A Cat's Life

A couple weeks ago I was in the market in Kaffrine and I saw the most pathetic little kitten in the street. Because I ADORE cats, of course I had to scoop him up. That turned into me carrying him back to the office, wrapping him in a blanket, and popping him on the back of my bike for the hour-long ride home.

Once there, I cleaned him up and went around to neighboring compounds to see if anyone had I goat I could milk (goat milk > cow milk). He's still alive and biting 3 weeks later on a diet of milk, rice, and dried fish. If I can't keep plants alive, at least I can do cats! Maybe I should start extending them as garden helpers. They could eat bugs and keep birds away. Maybe even increase soil fertility with their poop.

So, the following pictures chronicle my kitten's short, yet so far full, life.

Baby's first night home

Helping water my pepeniere

"Are you sure you transplanted the tomatoes right?"

Guard cat on duty!

I'm sure I flushed..

Climbin'

Favorite nap spot. No work happening here!

Cutie

Maybe cat extension isn't a good idea.

Also, for your viewing enjoyment, pictures of my hair in braids. Afterward, my family told me; "Sohkna, today you finally look like a woman." I thought I looked like a drowned rat but hey, no one can accuse me of not integrating enough!

The Wild Life

The 12th was my Birthday! Fortunately it was also the Prophet's b-day (Gamou) so I was able to pretend the celebrations were for me.

For Gamou we went to a nearby village. I got to meet my favorite sister's family and see where she'll be living in two months (she has to move into her husband's compound). Fortunately this village is within running distance:) We ate lots of rice (but it had veggies) and did the usual Senegalese visiting and talking with everyone. Ngentepul had a special market going on just for the holiday, so I bought several sachets of frozen juice and ate them all myself. A guy also offered to get me and him a hotel room, but I had to turn him down since there was no AC.

My dad had my grandma switch rooms with him (since hers is nicer) so I no longer share a fence with her and we can't talk through it every morning while brushing our teeth. And I know my dad won't water her garden, so I'm trying to salvage everything I can. (This was the only bad thing about my birthday.)

Now, for something more interesting: All the animals I've seen! The pictures are not mine; I always see stuff on my runs when I don't have my camera.

Pied Crow

Laughing Dove

Red-billed Hornbill

Red-billed Firefinch

Golden Jackal

Senegal Coucal

Grey Heron

Pale Fox

Cattle egret

European Bee-eater

Little Bee-eater

European Roller

Senegal Parrot

White-tailed mongoose

Savannah monitor lizard

New year, same me

Some highlights:

So far in 2013 I've traveled to Ngodiba, another village, with my work partner to buy seeds. They only had Jaxatu, but it was still worth the trip. The guy we bought them from had some awesome fields. They were full of healthy beds and pepenieres. He was using drip irrigation, nitrogen-fixing trees, and earthworks. Ngodiba had one of the first PC volunteers in the area, so it's encouraging that the projects have left such lasting effects. On the way home I bought fresh yogurt for everyone.You know, just supporting the dairy industry.

I seeded my own personal garden! It took forever to start, because I thought my dad was going to help me make a fence out of millet stalks but that never happened so I ended up buying one. It doesn't keep the chickens out, but does work against horses, donkeys, and goats. I dug 3 beds and 1 pepeniere, adding all the appropriate amendments. I also made a compost pile. Peace Corps should be proud.

"Just poopin' in yo laundry."

I've been helping one of the ladies in the village start her own personal garden. I was surprised at how well it went. I didn't think she'd let me explain double-digging and correct seed spacing since it's so much more work than normal but she did! Her younger brother and some of her kids were there too, and were all super helpful. (And excited to use the hoe.) We exchanged some seeds so now she has carrot and cucumbers while I have onions and okra. I finally feel like I've done something kind of helpful, and it's the best feeling I've had here so far. Now, fingers-crossed the veggies we planted actually grow.

One final thought:
I just finished reading Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum. It's a biography detailing his adventures on his 3-year voyage around the world. It takes place in 1895 and somehow, in the middle of the Pacific, he's eating better food than me. How is this possible? My mouth should not be watering at his descriptions of cooking hash and gifts of fresh fruit from the natives.

My kitty

Christmas

Christmas in Africa! Yay! Yesterday I took a car into Kaffrine and met up with some other volunteers at the office. (Took the car since last time I rode my bike one of petals fell off. After 2 hours of walking I finally broke down and called my dad who sent my brothers out with a seret to pick me up.) We're going to cook dinner together and hangout for Xmas eve and Xmas day.

Since it's Christmas I could reflect on how much I love my family and friends and how lucky and blessed I am but I'd rather not. All those are givens. It also makes me sad every time I log onto Facebook and see pictures of yummy food, snow, parties, and ugly sweaters. The list could go on, so instead I'll talk about what I don't miss.

I don't miss crappy Christmas music. I hate walking into stores and having Billy Idol serenade me as I buy toilet paper and baking soda.

Merry Christmas to me! Thanks mom:)

I'm okay with missing an Ohio winter. Inevitably it's only ever cold and gloomy without ever actually snowing. There hasn't been a white Christmas in the past several years or any snow days. It is sad not to have my kitty curled up in my lap, she gets extra affectionate during the cold months:)

Consumerism. Why can't we all just slaughter a ram and be happy?

I hate cleaning the house because guests are coming over. Then after they leave there's dishes to do and everything is a mess all over again. Then when Christmas is over the tree drops needles everywhere.

Obviously I can't think of anything else I hate, but it was a noble effort.

You can ride my bike if I can ride your horse

Ndioudiene- My family's compound is to the left

Little sibs and... Ohio?!

So village life... there's the really good days and the really bad days. For example, the other day my host brother wanted to ride my bike. Technically that's forbidden by Peace Corps, but I told him yes if I could ride his horse. How else was I ever going to convince villagers that yes, toubabs can ride. They are still shocked that I can cook and sort-of do my laundry. I led my bike out into the street and he led out his horse. He gave me a leg-up and said "see you later." I couldn't believe my luck. The horse and I wandered through some baobabs just outside the village. Then I decided to work on "building credibility" as Peace Corps says. We cantered through the village and I made sure that as many people as possible saw me. Not that it matters. Everyone knows everything 5 seconds after it happens. Maybe now they'll believe I know something about handling livestock. Then there was the day I told my grandma that I wanted a kitten. She got all excited and we went over to the neighbors' since they have a "small" cat. The cat wasn't that small, and had no interest in being my pet. Everyone tried to catch it and got bitten and scratched in the process. Finally I said that I didn't think it wanted to be my friend and that I'd need to find one even smaller. The search had just begun. We continued on through town, asking everyone if they had a small cat because I needed a friend. Alas, no one had any kittens. We returned home worn and battle-scared, but now it's only a matter of time. Every villager is keeping an eye out for a kitten for me.

Be jealous. There's not much else to be jealous of.

Duma PCT, PCV laa!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been sick off and on the past few weeks and running low on motivation. Wednesday I said goodbye to my training family. It felt weird leaving our village and families. I didn’t think I’d be in Africa for only two months and already leave people and places behind. On a good note, it’s not goodbye forever. My dad wants me to call him when I arrive in Kaffrine, and Keur Madaro is between Kaffrine and Thies so I can visit whenever we have trainings. I feel like I already have friends and people for support here!

For my last dinner, my mom cooked coucous (my fave) with a special moringa and peanut sauce. It was so good! Part of that may have been that I was just excited to have something green in my dinner after weeks of rice and beans.

PCVs!

Thursday we took our final technical and language exams. I passed both so as of yesterday I’m no longer a PCT, but a PCV! Swearing in took place at the American ambassador’s house in Dakar. The whole affair was very posh. After taking our oath everyone went out on the lawn hors d’oeuvres were bought out on little silver trays. We had tuna pate on fancy toasty bread, olives, candied nuts, etc. Unfortunately I missed desert hour because I had to go get blood drawn. For the past 2 weeks I’ve been feverish/nauseous every other day. I wish I could have a normal sickness and just be miserable for a week but no, my body hates me. The doctor told me my stomach is full of gas and a couple days’ worth of shit. Not new news. Africans seem determined to avoid all types of fiber so staying regular is an almost insurmountable challenge. Now I’m armed with fiber supplements so maybe, maybe they’ll get things moving through. And hopefully the blood test results will disclose if there’s a weird parasite in me or whether it’s just something viral. It’s so hard to stay positive and focused when you feel like shit all the time.

Tomorrow is the day we leave the training center! I’ll be staying in Kaffrine and shopping for housewares before installing on the fourth. It’ll be so amazing to have my own space and not be living out of a suitcase for the first time in two months. (And to set up my avian advent calendar- thanks mom!!)

P.S. Check out our swearing-in video:)

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