dude, we have two years. you can do whatever you want.

Well Well Well

Let me explain to you the modern-day Claire. She does not wear makeup, she sees a mirror once a day at best, toilet paper is optional, beat up ballet flats are dressy just because they are gold, she wore embarrassingly dirty khakis on one of the most important days of training, hair is never done, she sniffs her clothes before dressing, she drinks crappy beer, feels rich when she eats eggs on bread, dodges donkeys, horses, begging kids, and women with the most bizarre things on their heads whilst on her bike…and she drinks a lot of tea. And next she is moving to some city called Louga with no fucking clue of what to do once she gets there.

Today is November 6, 2007. What does this mean? It means I have two days left of training here in Thies. It is pretty exciting because its been a very long road coming. We’re on the 8th week and it feels like 15th, no joke. Anyways, it’s really exciting. Did I mention that?

In the last 8 weeks I have been doing a lot of shit--- left my life in Akron, moved to Africa with 43 other people and attended training for 10 hours a day 5 days a week and half a day every Saturday. 5 have dropped out. We are termed the “E.T. Stage”, which stands for early termination group of trainees. More will leave, surely. Liam and I dub them “burnt toast”. Those who left are missed, but fade further from reality each passing day.

I have managed to get to the capital city for two weekends and the beach for another. I can get by with my French now and the there is hardly a stench in the air.

Looking back to the beginning…
After 3 days of utter confusion, locked up in a training center in a place I only thought was Africa, I stayed with a volunteer for 4 days of pretty much full on misery 3 days after arriving. It was painfully hot with no escape(guessing about 118 degrees), it was Ramadan, I had a fever, infrequent electricity,I had over 90 mosquito bites, I did not like the small town I was in and worst of all- flies were sucking on all of my open wounds all over my legs. They do not let go with a kick of the leg, oh no, they suck and sometimes there are multiple mosquitoes on multiple wounds on various limbs. It was distressing, to say the least.

I have been voted most likely to get malaria-the bugs love me. My gets hardly resemble their days former. Cuts, scars, bites of all nature, scabs from unknown sources. I really thought being a waitress at winking lizard sounded like bliss those nights Lauren and I lied awake unable to sleep because we were soaking in sweat. You think I am kidding? I was serious. I was fighting tears. That seems like years ago. It is certainly a past mindset. Culture shock, if you will.

I remember when I first got to the training center and went into the bathrooms I was like ewwwww. Now these bathrooms are equivalent to 4 star hotels for the fact that there are toilets, toilet paper, sinks and showers! As I just wrote that last sentence I was like holy crap “there are all of these things here!!! HOW NEAT!,” because I have none of those at home. How luxurious.

This Friday is the whole big deal—the official swearing in ceremony at the US Embassy. I think its there. It is in Dakar for sure. Anyways we do a skit in all of the local languages that is on national tv. My friend Golbert, a Senegalese, told me last night he was going to be watching. The fact that he knows is frightening. Apparantly volunteers are recognized later.

I have made some good friends but am told by some they all want to date me. I am going to choose to not believe that everyone who is my friend wants something else out of the deal, whether its money or a relationship or a visa. The people are great here.

There are about 15 people living in my house in Louga, I am told. None of the adults speak French. Hmmm…. Good thing I have had like 4 classes of Wolof. “this is not a real language!” chris said today in class, which was my exact thought. In a really sarcastic way because of course it is a language but it bears no resemblance to anything I know.

I will learn it. It takes a lot of work to achieve what you actually want. Je suis fatiguee

I met my counterparts that I will be most likely working with for the next two years. My counterpart is a man and supervisor is a woman. The counterpart is who I actually work with on a daily basis if I so choose. They really have no bearing on what I do and am not obligated to do anything with them, but they are a good resource and potentially great partners. I have read a bit about his work and spoken with him when they both came for a few days to do a counterpart workshop. He does a lot of cool stuff particularly focused of youth and women. A lot of IT stuff- he has a cyber café. And I am most interested in working with kids. Education is key- knowledge is power, yo.

There are a butt load of kids at my house in Louga, so I guess I will see if I really do like being around kids. I never really have been before.


Anyways----- more news to come. I will have internet at home in Louga so you will here a lot more then. Til next time.