Finally-Clean Clothes!

Doing laundry here literally takes the whole day. Fill up bucket of water, soak it with a detergent for a lil while, after that you put it into another bucket (if u have one-i dont) and use a big bar of soap to scrub, rub with your knuckles and squeegie time and time again. then it goes into a bucket of clean water a few times over. Well I have only paid to have someone do my laundry once. I would rather just do it myself even though I always knew they could actually do a much better job. When I hung them up to dry in the past, I remember my family telling me many times to put my white sheets in bleach cuz they were still dirty. this was after I finished! So TODAY.....I had a breakthrough and I can now do laundry. Like 4 people in my house told me today "sa yeret dafa set!" which means your clothes are clean. its not like they weere comparing it to when they used to be dirty, its just something they say here. And Ya!! I can now do laundry by hand-sheets, towels, pants (which are a freaking pain), the whole nine! So though I am freaking exhausted-4 and a half hours of nonstop work for the equivalent of maybe 1 and a half loads in a machine. I lost a fair bit of skin off my hands through it all today, but anyways im proud. CLEAN SHEETS without bleach! I hate using bleach on my white stuff all of the time for fear of people laughing at how dirty it still is. Today -white sheets and white towel, no bleach!

We are so dependent on stuff in America, such as a washing machine or a walgreens or grocery store. Out of touch with our earth and bodies in a way. I like to learn how to be self sustainable if all of that were to go. Life is harder without packaged chicken and boxes of rice with seasonings all ready to be cooked up. Without washing machines, microwaves, ovens, stovetops,mailboxes. But sometimes I take pleasure in living without all of that. It is more real in a lot of ways.

Little joys.

hehe but I snuck a blender into this lil simple life o mine. And I am going to make a frozen coffee drink before dinner.

we must not leave any children behind

SO I was like a mommy today. I took my fave kid in the house, Fama (wearing her new white shirt from America..) to school today. She is 14 and it was her first time. School in Senegal finally started today despite being scheduled to startOct. 9. We went to the school I know very well as me and Jeremiah are starting a huge school garden project there soon. So I asked the principal to meet with her and I and sign her up and he agreed. I enrolled her and brought her into her new class where she is the oldest one and met her teacher. She was so scared and was acting totally shy with the teachers and principals which is very unlike her.

After school all of the other kids in the house who are younger and have been in school already surrounded her and asked her questions, etc. Overall they were pretty nice about it minus a few laughs when they learned what level she was in because its the first. Fact is she doesnt know how to read and that was making me too sad.

When I asked the head of the household ( my senegalese mom) if i could take her to school she was confused why. I was like what if she is sick? How will she read medecine labels? She wants to know how to use a computer and cant if she cant read. Yiye (mom) said she shoud just look for a husband. I said thats ridiculous to say. She said Fama isnt smart and, resisting the urge to call her rude which is rude to say here, I told her not to say that and that our lil Fama is smart and will be going to school.

I was feeling so much like a mom today, guiding her through all of it, scared as hell when adults asked her questions. It made me nervous even! But after I left her all staring holes into her desk in the classroom, I was glad I did it. If I did not do that today she would have never gone to school. And that is simply unnacceptable. So after lunch we went to the market where I bought her a bookbag and supplies. All in all its not very expensive AT ALL so the fact that there are so many kids left behind is just troubling. Education is not valued by many as they dont see the benefits it can reep.
It makes me really angry at times the way there are so few mentors and role models here.

It can be very depressing here between that and all of the other sad things and states of things and people(like everyone and their mom having malaria and people not believing in themselves enough to do any personal or business investment just to state the first to examples to pop into my mind...), but I am developing a thicker skin to it all and trying to do my part in this big fascinating world.

Today is a great day though because my lil girl ( who was all smiles since i told her she was going to school because she wants to work in an office one day NOT be a freaking slave wife)
had her first day at school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Education for all. no child left behind for reals. inchallah.

back in senegal

So I got back to Senegal yesterday. It was Koritae which is the holiday following the end of ramadan. Therefore everything is closed and its hard to catch a car from Dakar (the capital where i flew into) to Louga (where i live). I got into Dakar sometime around 3:30 am. I really hoped to go straight from dakar to the garage (where you catch cars) to Louga, but as a smart man on the plane told me, this is not a sure plan. And I agreed. And so his driver took me to the peace corps house and i passed out on the couch there for a few hours and then went to the garage around 8 am. It was deserted essentially. there was though a big van i rode back. they charged me a bunch for all of my suitcases. anyways, yea.



Senegalese people are very friendly. That is the difference I noticed right off the bat, beginning in JFK in NYC. I started up chats with senegalese people and greeted all of the ones i saw too because its just the way it goes. And unfortunately Americans like put a bag on the seat next to them and avoid eye contact. So I have to say for that reason I enjoy Senegal. People were really happy to be drinking during the day (they just finished fasting for 40 days which is crazy because its freaking hot!!!!!) so on the bus the guy i was sitting next to brought a big sprite and water and everyone around us shared it. again, tres senegalese. Anyways, I did make it back to Louga before lunchtime. We ate chicken which is like the fancy stuff here for holidays. So that was nice. And My Mom (america) helped me get so many gifts for everyone in my family- it was SO fun to give it all. Photo albums for all 20 something people filled with their photos, Soccer ball, clothes, sunglasses for kids, jewelry for kids, lotions for adult woman, candy, candles, tea, notebook, bookbag, etc. So yea. They were very happy. And even before I gave it all out, everyone was really happy to see me. People in town are doing double takes and like HEYYY youre back!!! ...then ask where their gift is. hehe.

So aside from the friendliness, the thing I have mosst noticed about it here is the heat. It is SOOOOOO HOT. SO HOT. At 3 am it was 95 degrees, according to the plane. So daytime is above 100. Last night I was so jetlagged and whatnot that I went to bed at 8 pm. And having the fan straight on me, not putting my mosquito net down, it was not all that bad. then the electricity went out twice during the night. and i woke up both times and realize why pretty quickly-no fan. So anyways right now I am back from the market (went twice this morning) and am sitting on my bed in my skivvies with my fan on trying to cool down.

I had cleaned my room so well before going to America and you know if you lived in America, granted no one had been at your house since you left for vacation, when you come back, your house will look the same. NOT HERE. coverrred in lizard poop and cockroaches. I had one empty, clean jar filled with about 7 roaches, my bathroom had about 5. right when i walked in, i looked into the ant hill, lizard poop covered bathroom and a roach ran over my foot. im like welcome baaaack.

So yea its veryy dirty here in comparison. But like its cool. It is def more a cultuer shock coming back here then going back to America. All the things I saw on the car ride to Louga, like boys riding donkeys, women coming out of the bush carrying stuff on their heads, it was all very African, you know. And like i had gotten so used to it before,but I am experiencing it all again as new. So thaats kind of cool. Im looking forward to lunch. I havent had breakfast because like no one is selling it beause its the day after the holiday. Almost everything is closed, unless run by catholics or its a bank or the phone company.

SO- I had a great vacation. Relaxing but still enough crazy fun. I visited my supervisor today and she invited me to a meeting at the mayors office to start a new program for the talibes, so im looking forward to that. thats next week. I have a lot of work to get going on, but im taking today easy. I think this next year is going to fly. I need to start looking for a job in SE Asia for after this. Do u have a contact?

Anyways, thanks mother for all the gifts. Pics to come. And Yea, More to come in la future. cheers. (nap time before lunch)

Claire

work (ing it out)

Imagine being shipped to a foreign country (a week after graduating college) where you know nothing about the culture (except from what you read on wikipedia) and speak none of the many languages. Well meaning people train you in their language but shortly after they then toss you into another city where you are left completely to your own devices. No one suggests a viable work path. You are a business counselor with no business experience. You live in a large spread out city with no city directory or signs anywhere. And they say get to work....

Well that is my situation. I have felt helpless at times, and also useless. It is a hard path to find how you fit into a foreign culture and what you can do to be of help when you have nothing but yourself, no money or anything.

Anyways, I am starting to figure it out. I have technically been in the work field (not training or community integration period) for 4 months. I have done all kinds of random things but nothing has stuck. So, now some things are starting to make sense and I am realizing my possible strengths.

I am planning for an upcoming leadership camp with the girls at the middle school we did a scholarship camp with. Its so great because Awa, the Cross Cultural Director of PC Senegal is into and experienced in doing these camps, will talk to girls about being a strong woman, a career woman, and talks about health and assertiveness and all sorts of things. It is so much better if she is the leader, I am the host and behind the scenes. So I am really looking forward to that.

Also today I went and visited The Hunger Project which is an American NGO (Non Governmental Organization) and I met a man who works there and spent a few hours talking with him (things go so slow here- gotta stick around for the second round of tea!) and realized his project is similar to other ones I have gone to, mostly working with older woman, which as much as I try to be into, I am not. I want the full potential of kids.

So, he told me about an orphanage nearby where he has a director friend. So we went there and I kind of love it. The kids there are just that, orphans. And while there are a lot of those in Senegal, many who end up becoming talibes and begging for money, these ones live here and go to school. But they dont know love of parents, of family, of all of these things. They lack wordly knowledge, self esteem, etc. And I went there and talked with them for a bit and felt a really strong feeling in my stomach the whole time. Obviously some of it is sadness but also a feeling of really wanting to spend time with them and hopefully help them in some way. Moral education, general education, things like this.

Anyways Thursday I am going back, I told em Id be there for the whole morning. I am really looking forward to it. And hopefully after that we can do some little trainings and activities. In challah.

There are other possibilities such as a school garden, which we are trying to get a propsal and interested school going. The goal is to expand that to nutrition education, science, and basic business lessons.
Anyways, it is so easy to feel intimidated in said situation, but I have had to find myself all over again, in almost every aspect and I am proud to say, I think I am starting to see it. Alxumdidilay.

Read more, Learn more, CHANGE THE GLOBE!..the kids will do that, that is

Lets have a water fight!

I had a thought with a few other Volunteers recently and it has come back into my thoughts a few times since.

We were talking about how much fun the kids would have with a water fight here. And a few of us mentioned how we had thought of asking for water balloons from america to do said activity. And then we were like ... Obviously not!! It is always a water conservation game here, even in a house with running water.

Americans have sooo much water we have water fights!! We all laughed. Its so true. All of the efforts gone to conserve here make these people such small wasters of anything.

And then i thought about taking the kids here to a water park. A FREAKING WATER PARK. I chuckle right now thinking how preposterous that is here. what an insane concept here. they would love the crap out of it though, oh my gosh.

The other day I bought 3 talibe kids some new jelly sandals and they looked SO adorable. all in their fresh white jellies. I saw one of em the next day and he had the BIGGEST smile.

How can you say no to a little dirty child who begs for money every day when he asks for a pair of shoes? How? I can't. Jer and I had been hanging out with them for over an hour before they asked too, and only one of em did. I was like damn it you dont have any shoes, of course we will get you some. You and your lil buddies.

One thing I have learned here is sharing. At a time when I have the least money-wise, I have indeed picked up the Senegalese trait of sharing what I do have. I am proud of that at least.

I am also a little nervous to come back for vacation so broke!

Nonetheless, I am so excited to come back. September :)

Even more reason i NEED this vacation

Just sittin here, adding pictures on facebook when i smacked my elbow and back a few times to remove the flies (having only 10 around in my screened in room is like nothing). I was like gosh, glad its a fly, kinda gross it could be ANYTHING. and then i put my hand firmly on this lingering fly...or so i thought. a cockroach was creeping on my neck. i flung it across the room and surely enough, it was a medium sized roach.

Gross.

im taking a cleansing bucket bath.

I dont know if you know how the fact that my parents said they would fly me home in September has literally changed my life. Life is difficult here. Looking forward to a much needed vacation. Until then, I wanna get some good projects set up. Things are finally looking up in said department.

September is the perfect time to take vacation because it is Ramadan, the Muslim 40 days of fasting. Yea, Im cool on that. People dont do anything as they are fasting (even from water!) in the freaking Sub Saharan. Also school comes back afterwards and I wanna be around for that.

I hope to visit my alma maters when in America and i dont know, get connections set up. or like money?

anyways, EWWWWWW on the roach. its sure to be eaten up by ants tonight. ew ew ew i still feel it on my back. bucket bath time.

peace.