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
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
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