So long Nguekhokh, hello Paymar

No I have not fallen off a cliff, eaten by lions, or married eighteen Senegalese men. I have received many comments on how the frequency of my blogs is too long. For this I apologize, but I do want to emphasize that I am in Africa and will not have electricity or running water in my hut for the next 2 years so the blogging may not occur as much as desired. So now for an overview of all the things that have happened since I last put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard.

The first big event was counterpart workshop. This was a 2 day marathon of meetings and introduction to the counterpart(s) with whom we will work for the next 2 years. My first counterpart that came was my host family dad. I had not yet been to my village or met anyone from there so meeting my dad was great. I found out once again that my village is the land of milk and well...milk. Maybe I should do beekeeping as a secondary project (milk and honey?). My dad has 3 wives and about 10 sons and 5 daughters. I say about because its easy to forget one or two when you list off names and count as you go. So I will be going from one sister in America to a house full of 15 siblings, most of which will be brothers. We could start our own football team with a family that size. I also found out that the well from which I will be carrying water is a nice distance from my hut. Hello morning workout. I will be an expert at carrying buckets of water on my head by the end of the two years.

Also during homestay, I had the opportunity to explore numerous beaches along the Senegalese coast. We also had a beach weekend where all of us packed (or crammed rather) into 2 Alhams and headed to Popenguine. We rented 2 gorgeous beach houses for the night. For never swimming in an ocean before I hit Senegal, I sure logged a lot of hours in the ocean here. We got to jump off a huge rock (or rather small cliff) into the ocean. Amazing! I also tried to learn to bodysurf. I have officially decided that bodysurfing is kind of like being assaulted by the ocean. I never really got the hang of it real well so I drank about half the ocean each time and ended up with a few pretty good scratches. But it was great fun!

One of my fellow Nguekhokh volunteers had a host sister graduating and getting a teaching certificate. We were all invited. What we had not yet realized is that we really are celebrities. We were put in the front seats and the griot (an important community member) kept desiring us to dance. A crowd full of Senegalese people but it was the toubabs who were needed to get the party started. So about the end of the night, the head of the school asks our class to speak a little Pulaar in the microphone. So we stated our names and thanked the town and the mayor. So in America we could then head back to our seats, but no, we were required to dance in front of a crowd of about 200 people including the mayor. Not cool! Lets just say, even if we get nothing done in our two years of service, our villages will probably enjoy having us just for the entertainment factor.

Last week we finished homestay. I was really sad to leave my family and the host family's of the other volunteers. They were so helpful and really cared about us and took care of us. My family gave me some fabric to make an outfit and a headscarf. I can't wait to go back and visit and see my little sister who will probably be walking by then.

I guess I should add in here that I passed my language and technical training. Pulaar is pretty tough but its getting better. Now if I just new a little French or Wolof so I could talk to the majority of the country we would be doing swimmingly.

Friday, my fellow trainees and I swore in as official Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV's). We went to a big ceremony at the US Ambassador's house which was taped and aired on TV. Oh and the best part, we had a police escort from Thies to the Ambassador's house in Dakar. It was like we were royalty. They even let us drive on the wrong side of the road half the way there. It was great fun. After the ceremony, the Ambassador served us wonderful Senegalese style American food. I've never been so excited to see brownies.

Currently, I am sitting in the regional house in Kaolack waiting for installation into my village on Thursday. We've been shopping all week for all the little (well some of its little) homey touches that we will need once we get to our sites. Best of all, we've had a little R&R which was much needed after the end of training. Lets just say the last few nights at the training center we got little sleep. After all, we won't see each all our fellow stagemates until December for IST (in-service training).

And the Destination of your Two Year Stay IS......

As of several days ago, I am now officially the PC trainee selected to inhabit the small village of Paymar Hamady. And my small village I mean about the size of Meadow Grove. haha. My village is in the Kaolack region of Senegal which is about central and is located just north of the Gambia. Guess where I'm heading on vacation? Kaolack is supposably home to more small wildlife than other regions. Pumbaa and Timon anyone? It's also known as the Peanut Basin. My village is a new site for Peace Corps so the townsfolk are constructing me a brand new hut for me to spend my next 2 years. The village has about 200 people with an overwhelming majority (all of them) speaking Pulaar du Nord. This comes in handy because, well, that's the language I'm learning.

P.S. Ramadan is over. Woohoo. No more fasting (for those who actually fasted, me not included). Korite was quite the event. Full of splendor and the spreading of kaalis (money) and good cheer. So basically, everyone gets all gussied up in their bestest Senegalese outfits and parades around eating good food. About like thanksgiving. And in the evening, the children go from house to house where they are given money. Kinda like Halloween only its small change instead of candy. The food was great. I love me some chicken, potatoes, and beef smothered in onion sauce and eaten with bread. A little too much caffeine was consumed though between the tea and the Coke and Fanta and such I was offered. Apparently that should be the all-nighter special. I will have to remember that if I go back to school. I gotta say though, Methloquin sure makes sleep more fun. Sleep is so much more entertaining when under the control of malaria meds.

Well thats all for now, tomorrow we are off to visit the regions where we will be spending the bulk of our two years and getting to know the volunteers near us hopefully. Catch ya on the flip flop.

5 Reasons Why The Nebraska Farmer (A.K.A. my Dad) would be a success in Senegal

I've been in a Senegal for a month today and I've picked up a few facts here and there. It's come to mind that Senegal could use a Nebraska farmer and the Nebraska farmer might fare well with the traditions Senegalese keep. So, now for the count down.
5. Rain, rain here to stay. So right now it is rainy season and although many in America dislike the rain, here it is a blessing in more ways than one. First, no hauling water because one little rain cloud and there's enough water for Paul Bunyan's ox Babe. And because the ground is all sand, (Sub-sahara for ya folks that don't know), give it an afternoon and !BAM! dry ground. And what's a little humidity. A little post shower shower never hurt anyone. But the part that the I know Dad would love is that when the rain starts, everyone stays home and all businesses close.
4. Corn, Corn, Corn. So I showed my family pictures of Nebraska and here's the shocker, they included pictures of corn. My Senegalese family got all excited because they grow corn here too but not to quite such a large scale. We have about 6 stalks growing in my compound. One night it was considered a great treat to have corn roasted on the fire (not sweet corn or popcorn, field corn)
3. You GAINED weight in Africa? So this can go one of two ways. If you end up eating fish and rice everyday, you may very well lose weight. I gotta say though, my homestay family feeds me about 8 times a day it seems like. The sugar cravings of the Nebraska farmer would be well satisfied by any Senegalese cook. Lets just say that while we think 2-3 lumps of sugar per cup of coffee, I think they might add about 15 per glass of cafe touba. Same with the tea.
2. Omaha Steaks. Quick what do you think of when you think of Nebraska. Apparently most Americans think Omaha steak. Well lets just say the meat over here ain't no home grown angus beef. These cows don't know what cows are supposed to be like. I'm thinking we need to introduce some real beef to the Senegalese and see if these things they call cows change names.
1. ZZZZZZZZZ. So the Nebraska farmer, or at least the one I know best, likes his rest. Well the Senegalese have it down pat. They have nap time from about noon until 3 or 4 o'clock so as to bypass the hot part of the day. P.S. I'm pretty sure that it gets about as hot in Nebraska as it does in Senegal, the Senegalese just have yet to experience air conditioning.

Well thats the 5 reasons. Now all that's left to take care of is the importation of Dr. Pepper and peach pies. I think Dad could manage without the running water or electricity but ya gotta have them peach pies when the rice and fish isn't cutting it.

I am Coumba!

So last Sunday we left the training center and entered the real world. For the next 3 months I will be living in the town of Nguekhokh. There are 5 of us in the town all learning Pulaar du Nord, which despite some confusion, is not the "hick" Pulaar. The family structure in this country is so different. Because they are predominantly Muslim, men can have up to 4 wives. Also, many grown children live with in their parents compound with their kids. So basically a whole bunch of people walk in and out of the compound and the goal at this point is just to figure out if they are or are not related to me. I think I only have one mom but I'm not sure because I have at least 1 half brother and a cousin(?) that I think live there. As far as I know, my family includes my grandmother, Neene (mother), Baaba (father who lives in Dakar), Moussa Siu (cousin, 20), Moussa (brother, around 10), Assata (sister, around 7), Aboye (sister, around 5) and Myram (infant). So now I just need to figure out how these random men that show up every night fit into the family picture.
My family is great though and they are very helpful. It's kind of like I'm a baby again as I'm learning. My little brother walks me to school, around the neighborhood, and kind of lets me know what I should be doing. My cousin and I draw pictures and he tells me the words in Pulaar. And the little girls, what can I say but that they are adorable and love to play with me and unfortunately mess up my stuff whenever possible. I even got a Senegalese name. You may call me Coumba Mai Mouma Ba. I will even answer when called.
The people in my neighborhood are really nice and they think its hilarious whenever I say anything in Pulaar. We are quite the source of entertainment for everyone I'm quite sure. It was like the story of the week that the baby not wearing a diaper missed the cloth on my lap and made a mess of my last pair of clean pants. Let's just say it wasn't even#1.
The food is actually really good at my homestay although I'm pretty sure I do not need the 2 or 3 suppers a night or 2 breakfasts. About the most important word for survival in this country is Mi haari which is I'm full. And even at that you hope they let you off without eating anymore. It will be great when Ramadan is over and the adults are done fasting from 7am to 7pm. Oh and if you ever have the chance to eat chaicre, it is amazing.
I swear storms in this country just appear and then vanish. It doesn't seem like you ever realize its going to rain until it starts. The storms are pretty hard core sometimes too. Sunday morning at like 4am it was pretty terrifying. Thunder would roar for like 5 minute periods and it was like the whole house was shaking. Rain drops could be felt from my bed clear across the room. The next day it was like nothing had happened. The dirt yard had been swept and everyone was bustling around as usual.
Well thats enough of that very very long post. Hope y'all are doing well.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Well first of all, I survived carrying my luggage. I was more worried about that than being eaten by a lion. Our group also finished all the paper work designating us as Peace Corps Trainees. There are 64 of us. The 8 1/2 hour flight from D.C. to Senegal wasn't as bad as I thought though somehow I was one of the few whose little movie screen only worked half the flight. Imagine that. When we got into Dakar it was immediately a different world. We were greeted by the Country Director and several of the Trainers and current PCV's. (Peace Corp Volunteers) After we all packed ourselves into little buses we rode from Dakar to Thies (chess?) which is only 30km but takes 2 hours to drive. I'm really glad I won't be driving while here because I think their system of driving consists of driving as fast as you can, ignoring the lane markings, and passing people while honking. It's a little strange when you are riding in a van with three vehicles next to each other on a two lane road. When we arrived at the training center, the guards were drumming to welcome us. Luckily we then had breakfast and napped. Since then its pretty much been orientation stuff, shots, medicine, hanging out at the Disco Hut, and trying to remember everyone's name. (Yikes) We are all greatful that the bathrooms at the Training Center are wonderful because we have running water and do not yet need to use the standard hole in the ground. Oh and for all you Nebraskans, apparently we are quite the novelty. I have already realized that other trainees have not been electrocuted by a electric fence, known the joy of Dorothy Lynch, or realize that there are schools with a graduating class of 28. We are quite the diverse group though and its neat to learn about everyone's background and experiences. Well, now for one of the few words in French I know, Au revoir!

Hey everyone. Welcome to my blog. Here is my attempt to stay connected to everyone while I'm over in Africa. I will be an Agroforestry volunteer in Senegal leaving August 13, 2010.