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!