all three adults of the house were nowhere to be seen and it was just me and the girls for the evening (unsupervised children is not uncommon here). It was fun that they eventually caught on to the rules, but then I re realized that UNO is a painfully never ending game, and I don’t actually like playing it that much. They continue to ask for it every night now which is fine except that I always really need to study so I let them play amongst themselves…at least I feel a little more loved by the kids now as opposed to the past few weeks when they have hardly spoken to me out of fear that their grandma or brother would beat them if they disturb me (or at least I think that’s why they never hassle me anymore…).
CPW Day 2: Again, we woke up early to commute back to the training center. We had various sessions on cross-cultural understanding, security, and our 2 month action plan. I talked with my counterparts about exactly what I can do for the first 8 weeks at site after installation. I’ll be installing on May 19th, just in time for the hot season! Rainy season will start around late July/early August, and school ends in the village for the summer in June (I think). So, Day 1: unpack, try not to hide in my hut, and hang out with my family. Day 2: go around and greet people in the village—visit school, health post, people’s houses to drink tea. Over the next 8 weeks I’ll hopefully make a map of Boke Salsalbe, complete my baseline survey, make a seasonal calendar, get to know people, meet the women’s group, organize a group of students to help with the garden at the school, plant the garden at the school, start working at the radio station a little in Pete, research causeries/maybe do one if I feel ambitious, and try not to run off to the regional house an unreasonable amount of times. I hope to stay at site at least 10 days before going to the regional house…that’s the goal at this point. I also plan on doing a lot of reading and studying during the first 8 weeks. In mid-July we have IST (in-service-training) for a few weeks in Thies where we have more tech training.
This past weekend all of our stage went to a small beach town and rented a house for the night and had some quality relaxation time on one of the most beautiful beaches ever. We arrived Saturday morning to a shockingly amazing house right on the ocean and I went promptly to lay on the beach and take a nap. The rest of what was to follow basically involved a lot of nothing…eating, drinking cold beverages on the beach, walking up and down the coast, swimming in the freezing ocean, relaxing and enjoying the entertainment of my stage’s company. It was absolutely a perfect weekend, which made it hard to go back to Thies Sunday afternoon. But this week is already flying by and before I know it we will be back in Thies again and PST will be ending.
I don’t know what else to report on except that my head hurts from all the Pulaar that is spilling out of it. Even as I type this, my every thought is echoed by a random Pulaar phrase (either a translation of what I just wrote or thought, or my commentary on it in Pulaar).
May 12th:
Lang exam results in a few hours, hope I passed!
By the time I post this, there will be less than a week left until we swear in as volunteers! As I type this I am at my home-stay for our last few days of language training. It’s sad to think that Saturday is our last day with our families here in Nguekokh, but I am so ready to move up north and install into my village. It’s a little scary too that we only have a few more days to study Pulaar and somehow become “intermediate-mid” for the last test next week. If for some reason that level isn’t reached, I’d have to stay back a week to study more before installing, which would not be fun whatsoever, which means I really need to get better at Pulaar ASAP. All I can say is wish me luck, and enshallah (god willing) I will pass. (Why does Pulaar have to be the hardest language?!!)
Last week:
Day one of counterpart workshop: Wake up, 6am. Drop my phone into the douche, have to stick my hand in after it…well, now I can say I’ve had that experience. CHECK. It was all fine after a bottle of hand sanitizer was smothered all over everything. The drive back to Thies in the early morning was amazing- baobabs, small villages, and a beautiful dusty sunrise turned my day right around to a great start.
The rest of day one was interesting, full of awkward interactions with my counterparts from Boke Salsalbe, the school director and a health relay, two people that I will be working closely with and who will help me integrate/get work done/etc in my site. One claims to speak Pulaar but really only speaks French, Wolof, and a little English. The other only speaks Pulaar and French, but no English. Somehow I managed to make it through the day and get to know them a little bit through a ridiculous combination of bad French, Pulaar, and my diminishing English skills (as my Pulaar gets better my English gets worse).
Each of us in the Pulaar language group had the awkward experience of standing up and reading in front of everyone, in Pulaar, one of the objectives of PROSPERE, the PC Health and Environment Program in Senegal. The majority of the day was spent trying to understand what was going on, since the whole workshop was conducted in Pulaar and French (it’s focused on the counterparts, not PC trainees—it’s to train them on what PC is, what training we go through, how to help us at site, what everyone’s expectations are etc).
After a long day of CPW, we had to commute back to Nguekho to sleep for the night. I decided it was the right time to try and teach the kids how to play UNO since all three adults of the house were nowhere to be seen and it was just me and the girls for the evening (unsupervised children is not uncommon here). It was fun that they eventually caught on to the rules, but then I re realized that UNO is a painfully never ending game, and I don’t actually like playing it that much. They continue to ask for it every night now which is fine except that I always really need to study so I let them play amongst themselves…at least I feel a little more loved by the kids now as opposed to the past few weeks when they have hardly spoken to me out of fear that their grandma or brother would beat them if they disturb me (or at least I think that’s why they never hassle me anymore…).
CPW Day 2: Again, we woke up early to commute back to the training center. We had various sessions on cross-cultural understanding, security, and our 2 month action plan. I talked with my counterparts about exactly what I can do for the first 8 weeks at site after installation. I’ll be installing on May 19th, just in time for the hot season! Rainy season will start around late July/early August, and school ends in the village for the summer in June (I think). So, Day 1: unpack, try not to hide in my hut, and hang out with my family. Day 2: go around and greet people in the village—visit school, health post, people’s houses to drink tea. Over the next 8 weeks I’ll hopefully make a map of Boke Salsalbe, complete my baseline survey, make a seasonal calendar, get to know people, meet the women’s group, organize a group of students to help with the garden at the school, plant the garden at the school, start working at the radio station a little in Pete, research causeries/maybe do one if I feel ambitious, and try not to run off to the regional house an unreasonable amount of times. I hope to stay at site at least 10 days before going to the regional house…that’s the goal at this point. I also plan on doing a lot of reading and studying during the first 8 weeks. In mid-July we have IST (in-service-training) for a few weeks in Thies where we have more tech training.
This past weekend all of our stage went to a small beach town and rented a house for the night and had some quality relaxation time on one of the most beautiful beaches ever. We arrived Saturday morning to a shockingly amazing house right on the ocean and I went promptly to lay on the beach and take a nap. The rest of what was to follow basically involved a lot of nothing…eating, drinking cold beverages on the beach, walking up and down the coast, swimming in the freezing ocean, relaxing and enjoying the entertainment of my stage’s company. It was absolutely a perfect weekend, which made it hard to go back to Thies Sunday afternoon. But this week is already flying by and before I know it we will be back in Thies again and PST will be ending.
I don’t know what else to report on except that my head hurts from all the Pulaar that is spilling out of it. Even as I type this, my every thought is echoed by a random Pulaar phrase (either a translation of what I just wrote or thought, or my commentary on it in Pulaar).
May 12th:
Lang exam results in a few hours, hope I passed!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
lately
So once again I've gotten behind on writing, so quick recap. Volunteer visit was a week or so ago, and I spent 5 days up north in my actual site visiting my ancienne (the volunteer I'm replacing) and meeting everyone in the village. I love my family and all the people I met at the school and health post were very nice and welcoming. I can't wait to install (move in) in May and actually start working/practicing Pulaar.
After VV we spent a day in Dakar doing admin stuff and touring the city a bit...it was way too quick of a visit, but I love Dakar. It's like a mini-european bubble where you can do/get anything you could possibly want. Next weekend we have a few days off, and I'm thinking about going back to Dakar to check it out some more. (Probably won't be going back much during the next two years...it's like 10 hours from my village).
This past week we were back in our training homestays for more language class and our second language exam. Only 3 more weeks to be "intermediate-mid" before swear in...wish me luck!
Well we're back in Thies for more tech training for this week and at the end of the week we have a counter-part workshop where two of our counterparts from each of our villages comes to Thies for training with us. They get an overview of what training is like for us as volunteers, and then we get to teach them some random language like Chinese to help them understand how difficult it is to learn another language. My counterparts are the headmaster and a woman at the health post, but she is sending a health relay because she can't take the time off to come to the workshop. It should be an interesting few days, since we are traveling back and forth to Thies for three days from Nguekho, which is about 45 min each way (because there is not enough accommodations at the training center for all 80 counterparts and 40 volunteers).
Ok well I have no energy to write more so I will post more later when I have more interesting things to report!
After VV we spent a day in Dakar doing admin stuff and touring the city a bit...it was way too quick of a visit, but I love Dakar. It's like a mini-european bubble where you can do/get anything you could possibly want. Next weekend we have a few days off, and I'm thinking about going back to Dakar to check it out some more. (Probably won't be going back much during the next two years...it's like 10 hours from my village).
This past week we were back in our training homestays for more language class and our second language exam. Only 3 more weeks to be "intermediate-mid" before swear in...wish me luck!
Well we're back in Thies for more tech training for this week and at the end of the week we have a counter-part workshop where two of our counterparts from each of our villages comes to Thies for training with us. They get an overview of what training is like for us as volunteers, and then we get to teach them some random language like Chinese to help them understand how difficult it is to learn another language. My counterparts are the headmaster and a woman at the health post, but she is sending a health relay because she can't take the time off to come to the workshop. It should be an interesting few days, since we are traveling back and forth to Thies for three days from Nguekho, which is about 45 min each way (because there is not enough accommodations at the training center for all 80 counterparts and 40 volunteers).
Ok well I have no energy to write more so I will post more later when I have more interesting things to report!
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