Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Dafa tang. Il fait chaud. It’s bloody hot.
So finally I start to get a grip on French. I need to learn a lottttttt (most of it) of vocabulary and as every evaluation at the training center told me, I need to study those irregular verbs. One day…. So, anyways, I was just starting to pass as a sort of, kind of French speaker. Well well well, enter: Louga. People do not love speaking French here. Certainly not. In Thies, one does not need to learn wolof to be an effective volunteer. In Louga, yeeeeeeea. To buy just about anything, I need to speak Wolof. So I started Wolof tutoring yesterday. I have another class in an hour. Another thing to note: a lot of people here do not even speak French. Which means they did not go to much school, if any. Wolof is supposedly so much easier than French so that is good…because Francais is not easy.
So…Louga. I live with twenty-five people and about fifteen goats. Wolof is the language of the house…a few speak French…but don’t like to, really. My host mother and I get by on gestures. I should mention there are 3 wives here and no husband. He passed away. The noises outside of my window are ones of many clinking pans, sheep of all ages (babies are higher-pitched sounding) and crying babies. Oh, the crying babies. Oh the sheep! There is like 15 children under the age of 15 here. They are quite adorable, though I know hardly any of their names. Oh yea, and me? I am Ndaye Touti Sekk. “Ndaye Touti, Ndaye Touti”. Already I am a celebrity in town. I will work my way up to Demba’s status soon. I mean, we are the only white people in this city of about two hundred thousand people. “team toubab!”
Demba is Jeremiah, the other Peace Corps volunteer in Louga. He has been here for 6 months as an urban agriculture volunteer. Fortunately we get along mighty well. And the 3rd musketeer of Team Louga hails from a village about 45 minutes west, Adrian AKA Adama.
I lucked the heck out with these guys being my neighbors. Not all Peace Corps volunteers are totally sweet, like I dreamingly envisioned. Nonetheless, these guys are my “paht-nahs”. We are having a family Thanksgiving together tomorrow. And, as you should know, Thanksgiving Eve is the second biggest bar night of the year in America, so of course we are hitting up the town discotheque “club millionaire” for some late night dancing tonight. Jeremiah and I did all of the Thanksgiving shopping today because a night in Senegal does not end until 5 am at the earliest. And the market pickings are best at 9 am. So here is what we will “mange”(eat): fried chicken (And honey mustard dipping sauce!…this was key for the guys), mac and cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, cheesy garlic bread, salad with tomato and green pepper, and a box of wine each. These aren’t franzia sized boxes. Yea turkey is just too expensive and yea, you buy them alive, too. J and I saw two turkeys tied together today on the side of the road and agreed that was sweet to SEE two turkeys the day BEFORE thanksgiving..because turkeys are rare here. You know what else you don’t eat in Louga? Pork. I’m rolling deep in Muslims here. Deeeeep.
I would also like to note there is fruit soaking in a party punch for tonight. We decided to be idealists for our Thanksgiving fete. Big ballers or “petron”, if you will.
Apparantly this club is just like on you find in New Orleans, says Adrian, so I am quite excited. And one fact of Senegalese bars is I am guaranteed an approximate 3:10 ratio of women : men. Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!! So what I say is, “am nah jeker”—I have a husband. No problem, I really do enjoy Senegalese dancing, so should be great. And how much did I luck out that team Louga enjoys dancing? I did luck out.
A note on dancing here. Its great!!!!!!!!!!!! It is really fun. Our stage (the people I trained with in thies) were big on the dancing. And about 4 of the guy volunteers told me on different occasions that they never loved dancing until they came to Senegal, where they feel so free! So freeeeeeeeeeeeee….. to dance! Like seriously though. So I thought that was cute. Yea, they do look ridiculous, but im just happy they are letting go of inhibitions. ☺
So: about Louga. Right, I am here to work, not celebrate thanksgiving every day! But yea, it is going well. Why not, ya know? I am in a city, alhumdilliyah. (thanks be to god).
So, I have been trying to meet people, which really takes no effort because everyone notices you. Everyone. Did I mention I am the only white woman in Louga? Cool. I said to jeremiah yesterday, “I do not feel sorry for minorities in America” and maaaan I stick by that. People are not used to diversity here. And they test you. They are not kind, but supposedly it happens to everyone here and it is all in good nature. So I am waiting for my wolof to improve before I do a lot of heavy networking. However, I have some good people to start chatting with about ideas of work.
The first 3 months are for community integration so I have time. A young man already approached me about coming to English club meetings and talking with them/and or supervising at the centre culturelle. And as more people began to ask about me teaching them English, and the same thing happening to J, we decided yesterday we would like to start an English club in town together for the young folk. He does not speak any French and I essentially do not speak any wolof, so together we are a dynamite team.
My counterparts are slow to getting back to my texts and calls and taking me around to meeting people at certain institutions, but I am going to roll Senegalese style and take my time. I really have no agenda here…ever. I am happy so long as a read some of the Peace Corps business material they gave us, Speak/study some wolof and French, and walk around the city a little bit. And let’s see …today at lunch, which was fish balls, rich and vegetables( I told myself I was eating meatballs and for the one bite I actually believed it—it was great)…so at lunch I actually got some wolof correct when an older man at the bowl said some things to me. And I am going for tea at my tutor’s house today to practice more.
I lucked out to live right down the street from a great man, Pap Samb. He has been a teacher here for twenty-five plus years and has tutored countless Peace Corps volunteers. He is blind so he writes words out in the sand and is just so awesome, I love it. He is one of those natural teacher types, who just likes to see you learn. We meet three times a week for an hour each time. Two sessions a week for wolof, one for French. He thinks I do not need more French, but he is fooling himself. I want to be fluent in French by the time I leave, as well as Wolof.
Soo, Louga is hot. It is sandy. It is a big city by Senegalese standards and there are two paved roads. Walking in dirty sand everywhere is a lot more work than roads. “when you get on the road, you are like ‘man, im flying!’”, said Adrian.
Soooo… I can buy just about everything I need here, too. I get my bananas, my spaghetti sandwiches ( oooo yeaaaa), my café touba, and my biskrems. What else could a girl need? Well….FIXED PRICES. They need to work on that here. Not only do I always feel like im getting screwed, but also its better for the economy. Taxes and stuff, right?
So more of those surreal moments I wondered about have come along. Just one or two, when I was like well, this is mighty surreal. I don’t really miss America or take myself to that mindset where I picture certain things there for more than 10 seconds because it is just too bizarre. So it is more surreal now because I am finally not in Thies, where I saw loads of Americans every day and had a schedule set for me. I am in a city where I am going to be working for two years, doing whatever the hell I feel like( keeping the people here in mind, naturally). And im not gonna be speaking English, yo. Oh no. It is a weird feeling. J has a sweet place and has this whole roof to himself. And I was looking off it the other day, looking at good ol Senegal lit up by a western union sign and I was like “soo…hmmm…ok. I live here. Right.” I have not lived anywhere for two years straight since high school. And now its in Louga. Senegal. West Africa. Dave asked me online yesterday if I feel like I am in Africa. The answer is Yes. Yes, Yes, Yes.
Come visit me if you dare.
So…Louga. I live with twenty-five people and about fifteen goats. Wolof is the language of the house…a few speak French…but don’t like to, really. My host mother and I get by on gestures. I should mention there are 3 wives here and no husband. He passed away. The noises outside of my window are ones of many clinking pans, sheep of all ages (babies are higher-pitched sounding) and crying babies. Oh, the crying babies. Oh the sheep! There is like 15 children under the age of 15 here. They are quite adorable, though I know hardly any of their names. Oh yea, and me? I am Ndaye Touti Sekk. “Ndaye Touti, Ndaye Touti”. Already I am a celebrity in town. I will work my way up to Demba’s status soon. I mean, we are the only white people in this city of about two hundred thousand people. “team toubab!”
Demba is Jeremiah, the other Peace Corps volunteer in Louga. He has been here for 6 months as an urban agriculture volunteer. Fortunately we get along mighty well. And the 3rd musketeer of Team Louga hails from a village about 45 minutes west, Adrian AKA Adama.
I lucked the heck out with these guys being my neighbors. Not all Peace Corps volunteers are totally sweet, like I dreamingly envisioned. Nonetheless, these guys are my “paht-nahs”. We are having a family Thanksgiving together tomorrow. And, as you should know, Thanksgiving Eve is the second biggest bar night of the year in America, so of course we are hitting up the town discotheque “club millionaire” for some late night dancing tonight. Jeremiah and I did all of the Thanksgiving shopping today because a night in Senegal does not end until 5 am at the earliest. And the market pickings are best at 9 am. So here is what we will “mange”(eat): fried chicken (And honey mustard dipping sauce!…this was key for the guys), mac and cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, cheesy garlic bread, salad with tomato and green pepper, and a box of wine each. These aren’t franzia sized boxes. Yea turkey is just too expensive and yea, you buy them alive, too. J and I saw two turkeys tied together today on the side of the road and agreed that was sweet to SEE two turkeys the day BEFORE thanksgiving..because turkeys are rare here. You know what else you don’t eat in Louga? Pork. I’m rolling deep in Muslims here. Deeeeep.
I would also like to note there is fruit soaking in a party punch for tonight. We decided to be idealists for our Thanksgiving fete. Big ballers or “petron”, if you will.
Apparantly this club is just like on you find in New Orleans, says Adrian, so I am quite excited. And one fact of Senegalese bars is I am guaranteed an approximate 3:10 ratio of women : men. Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!! So what I say is, “am nah jeker”—I have a husband. No problem, I really do enjoy Senegalese dancing, so should be great. And how much did I luck out that team Louga enjoys dancing? I did luck out.
A note on dancing here. Its great!!!!!!!!!!!! It is really fun. Our stage (the people I trained with in thies) were big on the dancing. And about 4 of the guy volunteers told me on different occasions that they never loved dancing until they came to Senegal, where they feel so free! So freeeeeeeeeeeeee….. to dance! Like seriously though. So I thought that was cute. Yea, they do look ridiculous, but im just happy they are letting go of inhibitions. ☺
So: about Louga. Right, I am here to work, not celebrate thanksgiving every day! But yea, it is going well. Why not, ya know? I am in a city, alhumdilliyah. (thanks be to god).
So, I have been trying to meet people, which really takes no effort because everyone notices you. Everyone. Did I mention I am the only white woman in Louga? Cool. I said to jeremiah yesterday, “I do not feel sorry for minorities in America” and maaaan I stick by that. People are not used to diversity here. And they test you. They are not kind, but supposedly it happens to everyone here and it is all in good nature. So I am waiting for my wolof to improve before I do a lot of heavy networking. However, I have some good people to start chatting with about ideas of work.
The first 3 months are for community integration so I have time. A young man already approached me about coming to English club meetings and talking with them/and or supervising at the centre culturelle. And as more people began to ask about me teaching them English, and the same thing happening to J, we decided yesterday we would like to start an English club in town together for the young folk. He does not speak any French and I essentially do not speak any wolof, so together we are a dynamite team.
My counterparts are slow to getting back to my texts and calls and taking me around to meeting people at certain institutions, but I am going to roll Senegalese style and take my time. I really have no agenda here…ever. I am happy so long as a read some of the Peace Corps business material they gave us, Speak/study some wolof and French, and walk around the city a little bit. And let’s see …today at lunch, which was fish balls, rich and vegetables( I told myself I was eating meatballs and for the one bite I actually believed it—it was great)…so at lunch I actually got some wolof correct when an older man at the bowl said some things to me. And I am going for tea at my tutor’s house today to practice more.
I lucked out to live right down the street from a great man, Pap Samb. He has been a teacher here for twenty-five plus years and has tutored countless Peace Corps volunteers. He is blind so he writes words out in the sand and is just so awesome, I love it. He is one of those natural teacher types, who just likes to see you learn. We meet three times a week for an hour each time. Two sessions a week for wolof, one for French. He thinks I do not need more French, but he is fooling himself. I want to be fluent in French by the time I leave, as well as Wolof.
Soo, Louga is hot. It is sandy. It is a big city by Senegalese standards and there are two paved roads. Walking in dirty sand everywhere is a lot more work than roads. “when you get on the road, you are like ‘man, im flying!’”, said Adrian.
Soooo… I can buy just about everything I need here, too. I get my bananas, my spaghetti sandwiches ( oooo yeaaaa), my café touba, and my biskrems. What else could a girl need? Well….FIXED PRICES. They need to work on that here. Not only do I always feel like im getting screwed, but also its better for the economy. Taxes and stuff, right?
So more of those surreal moments I wondered about have come along. Just one or two, when I was like well, this is mighty surreal. I don’t really miss America or take myself to that mindset where I picture certain things there for more than 10 seconds because it is just too bizarre. So it is more surreal now because I am finally not in Thies, where I saw loads of Americans every day and had a schedule set for me. I am in a city where I am going to be working for two years, doing whatever the hell I feel like( keeping the people here in mind, naturally). And im not gonna be speaking English, yo. Oh no. It is a weird feeling. J has a sweet place and has this whole roof to himself. And I was looking off it the other day, looking at good ol Senegal lit up by a western union sign and I was like “soo…hmmm…ok. I live here. Right.” I have not lived anywhere for two years straight since high school. And now its in Louga. Senegal. West Africa. Dave asked me online yesterday if I feel like I am in Africa. The answer is Yes. Yes, Yes, Yes.
Come visit me if you dare.
Day Two at Home
Hello world—
Hello from my new home for the next two years. Louga. I am staying with a current volunteer here. He has a ridiculous set-up. He lives in a different house rfom his family. His host dad owns this other house and the peace corps paid him to fix up one of the rooms. So he has a sweet regular room with a bathroom with a toilet and a shower. Its ridiculous. And the rest of the house is empty, dirt floors. But he has an entire roof to himself too. A huge roof. He has a hammock up there, a garden, chairs. Its pretty sick. So I will be here when I need a break from a fam setting. Tomorrow I will move into the house with my family The country director is coming up to Louga to take me around town and settle me in. The guys (jeremiah, who im staying with, and our closest nieghbor Adrian—who are both in the room with me right now) will join me for a Louga experience. I think we’ll go out to breakfast with the director.
Anywayssss this is the longest break ive had since ive been here—two days. And yesterday was a bit ridiculous. We were supposed to leave thies at 8 but it was more like 11 because drivers here are ridiculous. Anddddd yea well I don’t even know how to explain what else happened because without context it might be hard to get. Anyyyyyways→well I am going to miss my other volunteer friends, the ones who are dispersed all over the country now. But I will see some this Friday. Hahah it was ridiculous saying goodbye to some because I wont see them until February for In Service training. And others…it was like..see you Friday in Dakar! I am playing on the Dakar region softball league. I believe we meet a few times a month and play other teams, like ex-pats and other Senegalese teams and really just grill and drink some beers. I am excited.
This is a weird time!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess that is all I can really say. Just starting tomorrow I will start my peace corps experience, really. I mean obviously I have had some of it, but yea—I am at my site now.
The city of Louga seems
Cool. ??
More later.
Hello from my new home for the next two years. Louga. I am staying with a current volunteer here. He has a ridiculous set-up. He lives in a different house rfom his family. His host dad owns this other house and the peace corps paid him to fix up one of the rooms. So he has a sweet regular room with a bathroom with a toilet and a shower. Its ridiculous. And the rest of the house is empty, dirt floors. But he has an entire roof to himself too. A huge roof. He has a hammock up there, a garden, chairs. Its pretty sick. So I will be here when I need a break from a fam setting. Tomorrow I will move into the house with my family The country director is coming up to Louga to take me around town and settle me in. The guys (jeremiah, who im staying with, and our closest nieghbor Adrian—who are both in the room with me right now) will join me for a Louga experience. I think we’ll go out to breakfast with the director.
Anywayssss this is the longest break ive had since ive been here—two days. And yesterday was a bit ridiculous. We were supposed to leave thies at 8 but it was more like 11 because drivers here are ridiculous. Anddddd yea well I don’t even know how to explain what else happened because without context it might be hard to get. Anyyyyyways→well I am going to miss my other volunteer friends, the ones who are dispersed all over the country now. But I will see some this Friday. Hahah it was ridiculous saying goodbye to some because I wont see them until February for In Service training. And others…it was like..see you Friday in Dakar! I am playing on the Dakar region softball league. I believe we meet a few times a month and play other teams, like ex-pats and other Senegalese teams and really just grill and drink some beers. I am excited.
This is a weird time!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess that is all I can really say. Just starting tomorrow I will start my peace corps experience, really. I mean obviously I have had some of it, but yea—I am at my site now.
The city of Louga seems
Cool. ??
More later.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
october twenty-sixth
Sooooooooo I wrote that last blog like 3 weeks ago and haven’t gotten around to posting it. Its Friday night and im getting ready to go to bed here soon. Its 10 40 and welp, that’s so past my bed time. Haha not lately though, let me fill you in on what ive been up to lately.
I generally hang out at this corner store with some Senegalese friends. Its called “Out Figgy” which, lets face it- is a sweet name. it means “go forward” in Sereer. I live in a catholic neighborhood which means there are a bunch of sereers around. It’s an ethnic group here, like wolof and pulaar. I will be living with a lot of wolof people in Louga, where I am moving in two weeks from today! I cant believe it. In two weeks I will officially be a volunteer, no longer a trainee. C’est bonne!!! Donk……or is it “donc”?
Sooooo I had a cool African moment this evening after school. I have a new friend Maho, this Senegalese dude who you might refer to as the rasta dude. He is totally …yes…just what you think of when you imagine rastas. He lives right across from the peace corps center.
Lately ive been spending my breaks with the guards at the center. There are guys who watch the gate, answer phone, whatnot…and I drink tea with them every day now a few times a day. People love the tea here. And its soooooooo good. Anyways Maho comes over to have tea sometimes and weve gotten to talking. And he invited me around to hang after school. So my friend Liam and I went after “school” today. We listened to Bob Marley on a cassette boombox and sat at a metal framed couch with a plush plum colored cushion. We were sitting in the courtyard of course, just chilling outside… we drank tea and I made my best francais discussion. It was kinda the shit. Ok it was the shit. I told him at one point that I may never leave Senegal at this rate. And its true. Man the people are nice here.
Hier soir, liam and I were at the local bar here having a post school beer. My host brother joined us too. Which reminds me….he has malaria as of today. He will get the medication tomorrow but its definitely not the same the peace corps gives us because its really cheap and the American version is tres tres chere. Anyways, more on that later. D’accord…sooo liam and I have some good moments of “god I love this place” together. He is definitely like some of the guys at home and we get along well. Anyways, when people enter places they greet everyone. So u r chillin at this African bar and everyone that comes in greets us, usually with a handshake and smile. At least a wave and a greeting though. And its like why the fuck wouldn’t u do this? Us americans have realized JUST how awkward we are with things like greeting “strangers”.
Okay it is hard to make money here in senegal. Fact. With some economic prosperity and this better education and access to health care, Senegal is just about ideal. They certainly have the hospitality down, which across the world they are well known for.
Anyways, I have been here 6 weeks now! I love it and I love so many of my friends. I was looking around at some of my peeps this evening at the local bar and I was like man, I am used to these faces now and I like them.
So that’s cool. And this weekend some of us are going to Dakar. Actually I am posting this blog tomorrow which means the following day I am leaving. Dimanche. That is Sunday for u English speakers ☺
Anyways on Monday all of the stagierres are going to Dakar even if u didn’t go early on Sunday like I am. We are visiting the US Embassy, etc. doing some legal stuff, etccccc…. And checking out things like the peace corps headquarters here as well.
Anyways, 7 of us are getting a hotel with two twin beds. Sweet. Haha its crazy being so broke all of the time, but this is life.
Annnnnnnd well im gonna hit the hay now. Maybe ill type more before I put this online tomorrow. For now…ciao. Ai revior. Babenenyon.
claire
I generally hang out at this corner store with some Senegalese friends. Its called “Out Figgy” which, lets face it- is a sweet name. it means “go forward” in Sereer. I live in a catholic neighborhood which means there are a bunch of sereers around. It’s an ethnic group here, like wolof and pulaar. I will be living with a lot of wolof people in Louga, where I am moving in two weeks from today! I cant believe it. In two weeks I will officially be a volunteer, no longer a trainee. C’est bonne!!! Donk……or is it “donc”?
Sooooo I had a cool African moment this evening after school. I have a new friend Maho, this Senegalese dude who you might refer to as the rasta dude. He is totally …yes…just what you think of when you imagine rastas. He lives right across from the peace corps center.
Lately ive been spending my breaks with the guards at the center. There are guys who watch the gate, answer phone, whatnot…and I drink tea with them every day now a few times a day. People love the tea here. And its soooooooo good. Anyways Maho comes over to have tea sometimes and weve gotten to talking. And he invited me around to hang after school. So my friend Liam and I went after “school” today. We listened to Bob Marley on a cassette boombox and sat at a metal framed couch with a plush plum colored cushion. We were sitting in the courtyard of course, just chilling outside… we drank tea and I made my best francais discussion. It was kinda the shit. Ok it was the shit. I told him at one point that I may never leave Senegal at this rate. And its true. Man the people are nice here.
Hier soir, liam and I were at the local bar here having a post school beer. My host brother joined us too. Which reminds me….he has malaria as of today. He will get the medication tomorrow but its definitely not the same the peace corps gives us because its really cheap and the American version is tres tres chere. Anyways, more on that later. D’accord…sooo liam and I have some good moments of “god I love this place” together. He is definitely like some of the guys at home and we get along well. Anyways, when people enter places they greet everyone. So u r chillin at this African bar and everyone that comes in greets us, usually with a handshake and smile. At least a wave and a greeting though. And its like why the fuck wouldn’t u do this? Us americans have realized JUST how awkward we are with things like greeting “strangers”.
Okay it is hard to make money here in senegal. Fact. With some economic prosperity and this better education and access to health care, Senegal is just about ideal. They certainly have the hospitality down, which across the world they are well known for.
Anyways, I have been here 6 weeks now! I love it and I love so many of my friends. I was looking around at some of my peeps this evening at the local bar and I was like man, I am used to these faces now and I like them.
So that’s cool. And this weekend some of us are going to Dakar. Actually I am posting this blog tomorrow which means the following day I am leaving. Dimanche. That is Sunday for u English speakers ☺
Anyways on Monday all of the stagierres are going to Dakar even if u didn’t go early on Sunday like I am. We are visiting the US Embassy, etc. doing some legal stuff, etccccc…. And checking out things like the peace corps headquarters here as well.
Anyways, 7 of us are getting a hotel with two twin beds. Sweet. Haha its crazy being so broke all of the time, but this is life.
Annnnnnnd well im gonna hit the hay now. Maybe ill type more before I put this online tomorrow. For now…ciao. Ai revior. Babenenyon.
claire
africa light---
well my immediate thoughts as a i type this on october 30 are MAN the staff at peace corps center in senegal are unorganized!!!!!!!!!!! things take forever and there is constant misscommunication TOUT LES JOURS> ----- all of the time. c'est bizarre, mais c'est la vie au senegal.
none the less, im happy (as i dump dead spider on ground without a second thought)
man this pas weekend a lot of us went to dakar for the weekend and i felt like my former self for a few nights. MAKEUP and clothes....ok i havent used a normal purse in ages, and didnt there, but i was close to old claire. clooooooose.
that city is pricey though. bucks for a cab ride? non,cest trop chere, and walk away.wait 30 seconds for cab driver to lower price, hahaha oh what has become expensive has changed. its a constant bargaining scheme here in senegal. fortunately i was with those who have much b etter french. anyways lots to say but id rather use other web pages so let me post what ive written at times when im not connected to the internet. see below:
from Oct 7:
Hello ---
Ca va bien? Oui ca va bien. Nanga def? magni fi…. Ca va. Ca va merci.
Greetings are a huge part of Senegalese culture. Big time. That above was a typical greeting. Wolof and French. Frolof. Sometimes greetings are the whole conversation for a good while. If you don’t say hi to someone here, it is an insult. Like when you are in your village or your quartier in a city. Or Work. Etc. Things run differently here in Africa and it is going to take me a while to sort it out and if ever…iron out the kinks. First, the language. I can kinda shmumble through things when I go out alone now, but it definitely makes traveling a bit harder. Ok, a lot harder. Though I have been surprised by the amount of people speaking English. However, at the moment I am in a city of 1 million. And even most of those who speak some English, it is not much. Clearly the case is that the reply people learn first for “how are you?” is “I am fine, thanks”. Its so endearing. “I’m fine, I’m fine thank you”.
En general, people in Senegal really do follow through on the hospitality thing they promise. I mean, all of my encounters have basically been pleasant. My host family goes with me some times some places and that never hurts. ☺ I hang out with my brother a lot here. He is my twin because we are the same age. He looks older though.
I am sweating a lot right now. My room is a sweat box and I felt like typing this alone in here. I don’t really feel like conversing much in French. It is tiring and today is my only day off. I hung out with my uncle today: he is 35. I went to his house and it is really nice, actually. And a Peace Corps volunteer lives there. It has to be the nicest set up of all of the volunteers. I was chilling, with a fan on, music, in a room with couches and such. And also on the doors there are generally sheets hanging so you can have privacy and air… at this place there were luminescent peach crochet-ish curtains and they were beautiful. The sun was coming through them and creating such a lovely glow. And I hung out there. He is kinda like an African Rastafarian looking guy. He speaks fluent English, so honestly that is what we used the entire time…. Woops. Whenever I hang out with Antoine, my brother, he will occasionally slip in an English word he knows and instantly the dynamic of my mind changes. “J’ai compris!” – I comprehend. I, for that one minute, stop squinting my ears and lean back a little.
As languages go, first you start to understand what other people are saying. And more and more every day I do. I have a lot of vocabulary to learn. I should be doing it now but man it is my only day off out of the week. It is Sunday, it is almost 8 pm here, 4 pm in Ohio. Dinner is ready at 8 30 every night. That is quite early because a lot of families eat at 11 or so. That is mainly because it is Ramadan right now, which is the muslim holiday when they fast for a month from sunrise to sundown. Everything slows down during this time of the year. Not even water during the day. In the freaking hot ass African sun…. no drinking or eating all day. Us volunteers have some interesting thoughts about this. No big deal or anything though. The Catholics respect it, too. Me living with a Catholic family has been really nice. Because here Catholics are the more laid back or the religions. It is kinda weird, but it works. And my name fits in well with the family
I am typing on my computer without the internet, so I do not even know what I wrote the one time I blogged, so I will introduce my family to you. There is my dad (must introductwe him first in Senegal….) Gabriel. He seems to really like me. The father role in Senegal is much more hands off and kind of maintains the role of the worker. Gender dynamic here is worth noting and will be a constant point of reference throughout my years here when I write. Anyways, He always says “Claire comme la loon!” Meaning Claire like the moon. Apparantly it is a French song. I am glad I found that out because I thought he was saying I was like an alien a few weeks ago. He is a retired police officer. He has been to the US. New York, North Carolina, and somewhere else. And he really speaks no English at all, so I laughed at him a little bit when I pictured him in the USA. “how are you doing?” he has beeen saying lately. Though more like “how youu doin”.
My mother’s name is Suzanne. (weird). She is a commercante, which means she sells thing like fish and ice. People buy ice from the people who freeze it at their house: those with water on site and a freezer. She puts water in bags, then people come by, sometimes with a little cooler or something, and take it. She is a hearty women, as many are here.
She is warming up to me as I can speak French more. They have had lots of volunteers stay with them. So she is very nice and always passes me pieces of fish at the dinner bowl.
I have 3 sisters, Madeline, twenty-seven,Veronique, twenty-five, and Virginie, 14. (My two button is not functioning on my computer.)
I am not kidding when I say I am soaked in sweat right now. ☺ Just painting the picture. In a month it is supposed to start cooling down. Goooood.
And then I have a brother Joseph living in Italy. In Senegal, I believe this means he sends the family money.
I can hear them speaking Wolof outside now. The girls make the dinners. Kids do a lot of work here. Like all of it, actually. Especially the girls. Men are for working outside of the home or whatever.
So here is my daily day here….
I wake up around 6:30 a.m. it is usually still dark when I get up unless I continue on woith this snooze button thing. Mmmm sleep. So I get up, climb out of my mosquito net through the little “door” opening that is tucked under the mattress. I find my toilet paper and go to the bathroom. Because with the food here, let’s just say it gives people u happy stomachs a lot. Sooooo the bathroom is outside. My bedroom door goes straight outside onto like a little patio thing where the other people’s doors go to, too. And I walk just down like an alley thing back to the bathrooms. It is two separate rooms. One is the shower and the other is for the toilet. The toilet is a Turkish style, which means you squat. I think it is better than the other option of a toilet without a seat cover. Because that’s really fowl. At least no one’s ass touches the Turkish hole. And people use a bucket of water instead of toilet paper. So I flush my stuff down with a cup that’s in the bucket, because it does not flush, it just does down a hole…I imagine. Then I go to the next door and get the shower bucket. I take that out to the courtyard area and fill it up. Then I carry it back and take a bucket shower, which is just dumping water over yourself with a cup out of the full bucket. One of these days I am going to take a shower at the center. Not having to work for a shower sounds kind of cool. But I don’t even notice already. I am getting used to my house here. Which is crazy because in 5 weeks I am moving out.
By the time I think I will post this blog (in a week) I will know where my site is, which is where I will live for two years. I am finding out this Thursday. The way they do it is they take all of us trainees (39, down from the original 44) out to the basketball court at the center which has a map of Senegal painted on it. They blindfold us and place us where we will be living. I think we are all going to celebrate knowing where we will be living and working for two years with lasagne. Word on the street is there is a place here that can have it if you order it a day in advance. That sounds like heaven on earth.
I miss American food, oh yes I do. It is pretty standard here. Though I have found ways to eat for cheap that is not bread. Today I bought a hard boiled egg and two bananas. That cost 50 cents in total. Haha life is pretty cheap here. A soda in a glass bottle is about 40 cents. Fanta, coke. Apparently cigarettes are a dollar a pack for Marlboros. Its dollar beer day every day at this one restaurant peace corps volunteers go to a lot. There is a discount for pcvs. They serve pizza and icecream there too, it’s a bit ridiculous. I occasionally get food there, like once a week at most though. I have been getting cheese a few times at the store though. And MULTIGRAIN bread and eating that in my room before dinner. Because sometimes I cannot even stomach the food, like when it is Senegalese (note: unless you have been here and had it, you don’t know what it is…haha “mmmcous cous is goood tho! Noooo). It is made with millet. And one night I had to pass on the dinner all together because to me, it tasted like my vomit. Hhah but in general its not so bad. However, it is not nutritious. As you can understand, food here is to get full. So it is heavy on the carbs, like rice, white baguettes, and sometimes potatoes. That is even a bit fancy. And my family is not poor by Senegalese standards at all.
And at the center it is this: white baguettes for breakfast. Toppings include real butter, peanut butter, jelly, and generic nutella. Not so bad huh?? Well try having it at tea time too. Every day. Though at the “town meeting” last weekend I brought up the fact that a lot of volunteers are having a hard time staying awake in class for 10 hours on this. So some off the days there are hard boiled eggs and fruit. Though, the fruit in the morning replaces the fruit we got after lunch. Haha small victories. Eggs are awesome. And having peanut butter is too. Though we have chicken twice a week. Its great. Saturdays the food is a biut more western style too, so we all get extremely happy. I am going to take pictures at lunch this week I just decided, so you can just see the food and the way people eat on the ground and whatnot.
I am looking forward to having the option of cooking for myself and having filtered water at home. Because at the moment I could totally drink this liter of water in front of me in one go, but I want to save it for the whole night until I get to the center and get some of the filtered water. It will be nice to be at the place I will live for two years are have more than just a bedroom, or at least a bigger one. This is tiny and my stuff is just all over the floor. Beaucoup de baggage dans ma chambre. I do think in French a bit now, so it is really nice. It is way harder to write or type, though. Hopefully in time. And also I will be learning the national language, Wolof, after my French reaches an intermediate level. And also just at site I will be there for 3 months solely for community integration and language building. This happens in 5 weeks when pre-service training is done. I swear in as a volunteer is just 5 weeks. Finally time is starting to move at a normal pace. It certainly did not do the same for the first month. Tommorrow it will be one month since I left Ohio and flew to Atlanta for staging. So I have been in Senegal for for about 3 weeks. Feels like a whole lot more.
I have bruises all over my legs and I have no idea. My body reacts differently to a lot of things now. I have to adjust a lot of things. For example, last night we were hanging out at another trainee’s house. It was me, my brother, tayo (trainee), his cousin who is also my brothers friend, and some other Senegalese people and another trainee maria. Oh and also a Japanese guy is staying with one of the sengalese guys there. He has been here for a week. He is with an organization similar to Peace Corps. It was a crazy moment in Africa. And for a few minutes it was just the peace corps peeps and it was looking like a big storm was on the way, with lightning, etc. And I mentioned that we are going to have to adjust even the way we looked at weather. Because we asked one of the kids that was around if it was about to rain and he was like nope. And then it sprinked for 1 minute and stopped and cleared up totally. Then we all went out to a soiree. It is two bucks to get in. There is a dj, a stage thing where you get beer and dance. Then there is a huge courtyard with tables and chairs where people sit. No one goes til like 1 am and people stay til 5 am at least. Antoine and I cruised home at 5 this morning and we both slept late all day. I saw a little food stand outside of the soiree and was like yess. I saw buns. I asked what came with the buns. Coffee. Sweeet. Im going home to bed. Hhaa. And so I ate a bun. And I LIKED IT. Haha. Sink or swim. Sink or swim.
I hope dinner is tasty today. Anyways, I am just rambling waiting for dinner to be done.
I will stop though there is a lot more to be said. It is about time I got some substantial information up on the blog though. Currently I am listening to Sufjan Stevens, but really I am learning the men chanting the Muslim prayers over the loudspeakers. Do you know about those in Muslim cultures? It is the call to prayer 5 times a day. I have a mosque nearby, so I hear it.
I will go sit outside. I will put my pagne on over my shorts because, well that would just be inappropriate without it. Ciao for now!!!
none the less, im happy (as i dump dead spider on ground without a second thought)
man this pas weekend a lot of us went to dakar for the weekend and i felt like my former self for a few nights. MAKEUP and clothes....ok i havent used a normal purse in ages, and didnt there, but i was close to old claire. clooooooose.
that city is pricey though. bucks for a cab ride? non,cest trop chere, and walk away.wait 30 seconds for cab driver to lower price, hahaha oh what has become expensive has changed. its a constant bargaining scheme here in senegal. fortunately i was with those who have much b etter french. anyways lots to say but id rather use other web pages so let me post what ive written at times when im not connected to the internet. see below:
from Oct 7:
Hello ---
Ca va bien? Oui ca va bien. Nanga def? magni fi…. Ca va. Ca va merci.
Greetings are a huge part of Senegalese culture. Big time. That above was a typical greeting. Wolof and French. Frolof. Sometimes greetings are the whole conversation for a good while. If you don’t say hi to someone here, it is an insult. Like when you are in your village or your quartier in a city. Or Work. Etc. Things run differently here in Africa and it is going to take me a while to sort it out and if ever…iron out the kinks. First, the language. I can kinda shmumble through things when I go out alone now, but it definitely makes traveling a bit harder. Ok, a lot harder. Though I have been surprised by the amount of people speaking English. However, at the moment I am in a city of 1 million. And even most of those who speak some English, it is not much. Clearly the case is that the reply people learn first for “how are you?” is “I am fine, thanks”. Its so endearing. “I’m fine, I’m fine thank you”.
En general, people in Senegal really do follow through on the hospitality thing they promise. I mean, all of my encounters have basically been pleasant. My host family goes with me some times some places and that never hurts. ☺ I hang out with my brother a lot here. He is my twin because we are the same age. He looks older though.
I am sweating a lot right now. My room is a sweat box and I felt like typing this alone in here. I don’t really feel like conversing much in French. It is tiring and today is my only day off. I hung out with my uncle today: he is 35. I went to his house and it is really nice, actually. And a Peace Corps volunteer lives there. It has to be the nicest set up of all of the volunteers. I was chilling, with a fan on, music, in a room with couches and such. And also on the doors there are generally sheets hanging so you can have privacy and air… at this place there were luminescent peach crochet-ish curtains and they were beautiful. The sun was coming through them and creating such a lovely glow. And I hung out there. He is kinda like an African Rastafarian looking guy. He speaks fluent English, so honestly that is what we used the entire time…. Woops. Whenever I hang out with Antoine, my brother, he will occasionally slip in an English word he knows and instantly the dynamic of my mind changes. “J’ai compris!” – I comprehend. I, for that one minute, stop squinting my ears and lean back a little.
As languages go, first you start to understand what other people are saying. And more and more every day I do. I have a lot of vocabulary to learn. I should be doing it now but man it is my only day off out of the week. It is Sunday, it is almost 8 pm here, 4 pm in Ohio. Dinner is ready at 8 30 every night. That is quite early because a lot of families eat at 11 or so. That is mainly because it is Ramadan right now, which is the muslim holiday when they fast for a month from sunrise to sundown. Everything slows down during this time of the year. Not even water during the day. In the freaking hot ass African sun…. no drinking or eating all day. Us volunteers have some interesting thoughts about this. No big deal or anything though. The Catholics respect it, too. Me living with a Catholic family has been really nice. Because here Catholics are the more laid back or the religions. It is kinda weird, but it works. And my name fits in well with the family
I am typing on my computer without the internet, so I do not even know what I wrote the one time I blogged, so I will introduce my family to you. There is my dad (must introductwe him first in Senegal….) Gabriel. He seems to really like me. The father role in Senegal is much more hands off and kind of maintains the role of the worker. Gender dynamic here is worth noting and will be a constant point of reference throughout my years here when I write. Anyways, He always says “Claire comme la loon!” Meaning Claire like the moon. Apparantly it is a French song. I am glad I found that out because I thought he was saying I was like an alien a few weeks ago. He is a retired police officer. He has been to the US. New York, North Carolina, and somewhere else. And he really speaks no English at all, so I laughed at him a little bit when I pictured him in the USA. “how are you doing?” he has beeen saying lately. Though more like “how youu doin”.
My mother’s name is Suzanne. (weird). She is a commercante, which means she sells thing like fish and ice. People buy ice from the people who freeze it at their house: those with water on site and a freezer. She puts water in bags, then people come by, sometimes with a little cooler or something, and take it. She is a hearty women, as many are here.
She is warming up to me as I can speak French more. They have had lots of volunteers stay with them. So she is very nice and always passes me pieces of fish at the dinner bowl.
I have 3 sisters, Madeline, twenty-seven,Veronique, twenty-five, and Virginie, 14. (My two button is not functioning on my computer.)
I am not kidding when I say I am soaked in sweat right now. ☺ Just painting the picture. In a month it is supposed to start cooling down. Goooood.
And then I have a brother Joseph living in Italy. In Senegal, I believe this means he sends the family money.
I can hear them speaking Wolof outside now. The girls make the dinners. Kids do a lot of work here. Like all of it, actually. Especially the girls. Men are for working outside of the home or whatever.
So here is my daily day here….
I wake up around 6:30 a.m. it is usually still dark when I get up unless I continue on woith this snooze button thing. Mmmm sleep. So I get up, climb out of my mosquito net through the little “door” opening that is tucked under the mattress. I find my toilet paper and go to the bathroom. Because with the food here, let’s just say it gives people u happy stomachs a lot. Sooooo the bathroom is outside. My bedroom door goes straight outside onto like a little patio thing where the other people’s doors go to, too. And I walk just down like an alley thing back to the bathrooms. It is two separate rooms. One is the shower and the other is for the toilet. The toilet is a Turkish style, which means you squat. I think it is better than the other option of a toilet without a seat cover. Because that’s really fowl. At least no one’s ass touches the Turkish hole. And people use a bucket of water instead of toilet paper. So I flush my stuff down with a cup that’s in the bucket, because it does not flush, it just does down a hole…I imagine. Then I go to the next door and get the shower bucket. I take that out to the courtyard area and fill it up. Then I carry it back and take a bucket shower, which is just dumping water over yourself with a cup out of the full bucket. One of these days I am going to take a shower at the center. Not having to work for a shower sounds kind of cool. But I don’t even notice already. I am getting used to my house here. Which is crazy because in 5 weeks I am moving out.
By the time I think I will post this blog (in a week) I will know where my site is, which is where I will live for two years. I am finding out this Thursday. The way they do it is they take all of us trainees (39, down from the original 44) out to the basketball court at the center which has a map of Senegal painted on it. They blindfold us and place us where we will be living. I think we are all going to celebrate knowing where we will be living and working for two years with lasagne. Word on the street is there is a place here that can have it if you order it a day in advance. That sounds like heaven on earth.
I miss American food, oh yes I do. It is pretty standard here. Though I have found ways to eat for cheap that is not bread. Today I bought a hard boiled egg and two bananas. That cost 50 cents in total. Haha life is pretty cheap here. A soda in a glass bottle is about 40 cents. Fanta, coke. Apparently cigarettes are a dollar a pack for Marlboros. Its dollar beer day every day at this one restaurant peace corps volunteers go to a lot. There is a discount for pcvs. They serve pizza and icecream there too, it’s a bit ridiculous. I occasionally get food there, like once a week at most though. I have been getting cheese a few times at the store though. And MULTIGRAIN bread and eating that in my room before dinner. Because sometimes I cannot even stomach the food, like when it is Senegalese (note: unless you have been here and had it, you don’t know what it is…haha “mmmcous cous is goood tho! Noooo). It is made with millet. And one night I had to pass on the dinner all together because to me, it tasted like my vomit. Hhah but in general its not so bad. However, it is not nutritious. As you can understand, food here is to get full. So it is heavy on the carbs, like rice, white baguettes, and sometimes potatoes. That is even a bit fancy. And my family is not poor by Senegalese standards at all.
And at the center it is this: white baguettes for breakfast. Toppings include real butter, peanut butter, jelly, and generic nutella. Not so bad huh?? Well try having it at tea time too. Every day. Though at the “town meeting” last weekend I brought up the fact that a lot of volunteers are having a hard time staying awake in class for 10 hours on this. So some off the days there are hard boiled eggs and fruit. Though, the fruit in the morning replaces the fruit we got after lunch. Haha small victories. Eggs are awesome. And having peanut butter is too. Though we have chicken twice a week. Its great. Saturdays the food is a biut more western style too, so we all get extremely happy. I am going to take pictures at lunch this week I just decided, so you can just see the food and the way people eat on the ground and whatnot.
I am looking forward to having the option of cooking for myself and having filtered water at home. Because at the moment I could totally drink this liter of water in front of me in one go, but I want to save it for the whole night until I get to the center and get some of the filtered water. It will be nice to be at the place I will live for two years are have more than just a bedroom, or at least a bigger one. This is tiny and my stuff is just all over the floor. Beaucoup de baggage dans ma chambre. I do think in French a bit now, so it is really nice. It is way harder to write or type, though. Hopefully in time. And also I will be learning the national language, Wolof, after my French reaches an intermediate level. And also just at site I will be there for 3 months solely for community integration and language building. This happens in 5 weeks when pre-service training is done. I swear in as a volunteer is just 5 weeks. Finally time is starting to move at a normal pace. It certainly did not do the same for the first month. Tommorrow it will be one month since I left Ohio and flew to Atlanta for staging. So I have been in Senegal for for about 3 weeks. Feels like a whole lot more.
I have bruises all over my legs and I have no idea. My body reacts differently to a lot of things now. I have to adjust a lot of things. For example, last night we were hanging out at another trainee’s house. It was me, my brother, tayo (trainee), his cousin who is also my brothers friend, and some other Senegalese people and another trainee maria. Oh and also a Japanese guy is staying with one of the sengalese guys there. He has been here for a week. He is with an organization similar to Peace Corps. It was a crazy moment in Africa. And for a few minutes it was just the peace corps peeps and it was looking like a big storm was on the way, with lightning, etc. And I mentioned that we are going to have to adjust even the way we looked at weather. Because we asked one of the kids that was around if it was about to rain and he was like nope. And then it sprinked for 1 minute and stopped and cleared up totally. Then we all went out to a soiree. It is two bucks to get in. There is a dj, a stage thing where you get beer and dance. Then there is a huge courtyard with tables and chairs where people sit. No one goes til like 1 am and people stay til 5 am at least. Antoine and I cruised home at 5 this morning and we both slept late all day. I saw a little food stand outside of the soiree and was like yess. I saw buns. I asked what came with the buns. Coffee. Sweeet. Im going home to bed. Hhaa. And so I ate a bun. And I LIKED IT. Haha. Sink or swim. Sink or swim.
I hope dinner is tasty today. Anyways, I am just rambling waiting for dinner to be done.
I will stop though there is a lot more to be said. It is about time I got some substantial information up on the blog though. Currently I am listening to Sufjan Stevens, but really I am learning the men chanting the Muslim prayers over the loudspeakers. Do you know about those in Muslim cultures? It is the call to prayer 5 times a day. I have a mosque nearby, so I hear it.
I will go sit outside. I will put my pagne on over my shorts because, well that would just be inappropriate without it. Ciao for now!!!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
senegal....oooo senegal
well things have been quite crazy here. Busy busy busy. class M-F 8-6 and Sat 8-1. My french is improving slowly. Africa has become pretty normal to me at this point. My host family probably hates that the other volunteers that come visit my house can speak much more french than I can....However they are patient for the most part. The Peace Corps could do training in less than 8 weeks because some of it is really repetitive. However, pas de problem. I really enjoy all of the other volunteers. 40 of us total. We have list 4 people already. It is not for everyone. For me, however, it is working out well. I went on demystification which is when I stay with a volunteer who has been here for a year in a smaller town. That was really intense. She mainly speaks Wolof woth people. Everyone here speaks wolof. I am going to learn more of it after i reach the intermediate french level which should happen in 6 weeks. In weeks I find out my site---where I will be living for years. Keeping my fingers crossed for a bigger city. Thies, where I am now, ROCKS. you can find all sorts of things. The diet can be an issue. We have "western" style lunches at the training center on wednesday and its kind of the best thing in the world. it was salad (ahhhhh legumes!!!!), fried chicken and home fries. People were shoving chicken in their face like tthere was no tomorrrow. protein deficiency un peu au Senegal.
annnnyways i willput pics up very soon. sorrry there is sooo much goingon that i dont know where to start. im just glad there are so many good people sharing it with me. its pretty major. pretty sweeeeeeeeeeeeet.
annnnyways i willput pics up very soon. sorrry there is sooo much goingon that i dont know where to start. im just glad there are so many good people sharing it with me. its pretty major. pretty sweeeeeeeeeeeeet.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Contact Information
Hiiii
my address for training (from now until November 9, 2007) is
PCT Claire Brittain
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 299
Thies, Senegal
West Africa
Write me a letter please! I will post any items I would love to have once I get to Senegal and figure that one out!
Thankkkkkkssss
Oh, also worth noting: My paypal e-mail address is c.d.brittain@gmail.com. hahahaha feel free to deposit money$$$. its for a good cause, afterall! ;)
my address for training (from now until November 9, 2007) is
PCT Claire Brittain
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 299
Thies, Senegal
West Africa
Write me a letter please! I will post any items I would love to have once I get to Senegal and figure that one out!
Thankkkkkkssss
Oh, also worth noting: My paypal e-mail address is c.d.brittain@gmail.com. hahahaha feel free to deposit money$$$. its for a good cause, afterall! ;)
Thursday, August 16, 2007
so much to do
between finding the right, well everything, finishing up scool, and working, im f**king exhausted. (the stars are the moms idea).
things ive needed to endlessly research (on a serious budget) to make sure im not left stranded without these essentials (not to living but to relative comfort and such):
backpack
camera
mp3 player
laptop battery
shortwave radio
quick dry towel
mass quantities of certain toiletries at lowered prices
(really, these are only the largest and most obvious of hundreds of things)
the mp3 player has been my greatest annoyance lately. battery life, mac compatiblity, cheapness, and realtive stablility are some of the main factors. Lord knows having the music I love in a foreign land is not something frivolous. It will be a great source of strength and support.
It takes so so so so so so much effort to get ready for the peace corps. especially because i have my hands completely full as it is. I still have to move out of my apartment, too.
And the paperwork! oh the paperwork. I wonder just how many forms volunteers fill out by the end of service. How many pgaes-- my guess as for where I am right now (the process began almost a year ago) is something like 500 pages. Many of which took original thought
GOOD NEWS: The staging is in Atnalta. One of my best friends lives there and will be able to pick me up upon arrival at 9 am. Then we have 4 hours to hang out until staging (orientation) begins, which lasts about 2 days.
Then there is a straight flight to Dakar, Senegal. From there onwards to Theis we go, where we will have training (cultural, technical, and language) for a few months, then off to service for 2 years.
The thought of cultural training excites my inner core. THAT is what im going for and already know a lot about. (oh midwesterners ending sentences with prepositions).
Technical of course will be wonderful because it will help me with my work, which is why the peace corps needs me there.
Language-- this is what im most nervous about. (there it is again!) Because I rely so heavily on my ability to communicate effectively (I am graduating with a degree in Business organizational COMMUNICATION afterall), I am nervous about the fact that I will sound like a 3 year old to most of the people there. So, here's to hoping I can buckle down and learn french! (and maybe Wolof, too).
Anyways, this post is simply a means of escaping the hell that is work today and the hell that will be my final exam in 2 hours.
And also I realize that my mom sent this link to family members who essentially (other than what my mom tells them) are completely uninformed about what I am up to and what I will be doing in the Peace Corps, or even why I am doing it. So I will start to fil in some background information as time goes on.
But the basics for now:
Peace Corps Small Business Counseler (part of the (small enterprise development[SED] sector).
Service is from September 2007-November 2009.
Location: Senegal
I am graduationg from the University of Akron next week with the aforementioned degree and a minor in Professional Writing. If I were to guess, I would get my master's in Intercultural or International Studies in the future. My goal is to live in Asia (maybe SE) and Europe after Senegal. I realize this requires a job, so I am going to work on that as time goes on.
I also realize that experiences involving great change and perserverence modify future ambitions, core beliefs, and source of passion. So, as studying abroad in England led me to Senegal, so I hope Senegal will lead me to my next home. Who knows- I might end up having a real thing for humanitarian work. I really don't know. Which to me, is what it is all about. Pushing myself further than I ever imagined possible..... Though, I really do think all is possible. I guess it is all about just DOING the things I dream of.
Ok, I guess I will study now for my final 2 tests of college.
Cheers,
Claire
P.S. Especially as time goes on, if you do in fact read my blog, I require comments. :)
things ive needed to endlessly research (on a serious budget) to make sure im not left stranded without these essentials (not to living but to relative comfort and such):
backpack
camera
mp3 player
laptop battery
shortwave radio
quick dry towel
mass quantities of certain toiletries at lowered prices
(really, these are only the largest and most obvious of hundreds of things)
the mp3 player has been my greatest annoyance lately. battery life, mac compatiblity, cheapness, and realtive stablility are some of the main factors. Lord knows having the music I love in a foreign land is not something frivolous. It will be a great source of strength and support.
It takes so so so so so so much effort to get ready for the peace corps. especially because i have my hands completely full as it is. I still have to move out of my apartment, too.
And the paperwork! oh the paperwork. I wonder just how many forms volunteers fill out by the end of service. How many pgaes-- my guess as for where I am right now (the process began almost a year ago) is something like 500 pages. Many of which took original thought
GOOD NEWS: The staging is in Atnalta. One of my best friends lives there and will be able to pick me up upon arrival at 9 am. Then we have 4 hours to hang out until staging (orientation) begins, which lasts about 2 days.
Then there is a straight flight to Dakar, Senegal. From there onwards to Theis we go, where we will have training (cultural, technical, and language) for a few months, then off to service for 2 years.
The thought of cultural training excites my inner core. THAT is what im going for and already know a lot about. (oh midwesterners ending sentences with prepositions).
Technical of course will be wonderful because it will help me with my work, which is why the peace corps needs me there.
Language-- this is what im most nervous about. (there it is again!) Because I rely so heavily on my ability to communicate effectively (I am graduating with a degree in Business organizational COMMUNICATION afterall), I am nervous about the fact that I will sound like a 3 year old to most of the people there. So, here's to hoping I can buckle down and learn french! (and maybe Wolof, too).
Anyways, this post is simply a means of escaping the hell that is work today and the hell that will be my final exam in 2 hours.
And also I realize that my mom sent this link to family members who essentially (other than what my mom tells them) are completely uninformed about what I am up to and what I will be doing in the Peace Corps, or even why I am doing it. So I will start to fil in some background information as time goes on.
But the basics for now:
Peace Corps Small Business Counseler (part of the (small enterprise development[SED] sector).
Service is from September 2007-November 2009.
Location: Senegal
I am graduationg from the University of Akron next week with the aforementioned degree and a minor in Professional Writing. If I were to guess, I would get my master's in Intercultural or International Studies in the future. My goal is to live in Asia (maybe SE) and Europe after Senegal. I realize this requires a job, so I am going to work on that as time goes on.
I also realize that experiences involving great change and perserverence modify future ambitions, core beliefs, and source of passion. So, as studying abroad in England led me to Senegal, so I hope Senegal will lead me to my next home. Who knows- I might end up having a real thing for humanitarian work. I really don't know. Which to me, is what it is all about. Pushing myself further than I ever imagined possible..... Though, I really do think all is possible. I guess it is all about just DOING the things I dream of.
Ok, I guess I will study now for my final 2 tests of college.
Cheers,
Claire
P.S. Especially as time goes on, if you do in fact read my blog, I require comments. :)
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
31 days
Hey Friends,
I was chatting with my friend and fellow PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) today. She is from Kent and is going to Senegal with me at the same time, so that is pretty awesome. Needless to say, we have a lot of similar things to talk about. And one of the things she mentioned was using google blog, so I figured instead of writing a paper due tomorrow, I would set this baby up.
I suppose this is what I will be using throughout my service in Senegal. In the future, once I start writing about PC-related things, I will have to start putting up some PC disclaimers, etc, as they are pretty intense about that.
Mom- get used to come cussing.
Friends- Some of the wilder info will be posted on facebook and myspace.
This is my general site that those of you who are concerned about my safety and those who are just generally interested in my daily happenings, can look at to be rest assured and entertained.
So, here it is- My Peace Corps Blog!
Just about 4 weeks until I head out of Akron. It could not come sooner, but at the same time I need every last second to do all of the necessary things and spend time with all of my friends.
Ciao.
And I guess sometimes they say stuff like "in the bond", but I think thats just for us PCVs....
So, for now...Au revoir!
I was chatting with my friend and fellow PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) today. She is from Kent and is going to Senegal with me at the same time, so that is pretty awesome. Needless to say, we have a lot of similar things to talk about. And one of the things she mentioned was using google blog, so I figured instead of writing a paper due tomorrow, I would set this baby up.
I suppose this is what I will be using throughout my service in Senegal. In the future, once I start writing about PC-related things, I will have to start putting up some PC disclaimers, etc, as they are pretty intense about that.
Mom- get used to come cussing.
Friends- Some of the wilder info will be posted on facebook and myspace.
This is my general site that those of you who are concerned about my safety and those who are just generally interested in my daily happenings, can look at to be rest assured and entertained.
So, here it is- My Peace Corps Blog!
Just about 4 weeks until I head out of Akron. It could not come sooner, but at the same time I need every last second to do all of the necessary things and spend time with all of my friends.
Ciao.
And I guess sometimes they say stuff like "in the bond", but I think thats just for us PCVs....
So, for now...Au revoir!
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