Ko mi suka! Ko mi nayeejo!

Hello strangers. I am going to use my first blog in about 3 months to explain a little about my day to day life. In this explanation there will be very little description of my daily activities. So what, you may ask, am I to say. Every day (maybe this is exaggerating a little) I am asked why I am not married when in villages near me girls marry at age 15. Therefore I have passed the date by 7 years. My response is always "Ko mi suka" which translates to I am still a kid. I figure if I play soccer with the kids enough, join in the kids dance parties, and act anything but my age it will help. But no! These days, as a worn out Peace Corps volunteer my tune hasNchanged a little. My new excuse to getting out of things is "Ko mi nayeejo" or I am old. Why the change in opinion you may ask? I was pondering this very question as I walked the 2km walk to my 3rd garden for the 4th time in a week. Sorry if this comes out as a complaint but it seems to me to be more of a normality of life for those of us overseas deal with daily. Picture the human body. Start from the head and move down.

*Head- headache daily from trying and failing to effectively communicate a single point you were trying to make in the local language as well as the stresses of every day life.

*Nose- Allergies off and on due to the dust and sand everywhere!!!

*Neck-Lets just say carrying 30-40 10lbs buckets of water on your head in order to help water the womens garden twice a day is not a great friend to your spine.

*Elbows and wrists- If you are denied the joyful opportunity of carrying water on your head, you will be wielding a watering can for approximately 1 and 1/2 hours twice a day. A watering can doesn't seem that heavy but you might change your mind after watering for that long.

*Back-In addition to the water carrying, the bed you sleep on at night is a 5 inch foam mattress laid on a cement floor or a cot. Not very accomodating to a tired and weary body.

*Stomach-Lets just say us PCV's are known to have giardia here and amoebas there. I don't think my digestive system has been right for a solid two weeks since I've been here. This leads to the fun symptoms of bloating, stomach cramps, and oh so lovely diarrhea.

*Thighs-Well in the case of a giardia episode you may be squatting over a latrine hole many times a day. Lets just say for those of you unexperienced in squatting over a latrine hole, it only takes so long before your legs ache.

*Feet-Lets just say my feet happen to look like they went through a meat grinder most of the time. We all know my family is accident prone and now all of my village knows it as well. They report to me daily about new cuts or scrapes I have managed to acquire. I have more sores on my feet, ankles, and calves than I do toes on my feet. I do wear shoes but flip flops are not very accomodating to keeping out thorns, corn stalks, and every vicious article laying in my path. Oh and if they healed it would be a different story, but the tend to become infected and hold on for dear life. Maybe I will become the worlds leading doctor in foot infections when I finish my service. Added to this is the fact that I have a tendency to take a lengthy walk nearly every day. If I'm not seed collecting far out in the middle of nowhere, I am walking to the other village to work on the garden.

I don't know about you, but I think this might have a little to do with my newfounded opinion that I am no longer a kid, but that my age is nearer 80 now than 8. For those of you who do have more years than me and suffer from aches and pains, I apologize. It just amazes me that the things that would make many people call into school or work sick tend to be a fact of daily life. I am not asking you to feel sorry for me, it really isn't that bad. But if you send a package, bandaids, bandaids, and more bandaids would be a lifesend.

First Three Months At Site

Apparently the sensation of time flying past is not unique to America. I cannot believe I've already been at site for 2 and a half months and not yet blogged about it. In my defense, there were a few technical difficulties and my computer was sent to America. I guess late is better than never so here goes.

My permanent site is Paymar Hamady located in the Peanut Basin of Senegal (just above Gambia). My village has a about 200 people and is about 9km from the main road and a town big enough for a market. I live in the chiefs compound but my designated father in the community is in another compound. As a result I have not just one but two families. There is only about 7 families in the entire village. Having two families is fun but also troublesome at times. This leads to two breakfasts, dinners, and suppers. Also having 6 moms (as well as a few neighboring women) telling you to eat more can be a trial. Its fun having lots of kids around. My dad has 3 wives and 15 kids. I always wanted brothers and so its fun. Especially because they immediately took on the brotherly role and my older brother is always worrying that I'm not eating enough. Oh and our town is interrelated with a town half way between my village and the road town. So they have become really protective of me too. I was walking home one day and they made me rest there for about 5 hours and fed me and made me bathe before I could leave. When I finally did leave, one of them walked me the rest of the way home (about 4km!).

Anybody see a theme here. The food here is good. I LOVE millet and leaf sauce and it is the most nutritional thing in Africa so it works out. We eat millet with some sort of sauce (usually leaf sauce or peanut sauce) for breakfast and supper. For dinner (yes dinner is the meal at noon not lunch for all you cityfolk), we have rice and some sort of sauce. Being a Pulaar village, there are lots of cows meaning fresh milk morning and night. Millet and milk is delicious which is good because I eat it 3-4 times a day. Living in the peanut basin means lots and lots and lots of peanuts. I've been helping with peanut harvest and people keep giving me bowls full of peanuts in return. Every bowl, bucket, and sack in my huts is currently full of peanuts. Good thing peanut season is now over.

As far as life and recreation in the village, most of the time I read or sit around and talk (more like listen and space out) with my family. My language skills are still rough but I can usually get my point across. Understanding the locals is another story. I like to play with the kids a lot when I haven't been in the fields. The big sport here is soccer so we'll kick around a ball made of rags or a small watermelon or whatever round thing we find. Lately, the boys have been into wrestling each other. Its so fun to watch the little kids wrestle, but just like in America, the parents aren't always so approving. The music here is definitely a switch from country, but I gotta say I have been involved in a few dance parties in one of my moms huts. I learned how to sing one of their favorite songs, so now it is on high demand. It was really fun when riding on a horse and cart to another town, me and the five women on the cart had a sing-a-long. Oh and I learned I can request private concerts. The young boys in our village will sit on a mat outside some evenings and do call and response singing. Its so fun to listen to. I was really sad I hadn't heard them sing in awhile after Christmas and so my mom got them all to come over that night.

We had training in the middle of December for two weeks. Prior to that, my village would not even let me try and start working on projects. When I returned, they decided they wanted to start a womens garden after I returned from lang. seminar (2 weeks later) and were wanting a well and latrine project. So, work is finally getting underway. I have a few more projects in mind as well, but I'm thinking I can't do everything at once.

I'm really enjoying learning to live without electricity and running water. I think its fun carrying water from the well (now that they actually let me try). I'm not very good though. Somehow they carry these big benuwars of water and don't spill any. I carry a small bucket with a lid on it and come back drenched. I guess I have 2 years to learn though. I also like traveling by horse/donkey and cart. It reminds me of riding with Grandpa when I was little. Oh and its fun having animals everywhere. Baby goats are adorable although pesky. I've already had one infiltrate my hut.

My hut is a one room building with cement walls and a straw roof. I really like it although the frogs that are swarming my hut are ridiculous. I'm excited to finally get a cement pad put in soon so that I can lay my foam pad mattress on it and have a "real bed." Its hilarious to be lying in bed at night and hear horses chewing right outside my fence.

As far as holidays go, I celebrated Thanksgiving with a lot my stage at the regional house. We had a real American thanksgiving dinner. Delicious! For Christmas, I celebrated with a few others at the regional house where we had potato soup for Christmas Eve and macaroni and cheese for the main dishes. I love cheese. They have very little cheese in this country and the stuff they do have is so expensive so macaroni and cheese was A-mazing. In the village, we celebrated the holiday of Tabaski. Its a celebration of Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac so everyone kills and eats a goat for the holiday. The meal is the goat meat with macaroni noodles, potatoes, and onions. Its really good. Everyone gets all dressed up in fancy clothes and eats the amazing food and thats pretty much the holiday. I gotta say its a little awkward when you look at your food and recognize that you are eating a goats kidney but I eating meat in Senegal is a treat so you gotta embrace it. They also celebrate new years here in pretty much the same way.

I just got back from language seminar clear on the other side of the country. Senegal is just on the edge of the Sahara and are fighting the trend of desertification. Well, in the area I was, they are clearly failing. There is no grass, no leaves on the trees, and sand for as far as you can see. I was so far on the other side of the country I literally could have swam across the Senegal River to Mauritania. I was standing on the river bank wishing I had my passport and wasn't banned from being allowed to go. I could also see Mali on the drive out there. It was fun because once you get close to the Volunteer's site I was visiting, they have big hills or small mountains, i'm not exactly sure which. One night we climbed the mountain and did a little star gazing.

Well I think this blog is long enough and thats all I can think of anyways. Congratulations if you actually read that much of my ramblings. I hope your holidays were merry and I hope your new year is blessed.

Yumma Diop (aka Rosanne)

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!