The real work begins

So far I have bought a fence, weeded an area for gardening, and began to fertilize soil for a veggie pepiniere. It was hard work considering I was given a more or less junk yard to start with. Check out the before and after pictures on facebook, it’s a serious improvement I plan to have five beds which I will use to demonstrate the  techniques I learned in training which will help improve the soil lifetime and fertility. This includes making burms to hold in water and digging soil deeply while adding green leaves and manure for nitrogen replacement. It is important for me to teach the farmers to use what is naturally in their area to decrease input costs and demonstrate how you can work with the environment instead of depleting it.

            I planted a mango tree yesterday but it was stolen or eaten this afternoon.... I’m a little pissed off about that. I also did food security work at a nearby school. I went to another volunteer’s site and helped her. She works with an NGO called Trees for the Future. We taught ten kids how to transplant mango and orange trees. It was pretty cool. There is a serious lack of trees here. I will plant trees all along my fence so that when it breaks, because it will, there will be a living fence and windbreak to replace it. This is considered sustainable because you have a living tree working as a fence instead of cutting one down to build and rebuild. My fence is made out of millet stalks and I am having trouble keeping the sheep from eating it.

            I plan to seed in the next couple days. They will have a month to grow before I have to go into in service training (IST) for three weeks. During this time my dad will be responsible for keeping the garden alive. IST is the #1 killer of gardens they say, but I’m confident that my dad understands farming and most of all wants the vegetables. Hopefully it survives because I don’t want to have to find and buy more seeds.

            It is really hot and humid here and since I’m working outdoors my schedule has changed. Sunrise is at 6:30 now. I wake up at 6 and am in the garden by 7. I work till about 12pm and then chill in my room until 4:30 or 5 when it’s cool again. And work until about 7 which is sunset. If I don’t work in the garden I either go to the peanut field with my dad or help the women at home shell peanuts. Working with the women is really good because it forces me to talk and listen which improves my language. I have also gone to other volunteers sites to help with their work and to work with a nearby pilot farmer. The pilot farmer is someone who we have taught techniques and allows us to show her fields’ and gardens’ to other farmers in order to spread the knowledge. I don’t feel like I’ve done any real Peace Corps work yet but that’s normal for a PCV before IST.

Now I’m a real volunteer!

After another week in the village of Thieneba I returned to the training center. There we did some final meetings on what we are here for and discussed swear in and install. Swear in is when we became official volunteers as opposed to trainees. We went to the capitol city, Dakar, and had the ceremony at the US Ambassadors house. There were speeches by our trainers, the ambassador, and various other important officials. It was mostly in French so I didn’t understand it. We got our official IDs and had awesome snacks afterwards. There was tuna and caviar, mini hamburgers, and brownies. It will be the only time for the next two years that I’ll have any of those I’m sure. Then we went to Club Atlantiqe or as the volunteers refer to it “the American Club”. There is a swimming pool, good food, and beer. It was great!

            We had one last night in Thies at the training center and then we went to our regional houses. The 60 Americans that I have been with the last two months are now spread across the country. There were about 20 of us in my region. For three days I stayed in Kaolack. We shopped, ate, and drank. The only reason I mention beer is that since it is a predominantly Muslim society alcohol is available in the cities but very rarely near volunteers’ sites, so it’s a real treat to have a beer. Volunteers can stay in the city at regional houses across the country for free. We have been given a challenge to stay out of the regional houses until Thanksgiving in order to integrate into the community instead of hanging out with other Americans. There was plenty of time to shop but shopping sucks! First of all imagine shopping for your new home with no car. You can only buy what you can carry at a time. Transport is more expensive if you have baggage even for a car ride. People also like to steal out of your bags if they get put on the roof of the car. In the city there are pick pockets every where! One of the volunteers got picked while we were there and caught the guy in the act. He gave back her wallet without a fight.

            We were installed over a few days after that three or four at a time. A car would come to the house we would load up the people and massive amount of stuff that was purchases and then a PC staff member would take them to their sites. I had a fever and some stomach issues the day of my install so it really sucked, especially when we got lost in the bush for half an hour. I made it to my hut though and found it to be unfinished. It had a roof and doors though so it was good enough. My family was very excited to see me and many people in the town came to visit. It is a medium sized village of maybe 1000 people. There is a robinet in my dads’ backyard for water and there is no electricity. There are seven boutiques which sell soap, tea, sugar, candy, batteries, and a few veggies. I did find a guy who sells eggs out of his back door though. My family makes my lunch and dinner so it’s not a big deal. I get rice with peanut sauce and bitter tomaotoes, a veggie they have here, for lunch and millet and milk for dinner. Every day it’s the same thing. I can buke 20 kilometers to Kaffrine a small city and get anything else I need. I have to go all the way to Kaolack for an ATM though and that is the only way I can get the stipend I receive to live and travel on. I get about $40 a week. I give my dad $8 a week for food and water the rest I use for travel, breakfast, a tutor, and a little will be getting sent home for my student loan interestL.

            I am not sure yet how many brothers and sisters I have. I know I have 2 moms and a grandma. I have at least 9 brothers and sisters all younger again. There are like 10 huts in my compound and there are women with kids and husbands who I am somehow related to but haven’t figured it out yet. It’s so confusing here because women call their brother and sisters kids their kids. My dad calls people his mom and dad out of respect People also call other people uncle out of respect so it can be hard to tell what real relations are especially when we all live together.

            A big difference between here and training is that I have my own hut and side yard which is fenced in. It gives me a lot of privacy compared to the last place. I will even plant a few of my own veggies and watermelon back there so I can improve my diet. It’s hard to buy things and not share them but I just can’t afford to buy my family fruit and veggies every day. I hide what I buy for myself the best I can so that they don’t have to see it and wish they had it. They ask me for stuff all the time. Today they asked if I would buy tea and milk. I said no because I pay for food already. I’m not heartless I bought them tea last week and bananas just yesterday. They seriously ask if they can have anything they see, including the clothed you’re wearing. I have not gone a day without someone asking if they could have one thing or another out of my room or on my person. Its the culture though, here that isn't an offensive line of questioning.

A Baptism

Today I went to a baptism. Baptisms are a really big deal here and a lot of people attend. First, we sat while the religious men gathered around the baby in a circle and prayed. The baby is about two months old at this point but no one says it’s name out loud until after the ceremony. At the same time the name is said a sheep is killed. I think it probably has something to do with Abraham willing to kill his son and killing a sheep instead. Then they passed out little sweet pieces of bread in decorated bags, and we each got a bowl of millet and yogurt type topping. It was pretty tasty. Then they took the baby inside and shaved it’s head so it would have a clean start.

            Then there was a very very very long boring period. We sat and talked to people and danced a little with the women as they prepared lunch. I took a little nap on a mat under the tree for a while. Then the mother of the baby came in all dressed up with so much makeup and fake hair she looked like a walking doll. It was amazing. All of the women began dancing around her and took her to her bedroom and danced around her in there too. Then we sat around for a while again.

            Finally, we had lunch around 4:30. It was really good though. We ate the sheep they slaughtered on top of rice that was flavored really well almost like Chinese. There were hard boiled eggs, olives, onions, and carrots mixed in with the rice and it was awesome. After lunch they passed around small cups of soda, one for each person. I bet that cost them as much as the meal. I hung out for a little while longer chatting with some of the family and then left to spend time with my own.

            In America I think for Catholics at least Baptisms are more personal. It is more of the immediate family and not the whole family. Also the mother of the baby is the center of attention here more than the baby. I think at home the baby gets more attention. The last difference I notice at all events is the total lack of snacks. No chips, pretzels, dips, or candies. They just can’t afford it and food is such an important commodity here I wonder if they would even understand the concept of eating for pleasure or just to pass time rather than for life.

My First African Style Birthday

For my birthday I wanted to have a big dinner with my family in Thieneba and my trainee friends. In order to do this I knew I was going to have to find out where to buy food and how much it should cost. I talked with my little sisters and they took me and Eric to a chicken coop. Chicken is the safest meat here in my opinion so that’s what I wanted; unfortunately they were only selling eggs. We then went to a stand on the side of the road with what I assume was a half a cow on a table. There were flies all over and I had no idea how long the meat had been there. It was around 1pm and probably 80 degrees. I asked for 2 kilos (~4 lbs) and got a lot of bone, fat, and some meat for a total of less than $8. It was more meat than my sisters had ever seen someone buy at once and they thought I was joking at first. It really wasn’t that much meat when you consider I was feeding like 10 people, but $8 is a lot of money here, even for me.

            Then we went down the street and got potatoes, onions, and soda. The cola was the most expensive thing I bought all day. We took the food to my house and my family began preparing it for me. Peeling potatoes and onions, and chopping the meat into smaller pieces. They then of course fried it all in a huge pot of oil. French fries first, then the onions for a sauce, and finally they boiled the beef. It was delicious. Eric brought over some bread to top it off, and it hit the spot. They all put on their best clothes for me and the kids danced around me after dinner singing happy birthday in English. It was a great day!

CPW, Beach, Dakar

So last week we traveled every morning into Thies and returned every night to our villages. It was very tiring. We did this because of Counterpart Workshop (CPW). This is a 3-4 day event where our counterparts, people in our permanent village that we will work closely with, came to visit. They came to meet us, to learn about what we should be doing, and for facilitated discussion about possible problems. Since I have only middle level language skills we didn't have too much to say to each other. We didn't have a whole lot of time either as we had almost constant sessions. The sessions were all in Wolof. This made it hard to stay awake. After the third morning of driving into Thies I was pretty exhausted, but there is no rest for the wicked. We had a night at the beach planned. There will be few pictures of this on my facebook but most of the pictures and stories are meant to be remembered by those present only. One cool thing though was the bio-luminescent plankton. As I moved around in the water at night I could see the water glowing! It was sooo sweet!!! After swimming all day Sunday we returned to relax for the night at the training center. I was righteously hung over and it turned out I was actually sick too. Today we went into the capitol city of Senegal, Dakar. The PCMO there told me my ear is bleeding internally and I'll be on medicine for my birthday. No big deal. I love how something that would have totally freaked me out at home is like, please girl that ain't nothin' here. The city is very westernized. You can get all kinds of American type things so if I'm ever homesick a trip to the city can satisfy my needs for things like ice cream, a swimming pool in the american club, and stores with American brand foods. The roads are still not great even in the city and there is a big threat of pick-pockets. It's a cool place but we didn't really have all that much time to explore so I'll have to do that another time when I don't have to spend an hour in the med hut and multiple hours in security sessions. The American Embassy is there, and it's good to know that. They will mail in my absentee ballot. Well I think thats enough rambling of Dakar.

Killer Kids

So the other day while in the village my fellow trainees and I decided to celebrate our language test with a little whiskey, snacks, and Simpsons on the computer. We went to the local school which we have a key to. There were a bunch of kids in the yard plying soccer but we did't pay much attention to them. It was very hot in the school so we opened a window. As a few kids began to watch through the window they got louder and louder and so I shut the window in their face. I do love kids after all. They began to throw rocks at the school. After a little time had passed my friend had to pee. She went outside and I stood guard as some kids came up to where we were. We talked to them a little bit as they braked from their soccer game. When we decided we wanted to watch some more tv they of course wanted to watch. I knew this was a bad idea and had no desire to watch tv with 25 kids under age13. The other trainees are not so mean and told them if they could watch quietly they could look through the window. They couldn't be quiet and were really annoying so we shut the door and windows again. They began to throw rocks at the school again and put a stick through the outside of the door which locked us inside, with no adults knowing where we were as we had all told them we were at each others houses since Muslims don't drink. Eventually one kid was bribed by the promise of peanuts to take the stick out of the door. We didn't give him any peanuts and told them they were all bad kids. They started yelling "fuck you" in English and "I'll kill you" in Wolof. They threw rocks and actually hit me with one. Finally, my favorite trainee friend decided we needed backup. He went to the nearest house and in the small amount of language and lots of gesturing we can do told an adult what was going on. The adult asked what kids were doing this and began to beat them one by one. First by hand and then with a stick. the kids didn't come back to the school. I am more scared of children in this country than adults.

Sibling Rivalry

Today I noticed my little sister MamDiara, definitely spelled wrong, fights the most with the siblings closest to her in age. I grew up in a family where I was by far the youngest and there were no kids around. When I was a kid my brothers and sisters were teenagers. I don’t think I really ever fought with any of them, but if I did it would have been Valerie, the one closest to me in age. I guess it’s the same across cultures.  I thought about this more today and realized my irritation with my littlest brother may be due to the fact that I’m just not used to living with a baby. He is a little over a year old, he is always sick, and has vomited on me. He screams all the time. Sounds like a baby right? Although he does have a few unique characteristics which I feel make him more annoying. He pinches. I hate being pinched! He also has syphilis which as far as I know cannot be transferred by skin contact but the lesions on his skin are still gross enough that I don’t want him to touch me. I heard my dad on the phone tonight and he was talking about the pharmacy so I think they are getting him medicine tomorrow.  It is definitely an adjustment going from the youngest to the oldest even though I had a little experience with my awesome nieces and nephew it’s not the same as actually living with little people.

            My older siblings don’t fight with each other at all. I guess they don’t have anything to fight about. They have very few clothes and are different enough in size that they don’t share or steal. They have no toys except what they find in the garbage piles. There is one board game in our house and it does cause some commotion. It is currently in pieces due to the last scuffle. They are competitive, but since it broke the house is a much more peaceful, though I actually enjoyed watching them play and sometimes joined in. I had a feeling they were changing the rules as we played. The game is pretty much a version of sorry with no cards, dice only. They play friendly games of shoot ‘em up with the neighbor kids using plastic they find discarded.  They do know a little about having more things because they have a tv and there are soap operas from different countries, not North American, dubbed in French. They seem content though. I don’t know enough of the language to say they aren’t complaining but they smile and laugh a lot.

            The tv only works when the electric does. It’s a big problem in Senegal. Tonight for example, I am sitting typing in my room in the dark because the power has been out for hours. It goes out on pretty much a daily basis. The country has too many people using electricity and only one power source. If you have something important, or rather if you have a lot of money, you have a generator for backup. In the training center there is a generator so we never noticed the problem with the electric until we were in our home stays. My permanent site doesn’t have electric at all so it won’t matter to me then.  The only thing I really miss electric for is light. Candles just don’t do it. My friend said I could have his solar flashlight since he has electric and that might work out. I’ll let you know! I have a solar charger which I should be able to use for my camera, ipod, and phone. My computer will be staying at the regional house in a nearby city called Kaolack. It has electricity so I won’t have to worry about charging it at site. I will have to travel about 3 hours to get there and will probably stay the night when I do to make the trip worth it. The city has Americanized restaurants and the house has internet access. I will probably go once a month to clear my email and throw some new stories on the blog.

Day to day in Training

Until now I have blogged about some general topics to give something of an overview of the culture here. I think from this point on I will just be writing about things that happen to me. The last week was spent visiting current volunteers at their sites. I visited another sustainable agriculture volunteer and got to see the work he did. His site is in Nganda. We also took a trip to the village which will be my permanent site. My village is named Ndioudiene. In his site he has electric from 5pm to 7am. My village does not have electricity. We both have a robinet, I’m not sure if that’s spelled right. It’s a water spicket in the yard so we don’t have to pull water from the well. His site is pretty close to mine I could bike there in less than 2 hours. The boutiques in Nganda have processed packaged cheese, cookies, phone credit, and assorted toiletries. In Ndioudiene there is a little less variety so I will have to stock up a 2 or 3 week supply whenever I go to the city, also a few hours biking, or to Ben’s site.

            There are cars and busses that pass our sites on the main road. I could take a car or bus between 6 and 8am and take one home later in the day. They only leave in the morning so it does restrict my schedule. They pack them as full as they can and people even ride on the roof of the busses. Ben told me a story about a bus with some holes in the roof, sheep on the top, and the sheep started to pee. The pee was dripping through the holes in the bus and he was moving around trying to avoid it.  Busses also stop frequently to drop off and pick up passengers. Cars usually are more direct and less problematic. Although whatever type of transportation you take it is a possibility it will break down. The roads are either just dirt/sand with potholes and muddy areas. There are a few major highways which resemble American roads but even these are sometimes pretty rough riding. People often drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid large holes.

            I have an idea now of the work I will be doing and have met one of my counterparts. A counterpart is a native who lives at my site and will help me if I’m having trouble communicating. My counterpart is also my dad and the chief. He has a nice piece of ground set aside in the compound which I can do my work in, and the previous volunteer left a chicken coup. She also left some beads to make jewelry. I will have those things to work on when I get to site as well as continuing to practice my language skills. I am really happy about this because I’m ready to start doing something training is really boring and restricting.  

            While visiting Ben I got to do some technical stuff and saw some cool things. I transplanted a banana tree, turned compost, and looked at a lot of Ben’s fields and gardens where he has extended seed. One evening while at his familys’ compound I went outside to photograph a rainbow but ended up taking pictures of a goat instead. This is because the goat was eating their clothes off the line and it was hilarious!