I am currently in Sally. We have been at the beach for three nights now and we are leaving tomorrow. I have had a wonderful time here but Christmas was a little lame. It felt weird not being at home with the fam but the day managed to scoot along. We went to the beach for most of the day. This area is somewhat touristy so the beach is kind of annoying because there are so many Senegalese people trying to sell us things. We finally snuck down to a part of the beach where the vendors cant come. It is a private area that is filled with vacationers staying in the resorts here. We managed to sneak into one of the resorts today and swim in the fancy swimming pool. We were surrounded by all white people...it felt weird but good.
For Christmas dinner, we all got dressed up and went out to dinner. We ate at a small restaurant right on the water. The food was good and the people were actually nice. It is VERY hard to find good service in restaurants because the servers dont work for tips. This was the first Christmas that i didnt get one single gift, but it was ok because no one did. A few of the girls got packages that thy saved until Christmas morning to open. I havent received any Christmas packages yet but i know a few are en route...hopefully they will be waiting for me in Sokone when i get back after the holidays!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Have yourself a merry little Christmas...
December 20th
Yesterday we had the baptism for the new baby. His name is Moussa by the way. We had a baptism but I don’t think it was a traditional ceremony because my family is short of money because of Tabaski. Like I said before, everyone spends every penny they have on Tabaski. In general, when a family has a baptism, the father slaughters an animal to share with family and friends. We did not do that. The baptism consisted of people coming over in the morning to visit and drop off small gifts and money. The men all gathered and prayed all morning. He women mostly stayed in the bedroom all day with my mom and the new baby. It is very strange but my mother and the baby have yet to come out of her bedroom. I saw her come out one time earlier in the week for about 30 seconds and then she went back in. I thought that was the whole point of the baptism… a big showing of the baby. I didn’t expect anything like the Lion King ( you know, when the monkey, Rafiki takes the new baby lion, Simba out to Pride Rock and holds him out for all the animals to see and they all start singing and bowing JJ) but I certainly thought Amie would bring the baby out for all to see. Anyway, the day went on and people came and went. I went in to hold the new baby and a man came in to pray for him. He held Moussa’s head and prayed for about a minute and then haucked a big luggy (don’t know how to spell that but you get the point) and spit on his head…lets just say not all of it went on the babies head and I got rather large blessing myself! The day continued and all the women gathered and made tea for hours and hours. I decided to be a good volunteer and I went to town to buy some sodas… That went over well but then some women were very angry because they didn’t get any. Whatever. Anyway, many people stayed for lunch and then in the evening everyone from the whole village came over for a dancing ceremony. I got some great photos and videos. If you read my previous blog entry, you will remember that I mentioned the women pulling their skirts up to show all when they dance at baptisms… nothing less happened at my house. I got flashed more than a few times! All in all, the day came and went and was quite eventful.
Every day, I eat lunch and dinner with my family. I never eat breakfast there because volunteer before me didn’t so they just assume I don’t want to I think. The first day, my mother told me to go to the boutique and buy bread…so that’s what I do. My family eats dinner generally around 8 pm but for some reason lately it has been getting later and later in the evening. A few nights ago I was in my room waiting for dinner and it was about 8:45. My mother Binta came to my door and asked me if I had eaten already and I said no. She looked very upset and she told me that there would be no dinner that night because the family didn’t have any food. That night we didn’t eat and I heard the children crying before bed because they were hungry and couldn’t fall asleep. This leaves me in a weird position. I pay the family every week for me to live here. They get more than enough money from me. I also usually buy them food in the market or fruit in town before I come home. When my mother came and told me there was no food, I wanted to go and buy something for them but it was too late at night and nothing was open. That night sucked and we all went to bed hungry. Now I don’t know what to do if this happens again. It’s difficult here because if you give an inch, people will take a football field…really. I don’t want the children to go hungry but also I don’t want the family to get the idea that I will just go buy them whatever they want if they don’t have money. I think that would start a trend that would be difficult to stop. I want to know why my father is not giving the mothers money to buy food. I also want to know what is happening to the money that I give them. I don’t give them enough to support the whole family but I give them more than enough to feed just me. If it happens again, I will go to my father and ask why but for now I’m keeping my mouth shut because I don’t want to cause any drama in the family.
Other than that, all is well in Senegal. Today it was a chilly 60 degrees. It also rained. This is the dry season and I haven’t seen rain since November 4th. It only rained for about 5 minutes but it was a nice surprise nonetheless. I hope everyone at home is prepared for a wonderful Christmas. I hope you all have a great holiday. Eat some Christmas cookies for me!!!
Yesterday we had the baptism for the new baby. His name is Moussa by the way. We had a baptism but I don’t think it was a traditional ceremony because my family is short of money because of Tabaski. Like I said before, everyone spends every penny they have on Tabaski. In general, when a family has a baptism, the father slaughters an animal to share with family and friends. We did not do that. The baptism consisted of people coming over in the morning to visit and drop off small gifts and money. The men all gathered and prayed all morning. He women mostly stayed in the bedroom all day with my mom and the new baby. It is very strange but my mother and the baby have yet to come out of her bedroom. I saw her come out one time earlier in the week for about 30 seconds and then she went back in. I thought that was the whole point of the baptism… a big showing of the baby. I didn’t expect anything like the Lion King ( you know, when the monkey, Rafiki takes the new baby lion, Simba out to Pride Rock and holds him out for all the animals to see and they all start singing and bowing JJ) but I certainly thought Amie would bring the baby out for all to see. Anyway, the day went on and people came and went. I went in to hold the new baby and a man came in to pray for him. He held Moussa’s head and prayed for about a minute and then haucked a big luggy (don’t know how to spell that but you get the point) and spit on his head…lets just say not all of it went on the babies head and I got rather large blessing myself! The day continued and all the women gathered and made tea for hours and hours. I decided to be a good volunteer and I went to town to buy some sodas… That went over well but then some women were very angry because they didn’t get any. Whatever. Anyway, many people stayed for lunch and then in the evening everyone from the whole village came over for a dancing ceremony. I got some great photos and videos. If you read my previous blog entry, you will remember that I mentioned the women pulling their skirts up to show all when they dance at baptisms… nothing less happened at my house. I got flashed more than a few times! All in all, the day came and went and was quite eventful.
Every day, I eat lunch and dinner with my family. I never eat breakfast there because volunteer before me didn’t so they just assume I don’t want to I think. The first day, my mother told me to go to the boutique and buy bread…so that’s what I do. My family eats dinner generally around 8 pm but for some reason lately it has been getting later and later in the evening. A few nights ago I was in my room waiting for dinner and it was about 8:45. My mother Binta came to my door and asked me if I had eaten already and I said no. She looked very upset and she told me that there would be no dinner that night because the family didn’t have any food. That night we didn’t eat and I heard the children crying before bed because they were hungry and couldn’t fall asleep. This leaves me in a weird position. I pay the family every week for me to live here. They get more than enough money from me. I also usually buy them food in the market or fruit in town before I come home. When my mother came and told me there was no food, I wanted to go and buy something for them but it was too late at night and nothing was open. That night sucked and we all went to bed hungry. Now I don’t know what to do if this happens again. It’s difficult here because if you give an inch, people will take a football field…really. I don’t want the children to go hungry but also I don’t want the family to get the idea that I will just go buy them whatever they want if they don’t have money. I think that would start a trend that would be difficult to stop. I want to know why my father is not giving the mothers money to buy food. I also want to know what is happening to the money that I give them. I don’t give them enough to support the whole family but I give them more than enough to feed just me. If it happens again, I will go to my father and ask why but for now I’m keeping my mouth shut because I don’t want to cause any drama in the family.
Other than that, all is well in Senegal. Today it was a chilly 60 degrees. It also rained. This is the dry season and I haven’t seen rain since November 4th. It only rained for about 5 minutes but it was a nice surprise nonetheless. I hope everyone at home is prepared for a wonderful Christmas. I hope you all have a great holiday. Eat some Christmas cookies for me!!!
Monday, December 15, 2008
I finally found internet...... I hope you are as happy as i am!
Today is December 15, 2008…I think. I have not been able to write on my bog for weeks now. I apologize for not keeping people more updated. Tabaski was last week and everything has been closed for the holiday. Now I am at the cyber café and the internet is not working…again I am having to save to my USB. I biked 20K to get here so I’m hoping the internet will start working before I leave.
Everything has been going well. I have been back in my village for several days now. My mother just had a baby 4 days ago. I was not home when it happened. When I got back, no one even mentioned that she had the baby. FINALLY, after several hours, I asked where she was and my second mother made some gesture to make me realize she had the baby. People here won’t speak about pregnancy or about a baby until it is one week old. The mother has to hide in her room for one week with the baby. They believe evil spirits will come and hurt the baby if it is out in public the first week. I went in my mother’s room and saw the baby for a few minutes only. It is a boy…. Another boy… it does not have a name yet because the also wait one week to name a new baby. There will be a baptism on Thursday next week. I’m not sure what really happens at these baptisms but I have heard it’s pretty crazy. It lasts all day. In the morning the women go alone and meet up for dancing. They dress up in fancy dresses and sit in a circle. The dance around and lift up their skirts for everyone to see EVERYTHHING…really…no joke. I have not witnessed this yet but my closest Peace Corps neighbor told me she saw it and it always happens. The women also wear thin little slips under their dresses with pornography drawn on them. I have seen these. Women can absolutely not show their knees but they can wear a skirt with porn drawn all over it… I will never understand it! Anyway, I am planning to go to the baptism Thursday. I am also planning to keep my clothes on! Hopefully I can get some good photos there. I will try to keep them PG. I am having my old roommate from training come to visit me next week. She lives all the way across the country. It will be good to see her. She reminds me of Becca, my roommate from college. I also had a visitor this week from David, one of my close neighbors. When I say close, don’t get confused. He lives pretty far away but close compared to the others. We met up with Laura and Jessica and went to the beach. There are many campements near my house. They all have small beaches…really small water holes with really salty water. We had lunch there and swam. It was fun but after, I got incredibly sick. It was the first time since I got here that I thought I was going to die. Well ok, not die, but I was very ill. I still don’t feel completely better but I am getting there. I think I may have a parasite. I am going to Dakar for the New Year and hopefully I can make it to a doctor in the city.
I heard it was snowing at home a little. It is about 95 degrees here in the afternoons. It gets down to about 60 at now. This is “winter” here. Its nice because I can actually sleep without sweating. When it is 60 degrees, it feels really cold. I wish I could see the snow…someone needs to send me photos. PLEASE! I received a package from The Leffler…. THANK YOU!! The photos were great. I send pics every week but I think people at home forgot that I don’t get pictures of them every week… My hut is now decorated with lots of photos of Jack, Molly, Luke, and Will…. They also sent coloring books and crayons. My little bothers and sisters are having a blast with them. Thanks again… I loved it!!
Everything has been going well. I have been back in my village for several days now. My mother just had a baby 4 days ago. I was not home when it happened. When I got back, no one even mentioned that she had the baby. FINALLY, after several hours, I asked where she was and my second mother made some gesture to make me realize she had the baby. People here won’t speak about pregnancy or about a baby until it is one week old. The mother has to hide in her room for one week with the baby. They believe evil spirits will come and hurt the baby if it is out in public the first week. I went in my mother’s room and saw the baby for a few minutes only. It is a boy…. Another boy… it does not have a name yet because the also wait one week to name a new baby. There will be a baptism on Thursday next week. I’m not sure what really happens at these baptisms but I have heard it’s pretty crazy. It lasts all day. In the morning the women go alone and meet up for dancing. They dress up in fancy dresses and sit in a circle. The dance around and lift up their skirts for everyone to see EVERYTHHING…really…no joke. I have not witnessed this yet but my closest Peace Corps neighbor told me she saw it and it always happens. The women also wear thin little slips under their dresses with pornography drawn on them. I have seen these. Women can absolutely not show their knees but they can wear a skirt with porn drawn all over it… I will never understand it! Anyway, I am planning to go to the baptism Thursday. I am also planning to keep my clothes on! Hopefully I can get some good photos there. I will try to keep them PG. I am having my old roommate from training come to visit me next week. She lives all the way across the country. It will be good to see her. She reminds me of Becca, my roommate from college. I also had a visitor this week from David, one of my close neighbors. When I say close, don’t get confused. He lives pretty far away but close compared to the others. We met up with Laura and Jessica and went to the beach. There are many campements near my house. They all have small beaches…really small water holes with really salty water. We had lunch there and swam. It was fun but after, I got incredibly sick. It was the first time since I got here that I thought I was going to die. Well ok, not die, but I was very ill. I still don’t feel completely better but I am getting there. I think I may have a parasite. I am going to Dakar for the New Year and hopefully I can make it to a doctor in the city.
I heard it was snowing at home a little. It is about 95 degrees here in the afternoons. It gets down to about 60 at now. This is “winter” here. Its nice because I can actually sleep without sweating. When it is 60 degrees, it feels really cold. I wish I could see the snow…someone needs to send me photos. PLEASE! I received a package from The Leffler…. THANK YOU!! The photos were great. I send pics every week but I think people at home forgot that I don’t get pictures of them every week… My hut is now decorated with lots of photos of Jack, Molly, Luke, and Will…. They also sent coloring books and crayons. My little bothers and sisters are having a blast with them. Thanks again… I loved it!!
I finally have a tutor!
This was witten almost two weeks ago but i have not been able to find internet connection since... enjoy...
Today is December 5, 2008… CRAZY… I have been in Senegal for almost 3 months now. Time has flown by… I am now in my village writing this blog on my laptop….dont get confused..i definitely do not have internet here. Im saving to my USB and posting to my blog tomorrow… Anyway, this week has actually been somewhat successful. I found a Sereer tutor and also a French tutor. I just need to buckle down and make myself study now. I have more time than one could imagine but somehow things still don’t get done…like studying. My sereer tutor is my brother, Ablaye. I just found out recently that he in fact is not my brother but is a friend of the family. He is living here because he is going to school in Sokone. Sokone is the town right next to the village. I didn’t know it until yesterday but Ablaye came here the same week that I came. He speaks English and is usually more than willing to help me with Sereer. My French tutor is a guy in Sokone named Tam. He is a friend of another volunteer. He is pretty cool but I am just waiting or him to profess his love.. I know its coming :X. I am happy to be catching back up on French. Its coming back to me fairly easy but I really need to memorize verb conjugations. It gets hard to learn here having a man for a teacher.. Somehow they always get confused and think if you are coming to class its because you are in love with them. Weird. Othere than finding tutors this week, not much has happened. I have started hanging out with Laura… a PC volunteer in Sokone. Its nice to have friends here that speak English. I cant describe how hard it is to live in a country where you cant communicate exactly what you want to say. Also, I ca understand why Peace Corps does not let everyone learn Wolof. Wolof is the national language. One would think that PC would be smart enough to realize that everyone should learn the national language first and then move on to a given ethnic group language. When I travel I can’t speak to anyone. Only about 2 % of the population in Senegal speaks Sereer. It’s so hard to travel and try and figure out what’s going on in the garage. The garage is just a place filled with cars and people EVERYWHERE. The people there are so aggressive. They are always shouting and banging on the cars ad trying to get their own cars filled up. Cars in the garage wont leave until they are full. So sometimes one will sit there for 2,3, even 4 hours waiting for the car to fill up. The cars seat seven people (plus the driver). It’s a real pain. Imagine how hectic that sounds and having to wait for hours and people are crowded around the cars begging for money…since I’m white…I’m loaded….right? And when they find out I am American, its even worse. It’s hard to fake being French when you don’t speak French. There are also children called “Talibe’”…these kids go to school to learn the Koran and are sent out to beg for food/money. They go to the garage with a bowl and stand by the cars and sing prayers in Wolof. They are crowd around the cars and jingle their change around in your face while they sing…and they definitely reach inside the cars. I would love to take a photo in the garage sometime but its to dangerous. There are pick pockets everywhere and it would not surprise me if someone came up to me and ripped m camera out of my hands there.
Tuesday is Tabaski. Tabaski is the biggest holiday of the year in Senegal. I think it is the New Year for Muslims. Im not exactly sure but I know its huge. People have been talking about it for over a month. Everyone spends every penny they have to buy a new outfit. This is the biggest time of the year for thefts . Everyone wants to look hot for the big day. Im not sure yet how it will be after Tabaski but I have a feeling my family will be eating worse than they already do. My moms just went out and bought new hair for all of my sisters. People here don’t think about the future. Every month I give my family money to pay for food and to buy things for the house and kids. I made sure this month to not give it to them yet because I know they would spend the money on clothes and hair for Tabaski. I am going to Kaffriene for Tabaski with Ablaye (not my brother Ablaye). I am leaving tomorrow. I am hoping it will be a good time. Korite was fun but definately not what I expected. I am heading back to the village Wednesday I think. I heard Tabaski is a festival ad can last for several days. Lets see how long I can last!
I received three pieces of mail this week… shout out to Roy and Denise…Gram..and Yvonne Wells!!! Thanks for the letters and cards! Its always nice to have something waiting for me at the post office.
I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Everyone in my group is planning a trip to the beach. It is confirmed and I will be maxing and relaxing in the sun December 23- 27. We are renting an apartment house in Mbour. I haven’t been there yet but I was told it is a big tourist area….the holidays are usually a big time for tourists in Africa. I think we are spending New Years in Dakar. Some volunteers are not coming because they feel guilty about leaving their villages for more than a week. Im not sure what they are drinking but that hasn’t hit me yet…im looking forward to an even tan and some partying with some fellow outstanding American citizens. It will be a good time but some way, some how, next year I am going home for Christmas!
Today is December 5, 2008… CRAZY… I have been in Senegal for almost 3 months now. Time has flown by… I am now in my village writing this blog on my laptop….dont get confused..i definitely do not have internet here. Im saving to my USB and posting to my blog tomorrow… Anyway, this week has actually been somewhat successful. I found a Sereer tutor and also a French tutor. I just need to buckle down and make myself study now. I have more time than one could imagine but somehow things still don’t get done…like studying. My sereer tutor is my brother, Ablaye. I just found out recently that he in fact is not my brother but is a friend of the family. He is living here because he is going to school in Sokone. Sokone is the town right next to the village. I didn’t know it until yesterday but Ablaye came here the same week that I came. He speaks English and is usually more than willing to help me with Sereer. My French tutor is a guy in Sokone named Tam. He is a friend of another volunteer. He is pretty cool but I am just waiting or him to profess his love.. I know its coming :X. I am happy to be catching back up on French. Its coming back to me fairly easy but I really need to memorize verb conjugations. It gets hard to learn here having a man for a teacher.. Somehow they always get confused and think if you are coming to class its because you are in love with them. Weird. Othere than finding tutors this week, not much has happened. I have started hanging out with Laura… a PC volunteer in Sokone. Its nice to have friends here that speak English. I cant describe how hard it is to live in a country where you cant communicate exactly what you want to say. Also, I ca understand why Peace Corps does not let everyone learn Wolof. Wolof is the national language. One would think that PC would be smart enough to realize that everyone should learn the national language first and then move on to a given ethnic group language. When I travel I can’t speak to anyone. Only about 2 % of the population in Senegal speaks Sereer. It’s so hard to travel and try and figure out what’s going on in the garage. The garage is just a place filled with cars and people EVERYWHERE. The people there are so aggressive. They are always shouting and banging on the cars ad trying to get their own cars filled up. Cars in the garage wont leave until they are full. So sometimes one will sit there for 2,3, even 4 hours waiting for the car to fill up. The cars seat seven people (plus the driver). It’s a real pain. Imagine how hectic that sounds and having to wait for hours and people are crowded around the cars begging for money…since I’m white…I’m loaded….right? And when they find out I am American, its even worse. It’s hard to fake being French when you don’t speak French. There are also children called “Talibe’”…these kids go to school to learn the Koran and are sent out to beg for food/money. They go to the garage with a bowl and stand by the cars and sing prayers in Wolof. They are crowd around the cars and jingle their change around in your face while they sing…and they definitely reach inside the cars. I would love to take a photo in the garage sometime but its to dangerous. There are pick pockets everywhere and it would not surprise me if someone came up to me and ripped m camera out of my hands there.
Tuesday is Tabaski. Tabaski is the biggest holiday of the year in Senegal. I think it is the New Year for Muslims. Im not exactly sure but I know its huge. People have been talking about it for over a month. Everyone spends every penny they have to buy a new outfit. This is the biggest time of the year for thefts . Everyone wants to look hot for the big day. Im not sure yet how it will be after Tabaski but I have a feeling my family will be eating worse than they already do. My moms just went out and bought new hair for all of my sisters. People here don’t think about the future. Every month I give my family money to pay for food and to buy things for the house and kids. I made sure this month to not give it to them yet because I know they would spend the money on clothes and hair for Tabaski. I am going to Kaffriene for Tabaski with Ablaye (not my brother Ablaye). I am leaving tomorrow. I am hoping it will be a good time. Korite was fun but definately not what I expected. I am heading back to the village Wednesday I think. I heard Tabaski is a festival ad can last for several days. Lets see how long I can last!
I received three pieces of mail this week… shout out to Roy and Denise…Gram..and Yvonne Wells!!! Thanks for the letters and cards! Its always nice to have something waiting for me at the post office.
I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Everyone in my group is planning a trip to the beach. It is confirmed and I will be maxing and relaxing in the sun December 23- 27. We are renting an apartment house in Mbour. I haven’t been there yet but I was told it is a big tourist area….the holidays are usually a big time for tourists in Africa. I think we are spending New Years in Dakar. Some volunteers are not coming because they feel guilty about leaving their villages for more than a week. Im not sure what they are drinking but that hasn’t hit me yet…im looking forward to an even tan and some partying with some fellow outstanding American citizens. It will be a good time but some way, some how, next year I am going home for Christmas!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A little Turkey goes a loong way...
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who follow my blog. I am now in Kaolack. The volunteers are having a two day party at the regional house. We even have turkey!!! Everyone is coming in today and cooking. I am having a great holiday so far. I just want to give a shout out to Bri because i heard she was very sick.... So bri- hope you get feeling better. I am thinking about you!
Also, i will try and call a few family members within the next few hrs to give confirmation that i am still alive! Also, i forgot to mention in my last email of photos, THAT IS MY NEW HOME. i included pics of my hut and my family compound. The kids are my siblings... i have A LOT!
Happy thanksgiving and enjoy your turkey... i will be enjoying mine!
Also, i will try and call a few family members within the next few hrs to give confirmation that i am still alive! Also, i forgot to mention in my last email of photos, THAT IS MY NEW HOME. i included pics of my hut and my family compound. The kids are my siblings... i have A LOT!
Happy thanksgiving and enjoy your turkey... i will be enjoying mine!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Diagle
I am finally all settled into my village and everything is going good. Right now I am in Dakar. There is an Artisan Exposition this weekend that I wanted to go to. The village is good but it is always nice to go to the city. Most of the volunteers from my group are coming into town so hopefully it’s a good weekend. So about the village… I currently have 15 siblings and one more on the way. I have two mothers- Amie and Binta. They are both great but obviously have their hands full with all of the kids. My father – Diokel- is a farmer. He and my counterpart are really hard workers and are always out in the garden. I cannot understand why Peace Corps sends an Agriculture volunteer here. They know wayyy more about gardening than I ever will. There gardens are amazing. They do not have running water but they have created a water system using gravity. It’s pretty cool. They have water bins set up randomly throughout their gardens and they all connect through underground pipes. The bins fill up from the well. If they can o all of that with a shovel, I really don’t think they need much help in the ag field. I think most f my work will be done in the school here and in the village hospital. My family is really nice but I cannot figure out if they are super poor or if the dad is just a cheap ass and doesn’t feed his family. My family does not eat very good. I don’t eat breakfast with them so I don’t know what they eat but for lunch everyday we eat rice and fish… two fish in a bowl on top of white rice. There are two bowls…one for the women and children and one for the men. Usually there are 9 people eating out of the bowl with me. The men use spoons …the women don’t… I DO! I bought my on spoons so I could eat with one. For dinner everyday, we eat millet. Millet is a grain that is pounded down into a powdery substance…something like cornbread mix. It is mixed with water…and YUM!!! Ok…. not exactly…. Its actually pretty nasty but I am getting used to it. Sometimes if we are lucky, we get fish sauce…and when I say fish sauce, I don’t mean real fish. I mean fish flavored water… sometimes we get that on top the rice. In Senegal, eating together is a big deal so I haven’t cooked for myself yet. I wanted to get to know the family more before I cook. I don’t know why eating together is a big deal anyway; it’s very segregated.
I have my own little hut. It’s cute but small. It is 4mx4m. I have a thatch roof that the mice LOVE. There are two permanently living up there. Under the grass on the roof, there is a layer of clear plastic. Everyday I can look up and see the mice up there… shout out to my big sis Crystal! They replace all of the roofs and fencing around our compound every year. They dry out and fall apart. Right now my roof is on its last leg. Two of the corners are non-existent. My roof will be replaced in January probably. Right now the grass that they use to make the roof is not ready. It is the dry season so it really doesn’t matter that there are wholes all over the roof….my hut is definitely not sealed anyway. I also am slightly invaded by termites but I’m not even going to complain about them. They at least don’t poop on my stuff like the mice! Outside of my hut I have my own fenced in backyard. Its also about 4mx4m. I have a douche back there (aka whole in the ground) for a bathroom. At first it was awkward because the “bathroom” is right at the corner of the backyard with no walls around it or anything. I take a bath and go to the bathroom out in the open air. I have the fence around my yard so no one can see in….still a little weird.
My village has about 900 people. It is actually two villages together. One side of the village speaks Sereer and the other speaks Wolof. There are several boutiques here that have everyday supplies like snacks and soap, toothpaste, etc. Also, everyone here eats bean sandwiches. Usually there are ladies around the village in the morning selling their sandwiches. Some taste really good actually…. Others, not so good. I have taken a liking to the onion sandwiches the guy across the street sells. I live about 2 miles outside of Sokone. Sokone is a small town. You can buy pretty much everything there.… everything within reason. There is a market that always has veggies and fish. There are also little shops and boutiques that sell things that a gas station in America would sell. There is not a big selection though. To other volunteers live in Sokone. They are both girls and are pretty cool. They both live wayyy better than I do. Jessica has her own house…with electricity and running water. Laura has her own section of a house…also with running water and electricity. Laura’s family is so nice. I have been there a lot in the last week. Her sister has a salon and did my hair for me. I now have really long hair J
The village is separated by a major international highway. It is really convenient to travel. My family lives right along the road. I can walk outside the my family compound and wait for a bus to come…don’t get confused though. It is definitely not like a city here. The bus only comes one time a day and it is anywhere from 5 am and 7am… so if I want to go somewhere, I wake up early and wait by the road for a loooong time.
I am in the process of looking for a tutor. Things here take FOREVER to do. I know someone who knows someone that can find me a tutor. I am hoping that after Thanksgiving I will be able to start meting with whoever this person is and start learning some French. I studied French for 4 years but haven’t ad it since high school and don’t remember a lot. I am hoping that most of it will come back to me quickly. My Sereer is pretty good but only about 2% of the population speaks Sereer. Everyone speaks Wolof and French. It is crazy because mot people here can speak 3 languages fluently. It seems weird but to them it’s so normal. Its actually not normal hat people in America can only speak one language. I am hoping that by the time I am finished with PC, I ill be able to speak French, Sereer, and Wolof pretty fluently. I have nothing but time here so I definitely think I can do it. I probably can do it in one year…let’s just wait and see how motivated I get! Peace Corps pays for us to have a tutor so I definitely plan to take advantage of it.
Next week, I plan to go to Kaolack for Thanksgiving. I live about 25 miles from their; however, there is no road so it usually takes a car about 2 hrs to get to Sokone from Kaolack. Travelling here is always such a hassle. The other volunteers are throwing a party for Thanksgiving. Usually every region hosts a given holiday during the year. Christmas is the onl holiday that is not hosted by anyone because most volunteers go home for the holidays. I think my stage is going to Popenguine again (the beach). We had a really good time last time and I can’t imagine waking up Christmas morning in my hut, hanging out with my Christmas mice.
I will email some photos of my hut and my new family. If you are not on my email list and would like to be, send me your address at candicewhittaker@gmail.com. Hope everyone is ok and getting ready for the holiday season…. This will be m first year without a Christmas treeL… shout out to Becca Donaldson… I know she would be very happy about that!! Lol
I have my own little hut. It’s cute but small. It is 4mx4m. I have a thatch roof that the mice LOVE. There are two permanently living up there. Under the grass on the roof, there is a layer of clear plastic. Everyday I can look up and see the mice up there… shout out to my big sis Crystal! They replace all of the roofs and fencing around our compound every year. They dry out and fall apart. Right now my roof is on its last leg. Two of the corners are non-existent. My roof will be replaced in January probably. Right now the grass that they use to make the roof is not ready. It is the dry season so it really doesn’t matter that there are wholes all over the roof….my hut is definitely not sealed anyway. I also am slightly invaded by termites but I’m not even going to complain about them. They at least don’t poop on my stuff like the mice! Outside of my hut I have my own fenced in backyard. Its also about 4mx4m. I have a douche back there (aka whole in the ground) for a bathroom. At first it was awkward because the “bathroom” is right at the corner of the backyard with no walls around it or anything. I take a bath and go to the bathroom out in the open air. I have the fence around my yard so no one can see in….still a little weird.
My village has about 900 people. It is actually two villages together. One side of the village speaks Sereer and the other speaks Wolof. There are several boutiques here that have everyday supplies like snacks and soap, toothpaste, etc. Also, everyone here eats bean sandwiches. Usually there are ladies around the village in the morning selling their sandwiches. Some taste really good actually…. Others, not so good. I have taken a liking to the onion sandwiches the guy across the street sells. I live about 2 miles outside of Sokone. Sokone is a small town. You can buy pretty much everything there.… everything within reason. There is a market that always has veggies and fish. There are also little shops and boutiques that sell things that a gas station in America would sell. There is not a big selection though. To other volunteers live in Sokone. They are both girls and are pretty cool. They both live wayyy better than I do. Jessica has her own house…with electricity and running water. Laura has her own section of a house…also with running water and electricity. Laura’s family is so nice. I have been there a lot in the last week. Her sister has a salon and did my hair for me. I now have really long hair J
The village is separated by a major international highway. It is really convenient to travel. My family lives right along the road. I can walk outside the my family compound and wait for a bus to come…don’t get confused though. It is definitely not like a city here. The bus only comes one time a day and it is anywhere from 5 am and 7am… so if I want to go somewhere, I wake up early and wait by the road for a loooong time.
I am in the process of looking for a tutor. Things here take FOREVER to do. I know someone who knows someone that can find me a tutor. I am hoping that after Thanksgiving I will be able to start meting with whoever this person is and start learning some French. I studied French for 4 years but haven’t ad it since high school and don’t remember a lot. I am hoping that most of it will come back to me quickly. My Sereer is pretty good but only about 2% of the population speaks Sereer. Everyone speaks Wolof and French. It is crazy because mot people here can speak 3 languages fluently. It seems weird but to them it’s so normal. Its actually not normal hat people in America can only speak one language. I am hoping that by the time I am finished with PC, I ill be able to speak French, Sereer, and Wolof pretty fluently. I have nothing but time here so I definitely think I can do it. I probably can do it in one year…let’s just wait and see how motivated I get! Peace Corps pays for us to have a tutor so I definitely plan to take advantage of it.
Next week, I plan to go to Kaolack for Thanksgiving. I live about 25 miles from their; however, there is no road so it usually takes a car about 2 hrs to get to Sokone from Kaolack. Travelling here is always such a hassle. The other volunteers are throwing a party for Thanksgiving. Usually every region hosts a given holiday during the year. Christmas is the onl holiday that is not hosted by anyone because most volunteers go home for the holidays. I think my stage is going to Popenguine again (the beach). We had a really good time last time and I can’t imagine waking up Christmas morning in my hut, hanging out with my Christmas mice.
I will email some photos of my hut and my new family. If you are not on my email list and would like to be, send me your address at candicewhittaker@gmail.com. Hope everyone is ok and getting ready for the holiday season…. This will be m first year without a Christmas treeL… shout out to Becca Donaldson… I know she would be very happy about that!! Lol
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Installment tomorrow... FINALLY
I am still in Kaolack. I have been here since Sunday and am bored out of my mind. I will be leaving tomorrow. We all have set times to leave this week because we have to be taken to our villages by the security guy to be sure our homes are all safe and secure. I will be leaving for Diagle sometime tomorrow afternoon. I am at the regional house now with many other volunteers. Each region of Senegal has a house where volunteers can go to escape the village if they need a break. Most people come here about every two weeks or so… some more often, some less. It’s like a small frat house. I think back to my days at good ole Indiana University and try to drown out the times I had to enter into a disgusting fraternity house… now I have one to call my own home J …. Along with several new critter friends as well. I live about 40 KM from here so I am planning to ride my bike here sometimes. I have noticed that many of the volunteers ride here from FAR distances (up to 100 KM). The road from the regional house to Diagle is really bad so I think I will have to get in better shape before I can try to make the ride. It is really difficult to ride a bike in sand!!!)
I have spent the last three days spending lots money at the market in Kaolack. It has been kind of fun but also very hectic. Kaolack has the second largest covered market in Africa. It is really easy to get in there and get lost or hassled or pick-pocketed. Luckily, everything has gone smoothly for me and I think I am finished shopping. I bought lots of things for my new home in Diagle….. just the usual move in things like furniture, cleaning supplies, decorations, etc. Its really hard to buy big things here because there is nowhere to store anything and you can’t trust anyone. We had to pay a taxi to come pick us up the market several times because we couldn’t carry our new stuff around all day. I have the rest of the day to hang out and get my stuff ready for tomorrow. I think tomorrow will be a long day but I am looking forward to finally having a place of my own and being able to unpack. I am planning to go to Dakar next weekend for an Artesian Expo. I am going with a few other volunteers. I think it will be a good way for us to get some ideas of other projects we can start (other than agriculture). I should be back at the internet next weekend sometime. Hope all is well in the States!
I have spent the last three days spending lots money at the market in Kaolack. It has been kind of fun but also very hectic. Kaolack has the second largest covered market in Africa. It is really easy to get in there and get lost or hassled or pick-pocketed. Luckily, everything has gone smoothly for me and I think I am finished shopping. I bought lots of things for my new home in Diagle….. just the usual move in things like furniture, cleaning supplies, decorations, etc. Its really hard to buy big things here because there is nowhere to store anything and you can’t trust anyone. We had to pay a taxi to come pick us up the market several times because we couldn’t carry our new stuff around all day. I have the rest of the day to hang out and get my stuff ready for tomorrow. I think tomorrow will be a long day but I am looking forward to finally having a place of my own and being able to unpack. I am planning to go to Dakar next weekend for an Artesian Expo. I am going with a few other volunteers. I think it will be a good way for us to get some ideas of other projects we can start (other than agriculture). I should be back at the internet next weekend sometime. Hope all is well in the States!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Swear-In
As of yesterday, iI am an official Peace Corps volunteer. We had swear in yesterday in Dakar at the Smerican Embassador's house.. it was fun actually. After we had the BEST food ever for lunch and then wet to the American club and had a pool party. We had a big reception in Thies lst night for our host families. It finished and then we ad a rather looong after-party that went well into the night.. all-in-all...great day. Tomorrow i will be leaving Thies a 6 am (not my choice to be leaving so early) and heading to Kaolack for two days. I am moving into my permanent village on Tuesday. I am hoping to settle in and start learning more Sereer with a tutor asap. I dont really know what to expect with my new host family so maybe i will have some interesteing stories in about a week... more soon!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Barack Obama!!
Ok..so i dont know if thats how you spell the name of the future president of the United States; however, i am prety pumped that today is election day... People in Senegal are going crazy today because of the election... its everywhere here. Just thought i would take a moment and give a shout out to my man BO...
Anyway....I came back to the city yesterday and everything is going fine. I had my last language test this morning and am very happy with the way things have ended with my language classes. Im surprised that I have done so well so far. I am officially finished with language as of today. I can communicate with pretty much anyone in Sereer now. I realize my language is still broken and definitely not fluent but I can communicate and have conversations now….pretty great really. I spent the last week in the village doing language and hanging out with my family and friends there. Everything has gotten so much better in the village in the last week because my language got wayyy better. It sucks that when I finally could communicate and have fun with people, it was time to leave. I am happy with the way things ended for the most part. If I could change one thing, I would go back and put my foot down with my family a few times. I think they started to take advantage of me a little too much by the end of my stay there… c’est la vie African!!
I left my village yesterday for the last time. It was really awkward leaving because my mom and sister were crying all day. It as nice but I can’t decide if they were really sad that I was leaving or if they were just sad that they wont have a paycheck anymore…that’s a whole other story though. Last week, I realized that my mom is about months pregnant and I had no idea! Some may think I am crazy but in Senegal is a complete faux paux to talk about pregnancy. I have had many discussions with Senegalese people including my father here about pregnancy and no one can explain to me why they don’t talk about t. My mother is obviously pregnant but she hasn’t even told my sisters or anyone in the family. I think I will go visit my family sometime in the next few months and I am hoping to see a baby!
We have swear-in on Friday in Dakar. I will be an official volunteer after that. This week we will be in Thies just having technique class. I am really excited to get this week over with because the technique classes are really boring and I want to get to my new village. I think I will leave here on Monday and stay in Kaolack until Tuesday. The security guy is coming Tuesday to help me move in.
I received my first package in mail last week…lets just say it felt like Christmas morning!!! Really!! I don’t think I can communicate what it feels like to be cut off from the world and then open up a box with fresh magazines and American candy… each little skittle was screaming to be thrown into my mouth!!
Random Facts:
Number of times I have been pooped on by a baby: 3
Number of shirts ruined because my sister spilled bleach on my laundry- 8
Number of scorpions I have seen: too many to count
Number of mice living in my room right now- 1
Number of times my 6 year old brother ripped the head off a bird last week- 2 (they eat them :X)
Number of cards/letters I have received in the mail- 4
Number of trainees that have gone back to the states-0
Number of full days I have spent having my hair braided since my arrival in Senegal- 4 (I have really long hair now!)
Number of times a Senegalese person has asked me if i personaly know Celine Dion- too many to count ( Africans LOVE her)
Number of times a woman has tried to give me her husband- 1 ( my friend Fatou had full intentions of giving me her husband to take back to he States so he could make money.... then we could come back and all live together)
ok... enough for now... more to come soon. Hope all is well at home and everyone is alive and healthy... Lets go Obama (one more time for the road ;-) )
Anyway....I came back to the city yesterday and everything is going fine. I had my last language test this morning and am very happy with the way things have ended with my language classes. Im surprised that I have done so well so far. I am officially finished with language as of today. I can communicate with pretty much anyone in Sereer now. I realize my language is still broken and definitely not fluent but I can communicate and have conversations now….pretty great really. I spent the last week in the village doing language and hanging out with my family and friends there. Everything has gotten so much better in the village in the last week because my language got wayyy better. It sucks that when I finally could communicate and have fun with people, it was time to leave. I am happy with the way things ended for the most part. If I could change one thing, I would go back and put my foot down with my family a few times. I think they started to take advantage of me a little too much by the end of my stay there… c’est la vie African!!
I left my village yesterday for the last time. It was really awkward leaving because my mom and sister were crying all day. It as nice but I can’t decide if they were really sad that I was leaving or if they were just sad that they wont have a paycheck anymore…that’s a whole other story though. Last week, I realized that my mom is about months pregnant and I had no idea! Some may think I am crazy but in Senegal is a complete faux paux to talk about pregnancy. I have had many discussions with Senegalese people including my father here about pregnancy and no one can explain to me why they don’t talk about t. My mother is obviously pregnant but she hasn’t even told my sisters or anyone in the family. I think I will go visit my family sometime in the next few months and I am hoping to see a baby!
We have swear-in on Friday in Dakar. I will be an official volunteer after that. This week we will be in Thies just having technique class. I am really excited to get this week over with because the technique classes are really boring and I want to get to my new village. I think I will leave here on Monday and stay in Kaolack until Tuesday. The security guy is coming Tuesday to help me move in.
I received my first package in mail last week…lets just say it felt like Christmas morning!!! Really!! I don’t think I can communicate what it feels like to be cut off from the world and then open up a box with fresh magazines and American candy… each little skittle was screaming to be thrown into my mouth!!
Random Facts:
Number of times I have been pooped on by a baby: 3
Number of shirts ruined because my sister spilled bleach on my laundry- 8
Number of scorpions I have seen: too many to count
Number of mice living in my room right now- 1
Number of times my 6 year old brother ripped the head off a bird last week- 2 (they eat them :X)
Number of cards/letters I have received in the mail- 4
Number of trainees that have gone back to the states-0
Number of full days I have spent having my hair braided since my arrival in Senegal- 4 (I have really long hair now!)
Number of times a Senegalese person has asked me if i personaly know Celine Dion- too many to count ( Africans LOVE her)
Number of times a woman has tried to give me her husband- 1 ( my friend Fatou had full intentions of giving me her husband to take back to he States so he could make money.... then we could come back and all live together)
ok... enough for now... more to come soon. Hope all is well at home and everyone is alive and healthy... Lets go Obama (one more time for the road ;-) )
Sunday, October 19, 2008
3 more weeks of training!!!
I returned to Thies yesterday after a looong week of more language training. My language sky rocketed this week! I can have a conversation about anything now…its definitely not fluent but at least now I have a good grasp on the vocab and verb conjugations. The village was good last week but I am definitely happy to be back in the city. My sister Cuumbu is going back to school today. I am not very excited about that. She helps me with language more than anyone else. She is only 17 but I hang out with her a lot. EVERY girl my age is married and has about 3 kids we don’t really have much in common. I get questioned daily about why I don’t have a husband and children yet.
I finally have started be become more of a family member now instead of a guest. My sisters stopped cleaning my room and doing my laundry. It’s nice to finally have somewhat of a normal life. I will admit I miss them doing my laundry. Laundry takes hours and I can never get my clothes clean.
Today is the first day I have had to myself in a week. Most of the people from my stage went to Dakar for the day (the capital). I stayed back to get laundry done and chill for a day. It gets tiring living out of a bag and being on the go every day. After we get sworn in, I think things will slow down a lot. I will actually have a place I can unpack my clothes and call “home.” My hut in Dgiangle( my permanent village) is awesome too. Elizabeth is leaving tons of stuff there for me so I am hoping I will be able to just sort of move in and go.
This week we have a counterpart workshop. My counterparts from Dgiangle are coming for 4 days. I am unsure of what the counterpart workshop consists of but I am excited to spend more time with them to et to know them. I have only met them one time and I will be working with them for the next two years… if work goes as planned! I just found out we have to spend Wed, Thurs, and Fri night in our villages so our counterparts can stay in our rooms in the training center. We will be having class in the city but sleeping in the village. I think those days will be very tiring and long… it’s a lot of travelling just for sleep. My current village is about 40 minutes outside of Thies on a windy sand road. Hopefully the workshop goes well and it will be worth it.
It is finally starting to cool of…a little anyway. Two weeks ago it was 105 in the shade in my village. Now its about 95. Some days it gets hotter. I am still unsure of the weather pattern in Senegal but I think November, December, and January is “winter” here. I don’t think its fair to even use the word winter but you get my point. I have stopped sweating 24/7 and am getting used to the heat. I am reallllly looking forward to the cool weather that should be coming. The rainy season is slowly coming to an end. It has only rained twice this month and I won’t be surprised if we don’t get anymore until after the dry season.
I finally figured out how to upload photos…WOOHOOO. I am putting photos up at this very moment. I hope you all enjoy! I will be in the city for most of the week so I will be in touch very soon! Shout out to Angie and anyone else from HCH that tossed something into my package. I haven’t received it yet but the guard checks the mail on Mondays so hopefully this time tomorrow I will be eating goodies!!!!
I finally have started be become more of a family member now instead of a guest. My sisters stopped cleaning my room and doing my laundry. It’s nice to finally have somewhat of a normal life. I will admit I miss them doing my laundry. Laundry takes hours and I can never get my clothes clean.
Today is the first day I have had to myself in a week. Most of the people from my stage went to Dakar for the day (the capital). I stayed back to get laundry done and chill for a day. It gets tiring living out of a bag and being on the go every day. After we get sworn in, I think things will slow down a lot. I will actually have a place I can unpack my clothes and call “home.” My hut in Dgiangle( my permanent village) is awesome too. Elizabeth is leaving tons of stuff there for me so I am hoping I will be able to just sort of move in and go.
This week we have a counterpart workshop. My counterparts from Dgiangle are coming for 4 days. I am unsure of what the counterpart workshop consists of but I am excited to spend more time with them to et to know them. I have only met them one time and I will be working with them for the next two years… if work goes as planned! I just found out we have to spend Wed, Thurs, and Fri night in our villages so our counterparts can stay in our rooms in the training center. We will be having class in the city but sleeping in the village. I think those days will be very tiring and long… it’s a lot of travelling just for sleep. My current village is about 40 minutes outside of Thies on a windy sand road. Hopefully the workshop goes well and it will be worth it.
It is finally starting to cool of…a little anyway. Two weeks ago it was 105 in the shade in my village. Now its about 95. Some days it gets hotter. I am still unsure of the weather pattern in Senegal but I think November, December, and January is “winter” here. I don’t think its fair to even use the word winter but you get my point. I have stopped sweating 24/7 and am getting used to the heat. I am reallllly looking forward to the cool weather that should be coming. The rainy season is slowly coming to an end. It has only rained twice this month and I won’t be surprised if we don’t get anymore until after the dry season.
I finally figured out how to upload photos…WOOHOOO. I am putting photos up at this very moment. I hope you all enjoy! I will be in the city for most of the week so I will be in touch very soon! Shout out to Angie and anyone else from HCH that tossed something into my package. I haven’t received it yet but the guard checks the mail on Mondays so hopefully this time tomorrow I will be eating goodies!!!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
new address
I have been trying to upload photos for a wek now and i cannot figure out what is going wrong. I would love to blame it on poor internet connection but that is not the problem.....Anyway, i will get photos up asap.
I am heading back to my village tomorrow for another week of intense language classes. I will be back in the city Saturday and will update the blog and add photos!!!! seriously this time.
Also, if anyone is interested in writing me, i have a new address. My new address will be
B.P. 64
Sokone, Senegal
West Africa.
That will be my permanent address here and it will take effect Nov 7. Mail takes a week or two so if you send anything after this week, mail it to my new address..please and thank you!!!
I just got back to Thies yesterday after spending a night at the beach in Dakar. All of th volunteers rented out a gorgeous house right by the ocean for a night. It was a much needed mini vaca. We were only there for about 24 hrs but it was well worht the trip. I have a nice tan now... Also, i got braids last week and now have long hair. :)
Back to reality and back to work. Hope to hear from you soon!!!
I am heading back to my village tomorrow for another week of intense language classes. I will be back in the city Saturday and will update the blog and add photos!!!! seriously this time.
Also, if anyone is interested in writing me, i have a new address. My new address will be
B.P. 64
Sokone, Senegal
West Africa.
That will be my permanent address here and it will take effect Nov 7. Mail takes a week or two so if you send anything after this week, mail it to my new address..please and thank you!!!
I just got back to Thies yesterday after spending a night at the beach in Dakar. All of th volunteers rented out a gorgeous house right by the ocean for a night. It was a much needed mini vaca. We were only there for about 24 hrs but it was well worht the trip. I have a nice tan now... Also, i got braids last week and now have long hair. :)
Back to reality and back to work. Hope to hear from you soon!!!
Friday, October 10, 2008
My new home!
I just got back to Thies yesterday. I spent the last week in Diangle (pronounced JOG lay). I will be moving there next month for two years. My village is the bomb.com. I really think I am one of the luckiest volunteers here. I am taking over for a girl named Elizabeth. Elizabeth has everything all lined out for me and I think I will be able to start working fairly early in my service. The first 6 months at site are usually spent just trying to build relationships with people in the community and volunteers often try to start looking for projects that have potential in the area. Elizabeth has done a great job in the last two years and there are several projects already in progress that hopefully I will be able to finish. After spending a week with her, I am really excited to get to my village. The set up there is GREAT! I will have my own hut with a fenced in backyard. The hut is about 4 meters x 4 meters and the yard is about the same. The family seems very laid back. I have two moms…Binta and Amie. There are A LOT of kids in my family. There are 5 children under 5 years old and my mother Amie is pregnant now. I think she is due in January/Febuaryish…. There are several other children in the family as well. I definitely don’t remember all of them but I think there are about 12 kids. I am slightly disappointed about the healthcare situation in my family. My little brothers and sisters are in serious need of medical attention. I think they are very wormy and lacking vitamins in their diets. After I move to my site, my first goal is the get my family healthy. My father is very intelligent. His name is Jokel. He is a great gardener. I feel that most of my work in the village will not be Ag related because many of the people there are great gardeners. My village has so much potential in other areas though. The young girls in my village have to grow up very fast. Many of them are sexually active or even have babies. Many of the girls are in their teens. I really want to get a women’s group started for these girls. I think there is a need for discussions about healthcare for their babies, STD’s/ HIV and most importantly contraception. Since Senegal is predominately Muslim (meaning very conservative), many of the above topics are never discussed.
Elizabeth also chose my counterparts for me. I met them both and am very please. My female counterpart is a woman around 50 years old. Her name is Janaba. Elizabeth worked closely with her and said she is very determined to get things done. As soon as I met Janaba, I knew I liked her. She is also a great gardener. My male counterparts is a man about 35 yr old named Ebu. He is a great gardener and is very intelligent. Ebu speaks English!! WOOHOOO!!! Elizabeth uses Ebu for advice about everything. He seems very trustworthy and I think he will be great to work with. Most volunteers don’t have their counterparts yet and usually it is just someone kind of random that is appointed. I am so grateful that Elizabeth took the time to choose counterparts for me that seem like they know whats up.
Also, a big international highway goes right past my village….so travelling is very easy. I live about 2 miles out of Sokone which is a town that has basically everything I will need including a post office and restaurants and such. There is a big campsite about a 15 minute walk from my hut. The camp site is a place for tourists. It has little cabin type buildings that can be rented out. There is a restaurant/bar there and also a beach. It looks like a great getaway from the village. There are mangroves all around the campsite and the village. It is so gorgeous. Mangroves are beautiful trees that grow in water.
Im pretty excited about what is to come. ….
Soo… last week I thought I had scabies.I had bumps that started out on my feet and continued to move up my legs and continue up my stomach and arms. After a week of trying everything, I am convinced I am allergic to something here and I just don’t know what it is yet. I have sensitive skin anyway, but this sucks. I have been downing Benadryl which has helped tremendously; however, Benadryl nocks ne out. If anyone wants to send me a package with some non-drowsy Benadryl and some Flintstone vitamins for my brothers and sisters, I would greatly appreciate it!!
Some funny statistics you may want to know about….
Number of times I had to get out and push the taxi I was riding in: 1
Number of times I have been lost in a taxi and the driver didn’t speak French or any other language I have ever heard of: 1
Number of marriage proposals: 4
Number of times I have thrown up: ZERO!!
Number of people from my group that have gone back to the States: Zero!!
Number of mice I have seen at any one time at the regional house: 4 LARGe mice and 2 babies
Sorry i have not responded to emails lately. I will be online sunday and will write back to everyone. until then..... Boojaklakes (goodbye in Sereer)
Elizabeth also chose my counterparts for me. I met them both and am very please. My female counterpart is a woman around 50 years old. Her name is Janaba. Elizabeth worked closely with her and said she is very determined to get things done. As soon as I met Janaba, I knew I liked her. She is also a great gardener. My male counterparts is a man about 35 yr old named Ebu. He is a great gardener and is very intelligent. Ebu speaks English!! WOOHOOO!!! Elizabeth uses Ebu for advice about everything. He seems very trustworthy and I think he will be great to work with. Most volunteers don’t have their counterparts yet and usually it is just someone kind of random that is appointed. I am so grateful that Elizabeth took the time to choose counterparts for me that seem like they know whats up.
Also, a big international highway goes right past my village….so travelling is very easy. I live about 2 miles out of Sokone which is a town that has basically everything I will need including a post office and restaurants and such. There is a big campsite about a 15 minute walk from my hut. The camp site is a place for tourists. It has little cabin type buildings that can be rented out. There is a restaurant/bar there and also a beach. It looks like a great getaway from the village. There are mangroves all around the campsite and the village. It is so gorgeous. Mangroves are beautiful trees that grow in water.
Im pretty excited about what is to come. ….
Soo… last week I thought I had scabies.I had bumps that started out on my feet and continued to move up my legs and continue up my stomach and arms. After a week of trying everything, I am convinced I am allergic to something here and I just don’t know what it is yet. I have sensitive skin anyway, but this sucks. I have been downing Benadryl which has helped tremendously; however, Benadryl nocks ne out. If anyone wants to send me a package with some non-drowsy Benadryl and some Flintstone vitamins for my brothers and sisters, I would greatly appreciate it!!
Some funny statistics you may want to know about….
Number of times I had to get out and push the taxi I was riding in: 1
Number of times I have been lost in a taxi and the driver didn’t speak French or any other language I have ever heard of: 1
Number of marriage proposals: 4
Number of times I have thrown up: ZERO!!
Number of people from my group that have gone back to the States: Zero!!
Number of mice I have seen at any one time at the regional house: 4 LARGe mice and 2 babies
Sorry i have not responded to emails lately. I will be online sunday and will write back to everyone. until then..... Boojaklakes (goodbye in Sereer)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Village fun!
So many things to say dont knwo where to start. I just got back to Thies athis morning. We have had languag class alllll day here. Everything is going GREAT with my language class. I already tsted out of about half of everything i eed efore i can swear in. I only need to pass one more language test before nov 7th...i have a few more tests but only need to pass on more. I am kind of surprised at how wel i have done. The other guy learning Sereer has not been so lucky and is having LOTS of trouble with language.
Eveything in my village has been great...for te most part anyway. I have had SEVERAL bites on my legs and i cannot figure out why. I counted yesterday 78 bites from the knees down. They hurt and itch. I went to the doctor today and she thinks my room may be infested with something. Peace Corps officers are going there while i am gone to check it out. I think i will nd up getting a new atress out of it... mine sucks... so im pumped about that!!! I hope whatever i have clearsup in the next few days.
Yesterday wa Korite... a huge muslim holiday. Kind of equivalent to Christmas. Last night I went to a huge village party and EVERYONE danced all night. It was pretty cool to see some real african dancing in the village. It was outside in the middle of the sandy soccer field. They had one light that was working from a car battery. All the men played drums and other random home made musical instruments and the women danced. EVeryone dressed up in the nicest clothes possible. It was very cool. It wa like something you would se on national geographic.
Other than Korite, nothing too exciting has happened in my village. My parents are very nosy though...thats starting to get on my nerves a little. EVeryone know everything about everyone...if i stand up someone is always like...where are you going??? Its getting old but im getting used to it. My family has been very great to me and i think i eat better than most other trainees. I have meat a lot and many others never have it. I am happy Ramadan is over so now my family wont be fasting anymore. Im happy about that because they are in better moods and also i dont feel bad about eating breakfast and lunch. I am pretty happy in the village bt it is verrry good to be back in town and have electricity!!! :)
Tomorrow morning i am going to visit the village i will be living in for the next two years. I found out today tha i will be living in Diangle ( in Sokone). It is near the western coast of Senegal.... just north of Gambia. I heard that it is really great there and my village is right on a tributary!! WOOOHOOOOO!!! WATER! The girl there now has been very successful and will be leaving in a few weeks. I am taking over for her. I am excited about visiting her. I will be there until next Thursday...i think... I have been told i have a great site and should be happy... I am!
I will be back in Thies next week for a few days! Hope all is well with everyone reading this...take care!
Eveything in my village has been great...for te most part anyway. I have had SEVERAL bites on my legs and i cannot figure out why. I counted yesterday 78 bites from the knees down. They hurt and itch. I went to the doctor today and she thinks my room may be infested with something. Peace Corps officers are going there while i am gone to check it out. I think i will nd up getting a new atress out of it... mine sucks... so im pumped about that!!! I hope whatever i have clearsup in the next few days.
Yesterday wa Korite... a huge muslim holiday. Kind of equivalent to Christmas. Last night I went to a huge village party and EVERYONE danced all night. It was pretty cool to see some real african dancing in the village. It was outside in the middle of the sandy soccer field. They had one light that was working from a car battery. All the men played drums and other random home made musical instruments and the women danced. EVeryone dressed up in the nicest clothes possible. It was very cool. It wa like something you would se on national geographic.
Other than Korite, nothing too exciting has happened in my village. My parents are very nosy though...thats starting to get on my nerves a little. EVeryone know everything about everyone...if i stand up someone is always like...where are you going??? Its getting old but im getting used to it. My family has been very great to me and i think i eat better than most other trainees. I have meat a lot and many others never have it. I am happy Ramadan is over so now my family wont be fasting anymore. Im happy about that because they are in better moods and also i dont feel bad about eating breakfast and lunch. I am pretty happy in the village bt it is verrry good to be back in town and have electricity!!! :)
Tomorrow morning i am going to visit the village i will be living in for the next two years. I found out today tha i will be living in Diangle ( in Sokone). It is near the western coast of Senegal.... just north of Gambia. I heard that it is really great there and my village is right on a tributary!! WOOOHOOOOO!!! WATER! The girl there now has been very successful and will be leaving in a few weeks. I am taking over for her. I am excited about visiting her. I will be there until next Thursday...i think... I have been told i have a great site and should be happy... I am!
I will be back in Thies next week for a few days! Hope all is well with everyone reading this...take care!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
back to the ville
Tomorrow i will be heading back to my village for about two weeks and wont have access to internet... hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Ill get in touch when i get back to the city sometime next week!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Village life
Soo I just spent the last three days in my village. Everything went very well. I have been very lucky so far with my placement. I am living in a Sereer village with just one other PC person. Most of the others were placed in villages with about 4 or 5 other volunteers. I am glad its just me and one other person because we have more one on one time with our language teacher. We have only spent two days on language so far and I have done exceptionally well if I do say so myself J My teacher is pretty relaxed and easy going with the schedule. He is tough but good. We started conjugating verb on the first day. We are never learning vocab in class because he said we should be doing that on our own. It was pretty intense at first but its starting to make more sense every hour. I like it so far….some of the others don’t sound so lucky with their placements.
My new name is Fatou Sarr. Everyone gets a new name when they move into a village. Even though I can barely communicate with my fam, everything has been going great. I have two sisters (that is debatable…I cant figure out if one of my sisters is actually a second wife to my dad??? Or maybe his daughter?? Idk) I also have three younger brothers. Names are as follows
Dad: Ablye Sarr
Mom: Xardinying Sarr
Sisters: Cuumbu Sarr and Mary Sarr
Brothers: Omar Sarr, Adam Sarr, and Alyou Sarr. Alyou is soooooo cute!
And yes, everyone says their last name every time… My sister Cuumbu Sarr is pretty cool. She has helped me out a lot because she speaks a LITTLE English and a lot of French. My French is getting better but im concentrating on learning Sereer. We have class starting at 9 am until 12 and then a break for lunch and then back to class. Usually I go home and my family makes me sit down and tell them everything I learned during class which is pretty helpful. The neighbors come over a lot and try to talk a hundred miles and hour in Sereere just so they can laugh at me when I don’t have a clue what they are saying…. Yeah, extremely annoying! I have a huge room which is pretty cool. There is no furniture in there except my bed but I don’t even care. The huge room is enough. There is a huge fenced in area around three sides of my room that has goats and ducks and horses in it. They are all racks of bones and stink but im getting used to it. My family is def going out of their way to accommodate me. They always serve me nicer food than anyone else in the fam and give me the chair to sit in….they all sit on the floor. I also get a fork to eat with. I have slowly started not accepting things and doing like they do. So now I sit on the floor with them and eat with my hands too. I took a few pics of my family. I will try to upload them but I can’t make any promises.
At the moment, I am back in Thies (city) and will be here until Monday. Next week, we are heading back to our villages for two weeks… Then we will be going to stay with a PC volunteer for a week just to shadow them. I think I will be visiting the actual family I am going to be moving in with after pre service training. As far as I know, I will be moving to the Kaolack region. I have heard that it is disgusting there but also one of the best places to live and work because there is a lot to do. As far as I know, I will be taking over for a girl that is leaving. She has finished her term and is done with PC. I also heard she really likes her village and has been successful there. I’m looking forward to meeting her and finally getting this show on the road. We have been moving at a snails pace when it comes to training at the training center. Since we are working for the government, they are very over protective of us. We spent a week going over the Peace Corps mission and diarrhea. This week has een a lot bettr because we did a lot of language training. After this weekend, we won’t really be coming back to the training center much…much I am happy about!
Other than that, I have been happy and healthy and everything is going great. I have been trying to get in touch with people at home for several days now without much success… If anyone is interested in calling me, my cell number is 011 221 77 187 87 54. I am 4 hours ahead of Eastern time... CALLL ANYTIME!!! Hope things are getting better in Indiana. I heard the hurricane did a number on a lot of people. I will be in touch again soon. Take Care!
My new name is Fatou Sarr. Everyone gets a new name when they move into a village. Even though I can barely communicate with my fam, everything has been going great. I have two sisters (that is debatable…I cant figure out if one of my sisters is actually a second wife to my dad??? Or maybe his daughter?? Idk) I also have three younger brothers. Names are as follows
Dad: Ablye Sarr
Mom: Xardinying Sarr
Sisters: Cuumbu Sarr and Mary Sarr
Brothers: Omar Sarr, Adam Sarr, and Alyou Sarr. Alyou is soooooo cute!
And yes, everyone says their last name every time… My sister Cuumbu Sarr is pretty cool. She has helped me out a lot because she speaks a LITTLE English and a lot of French. My French is getting better but im concentrating on learning Sereer. We have class starting at 9 am until 12 and then a break for lunch and then back to class. Usually I go home and my family makes me sit down and tell them everything I learned during class which is pretty helpful. The neighbors come over a lot and try to talk a hundred miles and hour in Sereere just so they can laugh at me when I don’t have a clue what they are saying…. Yeah, extremely annoying! I have a huge room which is pretty cool. There is no furniture in there except my bed but I don’t even care. The huge room is enough. There is a huge fenced in area around three sides of my room that has goats and ducks and horses in it. They are all racks of bones and stink but im getting used to it. My family is def going out of their way to accommodate me. They always serve me nicer food than anyone else in the fam and give me the chair to sit in….they all sit on the floor. I also get a fork to eat with. I have slowly started not accepting things and doing like they do. So now I sit on the floor with them and eat with my hands too. I took a few pics of my family. I will try to upload them but I can’t make any promises.
At the moment, I am back in Thies (city) and will be here until Monday. Next week, we are heading back to our villages for two weeks… Then we will be going to stay with a PC volunteer for a week just to shadow them. I think I will be visiting the actual family I am going to be moving in with after pre service training. As far as I know, I will be moving to the Kaolack region. I have heard that it is disgusting there but also one of the best places to live and work because there is a lot to do. As far as I know, I will be taking over for a girl that is leaving. She has finished her term and is done with PC. I also heard she really likes her village and has been successful there. I’m looking forward to meeting her and finally getting this show on the road. We have been moving at a snails pace when it comes to training at the training center. Since we are working for the government, they are very over protective of us. We spent a week going over the Peace Corps mission and diarrhea. This week has een a lot bettr because we did a lot of language training. After this weekend, we won’t really be coming back to the training center much…much I am happy about!
Other than that, I have been happy and healthy and everything is going great. I have been trying to get in touch with people at home for several days now without much success… If anyone is interested in calling me, my cell number is 011 221 77 187 87 54. I am 4 hours ahead of Eastern time... CALLL ANYTIME!!! Hope things are getting better in Indiana. I heard the hurricane did a number on a lot of people. I will be in touch again soon. Take Care!
Village life
Soo I just spent the last three days in my village. Everything went very well. I have been very lucky so far with my placement. I am living in a Sereer village with just one other PC person. Most of the others were placed in villages with about 4 or 5 other volunteers. I am glad its just me and one other person because we have more one on one time with our language teacher. We have only spent two days on language so far and I have done exceptionally well if I do say so myself J My teacher is pretty relaxed and easy going with the schedule. He is tough but good. We started conjugating verb on the first day. We are never learning vocab in class because he said we should be doing that on our own. It was pretty intense at first but its starting to make more sense every hour. I like it so far….some of the others don’t sound so lucky with their placements.
My new name is Fatou Sarr. Everyone gets a new name when they move into a village. Even though I can barely communicate with my fam, everything has been going great. I have two sisters (that is debatable…I cant figure out if one of my sisters is actually a second wife to my dad??? Or maybe his daughter?? Idk) I also have three younger brothers. Names are as follows
Dad: Ablye Sarr
Mom: Xardinying Sarr
Sisters: Cuumbu Sarr and Mary Sarr
Brothers: Omar Sarr, Adam Sarr, and Alyou Sarr. Alyou is soooooo cute!
And yes, everyone says their last name every time… My sister Cuumbu Sarr is pretty cool. She has helped me out a lot because she speaks a LITTLE English and a lot of French. My French is getting better but im concentrating on learning Sereer. We have class starting at 9 am until 12 and then a break for lunch and then back to class. Usually I go home and my family makes me sit down and tell them everything I learned during class which is pretty helpful. The neighbors come over a lot and try to talk a hundred miles and hour in Sereere just so they can laugh at me when I don’t have a clue what they are saying…. Yeah, extremely annoying! I have a huge room which is pretty cool. There is no furniture in there except my bed but I don’t even care. The huge room is enough. There is a huge fenced in area around three sides of my room that has goats and ducks and horses in it. They are all racks of bones and stink but im getting used to it. My family is def going out of their way to accommodate me. They always serve me nicer food than anyone else in the fam and give me the chair to sit in….they all sit on the floor. I also get a fork to eat with. I have slowly started not accepting things and doing like they do. So now I sit on the floor with them and eat with my hands too. I took a few pics of my family. I will try to upload them but I can’t make any promises.
At the moment, I am back in Thies (city) and will be here until Monday. Next week, we are heading back to our villages for two weeks… Then we will be going to stay with a PC volunteer for a week just to shadow them. I think I will be visiting the actual family I am going to be moving in with after pre service training. As far as I know, I will be moving to the Kaolack region. I have heard that it is disgusting there but also one of the best places to live and work because there is a lot to do. As far as I know, I will be taking over for a girl that is leaving. She has finished her term and is done with PC. I also heard she really likes her village and has been successful there. I’m looking forward to meeting her and finally getting this show on the road. We have been moving at a snails pace when it comes to training at the training center. Since we are working for the government, they are very over protective of us. We spent a week going over the Peace Corps mission and diarrhea. This week has een a lot bettr because we did a lot of language training. After this weekend, we won’t really be coming back to the training center much…much I am happy about!
Other than that, I have been happy and healthy and everything is going great. I have been trying to get in touch with people at home for several days now without much success… If anyone is interested in calling me, my cell number is 011 221 77 187 87 54. I am 4 hours ahead of Eastern time... CALLL ANYTIME!!! Hope things are getting better in Indiana. I heard the hurricane did a number on a lot of people. I will be in touch again soon. Take Care!
My new name is Fatou Sarr. Everyone gets a new name when they move into a village. Even though I can barely communicate with my fam, everything has been going great. I have two sisters (that is debatable…I cant figure out if one of my sisters is actually a second wife to my dad??? Or maybe his daughter?? Idk) I also have three younger brothers. Names are as follows
Dad: Ablye Sarr
Mom: Xardinying Sarr
Sisters: Cuumbu Sarr and Mary Sarr
Brothers: Omar Sarr, Adam Sarr, and Alyou Sarr. Alyou is soooooo cute!
And yes, everyone says their last name every time… My sister Cuumbu Sarr is pretty cool. She has helped me out a lot because she speaks a LITTLE English and a lot of French. My French is getting better but im concentrating on learning Sereer. We have class starting at 9 am until 12 and then a break for lunch and then back to class. Usually I go home and my family makes me sit down and tell them everything I learned during class which is pretty helpful. The neighbors come over a lot and try to talk a hundred miles and hour in Sereere just so they can laugh at me when I don’t have a clue what they are saying…. Yeah, extremely annoying! I have a huge room which is pretty cool. There is no furniture in there except my bed but I don’t even care. The huge room is enough. There is a huge fenced in area around three sides of my room that has goats and ducks and horses in it. They are all racks of bones and stink but im getting used to it. My family is def going out of their way to accommodate me. They always serve me nicer food than anyone else in the fam and give me the chair to sit in….they all sit on the floor. I also get a fork to eat with. I have slowly started not accepting things and doing like they do. So now I sit on the floor with them and eat with my hands too. I took a few pics of my family. I will try to upload them but I can’t make any promises.
At the moment, I am back in Thies (city) and will be here until Monday. Next week, we are heading back to our villages for two weeks… Then we will be going to stay with a PC volunteer for a week just to shadow them. I think I will be visiting the actual family I am going to be moving in with after pre service training. As far as I know, I will be moving to the Kaolack region. I have heard that it is disgusting there but also one of the best places to live and work because there is a lot to do. As far as I know, I will be taking over for a girl that is leaving. She has finished her term and is done with PC. I also heard she really likes her village and has been successful there. I’m looking forward to meeting her and finally getting this show on the road. We have been moving at a snails pace when it comes to training at the training center. Since we are working for the government, they are very over protective of us. We spent a week going over the Peace Corps mission and diarrhea. This week has een a lot bettr because we did a lot of language training. After this weekend, we won’t really be coming back to the training center much…much I am happy about!
Other than that, I have been happy and healthy and everything is going great. I have been trying to get in touch with people at home for several days now without much success… If anyone is interested in calling me, my cell number is 011 221 77 187 87 54. I am 4 hours ahead of Eastern time... CALLL ANYTIME!!! Hope things are getting better in Indiana. I heard the hurricane did a number on a lot of people. I will be in touch again soon. Take Care!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I made it!
Sooo.... i made it and everything went smoothly during travel. We got here on Wednesday and have been super busy ever since. Not much has really happened except a lot of class and lectures. Just to let everyone know..... ITS SOOOO HOTT!!! It is the end of the rainy season and i have heard that this is the worst time of the year for the weather. Its hot and extremely humid. I have been showering 3 times a day. Everyone around here changes clothes throughout the entire day because of sweat. Hopefully in the next few weeks the humidity will subside. Sitting through classes and listening to the Peace Corps mission statement over and over and over in the heat hasnt been the greatest but tomorrow things will be changing! We finally have language classes.
We have about 40 people in our stage and everyone seem pretty cool. We have had several volunteers from other stages come back to help with our training. They have been very helpful. We have all been hanging out quite a bit. We finish with class at around 6 each day and then dont have much to do until class starts back up the next day. Lets just say there is a lot of sitting around getting to know each other. Today was our first day off so we finally got to go into town and look around. I feel like they are really sheltering us. Im slightly annoyed that we have been here for days and have had no chance to contact our families to let them know we made it ok. I have already done the whole village thing and we never had anyone to walk us through everything so i am feeling like all of these classes are a little redundant but i can see that some thing that we have learned are important....yesterday i learned how to poop in a med kit to check for parasites! It was pretty funny actually AND we also learne that we are all gonna poop our pants atleast once! lol more on that later.
Anyway... we are having class on Monday and then Tuesday moving out to our villages. I found out i will be speaking Sereere ?? in my village. I dont know a word of it and havent had any language classes so far so i think its going to suck majorly for the first few days in village. Keep in mind, no one speaks English!! I think we are learning basic phrases tomorrow in class. Tuesday is my birthday so im looking forward to starting a new year in a village. I have "heard" where i am going to be placed but wont know for sure until the end of Sept. I think i LOVE everything i have heard about it so far. I am pretty sure its just south of Thies and Dakar. I think here is less muslim families and more catholics in that region so it seems like it is a little more relaxed. Im hoping its as cool as what i have been told.
Sooo all in all everything is going well and i am looking forward to the week coming up. Wish me luck!!
We have about 40 people in our stage and everyone seem pretty cool. We have had several volunteers from other stages come back to help with our training. They have been very helpful. We have all been hanging out quite a bit. We finish with class at around 6 each day and then dont have much to do until class starts back up the next day. Lets just say there is a lot of sitting around getting to know each other. Today was our first day off so we finally got to go into town and look around. I feel like they are really sheltering us. Im slightly annoyed that we have been here for days and have had no chance to contact our families to let them know we made it ok. I have already done the whole village thing and we never had anyone to walk us through everything so i am feeling like all of these classes are a little redundant but i can see that some thing that we have learned are important....yesterday i learned how to poop in a med kit to check for parasites! It was pretty funny actually AND we also learne that we are all gonna poop our pants atleast once! lol more on that later.
Anyway... we are having class on Monday and then Tuesday moving out to our villages. I found out i will be speaking Sereere ?? in my village. I dont know a word of it and havent had any language classes so far so i think its going to suck majorly for the first few days in village. Keep in mind, no one speaks English!! I think we are learning basic phrases tomorrow in class. Tuesday is my birthday so im looking forward to starting a new year in a village. I have "heard" where i am going to be placed but wont know for sure until the end of Sept. I think i LOVE everything i have heard about it so far. I am pretty sure its just south of Thies and Dakar. I think here is less muslim families and more catholics in that region so it seems like it is a little more relaxed. Im hoping its as cool as what i have been told.
Sooo all in all everything is going well and i am looking forward to the week coming up. Wish me luck!!
Monday, September 8, 2008
The beginning of the BEGINNING
I finally made it to my staging today.... It has been a veryyy long day but a good one at that! I got here (Philadelphia) this morning sooo early. Luckily i was able to check into my room early and squeeze in a much needed nap. I made it down to orientation and sat through hours of mind blowingly boring lectures. We basically went over all the rules and paperwork today. Tomorrow hopefully something cool happens... Im just wating for someone to freak out and have a panic attack and get shipped home... it wont be me btw! Dont get any ideas :) I dont think anything exciting will be happening until Wednesday. We will be catching a bus to New York and going to get vaccinations.... then flying out. I wont be writing again until i get in Senegal. Just thought i would let everyone know i made it and everything is going well... Hope all is well in Indiana!
Friday, September 5, 2008
A few last good-byes.....
Well... today is my last day of work. I know i have a million things to be doing within the next half hour but i just wanted to take a minute to write a very big thank you to all of my co-workers at Harrison County Hospital. I LOVE the camera and have spent half the day eating cookies and other goodies. I really appreciate everything. :):):) Also, thanks to everyone that went out for sushi last night... VERY nice!
I will be flying out Monday morning...this is getting weird! Unfortunately i dont have anything too exciting to be writing about like sugarplum fairies and snicker doodles (Sarah) but hopefully my blog will be filled with a little more entertainment in the near future!
Also, Angie, MC Hammer WILL be making it to Senegal... dont worry... You work on the Roger Rabbit and i will work on my "Cant Touch This".... i think there are plenty of African children that need to know about him!
More to come soon!
I will be flying out Monday morning...this is getting weird! Unfortunately i dont have anything too exciting to be writing about like sugarplum fairies and snicker doodles (Sarah) but hopefully my blog will be filled with a little more entertainment in the near future!
Also, Angie, MC Hammer WILL be making it to Senegal... dont worry... You work on the Roger Rabbit and i will work on my "Cant Touch This".... i think there are plenty of African children that need to know about him!
More to come soon!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Two more weeks!
This past weekend i visited some friends in Chicago.. it was well worth the trip! I had a great weekend and it was really great seeing a few of my friends for the last time (for awhile anyway). I got in touch with SATO and will be flying out of Louisville on Sept 8th at 630 am. I will be in Philladelphia for two days and then heading to New York. I have a direct flight to Dakar from JFK on the 10th. Wish me luck!! :)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Less than a month...
Its official... i am leaving in less than a month. I keep thinking that something is going to happen and mess everything up because things have been running rather smooth lately. I got my staging kit in the mail yesterday so I am calling SATO (travel agency) in a few to find out my flight details. I think i will be flying out early Monday, Sept 8...who knows. I feel like i havent really known what was going on with this PC stuff for more than an hour since i got back from africa last time...
Anyway, I am going to chicago this weekend to visit some of my old africa friends and my old roommates... if anyone feels intrigued to meet up because you miss me more than you realized...holla!
Anyway, I am going to chicago this weekend to visit some of my old africa friends and my old roommates... if anyone feels intrigued to meet up because you miss me more than you realized...holla!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Still in the States...
Well.... I will be leaving for Philadelphia somewhere on or around September 8th. Im still working out the kinks of this blog site so more will come later...
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