hurt yet again

Just wanted to give a quick recap of the past week.

Today my host father was gone all day. He left early in the morning and the family knew he wouldnt be back until late afternoon. Around 11 am i noticed that my mothers were cooking up a pretty decent sized lunch. Dont forget that it is Ramadan and people are supposed to be fasting. Around 1 PM i was called to the bowl to eat lunch. The whole family came to eat and i didnt say anything about fasting but i was wondering what was going on. Anyway, halfway through we hear a car stop out front and the host father coming in. Both mothers took the food and ran! They hid it in their rooms so the host father wouldnt know they weren't fasting.... oh, Senegal!

So a few days ago i went out for my eveing jog. I go jogging every day on the same road and pass the same people. This particular day i decided to stay on the main road since it had rained a lot and was quite muddy. I was sprinting home and with about 1/2 mile to go,i tripped, lost my balance and went skidding across the pavement. And when i say skid, i mean SKID. I tore the skin on both of my palms, both knees, have big skid marks going up my calves and stomach. I dont know what has happened to me since coming here but i am a total clutz and prone to illness and accidents. None of my injuries are healing quite yet and when i stand up and blood run hrough my legs, my calves feel like they are being run over by a car. It sucks to say the least. When people see me they say "OMG What Happened to you?" and i have nothing better to say besides i fell down. Then they always ask "Oh, you mean you fell off your bike?".... No, no... no bike involved. Then they laugh at how much of a loser i am just just fall down...

At this point i just sit bac and laugh because its always something...

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until dusk. Ramadan officially started yesterday here in Senegal. The days of Ramadan change each year depending on the moon. During this holy month, Muslim families wake up each morning at 5 am. They eat and stuff their faces until about 6:15... say their prayers... and then back to bed. They lay around all day, maybe sleep some to ward off hunger pangs, some even have to work out in the fields all day. They do not put ANYTHING (not even water) into their bodies until dusk when the sun has just set down over the horizon. The sun is usually out for about 13 and a half hours each day. This is hell on earth for many people. Others beg to differ and say they love fasting. I am not participating in fasting but i can imagine the suffering these people go through all day long for the month of Ramadan.

I experienced Ramadan last year from the training center in Thies but experiencing it with a family is completely different. First off, even though i wasnt fasting, i spent most of the first day starving as well. Who knew that when Ramadan started that all boutiques in the village would be closed?? I sure didnt. I didnt buy anything for lunch in advance because i thought i would be able to just get something at one of the boutiques. That didnt happen so i jumped on my bike ready to pedal into Sokone. Whomp, whomp... sure enough my bike had its third flat tire of the week. And in observance of Ramadan, there was no public transportation the last three days in a row....ugh! I cant complain too much because i know it could be a lot worse and i could be missing lunch for thirty days in a row, not just one!

I went for my evening jog and hurried back just in time to break the fast with my family. I kind of felt like a chump participating in breaking the fast with them because i actually wasnt fasting... but the family wanted me to be there. Around 7:20 just as the sun had just gone over the horizon, my host father passed around a bowl of dates. Each person took one and broke their fast. Breaking fast with dates is a muslim tradition. After that each person received a small piece of bread and a cup of coffee. Everyone scarfed them down quickly. To my surprise no one reached for the water. I cant imagine not hurtling towards the bucket of water after not drinking for an entire day. Shortly after, the father lead the family in prayer. I have seen this many times but will describe it for you. They all line up on prayer mats and face the same direction. The father is in front, followed by the boys, and the women and girls stay in the back. The women MUST always be in the back because they think that if a woman is in front of the men, the men might let their thoughts wonder... Anyway, the father led the prayers and they all did the bowing and kneeling simultaneously. This is the part where i was shocked. My host mothers and sisters sat in the back and talked and did not pray. They did the movements and pretended like they were praying but were actually laughing and talking about dinner. When the host father turned to check on everyone, they stood up straight and put on their prayer faces and pretended to be deep in prayerful thought. I stayed off to the side and waited with the kids for the family to finish. After the prayers, we ate a very large dinner and the night went on like normal.

After the dinner was over and everyone seemed settled, i asked one of the family friends why the women pretended to pray if they really werent into it and didnt care. He gave me a short answer and just said "they have to"... i continued to press him and ask WHY do they have to if they never pray any other time and why do they even bother with fasting. He just told me it was not their choice and since they are muslim, they have to... simple as that. I feel that many things in Senegalese culture remain like this. I do not think that it is Islam, i think its the culture in this country. There are no real answers to many questions, people just do things because they HAVE TO or because they know a friend or neighbor is watching. After seeing the way the women in my family were acting on the first night of prayer, i now feel strongly that there really is not as much fasting going on as one would think. If they just pray only when others are watching, i have a feeling that they are just fasting when others are watching as well.

Sometimes its hard to differentiate the culture from the religion because people here blame many things on the religion when in fact, its just the culture. For example, women walking around topless/ breastfeeding in public. In true Islam, women would never, ever be allowed to take off their shirt in public or feed a child while someone was watching. Even the fact that men can marry up to 4 women at a time is a controversial one. In true Islam, a man can take on a second, third, or fourth wife IF AND ONLY IF he has enough money to financially support them all comfortably and not have to worry about money. In my opinion, there are very, very few people in this country that have the means to do that. People take on as many wives as they please here and always fall back on Islam as their support and justification. I am not a muslim and have no intentions of every becoming one but i find it enlightening when a true Senegalese muslim can admit that there are many problems in this culture rather than just join the crowd and blame Islam. I have had many a arguement with village men about how they blame Islam for their reckless behavior.

New topic: We finally completed the Mangrove project that i have been trying to get going since January. We did a mangrove restoration day last week and it was a success. Three other volunteers and i went out on a small boat into the already existing mangroves last Monday and collected over 6,000 transplants (see attached photo). The transplants grow on the trees but when the tide comes in they usually get swept out into the ocean and dont have a chance to grow. Mangrove trees grow near beaches in water that is about waist deep. The tide comes in and goes back out twice a day where the trees grow. When the transplants get swept out into the ocean and away from the beach, the water is too deep from them to grow. We ended up collecting 4 rice sacks full of transplants on our day out at sea. The following day, we held a meeting in Sokone and invited the Mayor and many other small political groups and random committees to help us plant. The meeting lasted WAYYY too long but the groups learned about the importance of the mangrove trees in the ecosystem here and they were also taught how to collect and plant the transplants so they could continue the project in the future. A few days later with about 50 Senegalese people and 15 volunteers, we set out onto the beach to replant. Just at the exact wrong minute, a huge storm blew over and we ended up outplanting in a downpour. The outplanting was quick and simple. The project was great and i hope people will do another project like this in the future.

In the last week, the rains have finally started to hit us hard and it has been wonderful. I finally have been able to start sleeping in my hut now (instead of in my backyard by the latrine!) since the temps have dropped below 100 degrees. The fields are all green and farmers are starting to have their crops sprouting. I have spent many days in the last week just going to each farmer that i gave seeds to so i could check and see their progress. People are more inclined to do good work when they know someone else is looking. My "boss" is coming this week on Friday to check out my work and to see how things are going with the farmers. everyone has been in a hurry to weed their fields for him.

Other news: Peace Corps finally bought us another regional house so we will be moving out of this rodent-ridden dump in just a few short weeks. THANK GOD! Also, I heard last night that a new volunteer will be moving into the village next to me. It is a Sereer village so i am hoping someone fun moves in there. Its always nice to have cool people living near you. I am excited to find out who/when/where, etc. There is only one bad thing, the volunteer moving in there will be doing a sight visit with me from Sept. 12-17th. I will be spending my 25th birthday in the village with a stranger. Not exactly ideal since i already had a island vacation planned with another volunteer yet again. Last year's birthday was spent in the village so i guess i will live through another. Maybe this just means an even bigger/better vacation than i already planned later!

English Camps

Let me begin by saying Dakar is great and i have had an amazing week thus far. I have been busy teaching English this week for the Embassy summer camps. Working for the summer camp has been a great experience. I have been paired up with 3 other volunteers to teach about 50 students all week. The schedule is relaxed and we can pretty much do whatever we want with the students. The whole point of the week is to get the kids practicing their English with native English speakers. We have played a lot of games, read a lot in English, had conversation hours, etc. The students are really great with the language and have really warmed up to us volunteers. Yesterday, we had a conversation hour and my group of 15 students started their own debate. The topic was Polygamy. They chose the topic and ran with it. I was shocked that the kids had such an interest in the subject. They had an opportuniy to ask me questions about how i feel about certain subjects and about American culture in general. I gave my opinions on some of the topics and i really think what i said gave the girls a lot of confidence and they were able to speak about how they feel without being shy. The conversation/ debate went great and i think the kids learned a lot from it. These kids have only been studying English for about two years but are very smart and have picked up a good amount of vocabulary already. I only have two more days with the kids and will be sad to leave. Friday we are having a talent show and a small party to celebrate the kids finishing the program. After class friday, the kids will no longer be part of the Embassy English program. It is only a two year program. I think they will be sad to leave too. It has been great to have had the opportunity to work with such bright and talented kids. I have seen improvements in just this week alone. Sometimes it gets discouraging teaching English in the village because i started from square one. It has been nice to see that with hard work, the kids really can/will/want to learn English.
I have spent the week here in Dakar concentrating on getting healthy. I am happy to say that i hve no ailments at the moment lol. I am starting to feel like an old lady. I was blessed with Creeping Eruption last week (google it...its sick!) I also had a root canal last week. I went to the dentist for a minor tooth ache and came out with a root canal. Apparently the dentist i saw in the states before coming to Peace Corps was a quack. The dentist removed two of the fillings i had put in last summer and did the root canal because he said i would have serious trouble in the future because of the way she put the fillings in incorrectly... who knows if this is true or not... maybe he just needed some business. Either way, PC pays so i did what i was told and showed up for my appts. Since i am ALWAYS getting sick here, i have decided to make some major lifestyle changes. I am going to stop eating with my family and start cooking for myself. I think my family has cleanliness issues. I have never once seen soap around our home anywhere and am starting to think that they dont even use it to wash the dishes. Let me describe what happens before we eat lunch.... (keep in mind that everyone eats out of the same giant bowl)

First... everyone is called to the bowl and we all sit on small little benches that are about 2 inches off the ground. The girls get benches, the boys squat. There is a small can of water passed around the bowl and each person puts both hands in the bowl to wash before the meal. There is no soap involved and they do not change the water. Everyone uses the same water. There are approximately 13 people eating out of the bowl at any given lunch. Also, dont forget that most villagers do not eat with a fork or spoon, the eat with their right hand only. After pasing the can around and washing, everyone digs in. Can you imagine what the water looks like after 13 villagers wash their hands in it?? It is definately BLACK. After the meal, each person finishes at their own pace and then goes back to the same can filled with dirty water to re-wash. Often, they use this water to wash their face as well after eating.
Let me back up and say that I always eat with a spoon and i never wash in this can. After almost a year of eating with people who do this, i am starting to realize that eating out of the same bowl after people that "wash" this way is making me sick all of the time. I always thought that i would be fine since i am not touching the water and i dont eat with my hand... WRONG. Little Ablaye has started sitting between my legs when he eats. We eat after each other all the time. I absolutely cannot continue to live this way. When i go back to the vilage next week, i am going to have a long talk with my family about using soap. I plan to buy atleast 10 bars of soap and some dish washing soap also. I hope this helps. The kids have been passing pink-eye back and forth for months now. I have gotten it three times already! No wonder this keeps happening. I already bought them soap and pink-eye medicine multiple times. Finally, i had to become psycho and start chasing people around with hand sanitizer everyday for a week...after that, the pink eye seemed to go away. It will be interesting to see if it has come back while i have been away.
It is easy to get sucked in to the way people live here. Many volunteers start to think crazy/disgusting behavior is normal. I want to start cooking for myself but i know it will totally offend my family and many people will be mad. At this point though, i have to start thinking about myself. If they are mad, so be it. I have earned my right to cook. It is so bizarre that something like cooking would make so many people angry... but i guarantee it will! Ill update on that later.
Other news... im a sucker and got conned out of about 50 dollars. Here is the story. I was walking down the street in Dakar a few nights ago at around 8 PM. I saw an Italian man speaking about a hundred miles and hour to a police officer. The police officer was just telling the man he couldnt help him and that he was sorry. The man sees a white girl and immediately approaches me. He told me (in English) that he had been traveling earlier in the day from Gambia heading up to Mauritania. He was on a bus and when he got off, someone snatched his bag. Totally believable. The man kept telling me he was desperate and needed help. He was pacing up and down the streets in this neighborhood because someone told him that an Italian family lived there. He told me he went to his embassy earlier in the day and they were issueing him a new temporary passport early the next morning. He had no money, no passport, no identity card, no phone. Red flag possibly.. but also Why would someone be talking to a police officer if they were phony??? He was dressed nice and i really thought i was going to see a grown man cry. He was freaking out because it was getting late and he had nowhere to stay for the night. He asked me if i lived in the area or if i knew people who did. I said no. He then proceeded to show me his receipt from Western Union. He told me that his family was sending him money the next morning but he didnt know what he would do for the time being. So i thought about it for a minute and realized i had to help the man out so i lent him the equivalent of 50 dollars. He told me he would meet me the next day in the same place i found him at 2 pm to repay me. He was very, very grateful. He took my phone number just in case and went on his way. I knew i gave him the money knowing that i was trusting a total stranger. 50 dollars here is a decent amount of money. It would have been enough for him to get a hotel, dinner, and breakfast the next day. I walked away without a doubt in my mind that he would come back and repay me. He knew i am a volunteer and also we talked about how we get paid basically nothing... Also, a friend was with me and she agreed that i did the right thing and he would come back the next day. I dont think i could have slept that night knowing that i left someone out on the streets. I am staying in a multi-million dollar home all week out of the kindness of someone else. (I stay with a lady that works for the US Embassy...she is awesome!) After class tuesday, i rushed downtown and waited in the same place i had met the man the night before.... and i waited... and i waited... and he never showed. I guess i am a sucker! I am soo angry that i was completely taken advantage of. Part of me wants to continue to believe the man and trust what he said,... he was robbed and had nothing...but why didnt he show up to repay me? Why didnt he call?? I cant imagine letting someone help me out if i were at an ultimate low point without following up on my end of the deal. I also cant imagine being a con man for a living. Wherever this man is, i hope he is sleeping well tonight. But someday he will get whats coming to him for being so deceitful! How rude!!! UGHH. i get angry even thinking about i now. Im letting it go and putting this in the back of my mind. I wont be lending anyone money for awhile.
Back to good news... I will be flying home on December 7th and staying until January 2nd.... I cant wait for a vacation!! I miss all of my famil and friends more than words can describe.

I will be going to Kolda next wek for Ag classes. I am leaving Dakar on Sunday and heading south. Its always sad to leave Dakar but the sooner i leave, the sooner i get to come back! Hope all is wll on your side of the pond. I heard about all of the storms... Its still barely raining here. I think the wells will dry up next spring. Send a few drops our way!