At the beginning of the month, when we had our swear-in, things were so rushed I didn’t have time to write a blog entry about the proceedings! They were great though. As everything in Senegal, it was an experience. We woke up at 5:30 AM to get to Dakar by 9 AM. I know, it actually DOES take that long to get there because of traffic into the city. En route, we decided to hop the median because we were running late and we had a police escort to speed the process. Unfortunately, the police escort, who was on a motorcycle, got into a head on accident with another motorcyclist. They both had minor concussions, but it was just scary to see a swarm of people en masse around the two victims.
Once we got to the ambassador’s house, everything was gravy. We were all dressed in traditional Senegalese clothing(I’ll post pictures at the end of the month). There were also some Japanese and Korean volunteers being sworn-in so that was fun to meet people from all over the planet that all shared the common bond of giving back to people! Also, the food served after the ceremony was FABULOUS! Actual burgers, cheese-ball-things, egg rolls, VEGETABLES! I never thought I would get so excited about something that my parents had to force me to eat growing up.
After, we went to the American Club(a health club with an outdoor swimming pool that we, as Americans, get into for free). There, we played in the pool for as long as we could. It’s funny how the small things in life become so important to your psyche when they aren’t easily accessible. After a long day, we went back to Thies for a party with our host families. It was more great food and dancing. It was a great way to end a tiring two months.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
After One Week
After my first week at site, I feel like I have become even more flexible with my living style and habits. It has taken me a while to get some things down, like the language, but today I was complemented on my ability to speak Pulaar. This is very rare because it is typical for them to insult me on my ability in order to encourage me. Seems counter intuitive. Oh well.
I sleep outdoors on a stick bed with my mosquito net, every night. One night, unfortunately, a beetle was under my net and scared the ever-living crap out of me. I thought it might be a scorpion. Thankfully, I didn’t scream.
I eat dinner most nights around 10. Something I will soon, hopefully, remedy. I am all for assimilation, but not if it means compromising my sleep time.
I began painting my room. It’s much harder when you don’t have a ladder, a palate, or a smooth surface. But, it looks good. I will take pictures.
A few quick notes about what I have observed about public health: NOONE covers their mouth when they cough. Meaning that they cough into the communal food bowl. At which point, I politely say I’m full. I eat a lot of rice, children here suffer from dry nutrition. They have big empty bellies and tiny appendages. Skin rashes often go untreated, at least in my village. Even though I tell them they should go to the disposaire, or pharmacy.
Women in my village are by far the hardest workers. They get water all morning then cook lunch, immediately start cooking dinner, in addition to doing laundry, and because I’m new, entertaining me! I’m learning a lot about living on my own and I think I have become better at being creative. For instance, I had no ladder to paint my room, so I used a barrel to stand on.
Sorry this is a disorganized blog entry, but then again, I’m adapting all over again to a completely new lifestyle. Not to mention a hot lifestyle. I’m in the Sahel desert, so it’s about 115 degrees on average. Yesterday, it only got to 106 and it was bearable!
I sleep outdoors on a stick bed with my mosquito net, every night. One night, unfortunately, a beetle was under my net and scared the ever-living crap out of me. I thought it might be a scorpion. Thankfully, I didn’t scream.
I eat dinner most nights around 10. Something I will soon, hopefully, remedy. I am all for assimilation, but not if it means compromising my sleep time.
I began painting my room. It’s much harder when you don’t have a ladder, a palate, or a smooth surface. But, it looks good. I will take pictures.
A few quick notes about what I have observed about public health: NOONE covers their mouth when they cough. Meaning that they cough into the communal food bowl. At which point, I politely say I’m full. I eat a lot of rice, children here suffer from dry nutrition. They have big empty bellies and tiny appendages. Skin rashes often go untreated, at least in my village. Even though I tell them they should go to the disposaire, or pharmacy.
Women in my village are by far the hardest workers. They get water all morning then cook lunch, immediately start cooking dinner, in addition to doing laundry, and because I’m new, entertaining me! I’m learning a lot about living on my own and I think I have become better at being creative. For instance, I had no ladder to paint my room, so I used a barrel to stand on.
Sorry this is a disorganized blog entry, but then again, I’m adapting all over again to a completely new lifestyle. Not to mention a hot lifestyle. I’m in the Sahel desert, so it’s about 115 degrees on average. Yesterday, it only got to 106 and it was bearable!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Finally a volunteer!
I leave for the North on Sunday. I’m excited and nervous. Also, I’m not reallllly sure how I am getting up North, nor how the car will transport ALL of my stuff. I have accumulated a lot. Like a bike, for instance. Right now, I feel like I have a million things to do and no time to do them.
I am officially a volunteer now. I had my swear-in procession yesterday. It was so nice to go to a house in Dakar, with grass on a lawn (!), and meet so many cool new people and eat good food. There will be an entry soon detailing the events.
My host family in Tatene Toucouleur is sad that I am leaving. I will miss the kids the most. I do have a few anecdotes about living with them. For instance, the teenage males in my family ask me all the time about the Civil Rights Movement. They ask if Blacks have the right to vote. I’m not sure where they get their information, but it is troubling to me that they know that America has racial problems, but that they don’t know that we have universal suffrage. They also ask a lot of questions about Martin Luther King Jr. They point blank ask me “Why do White people hate Martin Luther King?” Another troubling question. I then explain that, in fact, African Americans got the right to vote much earlier than women! They don’t believe that—but, whatever. I also explain that not everyone hated MLK, in fact, a lot of White people supported and took part in the Civil Rights Movement. It’s just interesting to me that they would go to the trouble of learning about MLK, but then not learn about current racial politics in America.
I also make it a point to always ask to wash my hands before every meal. Also, any time I am given food and expected to eat it on the spot, I ask to wash my hands. I think this is the kinds of work that I will be doing over the next two years. I know it seems like I’m being lazy by saying that, but really, I think if they see me washing my hands enough they will start to consistently wash their hands before eating too. At least this is my hope.
But, for all my hand-washing my standards of the word “clean” have diminished. For instance, my clothing. I have given up thinking that any article of clothing will ever reallllly be clean for the next two years. Unsurprisingly, there is no rinse-spin cycle here when you do the laundry by hand. If anyone has tips on how to get things clean, please tell me. I have also learned that taking more than one daily shower is acceptable and encouraged here, especially up North. But, every time I step out of the bucket bathroom, I immediately start sweating again and sand gets all over my clean feet. This is something I have become comfortable with and it no longer bothers me.
By the way, THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me a birthday card or a letter over the past two months. I really appreciate it. It’s nice to know that I have so many people thinking about me back home. I promise that you will all get letters in return with super cool stamps on them. It may not come for three months, but you will get it.
I am officially a volunteer now. I had my swear-in procession yesterday. It was so nice to go to a house in Dakar, with grass on a lawn (!), and meet so many cool new people and eat good food. There will be an entry soon detailing the events.
My host family in Tatene Toucouleur is sad that I am leaving. I will miss the kids the most. I do have a few anecdotes about living with them. For instance, the teenage males in my family ask me all the time about the Civil Rights Movement. They ask if Blacks have the right to vote. I’m not sure where they get their information, but it is troubling to me that they know that America has racial problems, but that they don’t know that we have universal suffrage. They also ask a lot of questions about Martin Luther King Jr. They point blank ask me “Why do White people hate Martin Luther King?” Another troubling question. I then explain that, in fact, African Americans got the right to vote much earlier than women! They don’t believe that—but, whatever. I also explain that not everyone hated MLK, in fact, a lot of White people supported and took part in the Civil Rights Movement. It’s just interesting to me that they would go to the trouble of learning about MLK, but then not learn about current racial politics in America.
I also make it a point to always ask to wash my hands before every meal. Also, any time I am given food and expected to eat it on the spot, I ask to wash my hands. I think this is the kinds of work that I will be doing over the next two years. I know it seems like I’m being lazy by saying that, but really, I think if they see me washing my hands enough they will start to consistently wash their hands before eating too. At least this is my hope.
But, for all my hand-washing my standards of the word “clean” have diminished. For instance, my clothing. I have given up thinking that any article of clothing will ever reallllly be clean for the next two years. Unsurprisingly, there is no rinse-spin cycle here when you do the laundry by hand. If anyone has tips on how to get things clean, please tell me. I have also learned that taking more than one daily shower is acceptable and encouraged here, especially up North. But, every time I step out of the bucket bathroom, I immediately start sweating again and sand gets all over my clean feet. This is something I have become comfortable with and it no longer bothers me.
By the way, THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me a birthday card or a letter over the past two months. I really appreciate it. It’s nice to know that I have so many people thinking about me back home. I promise that you will all get letters in return with super cool stamps on them. It may not come for three months, but you will get it.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Craziness
As my swear-in date grows closer, things here in Thies are getting more and more hectic. I'm not really sure what is happening in terms of schdeduling next week, but I do know that I will have to pass a language test and a technical training test. I also know that I have to wake up at 5 AM to get to Dakar to swear-in and then rush back to Thies to attend a party for my host family. It will be busy, but once I get up North I will have oodles of time to relax.
The first three months, I'm not supposed to start any projects. I'm supposed to "get to know the community" and other than that just chill. I guess it is good because it is the hottest part of the year in May and June. I will try to get my new address up as soon as I can a) find the internet cafe b) set up my post office box and c)do things in Pulaar. We'll see if that happens.
The first three months, I'm not supposed to start any projects. I'm supposed to "get to know the community" and other than that just chill. I guess it is good because it is the hottest part of the year in May and June. I will try to get my new address up as soon as I can a) find the internet cafe b) set up my post office box and c)do things in Pulaar. We'll see if that happens.
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