Breakin in the Newbies

The first week of October I had the pleasure of hosting a brand new volunteer. She had been in country for a month at her training site. I was happy to show her how the next two years of her life were going to be travel and food wise. It was fun bc I had forgotten so many of the things that the PC doctors and security had told us not to do. I'll explain them as I go. First, we went into Kaolack from Thies. Then I took her along with many others to one of the few restaurants in town that are decent. She later told me this was the best meal of her time with me lol :) Then it was to the garage and I didn't think about the fact that she had never been to a Senegalese garage. She handled the men screaming at us and filthy conditions quite well. Then we were off to my village. We just had time to settle our things and shower before a dinner of millet and milk, one of the best things I ever get to eat at site. Then she reminded me we aren't supposed to eat milk because it's not pasturized and can transmit tuberculosis. We continued eating anyway. The next day I attempted to take her to see her village which I had only been to twice. Only one from my village and I got lost that time. This time we didn't get lost but we did have to walk through a seasonal river. This is when she reminded me that the freshwater could harbor schistosomiasis and other parasites. On we went. Finally, we reached her village and after not having breakfast we were happy to have maffe for lunch. It's white rice with peanut sauce. She will probably eat it every day like my family does. Then we tried to make it home before dark but we weren't fast enough. We got stuck in my master farmers village and she let us shower there. We didn't have any other clothes though so we slept in our sweaty river water clothes. She did have a nice dinner of millet and beans in peanut sauce. I thought it was great anyway. My visitor was too hungry to complain much. We started out the next morning and were able to catch a car to my village after taking a look at the farm. Then I wanted to show her her master farmers village and let them meet. We got my bother to hook up a horse cart for us and he drove us there and back. We both got sunburnt and were so tired by the time we got back we slept through lunch. After we had rested I showed her 2 of the fields I'm doing research in and then we got some nice showers and clean cloths right before dark. My family then gave us a dinner of millet with an eggplant from my garden on top. We had paid them extra for food so I was kind of mad. Then my mom brought in milk! and it was sour! She spit it out and I quuickly returned it to my family. So I can see why the restaurant was her best meal. The next day I took her to my road town and we saw what will be the sub region office ina month or two and most importantly THE BAR! We hung out till after lunch, we were full from bean and egg sandwiches and then went back to Kaolack. In the city we showered again and put on our dancing shoes. There is a club in Kaolack and I was up till 5am. Great night for the end of the trip. I did end up sick a couple days later with a fever and headache who knows from what, but I think she is as ready as she can be for bush life.