Volunteer Visit

Just got back to Thies from an AMAZING visit to the Kaffrine area. A Peace Corps bus dropped us off at the regional office where we met current volunteers. Another trainee and I hitched a ride with our host to my site, Ndioudiene, since it was on the way to her village. As we pulled off the dirt road onto another dirt "road" I felt like puking. This place is going to be my home for the next two years and there we were, dropping in to say hi to my new family. We entered the compound and my father greeted us and showed me my hut. When I saw the barren room that would be my life, I burst into tears. It ok though- now I see the potential in it and I’ve already started a shopping list to make it my own:

My hut

• Turquoise & white paint
• Gas burner
• Table
• Chairs (2)
• Wardrobe
• Trunks (2)
• Bookshelf
• Indaa
• Mirror
• Mat
• Curtains
• Sheets
• Pillow
• Pot, pan, bowls, spoons, forks, knife, cups, plates, kettle
• Rope & clothespins
• Shower bucket & cup
• Broom
• Nails

We’ve also just done a session on permaculture mapping so it’ll be fun to design my yard. Now I just need to find a kitten and my home will be complete!

Following a yummy lunch with my family (spicy rice and veggies), my dad showed us around town and introduced us to everyone important. I’m glad he’s personally excited enough to do that. He also consulted with his first wife and they decided to name me Soxna. Apparently it’s a pretty name- it means “miss” or “lady” in Wolof. We left Ndioudien to catch a bush taxi to our host’s site. Unfortunately, it broke down 10k away. We started walking with all our bags. In this part of the country you have to watch out for jackals and hyenas after dark, but no big deal because the master farmer’s son found us and gave us a ride home on his cart.

Standing stones

Saturday we checked out the village of Jooli. We met some local farmers and helped our volunteer’s family harvest peanuts during the morning. In the afternoon we went for a run in the bush. The whole time I had the Lion King theme song running through my head. That’s what the scenery looks like! There’s a French campement in the forest nearby and beyond that a river created by seasonal flooding. During the dry season it’s good to be on guard for drunken old Frenchmen firing stray shots at migrating birds. There are also ancient stone circles dating back to 400 AD. No one really knows what they were used for and locals avoid them because they think they’re haunted, but animals have no problem grazing in the circles.

Sunday we saw the master farm. I’m excited to work with the only female master farmer in Senegal. Her husband died and she inherited all his land. (Owning your own land is a requirement for nomination.) She was so sweet and told me that now her house is my house and I am her daughter.

So, to sum up my visit, I went from feeling confused about Peace Corps site selection for me to wanting to fast-forward through the rest of training for immediate installation. Now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. My site is a tangible reality and I have renewed motivation to soak up all the language and technical training I can in this next month.

Flooding

Site Assignment: Kaffrine

Last night all of the trainees were given their permanent sites. We were blindfolded and led out onto a giant map of Senegal. When we were all in place everyone uncovered their eyes. I'm in the village of Ndioudiene, located in the Kaolack region and in the sub-region of Kaffrine. The village has 1,300 residents and is about 12k away from the city of Kaffrine and the northern border of Gambia. I believe there's running water and the potential to have electricity. I'm mostly excited about getting to work with the great volunteers that have been placed nearby. And there's a cat already there from a former volunteer!! Previous projects done there include chicken coop permaculture, master farmer's program, seed distribution, and tree nurseries. I hope to be able to include a project involving livestock into my service:)

Homestay 2

It’s hard to sum up two long weeks in one blog post. Yesterday evening we arrived back at the training center in Thies after our longest homestay during CBT. 16 days!! This homestay was much easier than the first. Now I can communicate basic needs and describe my daily activities but that’s about it. I want so badly to be able to converse with my family. It’s hard to keep my language progress in perspective when we’ve only been here for a month. I just want to learn everything but even figuring out where to start is overwhelming.

Casey’s host sister had a baby during our first homestay so for the first weekend back in Keur Madaro we went to its naming ceremony (ngente). The ceremony took all day. By 10 am the men were done praying and the actual ceremony was over. Then the women began cooking. One ram, 3 bags of onions, 10 heads of garlic, 2 sacks of rice and 4 hours later we finally had lunch. In between the men sat outside the compound and made tea and the women who weren’t cooking sat around and talked. Not knowing the language made the day long and after lunch we escaped to our garden for some peace and quiet. We arrived home in the evening only to discover the celebration was still going on. A whole other meal was cooking, the women had changed into even fancier clothes, and the dancing was just beginning.

During the past two weeks we were also able to run. We discovered a “road” that goes through fields and eventually takes you to the next village over. It’s so relaxing. Every day we see the sunrise over herds of cattle and baobab trees. Infinitely better than running along the main road where we get honked at and have to greet everyone we pass. Between the running and drawing water from the well four times per day for our garden (the school still won’t turn on the water despite PC paying them) hopefully I’ll retain some muscle tone but I fear that’s a futile goal. Already getting a rice belly:(

Cows, sunrise, running, Africa... heaven

Beautiful clothes

The past 3 days were Tabaski. For Kristin’s birthday we went to Thies to shop for fabric for clothes. We all picked out different prints and took them back to the tailor in Keur Madaro. He measured us and made us all beautiful outfits. Only $14 US dollars for the whole thing!! Friday we got all dressed up with our families and helped with the festivities. It was very similar to the ngente, and honestly to a normal Senegalese day. The women cooked all morning and the men in my family slaughtered six rams. I watched in horror as literally every part of the goats were cut up and added to the pots. This includes lungs, head, intestines, testicles, the works. I appreciate using the entire animal and letting nothing go to waste, but eating rumen is an acquired taste. Annd leftovers sat out overnight and were served for lunch the next day. It’s a miracle I’m not confined to the bathroom right now. Anyhow, Tabaski spanned 3 days, which none of us realized. Saturday we came home from the garden, looking forward to an early bedtime and some peace and quiet. But no, every member of my extended family was over and I changed back into my Wolof clothes. We went into town to have professional pictures taken (awkward- I’ll be grinning from ear to ear in an African outfit while my family stands around me staring ahead solemnly). We then chased a parade into the school compound and were shut out of the crazy dance party occurring inside. I’m still not sure what that was all about. Like the rest of my time here, Tabaski was a whirlwind of emotions. Good food, bad food. Nice people, rude people. As we got on the bus to leave Keur Madaro to come back to Thies, my host mom came running out to the bus waving and my little host sisters chanted “Maam Gueye nibbi!” (Maam Gueye come home). It’s people like this that make any hardship or discomfort worth it.

My room

Village Life

The past 5 days have been an emotional rollercoaster.  Last Friday we packed up enough stuff to last five days and left the training center for our villages. The Peace Corps bus pulled up in front of each of our houses and one by one were led away by swarms of children. My host family is wonderful. They’ve never had a volunteer before but you’d never guess that. As soon as they saw me they started yelling my Senegalese name- Mame Gueye Cisse. Bintabay is my mother and Masul Cisse is my father. They both don’t hesitate to make sure I have everything I need to be comfortable. Although I don’t understand most of what they say, they’re patient and seem to understand how hard it is to learn a new language. Maguette is 18. If I don’t catch something important in Wolof he fills me in in French. Mame Gueye is my namesake and little sister. She goes on 10 minute runs with me since I’m not allowed to go by myself. She also does my hair, shows me how to do chores, and walks me to school. Keur Madaro is our village. There’s only 2,500 people. There’s a little market by the main road. People sell veggies, fish, and watermelon. A couple boutiques have cookies and pop. Other than that food selections are limited. I never thought it’d be so hard to find fruits and vegetables. Every meal is oily rice and beans with fish. It gets old real fast.

Even though our stage has only been in Senegal for two weeks it seems like forever (not in a bad way). Home in America is just a completely different world. I have to keep reminding myself that I’ve only been here for two weeks so obviously I can’t communicate well yet. I just want to be able to express myself so badly. Sometimes I feel like I can handle this. Other times I get overwhelmed and break down in the privacy of my room. It’s ok. Things will get easier!

For those of you curious about the toilet paper situation, the latrines here have kettles. You pour water into your hand and flick it up at yourself to get things clean. I’m still trying to master the technique. There’s also no trash collection in our town- people just throw things on the ground. It’s the same way in the house, except at the end of the day dirt courtyards are swept clean and any trash fed to the goats. Casey, Leigh, and Kristen, my fellow PCTs, and I, spend our days building our practice garden and under the mango tree practicing Wolof with our instructor.  We made 3 vegetable beds, a compost pile, and a pepiniere behind the elementary school. It was a ton of work double-digging all the beds and finding enough charcoal, manure, and wood ash in the village to amend the soil (actually sand). Next time we go back and it should be easier because we’ll just be planting. All the hard labor is over. Two more days at the training center then back to the village for two weeks so if you want a quick reply to an email send it soon!!

Composting: the Way to World Peace

Yesterday was the first day of technical training. Finally we got to go out and play in the dirt! There were 4 stations to rotate through: Soil fertility, double-digging, making vegetable pépinières, and composting. I'm so pumped! This stuff is actually applicable and could be used back in the  States too. Also, composting is an integral part of achieving world peace. Proper composting leads to better food security which leads to less fighting which leads to world peace. Who knew haha.

Dancing and drumming<3

We also got our language assignments. It's super exciting because this is going to be our lives for the next two years. I'm happy to have gotten Wolof because unlike the minority languages it's used throughout the entire country. Tomorrow a group of three other girls and our language teacher and I leave for Ker Madaro, where our first training host families are. For the next two months we'll move back and forth from the training center to the village. At the end if we pass the language exam we get sworn in. (November 30th!!!) During parts of the day we'll have language lessons and the rest will be spent alone with our respective families. It's exciting and nerve wracking to be immersed in a language I barely know, in a culture so different from that which I grew up in. By the end I hope to have basic communication skills, Senegalese friends, be confident in my technical skills, and have a better idea of cultural norms. Then maybe this place will start to feel a little more like home.

Learning the ropes

Day 3 in Senegal!! So far we’ve been crazy busy. Every day is filled with lessons on etiquette, how to use the bathroom, Wolof, safety, health precautions and anything else you could possibly think of. Our first full day was a culture fair. At the best station we tried juices frequently served in Senegal. Baobab fruit juice is the best juice ever. This morning some of the girls and I managed to squeeze in a run before breakfast. We’re only allowed out of the compound between 7am and 7:30pm but since classes are from 9:15 to 6:15 and breakfast and dinner have to be squeezed in we have a very narrow time frame.

The dorms

Last night we got to go out in downtown Thies for the first time. The market there is the second biggest in the country! All the sights, smells, and sounds are overwhelming. People, cars, and livestock are everywhere and stands are overflowing with exotic fruit and fabrics. Senegal is so beautiful and so ugly at the same time. The tropical flora Arabic architecture is beautiful and the people are stunning but trash and standing water are everywhere. Many buildings are decrepit or completely vacant and the livestock is emaciated. We also got to go out to “the catholic bar.” It’s part of a family living compound so there were kids running around everywhere. I think I liked the set up better than bars at home. The ambiance was so relaxed- perfect for games and conversations. The tile patio is completely closed in by a high stone wall and tropical brushes. I’d take that in my house any day!

Training center garden

Finally, the food in the training center is amazing, although it’s all fats and carbs. Breakfast isn’t anything exciting- just baguettes with jam or nutella. For lunch everyone sits on mats around a big bowl of rice and beans covered in some sort of delicious sauce and seasonings. We eat only out of the section and only with our right hand because the left is only used to wipe your butt. It sucks being left-handed in Senegal. I can’t wait to be assigned a language (hopefully Wolof) and start practicing with my host family and instructor in our training community. Just two more days until we get our assignments!

Two years, two bags

I hate goodbyes. I’m so glad that part of the journey is over because next time I’ll get to say hello:)

The past couple days have been a whirlwind of amazing times with friends and family and many tears. It seems like I finally found a place at OSU- an amazing group of friends and an awesome student organization to be a part of. I’ll especially miss Cinna, my kitty cat. She turned up on our porch two years ago and the rest is history. She’s my first pet that I’ve taken care of all by myself. (Except the vet bills haha.)It’s not all bad though! My bags were both under 50 lbs and security didn’t strip-search me.  It’s also going to be amazing to make so many new friends and be part of another culture. Despite any recent misgivings or second thoughts, this is what I want. I couldn’t live with myself if I bailed now. Ever since I was little I didn’t want a “boring” life. Even if being an explorer and sailing around the world isn’t an option, this is even better. No regrets!

à plus, Ohio!

Love them!