11 Hours and 15 dead cows later...

So after about 11 hours, 15 dead cows sighted on the side of the road, three Disney movie soundtracks (a couple a few times each), Beethoven's 6th symphony, Rossini's Barber of Seville and William Tell overtures, Tchaikovsky's 1812 , a few rounds of Disneyland ride themes, several hours of conversation with Adrienne and Julia (who were dropped off in Tambacounda and Koalak respectively before I continued on to Kolda alone) and some brief cat naps, I arrived in Kolda. Got all my stuff unloaded and finished the book I had begun at my volunteer visit.

One thing I was not expecting was that apparently this is the time of the year that termites are born. They are as thick as flies at an open air fish market, and love to swarm around artificial light like moths. Who can worry about mosquitoes when there are termites flying EVERYWHERE!!! On the drive down, the landscape was full of giant termite mounds, some easily 15 feet tall, and the air was so thick with them the windshield looked like a thousand birds had pooped on it. The driver tried to wash them off with the washing fluid and wipers - about an hour after we got through the worst of it - and all he ended up doing was spreading bug guts across the windshield and made the visibility worse.

Oh well.

Tomorrow we are going out to the bank so I can get money - the Peace Corps just gave me a checkbook because apparently only the bank can give me a debit card - and then go buy lots and lots of stuff. Looking forward to that, though it is extremely hot down here. Muggy too since it has rained a bit the last two days.

A note on the whole 'dead cow' thing: I mentioned it because it is a really big deal. People here do not put their money in banks. It is extremely expensive (bank fees for us are nearly $200 a year, which is more than some people make in a year) and it just isn't feasible when the nearest bank is 75 or maybe 100km away. So their savings - their 'emergency cash fund' - is in livestock. Cows, depending on the type and where you are in the country, can cost anywhere from 100 to 300 dollars. Unlike in the US, the Senegalese don't sell their cows for slaughter as a profit generating business. They only sell and/or butcher their cattle if they are desperate and have completely run out of money. So if their cows get hit by, say, a giant semi truck, they could easily be bankrupted.

So fifteen cows dead on the side of the road. Someone may have lost their entire savings.

I am extremely nervous but also excited to finally get to my village, actually unpack my stuff and make my own little home here in Africa. Will also take this moment to say that even though it will just be a hole in the ground, I am really looking forward to having my own toilet/shower area. The privacy (such as it is living in a fish bowl) will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers to all,
Christine

Off To The Bush....After a hitch or two

Just as my first language test in French when PST began, I came back from my last host family stay in Mbour with a very bad cold that just got progressively worse as the two days passed between returning to Thies and taking the second LPI. At 10 in the morning, my body aching, brain fuzzy, throat burning from a night of coughing so hard I nearly threw up several times and my nose like a snot faucet, I sat in a little room with two language teachers being asked questions in Pulaar while I struggled to think in English.

Sufficed to say, I failed.

I got Intermediate Low as my score.

That alone would not have caused the complete emotional breakdown that proceeded after I had a small chat with the program and language coordinator. The not so hidden suggestion that the reason why I didn't pass was because I didn't really  want to be here so I didn't really try was not lost on me. And I got royally pissed. When I am sick and can barely breath and have only had a few hours of sleep, I sob uncontrollably when I get angry. Because of course I left a perfectly good job, cut my savings in half to pay off a loan and put off grad school and came 7000 miles just for a nine week summer camp in Africa.

No one asked me if I wanted to be here. They just decided I failed because I didn't want to be here.

Let's make something very clear: if I didn't want to be here, I would not have applied let alone done everything else to be here. There were a thousand and one times when I thought about leaving and didn't. Because I bloody well want to be here.


Anywho, long story short (too late, I know) I had to stay another week for more language classes, with another test set for today. As they told us in the beginning of PST, if we didn't pass our language proficiency tests, we couldn't stay. You have to pass.

They should put an astrix on the 'have to' part. Before we even had our test today the language coordinator came and told me and Adrienne (the other girl in my language group who also only received an Intermediate Low score) that we'd be leaving for Kolda tomorrow morning and install on Monday (Adrienne) and Wednesday (me).

Seems to me that it didn't really end up mattering if we formally passed or not.

Oh well, after 10 weeks of stressing on PST and language tests, now I get to worry about actually getting to my village and how the real Peace Corps work will be. It is going to be a whole different kind of hard/challenging/frustrating/rewarding/crazy. But it is what I want to do and why I came here in the first place. So in a wacko sort of way I'm actually looking forward to it.

And really, this last extra week I've had at the center has been extremely beneficial. I'm over my cold, got to have some real sleep, changed malaria medication, found out I've lost 12 pounds since arriving and had some solid language training my my awesome LCF, Jieba, at her house. We even made some EXTREMELY good spaghetti at her house. Also made cheese sauce that, mixed, was really really good. Never would have mixed them in the States, but I have a feeling this is not going to be the first 'would never usually do that in the States' food moments in the next two years.

I'd like to take this moment to thank all of my friends, fellow new volunteers and family for all of their support. Not just for this last week (though, really, THANK YOU for the last week) but for this entire process. From application to departure, from miserable moments in Mbour to the happy play time with the cute little twins at my host family's house. Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times. I'll never truly be able to thank you guys enough.

I'll have internet at the regional house in Kolda until Tuesday, as I install on Wednesday. I'll try to post some pictures of swearing in and perhaps a last little, 'see ya in a few weeks' post. There is what is called the 5 week challenge. Basically it's a challenge to stay in village for 5 weeks without spending a night at the regional house. I'd like to make that goal. So it'll be, probably, that long until I get to post again.

Thank you again.

Cheers!
Christine

Two Months In

Three more days. That is all that is left of training. We've been in country for two months now, learning a new language, living in a totally new culture, trying to adapt to the environment, change in diet and the occasional EXTREME frustration at so many little things that there are too many to list here. Two whole months.

And it comes down to four more days until swearing in.

Oh, and a little language test on Wednesday.

But we're not worried about that, are we?

Nervous. As. Hell.

The required level to move into our permanent site is Intermediate Mid. From what I can understand - as they really don't explain it to us that well - that level indicates that you can carry on a basic conversation, ask some basic questions, don't need to ask people to repeat what they say and explain why you are in Senegal, what the Peace Corps is and what you are going to do in the country. Perhaps it doesn't seem like a lot. Or maybe it does. All I know is that from the point of view of my host family in Mbour, I speak the worst Pulaar out of the three of us in my language group.

I tend to agree with them.

But I suppose I'll find out just how bad I am tomorrow afternoon when they tell us our results. My test is at 9:40 am. I probably won't sleep much tonight either.

I suppose I need to tell myself now - and continue to tell myself afterwards - that what I know already is an accomplishment and I should not compare myself to all the other trainees who are learning their respective languages as well. Way easier said than done, but hey, I'll give it a shot anyway. Peace Corps is supposed to be famous for those personality/life altering things. Maybe I'll be turned into an optimistic while I'm here.

Doubtful, but considering two months ago I got embarrassed when a woman was breastfeeding while sitting next to me and now it's just normal and I don't even seem to notice, I think anything is possible in the next two years.

Speaking of the next two years...

My install day is May 15th (as long as I pass the language test and don't have to spend an extra week at in Thies doing intensive language study in order to get up to the right level). So we swear in on the 11th. Drive to Kolda on the 13th, have ONE day to buy everything I need (the 14th) and then move in the next day. A note on the buying what I need - and this is a rant: the Peace Corps differentiates between new site volunteers and replacement volunteers by adding 20 thousand CFA to our move-in allotment. That is about 40 dollars. 40 bucks. Even in this country, 40 dollars doesn't go far to set up a house you'll live in for 2 years. So, for those of us who need everything from a bed frame, to cooking supplies, sheets, buckets for water storage, cups, a rug for our floor and a mattress, etc, the amount of money they give us is not enough. But for those who get to inherit the bed, buckets, chairs, tables, etc..they have an inordinate amount of cash to spend on the luxuries we - as brand new volunteers in a brand new site without even the basic tools - may never get to have because the Peace Corps also pays us all nearly the same per month, with only few differences between those in super rural areas who will have to travel a lot to get places we are required to go and those who live very close to cities/resources.

It is bull shit - in my very small opinion - and it is completely and totally unfair to those volunteers who have to try and find the very basic necessities to be able to sleep and bathe everyday from day one. Especially when a lot of us who are in new sites are extremely remote and do not have access to the larger towns in order to feasibly purchase and transport those needed items later on in our service if we can afford them.

Okay, I'll end the rant here.

Swearing in is televised here in Senegal and one person from each language group speaks in front of all the assembled important people to say a little in the local language about the training and such. Julia Bowers is speaking for the Pulaars. She is amazing at the language and will totally rock the speech. Look for the video to be posted on Youtube. I'll try to post the link on my facebook page if I get the chance.

My counterparts both told me before they left Thies to study hard and get intermediate mid so I can install on time. I told them 'inchalla' -which means 'God willing'.

We went to Dakar for a quick tour of the Peace Corps office and got the most amazing ice cream ever at this place called N'Ice Cream. They even had an Obama flavored ice cream. They love Obama here. They've got Obama underwear, Obama mattresses, t-shirts and baseball hats. It's hilarious.

We also went to a very popular tourist beach called Popenguine. It was gorgeous, glorious, and all things wonderful. Really didn't want to leave. It was so great to go swimming, wear my swimsuit and work on getting some sun to those parts of my arms and legs that are always covered.

We also made some pretty darn good spaghetti and I snacked on some candy I have fallen in love with here. It was a nice break to have before returning to CBT and then back here to Thies for the last stressful stint to swearing in. My last stay in Mbour was a bit weird and the goodbye was a little hard only because I will miss some of the members of my new little family - though I happily said 'good riddance' to that damn city. We exchanged phone numbers before I left so I hope when they do call me I'll be able to understand them.

Hardest thing was knowing that I won't be there to see the twins, Abby and Hamed, grow up a bit more. I would have loved for them to be an age where they could remember living with a white person and perhaps have them not call other white people 'Toubabs', but that is probably asking too much. They are also really close to being able to crawl. Their eyes would rove the compound, seeing all these places they want to explore and being soooo close to being able to go there. Abby is going to be hard to keep an eye on for sure and I don't even want to think of the things she'll get into once she starts walking.

Perhaps I'll be able to visit further down the line in my service, but neither of them will remember me. That will be hard.

I'll try to post either after my language test or before I move to the land of no internet to give a last update before 'going dark' for who knows how long.

Cheers!

Christine

Two Weeks to Go

Me with a new born goat. I named him Oreo.

The picture above is from my volunteer visit a few weeks ago. One goat gave birth in the compound at my host volunteer's site and I grabbed him up a few hours afterwards. They are so cute.

Only two weeks remain of PST and my nerves are starting to get the better of me. Today our community counterparts - respected, skilled, enthusiastic members of our villages - started to arrive for two days of sessions on what their job will be, getting to know what our training has been, get some of their own, and also getting to know each other. That last one is particularly important because we'll be working with them and relying on them for our projects, language learning, cultural interventions (ie - no, wearing pants does not mean she's easy), and friendship for the next two years. Mine showed up this morning around 10 or so. Did not expect that. They took the night bus apparently.

Nothing says, 'go study your Pulaar' like having your counterpart ask, 'you still don't know Pulaar?'

I'm doomed.

The last long stay in Mbour ended on a very tired note. The malaria medication I am on, called Mefloquine (no, I have no idea if that is really how it is spelled), does not agree with my system very well. At first I had dreams so vivid I didn't know if I was really asleep or awake, so when I would actually wake up (my alarm going and everything) I felt like I hadn't slept at all. I think I've finally moved passed that point, so now every Thursday night (as Thursday is the day I take the pill), I can't sleep until around 4 in the morning. So Friday's are extremely sluggish, and Friday is the day we left our site for Thies. I know my host sister in law, Asu, thought I was a little more sluggish than usual. Granted, I was up at 5:45 to pack nearly everything and the car picked me up at 7 - so it was earlier than usual anyway. We've only got a brief two and a half day stay left in the CBT site before we swear in, so I needed to get as much stuff as I could out.

The night before one of my other sister's in law, Nogoy, made me 'espaget' (their pronunciation of spaghetti), with just noodles, a hard boiled egg, carrots, onions and a greenbean-ish veggie. She only made it for me, so when her daughter came in with the plate and said 'Aan, goto' (you only/alone) I was both surprised and dissappointed. I never realized just how accustomed I had become to eating with other people until that moment. Every lunch and dinner I have shared a bowl with at least one other person. Breakfast is always eaten alone and I don't mind it at all. But dinner? NEVER. I felt lonely. I know she did this as a special dinner for me. I know she was trying to make something she believed I would actually eat (as I am fairly sure that they ALL know that I really can't stomach most of what they make - literally. I get the worst stomachaches and nausea after some meals), but the eating alone caught me off guard.

As did the sudden depressed feelings I had when I had to eat alone in my room.

Me, a girl who always prefers to eat by herself (as my parents can attest to), hated eating by myself.

I guess that is one of those personality changes the Peace Corps is famous for.

Another may now be my enjoyment of looking for, bargaining for and purchasing fabric. Never been a fabric person (I know my grandmother is probably laughing herself silly at the change in my reality), but to get clothes made and stuff that actually fits in with the culture it's what needs to be done. I do have my clothes made, but I have yet to get pictures of me in them. Will get those done and  post them.

Haggeling is how business is done in this part of the world and when you're white, the quoted price is always at the very least twice what it should be, though usually three to four times higher. Arguing over price is awesome. From taxis to fabric, food to jewelry, haggle, haggle, haggle. So much fun. Friday I found that I needed a new duffle bag to pack some food in (for when I move in, I'm going to the supermarket and loading up). So I went to the market, found a bag I liked and got the guy to bring down the price from 3700 CFA - about $7.50 - to 2000 CFA - about $4. My language teacher said I did a good job, so I felt happy about it.

Turned out to be fortuitous timing as the same day I received two much awaited care packages and I had no other place to store all the food other than that new bag. (A big thanks to my parents and cousin, Cory, for the awesome food load!) I'm contemplating buying a second.

I've been struggling to figure out what to put down in these blog posts. Once I am at site, I will have no electricity and the nearest internet access will be about a 30km bike ride. Perhaps that will give me more of an incentive to plan out these posts ahead of time and make them a little more meaty/substantive and less 'daily activity'-ish.

At the moment nerves over my language and how I'll integrate in my village are overrunning all other emotions. Heat, dust, bad food - don't seem to matter when I have a test coming up next week and the prospect of moving into a village with high expectations and little ability to communicate.

From left to right: Mama, Umu - who is holding Abbey and Mohammed , Asu's twins

My host sister in law, Asu, and Jobar (in yellow)

My 'birthday cake'

Getting ready to find out our new home.
The map of Senegal is painted on the basket ball court. They
blindfold us and take us to the spot on the map where we will be

Back yard that has yet to be walled. Tree in background in a Mango tree

Back of my nearly done hut

A bird I saw on the bike ride to my village

The bunny in my care package

Cheers,
Christine

Quick Update

Survived my village visit. It is a small village called Badion (pronounced badjon) in the region of Kolda about 75km from the regional capitol city of the same name. All of my mail and banking will have to be picked up there which really sucks because that means I either have to ride my bike the whole way and stay the night at our regional house or bike the 22km to the nearest road city to try and catch the insane public transportation, negotiate a price and ride for 2 hours on an extremely bad road (condition-wise) to the capitol, hope the bank/post office is open when I get there and then figure out how to get back before dark.

My new host family is very nice. My new dad is the chief, he has three wives and owns three horses that are not very well off. He wants me to try and help him with them, bu as he says he can't even afford to feed them I don't know how much I can really do. My hut is nearly done and the backyard will be big enough to have a small garden. Going to try to plant a banana tree and a peach tree just to see what happens. I know the banana tree will do well here, not sure about the peach tree though.

Cool thing was seeing how my host volunteer, Chelsea ( who was an awesome and amazing host), spoke the language and helped translate things when people were talking to me. Fell in love with the local bread, called Tapalapa. Perfect breakfast with scrambled eggs and a tea called kinkillibasse that is very yummy. No idea if it is in my village or not, but it is what I ate every morning in Chelsea's town, which is the road town 22km south of mine.

I am back in Mbour until next Friday morning and then it is a very busy week of counterpart workshop (people from our village who we will be working with for the next two years), signing papers in Dakar, spending a night at the beach (apparently it is a tradition in PC senegal to do that), another extremely short stay here in Mbour - as in 2.5 days - then we go back to Thies for the last language test and swearing in. It is absolutely surreal to think I have been here for 6 weeks. It seems like it has been so much longer and not nearly that long all at the same time.

Got my first care package from home. Goldfish crackers are the new cocaine here, or at least for me.

Accidently left my camera with Chelsea but she is going to bring it back to Thies this weekend.Will post a bunch when I get back to the center next week.

Cheers!
Christine

First Anniversaries

Yesterday marked one complete month that I have been in country and also the first birthday I will have during service. The first of three. It is strange sometimes to really think about just how long service is. I came here at the age of 24 and will leave at the age of 27 (inchalla - a phrase which means God willing). I won't kid myself or anyone else that I have not already had moments of doubt or thoughts of leaving. PST is not easy and our CBT site is very trying in terms of my patience, tolerance and emotional strength. I miss America a lot. I miss my family, the stability, ease of communication and certainty of what I will do every day.

Here we spend a set amount of days one place, pack a bag, go spend a set amount of days somewhere else, pack up, return, have classes, then pack again and go somewhere else. It is nothing like actual service. Here is there is no permanence. At least once we are at site we can unpack, make our huts/rooms as we wish and have power over when and where we we go from day to day. I know that is the main motivator for me at  the moment to get through PST. This is not what my real life is going to be like for the next two years.

On that topic, our volunteer visit starts Wednesday. Tuesday morning is when we find out exactly where we will be going. I know for sure I will be in the Kolda region, but I don't know the villiage/town I will be in. I am both excited and anxious as Kolda is in the very south of the country and it takes a very long time to get there. Even though Senegal is about the size of North Dakota the roads are so bad that it will take 15 hours by a working order,  proper Peace Corps vehicle that doesn't break down every ten minutes. Once I am an actual volunteer, it could take between 24-48 hours, if I  am lucky ,to get back here to Thies. Aside from the long distance , I'm excited to find out how I'll be living and if I am replacing someone, who my family will be.

I found out I got Novice High on my language test. Better than I thought. Just two levels below where I need to be by the time PST is over. I might be able to make it but the   language is extremely difficult.

Upcoming schedule looks a bit like this:
Tuesday - find out our permenant sites
Wednesday - Leave very early for Volunter Visits
Sunday 15th - return to Thies
Tuesday 17th - Return to CBT
Thursday 26th - Return to Thies

Busy busy, and won't get to post again until probably I am in Mbour (blah), but I will make sure to take lots of pictures and notes so I can make a well informed post. Though I may post  a quick note  on Tuesday when I find out my actual site.

Will post pictures up when I have a better connection.

Cheers!

Home Stay Update

Back in Mbour for the second stay. Two weeks and we are almost done. (Three days to go!) It rained oddly enough a few days ago, which never happens in March. Like, never. But it was a welcome relief from the heat and the sound of the rain on my tin roof reminded me of being home in Washington so it helped me fall asleep. The heat came back quick enough, though I have no idea what the temperature is. Pretty sure it is at least 90 though.

Language is still extremeley tough, and we have our first language assessment on Wednesday the day we get back to Thies. It isn't necessarily a 'graded' test as we are used to but it means we are halfway through training (I know! CRAZY!!!) and we have to be at intermediate-mid level by the time we reach the end. I am by no means anywhere near that level. Mixed up the verb 'to come' with 'to go' when I was leaving to get to the garden this afternoon. I suppose it says something that I even caught myself, but it is still irritating not being able to say the most basic things.

Not being able to communicate is the base line of all frustration here. Some of the kids follow us, muttering things in Wolof that we can't understand but know is not nice. (On a side note one kid called me a bitch in French, at which point in time I was already at the end of my rope that I told him to F-off in English and gave him the glare of doom. He ran away quickly). We've had the opportunity to talk to some actual volunteers and they say that CBT is the only time that these sorts of things really happen. Being in a big city doesn't allow for knowing who the kids are or where they live so you can tell their parents. At site we end up knowing a lot of people so either you know who they are or someone you know knows the parents and things are taken care of swiftly.

I will post pictures of my family once I get back to Thies. In the mean time I am craving a box of sprinkled cake donuts so much I may commit murder to get my hands on some. I did find an awesome place here that has really good pizza and burgers (a soul saver) for a good price and a boutique down the road that has ice cream bars for 300 CFA (about a 70cents) that is wonderful on the hot afternoon we walk back from language class.

Been updating my carepackage wish list and will post if anyone is so inclined to send me some American goodies. I'll put my address on the side though it will change in a few weeks for my permanent site.

It is so weird to think it is only a few weeks away.

Miss America. Miss my friends and family heaps and I hope to hear from everyone at some point.

Cheers!
Christine