Friday, March 18, 2011

Hellos and Goodbyes

I am heading back from Dakar after a bad Alhum (mini-bus) dismount resulting in a small ligament tear or just a bad sprain. At first I was uber bummed at the change of plans. I was heading to see a friend of mine in her village and the last thing I had scheduled was an entire day of travel to Daker, but apparently that is what Allah had planned.

Turned out Dakar is amazing this time of year! The weather was BEAUTIFUL. Tambacounda is getting hot, HoT, HOT, so it was lovely to be chilly and remember what not sweating is like.

I stayed in the med hut, which is in the Peace Corps Dakar office. It was clean, comfy, quiet and peaceful with just of few other cool people to keep me company. It was rejuvenating to hear quiet. It's been a long, LONG time and I'd forgotten what it was like to have time by myself.

I took full advantage of my time in Dakar. When I could start hobbling around, I gimped myself right to the nearest cab and went directly to the beach. I even managed to ice down a cold one with the ice packs I brought for my foot. It was really quite rough.

When my foot got a lot better and it turned out that I didn't need x-rays I got to visit Thies and meet the new group of volunteers. They arrived March 9th and are our year in group of health and environmental education volunteers. Yesterday, which was when I visited them, they were leaving for the very first time for their training villages/families with two language classes under their belt.

The nervous energy and plethora of questions reminded me of how completely terrified I was to take that leap into Sangalkam living with a Pulaar family. This group seemed a lot more calm and prepared then we were, but you know what's really running through people's heads. I expected that first night to be one of the worst in my life. It was difficult, don't get me wrong. I've never done anything like it and it was awkward, uncomfortable and frightening. But, as I reassured the new group, its really not as bad as you expect. It gets better, easier.

It was great meeting the new stagiers. It made me feel accomplished to now be the one giving advice. It was also refreshing. A group of new, idealistic faces setting out to do the same work you are doing, for the same reasons, and not yet having any reasons to be anything but idealistic. They seem like a great group of people and I'm excited for what they will bring to Senegal!

Last night I got to have dinner with a few friends I haven't early enough time with lately, Meera, Leah and Nathaniel. We dined seaside at sunset. Clams, oysters, prawns and wine. A perfect night to end my stay in Dakar, with wonderful friends, atmosphere and food.

Here I am in a Peace Corps car (lucky as can be!), riding back to sweet home Tambacounda. Tonight is our last party as Tamba nation, as it stands. Some amazing people that have made Tamba what it is, will soon be heading back to America. Katy, Melissa and Camille will be heading back to the states and Erika will be extending in Dakar. This will change to face of Tamba for sure. So sad to say goodbye to people you have come to love, but we are all excited for what the world has in store for them back home. Tonight we shall celebrate like we mean it!

Friday, March 11, 2011

A little bit of my life in pictures

A picture from the banana plantation in Laboya that Spence and I visited during our tourney around our district publicizing the eye clinic.



The cotton has all been harvested (luckily mostly when I was in America because it is painful work). These huge fenced in areas are where they stored the cotton before the government came around to buy it all.



The inside of my church.


The cross Sana made that I brought back from America has been blessed and proudly hung.



Making snowmen in Senegal!



The Tambacounda Regional house has taken on a sweet new kitten to hopefully, in time, resolve our mice taking over our house problem (As long as Mika doesn't eat her first...village has made him desperate). Her name is Collin, which has definitely led to some gender identity crisis. But look how cute the little alien is.


My WAIST (West African Invitational Softball Tournament) Team. We were pure awesome. Dressed as Senegalese cops with squirt guns and intimidating moves...madess on the field I tell you. Great weekend with great frieds. (PS: I stayed with the Ambassador of the United States of America during WASIT. Pretty freaking cool.


A Belgian owned liquor tasting garden in Mbour. All the liquors are made from natural fruits and flavors. Beautiful and delicious.


Sunrise in the Baobab trees outside my friend Sarah's village. So peaceful. I'm obsessed with the raw beauty of these trees.


Fun murals at the preschool with the kiddos.


Finished product.


This is the first grade class near my village. One teacher + 84 students= pure chaos everyday.


Senegalese home made wagon. I'll try to start collecting pictures of their other home made toys. They can get pretty creative.


The girls group I've been trying to start finally had our first meeting. Name games, clapping games, friendship bracelets and TWISTER! There was a lot of laughing to be had. Perfect way to start off.


Girls Group. Aren't they beautiful!?!



Handwashing painting I did in the preschool bathrooms. I finally convinced the director to buy soap and we did talks about the importance of hand washing and lots of fun hands-on activities about germs. Now they wash their hands before lunch and sometimes even after going to the bathroom (baby steps).


I even found these hand washing kits in the storage facility of the preschool. (It was built and is funded by a french organization so the school is beautiful and they are blessed with may supplies most schools don't have.) Here are a few of the kiddos showing us that they can properly wash their hands.


Mud stove I helped a neighbor make. A pot sized to the top opeing goes in the top and cuts down on smoke that the women inhale when cooking over open fires, which is their main method of cooking. It also prevents burns because kids are constantly falling into open fires. And it cuts down on wood usage and labor to cut down and bring home lumber.


Cashew fruit apples. Just thought you might find them interesting. They taste weird to be and make my mouth go numb and dry but people here love them.


Gan-Ga-Ran. Tradtional Pulaar Dancers accompanied with really neat drummers. This was in celebration of International Women's Day in the earest town to my village.

One year in Senegal!

A year ago yesterday morning, I was getting off a cozy South African Airlines flight (the kind with cushy seats, heavy blankets, complimentary wine, and personal T.V.'s with a myriad of movies, games, T.V. Shows, maps and music of your choosing, etc.) and stepping out into the unknown with a great deal of anxiety and anticipation.



I've now lived in Senegal, West Africa for a year. On one had it is hard to believe and seems like time has flown by, and on the other, I feel every one of the 365 days I've been here.

Even through all the struggles that I have/am encountering I feel immensely lucky to be where I am in life. Every day here has been a learning experience. Other cultures are what you learn about from movies, books, or typical tourist traveling. I have gotten the pleasure...might not be the right word...opportunity to experience another culture by living in it and becoming part of it. I could not have possibly imagined a culture as different from my own than that of a small Pulaar village in the bush of Senegal.

This year has given me patience, perseverance, a much larger and more worldly perspective, love of simplicity, challenged my creativity, solidified my priorities, given me a stronger relationship with God, and so much more.

It has also made me realize how insanely lucky I am. Maybe it is just part of the ethnocentrism that we all possess, because after all I don't believe that American's are ultimately happier than the Senegalese, but goodness gracious I am glad to be an American.

Maybe being a Senegalese woman is easier than I perceive it when you don't know any different, but from my outsiders perspective it hurts to see how little respect and rights they are given and how submissive they are expected to be. Most of the women in my village don't have a problem with it, after all, that's just the way it is. But as a woman who is used to being respected, listened to, having an equal say in things, being able to choose my own path in life, etc., a culture of female submission can be heartbreaking.

Back to me being lucky. I am so grateful that I have been instilled with priorities that lead to health, education, and friendly, familial and romantic love. You can tell someone education is important all day and night, but in America, we are blessed enough to make it a priority. Being expected to go to University, as opposed to, not being allowed to attend elementary school obviously has a tad bit of a impact on your life and future.

Secondly, after being told day in and day out what women 'should' do or what women 'can't' do, I feel lucky that in a most communities in the states I am not set apart as less because of my gender. The glass ceiling surely still exists to a certain point, but it is definitely not a glass encasement as it is here.

Thirdly, I cannot imagine not being able to choose my own path in life, even though I see it all around me on a daily basis. Someone forcing me into a marriage or giving me away, someone choosing my life's work (i.e. baby maker, cook, laundry washer, sweeper,etc. all rolled into one) and in turn determining every factor of my life.

Also, I am blessed to have the opportunity to travel and have been socialized to have a great curiosity about the world around me. Whether this be in my state, in the U.S. or out of the country it is truly a blessing. I come back from villages 5 miles away, or even less, and the people, especially women ask me what it was like. There are countless other reasons I see myself as unbelievably lucky and even though I've always known it, this has solidified it and given me daily reminders.

Having said all that, I don't want to seem like I am ragging on Senegal. People here are typically happy, Their lifestyles seem to work for them. There are things that I don't particularly agree with that don't seem to pose much of an issue or even seem advantageous in a village setting, such as polygamy. With things that I will never support, like forced marriage, I try my best to remember that every civilization going through its period of development has practices that seem inhumane to the western world now and that even developed countries allow for some pretty messed up things.

And I see that the Senegalese are lucky in a lot of ways that perhaps we are not. They live simply because they have no other choice but I see it as a advantage. In my village, there is no electricity, T.V., internet, or even often phone reception so family time is almost all of the time. We need a little bit more of that I America. Here, you spend your time with people. You are not rushing through the impossible to-do list that you made that morning (okay sometimes you still are but only because you are American and that is a hard habit to break). These are all things that I want to bring back to the U.S.

After a year I can't say that my homesickness is gone, but I can say that the sacrifice so far has been worth it. My life has been enriched in a way it could never have otherwise. I have a second family, amazing new friends, and a whole new way of seeing life. Let's hope that this next year is just as satisfying.

Thank you all for your continued love and support. For your thoughts, letters, packages, and prayers. I can't imagine this journey without the force of positivity and encouragement that exists behind me. Love and miss you all!