Ina Wuli Tigi Tigi

Ok, this is great! I get to use the Internets twice in one week!! This will not be the norm though. Last Monday, I had written a huge entry and the computer crashed. I didn’t feel like re-typing the whole thing.

I leave tomorrow to go up North on the “demyst” portion of my training. I really don’t like the term “demystification” because, frankly, I have already been demystified. I live in a village that has no electricity, no running water, cockroaches galore in the bathroom, and a million small children running around with runny noses. It’s real. I guess it will be good to go to the North to experience how hot it will be. I’m going to Kanel, near Matam for ten days. May is supposed to be the hottest month so I’m not looking forward to it.

As I mentioned before, I will be placed in Gudude Diopbe, a small rural village. There are about 800 people there and my closest Peace Corps neighbor is only 3km away, which is great. She has already been in-country for a year. The village said they were really excited to be getting a volunteer because they have wanted one since 2006. So, they are (hopefully) building my hut and latrine.

In other news, my host family is great. I live in Taten Toucouleur which is a little village of about 50 people. They gave me the name Fatu Sy because they can’t pronounce Marisa. The first night I was with them it was a little scary because I was on my own, lost in a language I don’t reaaaaaally speak, and I couldn’t find my headlamp. So, I spent most of the evening in darkness. But, I like my family. The kids in the village think it’s hilarious when I try to speak Pulaar, so when I get home, I entertain them with what I learned that day in class. Then I take my bucket bath, which may be my favorite part of the day, and eat dinner from a communal bowl. Then, we basically just sit around and listen to the wind rustling through the trees. This was strange at first, because I wasn’t used to silence. But, I am becoming more accustomed to it. Plus, it’s nice because at the Training Center in Thiès, it’s always loud. But, 17 km out, and it’s silent desert as far as the eye can see.