Kira Day

It’s not very often that it happens: that I get so stressed out that I don’t know what to do with myself. Life in Senegal is stressful… have I ever mentioned that before? And that sometimes when everything doesn’t really go how I want it to, I get upset. I am normally good at finding a solution, but sometimes it just gets to be too much to handle – so today is the second time in Senegal that I have declared it Kira Day. Mel Moye – you used to take the day off in school and call in to work sick and it inspired me here. I am taking the day off to do whatever I want.

I can now explain what has stressed me out and what I am going to do about it: Holidays, my composting project and the Mara Family.

The holidays are hard abroad. I can’t do a single thing that will make Senegal feel like Neenah, Wisconsin. 5 friends and I rented a house on the island Gorée, and had called ahead to make sure it had an oven available. We did all of our grocery shopping the morning before the ferry and had quite the impressive menu decided (pineapple glazed ham, green bean casserole, potatoes au gratin, Christmas cookies). But upon arriving, we found out the oven was there, in the kitchen, but didn’t work. So we ended up using the owner’s sister’s house. But she is Catholic and was planning her own Christmas meal and we felt awful making her run back and forth. People weren’t happy with us and let us know it. But I was very happy to just sit on the rocks, listening to the waves roll in alone, wearing blue jeans, a fleece and my new favorite Santa hat. It was chilly. Too bad I didn’t get tan lines. Dinner was alright, but what came after dinner was better. My friend’s boyfriend is here visiting and he brought us some pretty tasty drinks!

After the island, I came back here to Bambey with Erin. She is a close friend that lives very far away. So since she wasn’t able to go home between Gorée and New Year’s, she came here and I wanted to show her my compost site. I wanted to check and see if any collection had been done in the last few days anyways. But as we showed up, I noticed that people were at the site. Keep in mind, the government gave us a plot of land but we haven’t yet put up a fence of any kind. The people we noticed were actually stealing our compost. I asked them what they were doing and explained the situation. He was willing to buy it “tomorrow, inchallah”. So I call my women’s group pres but of course she wasn’t home and told me to handle it. No. Not going to happen. So I told this villager to go and talk to Djebaye, the donkey-cart guy, who hopefully won’t just pocket the money, but there is no way for me to control that.

I was stressed and talking it through with Erin on what to do. We decided that I just needed to talk to my group and explain my role better since they call me their boss and expect too much from me; and that we should sell the compost then to this villager pretty cheap to get some initial funds to start fencing.

So the next morning we both went to talk to Astou Kan, the pres, and our talk combined with the stress of everything going on just made me cry. She told me that they are hoping to get a loan for community projects from some Eco-Village in Diourbel and when I said it would be great to use that money for this project, she said “that won’t work since it doesn’t provide income so how could we pay back the loan”. BUT IT DOES! Just not today. “It makes sense to give the money to the women of the group for them each to raise their own money so that they can afford to pay for other things, like garbage cans and collection fees”. But honestly, these individual projects never work. Interest rates are too much to handle for people that don’t even know how to figure out if their project is making profits or not.

There is a meeting on Jan 12, inchallah, to hand out 10 garbage cans that Astou Kan’s brother fronted money for to start 10 example families. We will have all the women put some money in to buy fencing for the compost site, and this has been the plan since before Tabaski, but Astou Kan just first told me yesterday that the women won’t be able to put in more than 200cfa each, all 14 or 15 of them, making it 3000cfa if everyone shows, and pays: just over $5. How the hell can we fence in 30 square meters with $5?! We can’t.

So mid-tears yesterday, we talked about all the people I need to see and invite to our meeting Jan 12. I have to write up and print invites and hand them out to all the businesses in Bambey that could possibly donate money or materials toward the project. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I should get out of my room and start working on this list. No. It’s Kira Day. I will be back from Ziguanchor on the 5th and I will work then. Today, it’s my day and no one can mess with that.

And the third most stressful situation is my family. Not in America, alhumdulilaye; they are all happy with the new Wii playing with the dogs in the snow. But my Mara family: I have a bad maid, a stuck-up 16 year old sister, a mom who doesn’t understand me and a yapping, scared, energetic dog, who brings me more stress than anyone else. The maid, whatever, is fine, just not Kolé, our last maid. My sister and mom, I guess I can’t complain too much but I just like my real parents and brother more. The dog though! She has been tied up in a dark room all her life. I have been the only person that pets her, teaches her to sit on command, and removes her from this dark room. We let her out but then she just starts barking at everyone unless I am around. I don’t want this. No one knows what to do with dogs since everyone is afraid of them and thus, she is afraid of them. If I train her, provide for her and improve her life, I will have to bring her back to America with me and that is just not going to happen. Last night, while on the phone with America, she was barking non-stop so I went to see what the problem was. A friend of my sister’s was just standing there, watching her bark, teasing her. I don’t even know this girl but I yelled at her and made her leave the compound and close the door. Then my sister and her 3 friends laughed at me, since I care that the dog is scared, barking, annoying the entire neighborhood. “Crazy toubab” is not what I want to deal with in my own home.

So what am I going to do about all this? Stay in my room, do yoga, go to the post office, meet Nick (the best boyfriend in the world) online and relax. Tomorrow, I am getting back to Dakar to take a ferry south to Ziguanchor for New Year’s. I will be fine. I have responsibilities here. I have made a commitment to these people to stay here for 2 years to work on their development. I will invite everyone I need to, to my meeting. I will pass out garbage cans and motivate everyone in the neighborhood to clean up. I will get rid of this dog somehow. I will have fun at Zig before I have to stop drinking in a week or so and celebrate New Years the best way I know how! No one said living here would be easy: “Hardest 2 years you will ever love” is the Peace Corps recruitment phrase. Yesterday was hard. But I know I will love it again some day. If I ran away from this and ETed, it would be like quitting my dream job after a bad day.

Happy Kira Day. You can celebrate how ever you want!

Latent vs Active

Alright so I'll admit it. I wasn't too active during the hot season. (Maybe you could call me latent - we'll get to that in a bit) It's not the easiest when it's over 100 and sitting still is exhausting. So I am taking advantage of the cool evenings - yes that's right - cool. Wonderful running weather. Every once in a while, I have moments here in Senegal that I call "blog-worthy". I hope you appreciate this:

Originally, getting out of the house was exhausting, not to mention crossing the gender-line by not cooking, cleaning and raising babies, like all the other women my age. So running like all the men was difficult the first time. But if today were my first, I probably would have quit completely!

I left the house just before sunset. I walk out of my neighborhood and start for a paved road (with plenty of pot holes attracting my constant attention). Once on this paved road that leads out the city to a village, I start running. There is a woman selling fruit that usually greets me as I pass, but today, she started running with me. Keep in mind, she was dressed in her Tabaski-best and fancy shoes. It created quite a show. When she stopped I made a big deal about how she shouldn't give up, "It's only 3k to the village, atcha, nu dem dow!" She said tomorrow, inshallah. I'm really sure.

After this, a few middle school girls started imitating my form, while they were walking. They get a free pass, make fun of me all you want. You are a teenage girl and we all know those are tough years. I was a jerk too!

A bit further up on the road, I passed 4 women packing up bunches of fire wood, and after greeting them, and inviting them along on my run, but they also said, "Another time, inshallah".

Then I greeted and passed 2 young girls, greeted and I thought that was rather uneventful. Until about a minute later I heard "Eh! Eh! Taxawal yo!". I turned around and noticed these girls were now running after to, asking me to wait for them. I slowed down, let them catch up. The whole time we ran, they were asking me questions, in greeting. They were very polite and are not in school, but work as maids in Bambey. They were on their way back to the village they live, beyond the village we were running to. Who knows if they do this 4 or 5k walk daily. I sure hope not, and that they have great families where they stay, but get to go home for the weekend. I had to actually stop running since one of the girls couldn't keep up. When I said it was time for me to turn around, they asked if I was going to take a car back. Haha, no, I'm actually running for fun. "How bizarre". Yea, I'm a toubab.

On the way home, I noticed that the 4 women were finished bundling the firewood. The youngest was waiting for someone to help her lift the bundle onto her head. The looked at me and the blank, unpopulated road, nearly gave up, but then were pleasently surprised when I said "Ma yem la". Of course there is a verb in Wolof for "to raise whatever you have that's heavy onto your head". I just learned that a few weeks ago. So I helped raise a bundle of wood onto this scrawny 10 year old's head. Keep in mind this bundle off wood is too big around for me to hug it. Can't believe what these women are expected to do at such young ages.

I guess that was the run. More eventful than I would have ever guessed. So now it's time for me to be latent, right? Ok, I'll explain.

I told you about my mid-service, and waiting for TB results... Well, results were positive, as in, I have tested positive for latent TB. Bummer. Let me just get this out in the open - this is NOT a big deal. I am not contageous, and I don't have any symptoms. I have just been exposed to someone who had active TB, thanks for nothing dude! So Peace Corps policy says that I need to go on anti-biotics for 9 months, of rather intensive meds that are hard on my liver. My biggest concern in all this is that I won't be able to drink alcohol during those 9 months. As if this is practice for something else, but I don't wanna practice that! Geez. So I'll let you know when I start these lovely meds, but just to re-emphasize, this is not a big deal. Just sucks, you know?

Anyways, I'll be actively-latent for the next 9 months.

Today is Kristofer's Birthday - Happy 25th Tof! And Happy 27th Anniversary Mom and Dad - I am so proud of you guys! And Happy Birthday Grandpa! What a happy day!

My typical service

I made it through another Muslim holiday and was so classic Senegalese I even scare myself! I bought expensive fabric and had it tailored and embroidered, bought matching sandals, and got my hair braided. After my hair was done, 2 days before the holiday, my sister even mentioned I was ready before her. The night before Tabaski, I went to the market – kinda like the mall Christmas Eve, but at midnight, where you can get run over by horses rather than pushy moms. I then was invited to have tea and was in bed rather late, giving me full permission to sleep in and avoid festivities until late morning…

That didn’t really happen though, since I was assigned to peeling and slicing the 3 dozen onions immediately after getting out of the shower. They made fun of me for how I cut potatoes so I was demoted to peeling garlic. All this is done, by the way, without a cutting board, but after all these holidays, I managed to get by with only one cut! The sheep wasn’t so lucky. Find pictures in the album called At Home in Senegal. We ate “breakfast” at 1 consisting of liver and onions and some ribs. I can’t say that I love or hate it: I don’t mind it. But it’s the liver after-taste that killed my appetite for the rest of the day. Besides a few polite bites while visiting a work partner, it was my only meal, unless you count a package of cookies at 10pm.

2 days following Tabaski, I was on my way to Dakar. A friend and I pretended we were rich for the afternoon and did something I have never done before: got my legs waxed! Ouch! But about a quarter what it would cost in America, so why not! After that, we bought food to make an incredible dinner and a Bordeaux Red Wine. Typical PCV day right?

Friday we had a regional meeting, welcoming the 6 new volunteers to the region who installed in November. Saturday we lost our first softball game of the season, but won our second so we are 7-1. Not too bad. Except when you consider this is an American sport and the only team we lost to is Senegalese…

I am still hanging out in Dakar for my medical mid-service. No cavities Dr. Don! Peace Corps takes pretty good care of us and I doubt I will ever again have full, free health care! I hope to meet with people who sold Joal garbage cans at a discount for their compost project while I am waiting for my TB results on Wednesday. Gives me something to do I guess. Since you would not believe how COLD it is here! I cannot simply layout at the pool, and wouldn’t even think of swimming in it! It’s so windy and chilly and… ok it’s not below zero and we don’t have snow but geez! I guess I am used to the Senegalese heat that I used to complain so much about. Yesterday I spent the whole day in the hammock wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt with a blanket, reading. Perfect lazy Sunday!

Honestly, if you are looking for the blog of a typical PCV, I guess you need to go elsewhere. Life is good.

Goatee

The week went well! Surprisingly, I got a few things done off the list. Bringin Djebaye to Joal was a success, although it made for an extremely long day. We left here at 8 but had to wait over an hour for the bus to fill. Then it just took forever! We got to Joal at 1. A little info about Fridays: they are the Muslim's holy day so they go to the big mosque and pray at 2ish. And then it's the weekend (thank you French for that influence). So normally there is not a whole lot that happens until Monday. I was so worried on the road that it would be a waste of money to go all the way there and see nothing. But it went so well! We met with someone who was very knowledgeable and told Djebaye the whole history and problems and solutions. After that, we had a great lunch, talked with the current volunteer there and 2 charretiers (donkey-cart drivers like Djebaye). Then we went to a government official who talked to us more about the project and how it has expanded. They are in the process of building a beautiful new compost site. Needless to say, Djebaye and I are jealous and motivated. We will start right back up with more trainings and collections after Tabaski!

But now it's time to relax, while everyone prepares for this big holiday Tabaski. It's in the Bible too, where Abraham sacrifices a sheep. So why don't we have this tradition in the Christian world?! It's fun! I have my hair braided (pics coming soon), new clothes, new sandales that mom bought me and plenty of invitations to spend the day with friends and work partners. I am ready to have this holiday over so I can get back to work but it is cool that this is my second. I know what to expect, and instead of being shown around as a guest, I get to go and do my own greetings and take pictures with people. Should be fun.

Oh, and we have a new member of the family. Population of this house is always changing. My favorite maid left to go work for her sister in Dakar. :-( It was rather lonely for a few days since mom and sis were at school and the other guy that rents is working out of town. But now my sister is striking at school til the 15th so I have company. The new addition is a baby goat! I call him Goatee. He was born 2 nights before I took this picture, where he is actually peeing. He will soon learn manners. He's so cute. He jumps and twitches when he gets excited. We have 2 other pregrant goats, hopefully one will have twins since she's much bigger that they other 2. Who knows what we will do with all these babies, but at least they are cute and don't make as much noise as other animals! My host mom, like I have said before, is good at investing. We are in the process of building a structure to house 50 chickens to do a raising project. I hope they become dinner more often!

After Tabaksi, I am heading to Dakar for the weekend. Then I'll be back for a week before Christmas! Staying at a house on an island. Be jealous. It's no snow angels and cookies but maybe I can work on my tanlines again!

To do List:

1. Visit compost site tomorrow. (we were supposed to start collection today but had to pick up a wheelbarrow, pitch forks, and a rake - to no surprise, that took 2 hours)
2. Critique the work of my charretier, Djebaye (donkey cart driver) since he doesn't yet completely understand the project
3. Pick up boots, gloves and a mask from the health center on Wednesday
4. Go around with a woman door-to-door to all the same 35 houses to fully explain the project. Djebaye explained horribly the project to the "manager/men of the house"... they aren't the ones who sweep and clean - "managers of the compost". For some reason, when I say compost, he translates it to sheep/goat poop. Hmmm
5. Bring Djebaye to Joal, where this project originated with PCVs 2 years ago and has grown to be quite a success. He will then hopefully understand what we are trying to do and be able to ask questions of the compost employees there.
6. Convince the women of the neighborhood and the women's group to put money in. This will have to wait until after Tabaski, but we need funds and I am not white and made of money!
7. Build our site - make a fence, build a shade structure and buy a barrel to store water.
8. Find other people to help out Djebaye, other charreties, and people to manage the site. I need to meet people already employeed by the Mayor's Office since that's the direction I want to go, the government needs to pay for this!
9. Form a budget to ask for some money from a Peace Corps Partnership. But honestly, I am fully willing to write this, but it will need to be finished and turned in before my last 6 months of service. That is rapidly approaching. So I may just leave it for my replacement to do with whatever he/she wants.
10. Improvise... there is going to be a lot else to do as this moves along

And that's it! I think I have my work cut out for me...

I was so stressed out yesterday, thinking about this list and wondering what today would be like. I was anxious since the last 2 nights I went to meet Djebaye, he wasn't available to meet with me and Astou Kan, the women's group pres was out of town for 4 days. But this is going to be good work so let's hope this goes well! Keep your fingers crossed.

Oh, and a funny picture to think about: me wandering around with Djebaye, pulling a donkey with a cart of garbage all around town, between houses, in sandy "streets" all the way to the Mayor's Office and even through part of the market on MARKET DAY. Needless to say I attracted a bit of attention.

And it's Over!

Success! We are done with the second volunteer-artisan network expo in Dakar. We had 12 artisans come from all over Senegal most with a volunteer and we ended up selling about 1,600,000cfa of product – which is over $3000! We printed a beautiful catalogue, which I spent hours and hours on… that may have been the most stressed out I have been in Senegal. Originally, I wanted all the volunteers bringing artisans to help. Seems simple enough, since I would send them a blank document with all the settings saved, they would edit, in French and English a biography of their artisan along with some pictures, and send it back to me. I would then compile all the bios and made 2 versions of the catalogue. Well, life isn’t that easy in Senegal. My first problem was that everyone doesn’t have Publisher. I ended up having to write, translate, upload pictures and edit the 20 page catalogue. This took some time. But it felt great to be finished 2 days before I was even in Dakar. The next problem became that the printers in Dakar were out of toner on Thursday. (Saturday was the expo) So I came back first thing on Friday ready to print but realized I needed to compile and edit stuff, have others proof my French, and put the document in PDF rather than publisher. So finally, around 1pm we were ready to print the English version, but then the office were the only functioning color printer was locked, and since it’s Friday, the employees were done for the weekend at noon. We ended up breaking in to this office by climbing in through the window. We finished stapling the 8 English and 15 French catalogues at around 6pm. Long day. I was so happy to crawl into bed Friday, already anxious for the weekend to be over.

Saturday, I was the “coordonatrice” for the weekend, starting before 9. More or less, I was the go-to girl for any question anyone could possibly have. I rarely got a chance to sit but we had a really good turn out Saturday morning and great chebu jen for lunch. At 4, we had a meeting to discuss the possibility of creating an organized group among the artisans so they become more in charge. Trying to work myself out of a job… At 5 we had a reception with some good food and a few VIPs or buyers came to meet our artisans and even the US ambassador and president of USAID. At 6, our SED trainer, Bamba Fall, led a training on costing that the artisans seemed to really enjoy. Funny when Bamba mentioned it’s not always a good investment to marry a second wife when profits are up. I got home a bit after 7, skipped dinner and was sleeping by 8:30. Much needed

Sunday was easier. It was a chilly day in Dakar that kept quite a few people away from the pool and the club but sales were still alright. We had good cheb (rice) and attaaya (tea) and the artisans started moving out around 3. We were excited to celebrate a bit with a tasty beer and the 3 or 4 of us who stuck around to clean up ended up scoring a free round from an RPCV. After that, we went out for a great dinner, spent more money that I can really afford, but the 4 of us ordered 2 good bottles of red wine and I had shrimp and pineapple pizza. I deserved it. The weekend was a complete success. Artisans are happy, we have a possibility to form an organized group to network together and new opportunities for personal orders.

Now I am on vacation. Alhumdulilaye. Happy Thanksgiving!

Uunk Poop

Alright - I hope you have some time: Mom decided to write a book about her 2 weeks in Africa! Get comfortable! and Enjoy!

Asalaam Malekum ...

Malekum Salaam

Nanga def? ...

Maangi fii.

Ca va? ...

Ca va bien.

Ana waa Amerik? ...

Nungi ci jamm.

I have just greeted the people I met in Senegal...let me tell you what I have said:

Peace be with you ...

And peace be with you.

How are you? ...

I am fine.

How is it going? ...

It is going well.

Where/How are the Americans? ...

They are in peace.

Let me tell you, it was a crash course in a new language and it was very stressful as everyone who greets you EXPECTS you to answer. Kira answered for us in the first few days and I must say by the time I was leaving the Dakar airport two weeks later they were quite impressed with me. I think what was fun was the Africans hearing a blonde American speaking Wolof! Even fun for me!

It was so wonderful being with Kira and seeing another part of the world. We enjoyed the island, NGor, for a start. People came by selling whatever they had. Loved the fresh fruit. Loved listening to Kira talk to everyone. My first experience with mussells at dinner was a good one. The prawns were so big and grilled...Neex na (delicious)!

The next interesting part of our vaca was transportation. The garage is a different kind of place than what we think of as a garage. This is a "place" rather than a building attached to the house. This place is a very large parking lot filled with a lot of station wagons and a lot of people trying to sell you everything you will ever need for the rest of your life! From apples to water and everything else in between. These station wagons look like we really will not get from this "place" to the next "place" as they are very quite banged up and we are wondering if they will even start. There is a bottle of water and a bottle of oil in the back and an extra bottle of water on the dash for later if we will need to stop to give the engine one or the other. I was amazed that we were able to get form one place to the other with only a stop or two in the two weeks I was there. Kira said they are the best mechanics! And, we never hit another vehicle or animal as it was obvious that that happens! There was one driver that made me nervous as I could tell the broken window was from the passenger in the front seat who had hit the windshield with his (or her) head. I buckled up my seat belt! Do I appreciate my car? You bet! A trip to the car wash and a new air freshener are in order to show "it" how much I care!

Diama's (Jomma's) family are the first Senegalese the we really got to meet and now I know why it was as easy as it was for Kira to become a part of these people as quickly as she did. I remember crying in those first few months when she talked about her mom and siblings and feeling like I was not as important anymore to Kira. Now...I am so thankful for the love they gave and continue to give to Jomma. It is so genuine when you look into their eyes and see how much they appreciate all that my little girl has done and is still doing for the people of Senegal. They treat her as she is their daughter or sister or niece or granddaughter. And they love her as well. It makes me feel so proud of the people in this country so far away from home. It makes me so proud to call this person, my little girl, a true asset of this country. You are amazing Kira and I am so very very proud of everything you are doing for all your new family members in this country so far away.

Time to go to the market. OMG! Ok this is not like going to the mall even on Black Friday! One of the things I found in Africa I would call overwhelming! And we were there on a Sunday with some shops closed! Everything you could imagine buying was available for sale. So many people, so many choices, live animals for purchase, horses pulling carts with people and goods, flys on the fish and fruit and vegetables, garbage in the street, and of course the unique smell, chaos to say the least. I was able to find some very pretty material to buy. This would take some time getting used to doing on a weekly basis.

Our first Senegalese meal...Cheb ou jen. A huge pizza pan with a bed of rice and fish, tomato paste, onions, manioc, carrots, cabbage, sweet potatoes and spices. Everyone sits around the coffee table and digs into their "slice of the pizza". Was it ever good! I can see why Jomma calls this her favorite dish and has the recipe for us to make it here when she gets home. We had a choice of Fanta, Sprite or Coke after we finished eating. Dessert...fresh fruit. That is an idea for the great US of A. Fresh fruit for dessert will definetly take off a few pounds. We found the food was very good wherever we ate. And the fresh bread-yummy.

On our way to Bambey to Ouria's home. I was just getting used to Jomma. Why don't they just call her Kira? She has a different name everywhere we go!

It was a long day and we are still not caught up on sleep so we got settled into her home. OK...I know you really like your accomadations, Kira, but this would take a while to get used to. Nice comfy bed with a mosquito net...excellent! Those little buggers are fast! Enough space so you don't go nuts...two rooms and a porch! The best bathroom in Bambey?... OK, I guess it was better than the one I used while deer hunting. But truthfully I spent too much time there. Finding out you have an uunk living here...what the hell is that? The sheep and goats were always speaking their minds about the toubabs who moved in and so did Eeyore. Let's talk about the rooster who would have lost more than his cock-a-doodle-doo if I would have stayed one more day. I totally understand why Fatou has all these animals but I think if we would have stayed longer there would have been some serious training happening! Or how about the loud noise during a sound sleep...I panicked! Ouria slept through it. KIRA!!! What the hell is that? "Oh, it's the muus chasing the sindax on the roof." WHAT? More Woloff...muus=cat sindax=lizard. In this case the lizard is a foot long. The next thing I hear is snoring from Chuck and Kira. GREAT! I wonder for a very long time what noise the lizard will make next. Finally...sleep. And then the chanting starts over the loud speaker outside the compound. It is sunrise somewhere; sure not here as it is still pitch black where I am tyring to sleep. Kira says it is "the call to prayer". WHAT? One would have been tolerable but there were three different mosques trying to get their prayers started. This happens five times a day! The last morning we were there I was trying to chant with them. Chuck didn't like that. I was just working on my new language skills. I really think he was jealous as he had more trouble with this new tongue. Ouria was right, the fan really does blow hot air when the electricity IS working. This really is a hot part of the country. Closer to 100 than not. Oh yah, this is Africa! The children were really cute in this town of Bambey as we met them all, I think. As Ouria was complaining about, we met many as I was handing out candy to everyone who would greet me and then say merci. So cute! She finally made me say the candy was all gone and the kids stopped coming to see the blonde toubab. I wonder if any have come back looking for me? Just wait until you have children of your own, Kira!

What a party! Kira bought a lot of food including three chickens. Chuck loves chicken. Two additional women helped Cole' (their maid) prepare a wonderful meal of Chebbu ganaar. Chicken, potatoes, onions,pickled onions and olives over a bed of rice. We all gathered around and enjoyed another Senegalese favorite. We also had hot tea, Senagalese style. Many of Ouria friends and business associates arrived to meet her "real" parents and this is where the real pressure of greeting in Wolof was felt. I must say it was great to meet all of these special people in Kira's life. They are also very proud of her. Have I mentioned how proud we, as her parents, are of her? Her host Mom here is also a great person. We could tell she cares a lot about Kira. Later in the week when Fatou called to hear why she has not heard from Ouria, if everything was ok? Kira just said she was with her real mom and she was fine. You will understand only after you have your own children someday, Kira.

As you know, I did get sick while I was there. I guess the lettuce and raw veggies were not washed with beach water so that little bug got the better part of me. The next few days I was pampered by a great chef and was able to eat. I am still trying to get the E-Coli out of my body. I am on medication and am getting better with every dose. Those next few days really were an amazing part of our trip.

We stayed at a beautiful resort run by Jomma's family. So needless to say, we really got wonderful service! Yes, it did compare to Couples in Jamaica! Three three course meals. The room was beautiful and a much nicer bathroom (thank God)! The pool was so pretty, the grounds lush with pretty flowers and palms. Tiki huts on the sandy beach invite you to cool off for a swim in the rolling waves. And then back to the pool to rinse the salt from our tanning skin, only to find a hammock to read another chapter in a good book or to steal a glance at our little girl who has grown into a wonderful person right before our eyes. How did she do that so fast? The sunset was beautiful! We also went on a mini safari. The 25 square km is fenced in and the animals are brought in from other areas of Africa. They are cared for medically if they need it, otherwise they are free to roam and live in this wide open and wooded reserve. We got very close to the animals. The giraffes were in "plastic" according to our guide. They just waited and watched us to get the perfect picture. Kira was so excited a they are her favorite animal. She should blow up a cool picture to add to her collection back here at home. I was a bit worried that she got too close to the rhinos. The ostrich is one very ugly bird when you see it as close as we saw it. Poor thing! Other animals we saw: antelope, gazelles, monkeys, zebra, tortise, crockadiles and birds.

So have you been wondering about the title of this blog entry? OK, what is an uunk? It is an indoor short-tailed, pale lizard like a fat mouse, kind of I guess. Well, anyways it lives inside and it eats the bugs (and believe me there are a lot of really big ugly bugs in this country) that come in to try and make residence. OK, I like that part BUT what if this thing decides to make itself at home in my backpack and comes back to Neenah? I don't have but an occasional spider that sneaks in once in a while. It would starve to death. Kira said I could buy it bugs at the pet store. GREAT. Well, you always know the uunk has been walking around, bug hunting as there is a little pile of uunk poop on the floor wherever. That is Kira's job...to clean up the uunk poop. We had an uunk in everyplace we stayed. The really good part was it did not come back to Neenah! Well...I have not found any uunk poop yet but this is a bigger place than they are used to. I will keep my eyes open.

After getting Chuck to the airport, the next week Kira (Rokhaya) and I enjoyed nice places on the beach, laughter and stories, sunrises and sunsets, using up the tube of Banana Boat sunscreen, reading a good book, swimming in the ocean and pools, walks on the beach, hugs and kisses, shopping, drinking wine, taking pictures and naps, taking in African music and dance, eating blander meals, some homemade! Meeting other PCV friends...you are all great! Back to see family again in Theis and get our clothes we had made and more shopping and getting Henna tattoos on our feet, happy hour with more friends and a jazz concert!

It is time to leave Africa and my daughter. It will be another 13 and a half months before I hold you in my arms so tight again. I have so enjoyed our time here together. Kira, I am grateful that you wanted us to come, to teach us about your life and meet your new families who I am no longer jealous about, to meet many of the people you work with to make their lives even better than they know it now. They are all wonderful and am grateful to them for taking you into their hearts as well. To learn how these people can make their lives WORK with so little but they have a huge amount of pride. Africa...Amazing! Jerejef! Thank you!

I was online working on this entry when Kira also got online. I hooked up the webcam for her to watch it snowing. She shared the whole experience with her sister, NDack; Mom, Fatou; and best friend, Matar. It was so fun hearing all of them talking at the same time trying to understand how it could be colder than 0 degrees centigrade and seeing it snowing at Ouria's home in America and listening to me talking in Wolof here. I now know these people who speak a different language and have skin that is a different color than mine and I do miss them. Yes, Africa... Nungi ci Jamm. We are in Peace!

Speaking Peace

I am working again! It is official - as of today, I have completed some real, genuine work in Bambey! I have been working with this compost project, as you know, since... March? (if I had to guess) We were granted a plot of land from the government and received documentation of such in September. As of today, I started my door-to-door trainings in Wakhal Jamm (Speak Peace in Wolof) the neighborhood in Bambey that I am starting this project in. I have 2 wonderful work partners and people seem interested and willing to be part of this project. All very exciting. I have to go back tomorrow to another 10 houses, and again on Tuesday, but honestly, it is much easier than I assumed. My Wolof was terrible the first house but I am picking up the new vocab for this project and hopefully the rest of the families will be understanding to this strange toubab "needing their organic trash on behalf of the government". Haha, that's how I am introduced, "coming all the way from America to do this project". I love how Wolof translates sometimes. I will have plenty of follow up to do. We are going to be doing door-to-door trainings and then starting the collection on the 1st. After that, I'll have to make sure families understand - all 30 of them. Then we will need to make sure the site is protected from wandering animals and build a small shelter to prevent the compost from drying in the sun. Lots to do, but hopefully it will be a success. Ndank ndank... slowly slowly.

Oh, and of course I have been plenty busy with my artisans! I am making 2 versions of a catalogue of our Volunteer-Artisan Network, one in french, one in english. It has contact numbers and pretty pics of artisans from all over Senegal. Even my parents pic with Matar, my tailor, is in there! The expo is this weekend and along with 2 or 3 other volunteers, I am planning the set-up, lunches, reception and training led by our tech trainer. Not to mention, I am bringing 3 different groups of artisans! Lots of work, so I am very anxious for it to go well and be over!

Soon after the expo is holiday season! I am going up north to Ndioum for the first time to kill a few birds for Thanksgiving. Less than 2 weeks later is Tabaski where my family will kill a sheep. Good thing I'm not a vegetarian!

So although it has been tough getting back into the swing of things, I have been crossing things of my to-do list and killing bugs to relieve stress! A billion mosquitos hatched in my bathroom so I sprayed and closed the door for a few hours. I took such pleasure in sweeping all the deceased mosquitoes, crickets, spiders and even one cockroach! Oh it's the small pleasures in life!

My side

Mom and Dad have come and gone. (Still waiting on mom’s interpretation: coming soon) I am so happy they came to visit me but it had its challenges. A few stories to entertain you:

After picking up mom and dad from the airport, I thought I had this great cabby. He was so talkative at 4 in the morning. He gave me his card and all was great… right? Not so much, he demanded twice the money agreed and wouldn’t let up. So mom and dad’s first impression of their now Senegalese daughter was quite the argument before sunrise. I didn’t translate all my words for them but they could tell I was upset! I was most upset that I gave in! He got his money which made me mad for the rest of the day!

I brought mom and dad home to my Thies-training-host family first thing Sunday. I explained how to eat cebbu jen (fish and rice) out of a huge bowl with 6 adults and only had to coach a few times through the meal. Afternoon, we parted for Bambey. We had a big “party” the next day where I invited all my work partners and friends to come for lunch. We had a pretty good turn out and dad only accepted his Fanta with his left hand once! Don’t worry dad, I didn’t make a big deal about it since that would have just attracted more attention! Since I have been back home, people are giving me such a hard time about not bringing my parents back to Bambey. Why in the world would we stay on the beach when we could be in Bambey?! I have trouble explaining this so I just say that mom was scared to come back since she was “so sick I thought I’d die”, words from her mouth! Sorry mom. Don’t mean to tease. You all in America will have to pity her since she didn’t get much sympathy from me or my friends!

By far the worst thing that happened all trip (and I’ll live so just listen to me whine for a minute) was when mom started handing out candy and pretty much the entire neighborhood came demanding candy. Kids who got candy were coming back with their friends and I bet over 30 kids came. This sounds like nothing but mom and dad can tell you how stressed I got. I may have taken it out on them saying they get to leave soon and I have to live here for the next year. So I apologize. I have only heard a few kids in town asking for more and I bet they will for the rest of my service. Mom brought over a gallon ziplock bag full (guilty: I told her to bring candy) so over half was left and we gave it to my host mom to sell from her small boutique. Hope she made some money.

After the real African life, we did a 360. Popenguine was paradise. But I am too used to my life here that even when we went walking down the beach at sunset, I put on my gauchos since I am not used to not covering my knees! I didn’t realize this until mom pointed it out. After living in a Muslim society, I am no longer as confident to walk around in just a suit, as I did for over 10 years of my life!

After dropping dad off at the airport, the stress of the Wolofs at its height, we didn’t even get a hug goodbye. For some reason the Senegalese think they need to control the door to check-in. Daddy gets my first hug when I am back in WI.

Mom and I braved the Dakar garage to get in a car to Mbour – another beach city. She laughed and had trouble turning people away who are quite enthusiastic to sell junk and candy to whites. After leaving, we had quite the comfortable seat in the back of the station wagon! Well, actually, it was not really a padded seat and made for a long, hot ride. But again, this is normal for me and not for her, constantly surprised with how many kilometers were left before Mbour.

We had reservations for 2 nights at a nice beach hotel. I wasn’t surprised one bit when I went to take a shower in the afternoon and the water was out. Mom was outraged, convinced that if we went next door to the other hotel everything would be fine. What she didn’t realize was that when the water goes out, it’s out all over. Turns out this was just one of the things that bothered her about this hotel. Get her to drink her second glass of wine and she opens right up! We found a different beach city the next day, with the greatest house overlooking the beach and all was good again.

It was crazy being able to afford the transportation and the ritzy life. Mom asked at one point how I could afford living on just 200 american dollars a month. The way – I take buses and never taxis between cities! I like being a rich toubab in Senegal! There are some great beaches and hotels and was so happy to get the chance to see them.

Not every volunteer is as lucky as me; to have both my parents come and visit. They stressed me out, and helped me realize just how used to my way of life I am (and how different it really is), but spoiled me like crazy. (I kill all the bugs without flinching and if mom saw them from across the room she’d freak out) So mom and dad, thanks so much for coming, suffering through my life, complaining about the heat and testing the abilities of your gastro-intestinal tracks! I appreciate it so much, and will for the rest of my life. You two are amazing parents. Thank you. I love you.

Dad's Interpretation

So Dad is home back in the best country in the world - America. A few days after my parents arrived, I told them that I would like to put on my blog what they thought of their trips. To give you another opportunity for interpretation of my life. I hope you enjoy what my dad has to say (although some of it was hard for me to hear, the thing that I love is that he knows now, rather than just guessing or assuming what my life is like):

Interesting -
Best: Seeing the leadership of Ndem advance its people in many ways; art,culture, science, technology and health.
Least: As an engineer my life and work are built around improving upon thecurrent model ... of everything. So, as normal, my expectation was to havemany ideas on how things should be changed to make the Peace Corps workbetter. But, I am not the one to ask how to change the way it works. Myanswers would be of no help. I suggest you look to the current volunteersfor good answers.

Food -
Best: We arrived at the beach resort La Pierre de Lisse. We enjoyed anice lobster dinner that surpassed any meal I have ever had before. The other meals were also terrific.
Worst: Spicy beans on a dry French baget for breakfast. This is a moderntraditional meal and Kira enjoys it almost daily. She can have mine aswell. To be honest I think I put on a bit of weight on this trip as Ienjoyed about everything I ate. While I did not have much in the way ofstomach distress, my wife had a bad bout of travelers-runs. She got to seefar more of Kira’s bathroom accommodations that desired. She was leftbehind for a day to get better, which she did thank heavens. But, thesefolks need more peanut butter in their diet.

Hotel -
Best: While the La Pierre was clearly charming, with its TIKI hut stylerooms, ocean view, and elegant pool. I don't want to spend my whole timetalking about the La Pierre so I am going to pass them by. (That said, Irecommend this resort to all American parents - just make sure you haveeither French or Wolof speaking skills and a healthy amount of money in youraccount) So for my money, the Dakar Savanna gets this vote, the pool wasfun, the bed was softer, the beach looked nice, the poolside bar wasenjoyable and all in all it was great.
Worst: This is a bit unfair as we only stayed for a couple hours as wearrived after our overnight flight. We did come back the next evening justbefore heading out of the city. We were so tired I don't remember much ofthis. The hotel was called Hotel du Phare (lighthouse) and was near Kira's side of town. On the first night, Erin a friend of Kira's needed a place so she spent the nightonly to suffer from bed-bug bites. They were loud outside our room late atnight and early in the morning as we were just off the lobby.

Transportation-
Best: We got around mostly in cab rides. We used the sept place ("setplace") to go longer distances. These are small economy station wagons inwhich you pack 7 people. I think it was when we were getting from a townoutside Dakar back to the city (the memory blurs) but Kira took upconversation with the driver in Wolof the native tongue. He of courseoffered his hand in marriage. Kira complimented his car and he acknowledgethat he had no money left for a wife right now as he was wanting severalwives. Anytime I got to ride anywhere no matter what, I enjoyed watchingout the window. Another interesting trip was heading to Ndem through thecountryside. The "road" to the village was a charett path (horse-drawntrailer). It would compare to a fire-lane through a remote NorthernWisconsin forest. But the interesting thing was that people wereencountered all along the way - much like a trip to town here at home.
Worst:We got in a sept-place for another ride and a man got in and promptly told uswhen he found out we were Americans that Osama bin Laden is his favoriteleader. This should scare all of us. But perhaps by having a car ride witha family of Americans who were friendly and “normal” might give him adifferent impression of us. His view of us comes entirely from the TV showssuch as "24" and news reports. This my friends gives the rest of the worlda very misleading twisted view of us as a people. The fact that we as apeople and our government do nothing about this is nothing short of stupid.
I think I also dislike Kira having to negotiate the price each time. But, Iadmit she was quite good at it. She has to get a bit nasty in some cases.She needs to make sure this is viewed as part of the game and not part oflife. We as a people should not live comfortably with conflict in themundane portion of our lives. I feel bad for the drivers who clearly didnot make much money on several of our trips. The cars did not fall apartfor us on the road but 50% of the cars on the road there would be in ajunkyard here in America.

Surprises-
Best: The people. They were interesting, kind and caring. They wereintelligent, hard working, and had the same values as me. They were familycentered, and have a great culture. They are truly a handsome people. Thewomen walking and working along the roads were often in beautiful clothing.
Worst: My daughter is taking risks with her health and welfare that make afather worry. (I am known to be a worrier.) She drinks the water untreated,she gets skin infections and lots of bug bites. She gets around in atransportation system that is not known for its safety. She eats riskyfoods. She travels a lot. She stands out and attracts attention to herpresence. She lives so far from good medical attention that she can notexpect to call 9-1-1 and get help when it is needed. I fully intend to rideher butt for the next year to take fewer risks. This girl needs her daddylooking over her shoulder…

Insight -
Best: My opinion is the single biggest thing the Peace Corps does for theworld is it puts our best people in touch with the people of the world. Ofcourse the projects matter, but the shear presence is the thing thatmatters. Our new President, who I am saying with confidence will beextracted from Africa, has an opportunity to change America's relationshipwith the world. This change in global relationships has the potential to bethe most significant since World War II - and the atomic bomb. It will beinteresting to see if we leverage this or squander the opportunity.

Thing about the trip:
Best: The best part of the trip was hearing Kira's laughter.
Worst: Having to leave both my wife and daughter behind.

Work and Play

Alright. I admit. It’s been too long since I have written. But I’ve been busy! Planning a girl’s night, helping train the new volunteers, artisan work… what else? I spent a weekend in Dakar and I really just wanted to hang out with friends, play softball and swim at the pool but added to that, I also worked on a lot of translating for Ndem. Let me explain.

My ultimate goal when working with my artisans is to find them clients in America since they export to 5 countries in Europe but just not home! A few months ago we got into contact with West African Trade Hub and they came to meet some of the employees in Dakar and we have been put on their contact list for buyers in America. This is a huge start! And then just about a month ago, we got an invite from WATH to go to a week long expo in Burkina Faso and a 2-day expo in Mali. Well, the weren’t able to find the funds to send anyone to Burkina but I talked to the General Manager (Abdou) of Ndem telling him how important this would be for Ndem to go to meet American buyers in Mali. He said he’d talk to the president/religious chief to see if funds could be possible. A week later, I asked Abdou what the pres had said and he admitted he hadn’t yet asked. So since the power was out, and there’s not a whole lot else we can do, I went along with Abdou and met with the Pres and VP to discuss this huge opportunity. I guess I am pretty good at persuading! We got Abdou the money to go to this expo in Bamako, Mali under the condition that we prepared all the documents (contracts, brochures, price lists, etc) since they needed translating. And by “we”, I mean “I”. I had my hands full but in the end, it was worth it. I haven’t seen Abdou since he is back from the expo but I called him during the event and it seems like it was a success.

My girls’ night went SO well! I hope to get the pictures off my friend’s camera soon. I didn’t think it would go well since kids take a few weeks to trickle into school much unlike our first day of school. I harassed the principals enough and out of my 36 girls, I have 31 show and quite a few family members and school employees. Erin, my friend, counted 48 people! I gave all the girls certificates and had food and cold fantas and cokes for everyone.

So after a busy October – it’s been play time! Mom and Dad got in on Sat the 25th. We relaxed on the beach in Dakar for a day, and then went to Thies to meet my host family (during training) and all my 9 siblings. My host mom is a tailor (and an amazing one at that) so we went to the market and bought Mom some styling fabric to get a nice dress made. We ate the Senegalese traditional plate chebbu jen (fish and rice) and just hung out before getting back into the car and headed to Bambey. We had an uneventful night but the next day was busy with Mom and Dad dressed in Senegalese outfits and all my friends and work partners came over for chebbu ganaar (chicken and rice). They learned some of the greetings and although I had to coach them through some of the customs, they are quick learners and it went very well. It was a great day!

The next day, Dad and I went to the village of Ndem. Mom needed a day to rest her tummy so we spent the morning wandering around the workshops and talking with the religious leader. We relaxed all afternoon in the heat (mom complained about my room being 98….that’s nothing) and left the next morning for P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E! My host family in Thies is a real big family and my “uncle” is married to a French woman and they own this beach resort. We spent our time between the ocean, pool and 3 course meals. We even went on a safari! Okay, it is nothing like the Lion King but we saw antelope, gazelle, giraffes, ostriches, crocs, rhinos, tortoises, monkeys, and one zebra! It was such a nice vacation for me! And mom and dad just kept comparing it to Jamaica so I guess that’s a good thing.

So yesterday we were in Dakar saying goodbye to Daddy and planning the next week with mom. I think we are going to rough it on the beach… or not rough it at all but enjoy it out of my site! Senegal is fun with my parents but tiring with the language barriers. But I do love them here with me!

Eeyore Farts

Enough said right? What a smelly little guy! I was fencing off a small compost site in the "backyard" of my family's compound, hanging out with Eeyore, our donkey. Well, that's what I call him at least. And he farted when he said HEEE HAAAAW! How rude!

Anyways. So I have a compost site at home but stray cats have been eating the fish. We hope to invite the neighbors around to add to the pile as well. Should be cool. My compost site in the neighborhood hasn't started yet, which kinda bums me out. I hope to get it fenced off soon but am plenty busy with everything else!

In Ndem I am working on a new order in America. It is such a great opportunity for the artisans! But in the mean time I am working on translating every document, brochure and flyer that they have since everything is in French. Lots to do and not enough time to do it all!

Besides that, I will be working with my middle school girls. The looks on the girls' faces when they find out they won 30,000cfa (about $65) is priceless. I will have 2 friends come and help me with the certificat ceremony! I am splurging on these girls and am going to buy donuts and cans of soda, not something I can afford to do too often.

So life is good. Busy is better than uneventful I guess! Take care! Send more love in envelopes, my walls need more cards and photos of your pretty faces! :-)

She's Senegalese Now

So my week of training a “newbie” is finished. She arrived on Friday morning and left this evening. Her name is Ellen and she will soon be my closest neighbor, about 20k down the road. We got along very well and I think she will be a great volunteer. She is learning French right now since she hasn’t had any classes since high school but is doing so well for only being here 3 weeks! I wasn’t that confident with my language after just a few weeks, that’s for sure. Like I said, she will be great. I am very excited for her to move to Diourbel in November.

It was rather interesting being responsible to answer all the questions of a trainee. I brought in reinforcement! My best friend in Peace Corps came to spend the weekend with us. We made soup for dinner sent from America and talked about PC and gossiped about everything else. It was rather refreshing to be able to answer all the questions she asked, that I was asking last September. I even got to scold her for handing someone money with her left hand! I showed her how casual my work meetings are and a bit about public transport (like waiting over 2 hours at noon…). I was more exhausted than her in the heat as I introduced her to some past and many current work partners. We went to Diourbel for the day and I showed her the stores that sell ice cream, ate at the best restaurant in town and even introduced her to a future work partner. We biked to Ndem and she seems interested in working with artisans. She bought fabric in the market and my tailor made her look real good in 2 different Senegalese boubous.

I spent quite a bit of the time translating for her and telling the Senegalese that even though I speak Wolof, French is just as important to learn, since they just assume all whites speak it. (It was good practice for my translating duties when my parents arrive!) The Senegalese tend to compare us to each other quite often which is rather stressful at times. They told Ellen that I am now Senegalese and she soon will need to be as well. Me? Senegalese? I guess it’s a compliment. I have officially been told I am an integrated member of this culture. It’s a good feeling.

As for the next few weeks? I am going to be very busy. This weekend, I am getting part of my roof repaired (much needed since the tin has separated from the cement wall). I need to fence off my compost site and build a small compost area here in my family’s house protected from our goats. I need to go to all 3 middle schools to invite all my girls to a Soirée to celebrate my winners. All of this needs to get done before going to training for a few days, and before my parents get here on the 25th! I’m only kinda excited… NOT! Their 9 (daddy) and 15 (mom) days are going to go by too fast but I just can’t wait to be there at the airport to introduce them to their Senegalese daughter!

Liver on Korite, again

It’s that time of year again, when we buy a sheep and murder it to become out breakfast, lunch and dinner! Ramadan is officially over so I can try and get back into a normal routine of actually working with hydrated, happier people who are not constantly thinking about food. This year’s Korite is a bit different than last year’s. The big reason being I am no longer in training, the others being that I understand more what is going on and am no longer freaked out by the fact that the sheep was hanging out, eating grass one minute and on the grill the next! And what made it even more exciting is that I was reading the book Alive, about the survivors of a plane crash where they survived 70 days in the Andes eating the crash victims. Eating liver of a sheep and reading how they ate human liver… Not a good combo!

I am celebrating Korite with my host mom’s sister’s family. You know the little 3 year old, Khali, that was staying at our house? We are with his (very pregnant) mom and dad in Mbour for 3 nights. I have to admit, I was dreading this since I didn’t really know what the situation would be. Being a guest at someone’s house, when sometimes, I feel like I am still a guest at my own home. So we got here on Monday evening and I was surprised to how beautiful this house is, that was built not quite 2 years ago. It has a nice roof to sit out on, tile rooms and hallways and cement ceilings! On Tuesday, myself and a volunteer that lives about 45 minutes south met for lunch. Mbour is a beach city, populated with Senegalese and Saly, it’s neighbor is a city that is more like a foreigner’s paradise with restaurants, chic hotels and night clubs. Well my friend and I wandered around Mbour the day before Korite when everyone was still fasting, and to our surprise, there were no restaurants open! So we went and spoiled ourselves in Saly at a restaurant where I had a seafood pizza and bailey’s ice cream for dessert. Amazing.

So that way my day yesterday until around 10pm when the women (mom, sister and aunt) decided it was a good time to go to the market. WHAT?! I was in the market earlier that day and it was crowded with far too many people, way too many cars and a lot of mud and pools of water from the rain that morning. This didn’t stop us! The market was bustling with people all last minute shopping, but like a thousand times worse than the day before Christmas since they are all yelling, pushing and shoving and one wrong step could cause you to fall in a puddle of mud. We got back after midnight and I was exhausted.

This morning, I woke up and got ready to come downstairs and see that the cooking had begun. I was assigned to pealing and cutting potatoes into fries. I have a small blister on my hand from too many potatoes and the dull knife only cut me once. I didn’t have to witness the killing of the sheep today, which was nice, since I was in the kitchen. “Breakfast” was ready around 2 consisting of liver, ribs and onions. “Lunch” was only a few hours later, with more meat, onions, french fries and raw veggies. Who knows when “dinner” will be but I know that it will involve more sheep! After the second meal, at 6 I wandered around greeting friends of Khali’s dad. Honestly, I hate doing this. I am like this token to show off to their friends who can speak Wolof. After a few houses, when he was ready to take a taxi into town to continue this, I said it was time for me to return home. Ha! I wasn’t able to express myself in that way last Korite! Life is good. I got some work done on my computer and am able to relax in front of the fan and type to you.

Tomorrow we are getting picked up by the same chauffer that brought us out here to bring us back home to Bambey. My host mom hates transport during the holidays so paid a bit more to reserve us a comfortable ride. Then on Friday I will have a demyster (a brand new volunteer who just arrived in September) coming to stay with me for a week. Hopefully she will be the replacement for my closest neighbor! It’s kind of hard to believe that now it is my turn to host rather than be the one to get de-mystified! I have been here a while huh?

Make sure to enjoy the turning colors of the leaves! I miss fall just thinking about it. Here everything is just going to die but there are no maples to appreciate. Take pictures for me!

Colette

It is rather surprising to how much has changed in just 5 weeks. For example, there have been many changes around my house here in Bambey. The most noticeable is that of a missing family. There was a family of 6 renting 2 rooms within our family’s compound where they now no longer live. They provided plenty of drama (remember the story of how the mom gave birth ALONE at 3 in the morning?) and I guess my host mom has brought it to the police’s attention that they never paid her. Also, we have a new maid, but this time I really like her! Kolé is great, and all 3 of her precedents were nothing to write home about so that’s why I may have never mentioned them. She is wonderful. Another few changes are the 2 nephews of my host mom living with us. Granted it is just a temporary situation, but we now have a 3 year-old, Khali, and 5 year-old, Papy, here. They are hilarious. My favorite was when Khali went behind the donkey cart and when my host mom became worried, she said, “Khali, where are you, what are you doing?” His response: “I went to Spain”. The boys are very intrigued with the last and biggest change for me. I have adopted a cat.

Colette was my neighbor cat, meaning she was my second- closest- Peace Corps- neighbor’s cat. Lisa has since gone home to America. Colette needed some vaccines so she is here waiting out the time when in November, she will be put on a plane with a volunteer going home for Thanksgiving, who will then send her to Lisa. You may or not realize this about me – I have never had a cat. I sat down with a friend the night before bringing her home and asked the very basics. It is going well so far. She has made herself rather comfortable. I think her favorite spot is on top of my mosquito net. Yes: on top of it. I keep my net off of my bed during the day, but it’s tied at eye-level. This cat has figured out how to get up there and walk around until she gets comfortable. She meows like crazy and people in my car from Dakar were rather annoyed. I like her for her cricket-killing abilities. She fetches, better than most dogs have the patience for. She wakes me up by walking on me and lying down on my chest. I can’t read a book with out her pacing back and forth on the pages. She is a great cat. I don’t know if I am convinced enough to get a Colette-replacement come Thanksgiving, but it has crossed my mind. A lot has also stayed the same in Bambey. I go to appointments and people don’t show. Power outages are ever so frequent. It’s frickin’ hot. The rain still comes in my room, which I need to repair, again. Public transport is slow (150km in 6 hours – new record). But also, I love speaking in Wolof, drinking tea, eating dinner with my hands, riding my bike to Ndem (and sitting on the internet in the tiny village responding to emails and facebook messages), gossiping through text messages to other volunteers, and just hanging out. Senegal is great. It will get better when the rain stops and starts to cool again but I am willing to wait for just that!

5-4-3-2-1

5 weeks, 4 countries, 3 continents, 21 cities (Dakar, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Ischia, Syracuse, Messina, Palermo, Cefalu, Florence, Chambery, Annecy, Chamonix, Paris, Neenah, Milwaukee, West Bend, Green Bay, Grenoble, Venice, and Verona)

Overall it was great. But it feels really good to be back, in my room, not having to live out of a backpack. My host family even opened my room up and cleaned everything! I am a lucky girl.

In the last few days in Europe, I was trying to do everything that I wouldn’t be able to do in Senegal, like wear a hoodie, eat ice cream, drink wine in public while site-seeing with other crazy foreigners and not being judged or stared at by locals, not to mention all the while speaking English. I took many pictures of Grenoble, Venice and Verona but I broke my camera on my second to last day. All of them are lost, including pictures taken at home. Thank goodness I saved the first half of my trip online already. I’m rather upset but have yet again taken up the attitude that I really shouldn’t stress about the things I can’t control. Otherwise I would be a nutcase 24/7. I got my camera fixed and will begin taking pictures again soon.

Europe was fun. I think I had the most fun meeting other travelers, getting/giving advice about what to do and exchanging email addresses. It was difficult coming back to Europe after being home for only 10 days, and was rather depressed. But once I was on my way back, it started to be fun again and the people I was meeting only made it better. While wandering around one night with new friends in Rome, I even saw a couple get engaged! We were at the Trevi fountain, all lit up beautifully, and I saw him go down on his knee; pull out the ring, and she, speechless, was only able to kiss him. I think it was a yes!

There are some pretty spectacular things in Europe that will keep me coming back, but in my time abroad in the last year, I have really realized how wonderful our country is and how many people there are that I just can’t live without. I will eventually go back to Europe, but next time it will be more planned out and with someone else.

So now I am back to my Senegalese reality. I have plenty here to keep me occupied, that’s for sure! I got in this afternoon and started greeting everyone and handing out a few gifts. It’s Ramadan so no one is eating anything so I will save the hard candies for later but they seem to enjoy most the photos that I printed out of them and a brand new soccer ball. I plan to greet, talk, fast (well I did just one day and that was enough – give me a break, going from a European-American diet to no food and water in 100 degrees, 1 day, like I said, plenty)and hand out presents for the next 2 days. I am going to Dakar to see off some volunteers who are leaving, while also in the next few weeks I get to train the new volunteers who just got in last week. I will be going to Ndem, planning a girl’s night to celebrate my 3 scholarship winners, composting, fish selling and who knows what else! It stresses me out to think of everything I have to do but I wouldn’t have it any other way. 14 months to go! Now I just need to re-acclimate to the awfully hot weather…

Spotted Cow

Some of my favorite things about home:

Spotted Cow, Nakashima's, outdoor seating at restaurants, canoeing, sports games and tailgating, hooded sweatshirts, talking about the new lives of my grown-up friends and dreaming that I may be just that in a year (or 2), future PCVs Kate (Micronesia) and Matt (Kenya) and all their questions, coaches, good news from doctors, phone calls and text messages on my grandmas razor, and NorthWest Airlines (TOTALLY KIDDING)

Being in Wisconsin was wonderful! I enjoyed so much seeing friends and family and spending time with my brother. The not so fun part of vacation was seeing how much pain he is in, how slow the healing process is going, and having to leave as scheduled since NW Airlines is a horrible company that makes no exceptions to their no-change policy.

So here I am back in Grenoble where I studied abroad almost 4 years ago. This time im just staying in a hotel and playing tourist. I just don't get lost like usual! I am happy to be staying a second night and will go out to my favorite wine bar. Yesterday I hiked up my mountain and felt wierd not calling mom at the phone booth on the bottom for her to call me on me cell on the way up, like we alsways used to do. It was a beautiful day and probably have a few duplicate photos from last time.

I have made reservations -- crazy for me, I know! But I just don't want things to go wrong on my way back. I will be here tonight, tomorrow staying with the French guy I met on my way up to Paris 2 weeks ago, then taking a train to Venice to stay for 2 nights, Verona 1 night, Florence 2 nights, and Rome 1 before flying back to Senegal. Hope this all works out!

If I saw you on vacation is wasn't for long enough. I truely miss home, maybe more now than what I thought. Plans to get internet installed in my room in Bambey have begun so contacting me will be easier than ever! If I didn't see you while in Wisconsin, you probably shouldn't have moved west! but I should be there as planned in 2010!
Take care Tofer, miss and love you!

Home Sweet Home

Wow it is just wonderful in here, this country called home. I got in yesterday to Neenah, a day later than planned. That was an expensive mistake. My advice? Don't ever miss a flight after purchasing tickets online... you don't get your money back. And I wish I had a better excuse for missing it... I wanted a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower. Lame. I know. Then it took quite a while to get to the airport, about an hour longer than I expected and I didn't make the check-in. Oh well, I have pretty amazing parents, since, here I am - in good ol' Wisconsin!

So the rest of my trip? I told you I was in Sicily. I did like it; wished I could have made a winery tour but the only one available was a 7 day tour... no good for me! I hung out on the beaches and relaxed since I started getting a cold. I blame all the travel on the trains. So I took a (miserable) night train up to Florence. I slept on the floor in the aisle, trying to keep warm with a towel. But I think Florence is thus far my favorite city in Italy. Amazing. I will upload pictures soon, when I get the chance. It was beautiful there and I had a great hostel as well so ended up staying 2 nights rather than traveling to Venice in order to catch up on sleep, hang out with other American travelers and see the city.

From Florence, I left at about 11am with plans to either stay the night in Milan or Turin. Well I arrived to both and decided I didn't want to be in Italy anymore. I couldn't wait to get to France to be able to speak to people again, especially since I was having a few problems in Turin. I tried to find a hostel to make reservations anywhere, Italy or France, or a train to go directly to Grenoble, but was unsuccessful. My stubborn and exhausted-of-Italian mood came out, so I got on a train going toward Paris, where I would just get out in Chambery to switch trains to get into Grenoble. Or so I thought.

Another problem in Turin was the fact that the train was booked so I couldn't purchase a ticket, but they told me if I just got on the train, I would have to pay an extra 8 euro to make it to my destination. Sweet. So I got on and sat on a flip-out chair in the aisle (again) but the guy checking tickets NEVER checked me! I got a free 63 euro train ride. I'll take it. And then I sat next to a French guy, also sitting in a flip-down chair, who was awesome. I realized I can successfully have a conversation in French and only one or two Wolof words came out. He was great and offered me to stay at his apt, which I turned down in desperate hope to get to Grenoble. So I got out at my stop, which was his home, when it started pouring! I didn't bring anything to keep me warm... I was planning on a Mediterranean vaca, not a mountainous one! So I borrowed his phone, found out the hostel in Grenoble was booked and although I could have gotten on the train to get there and find something else, I didn't really want to do that in the rain at 11pm. So I went to Cyril's house!

He was so nice. We made a pesto-pasta dinner and he took me around to see the chateau in Chambery and other touristy sites after lending me a sweater that he ended up giving to me to keep! His roommate is actually Senegalese and was really interested in meeting him, but never got the opportunity since he got home late and I left by 7:30 to get on a train to go to Chamonix, with a layover in Annecy, another beautiful lake city with mountains all around.

Chamonix is still my favorite city in the entire world. I love it! I got in late, found a hostel and went out for an amazing dinner. I figured since the night before that I had a free dinner and night's stay, I could treat myself to a demi-bottle of wine and tartiflette (traditional cheesy potatoes). The next day I climbed a ski run to not-quite-the-top of a mountain looking down on Chamonix. It was a real tough climb, just as difficult down as up. I was wishing for snow and skis the whole time but the view was incredible. I decided I need to buy a chalet in Chamonix when I am rich. There isn't too much available in my budget at this time.

From Chamonix, I took a night train to Paris. Got in nice and early, at 6, put my luggage in storage and wandered the streets before missing my flight and coming back to find a hostel that evening. I was exhausted and rather upset, so I made dinner and was in bed early. Crazy for me but honestly, all I wanted was to be home.

Kristofer is still uncomfortable and confusing doctors with his chest pain. All I want is for him to feel better. It is amazing being home, sitting here watching a Brewer game while writing this blog, sitting in between my dad and brother, after a sushi dinner at Nakashima's. Life is good. Keep my bro in your thoughts. We need him to get better ASAP! As for plans in Neenah? A few dinners out and a Brewer game on Monday, but I don't have much else so feel free to give me a call. I would love to see you!

Oh Sicilia!

Italy is wonderful. I spent 2 nights in Rome waiting for my luggage to catch up with me. Well, I didnt wait in the hostel... I walked, or more like wandered, the streets. Rome is great but on a strict budget i didnt go inside much and decided to spend my money on better things, like gelatto! Mom, Dad and I hit all the touristy sights when we visited Rome 4 years ago. All thats left is the Sistine Chapel that I will hit on my way out!

I traveled south from Rome to Naples. Overall, not impressive. Nearly left on the next train after seeing the neighborhood where my hostel was but I decided to give it a chance. Downtown, it was nice and there was a great view from a mountain. I daytripped to Pompeii, which in year 79AD a volcano errupted covering a whole city. Now it is a tourist attraction... the entire city! Pretty cool! Another day trip out of Naples was to an island called Ischia. I wish I would have spent 3 days there rather than anytime in Naples! Loved it!

I left Naples at midnight to spend the night on the train to Sicily. Sat in a 6 person cabin with a nun, an english speaking couple and an italien in his 30s who hogged 2 seats. I didnt sleep at all until he got off at like 5am. But then the 3 others freed up the 3 person bench just for me! Living in Africa, traveling on a budget... gotta milk it for all its worth right?

I spent the day in Siracusa and took a boat tour to some island caves and then went to Messina to spend the night. Got up early and caught a 3 hour train to Palermo, where I am now. It's located where the big toe would be of the boot of Italy! Amazing beach just a 20 min bus ride from the hostel and today I hope to find a vineyard.

So whats the plan now? (since they have changed a bit) I will take a night train to Florence and spend the night, then to Venice for the day to Turin for the night. Then to Grenoble, to Paris and then.... to Neenah Wisconsin! My brother has been real sick; a doctor's mystery for far too long. He was diagnosed with Diabetics Neuropothy a few days ago and is responding well to meds, thank goodness! So I will be in America to see him and anyone else who may want my company August 25 through September 5!

Stepping off the plane

In training, our trainer said something like “Get off the jumbo jet, and take the train”. He was comparing the work ethic, style and way of doing things in America compared to Senegal. I have this quote written on my wall and think about it often. The problem is, though, that I am American, and some things never change.

Today was my second town meeting about the compost project in Bambey. The last one followed my vacation in Kedougou so I wasn’t around to invite anyone so this time I tried my best to go to people’s houses, talk with them about the meeting and the plans that I have for the future, and fully convince them to show up. 5/8 success. The one man that didn’t show up was there like 2 minutes after the meeting was scheduled and left since no one was there (expected, since no one in Senegal comes for the first hour of a scheduled meeting). Another showed up as we were all leaving. Whatever. I’ll take it.

Instead of planning a powerpoint or something technical, I put an outline of topics to discuss on flip chart paper for everyone to read. I mentioned how I only have a year left of service but will dedicate half of my work to the compost project. I told them we have been given a plot of 30 square meters of land. Then I began talking about how we should go about training and who the important people should be, who will monitor the compost and who will help write a budget. I was then cut off. They don’t care who runs the compost facility nor who will help set up the fence around it. They need to only concentrate on how to get the door-to-door trainings accomplished. I agree! Honestly I agree it is the most important part but all I can think about is November of 2009 when I am on a plane outta here and I don’t know if by that time anything will be accomplished. Shouldn’t we at least mention how we want things to turn out in the next 3, 6, 12 months? Why do they leave everything else up to God? Yes, things can change, but then we can change out plan; alter it to fit the new situation. This is just not the case.

So I am slowing myself down, again. It’s ok. I really wanted to get the application completed for the PC partnership for money but since that isn’t on the priority right now; I have to wait until after my vacation. All the women are meeting on the 12th to discuss funding they received from another organization so they can travel to Mauritania and Mali to buy from markets there and sell them here for a profit. That’s great and all, even though it has nothing to do with the project, but it means that all the women are actually going to show up for the meeting, unlike my meetings since I have no money to offer. I still haven’t met them all yet. And I fly out the morning of the 12 so I can’t meet them.

Who knows if the men who were at my meeting tonight will show up to this women’s group meeting on the 12th. I can encourage them to show but there isn’t a whole lot I can do besides that. All I know is that whether anything gets done while I am traveling or not, I will have work to do when I get back. Although none of my questions were answered at my meeting, it was still a good meeting. And now all I can think about is stepping of the plane in Rome and catching a few trains to see some unfamiliar Mediterranean Sea!

Top 10

10 reasons I think I deserve to go on vacation:

1. I killed 5 mosquitoes, full from a night of feasting, this morning who took up residence inside my net.
2. When one rash goes away, another comes
3. My room leaks... a lot
4. Power outages all the time!
5. Many cancelled meetings because of rain
6. 3 books read in 3 days (I broke my computer and its getting fixed)
7. No compost site yet: we have no mayor so the job keeps getting passed on to the next guy
8. I rub deet mosquito repelent all over like body lotion daily
9. I sweat all the time
10. Havent been to France since Spring of 05... I'm due

Just 10 days until gelatto :P

The 10 things I need to do before I leave:

1. Meet with my host mom's womens group about funding a possible garden
2. Door to door trainings about composting (like all 40 will get done in the next week! not being negative... just realistic)
3. GET A COMPOST SITE which was supposed to happen like 2 weeks ago
4. Go to Thies: pick up my new pants and dress, see the host family, pick up my computer, check internet and meet a friend's mommy!
5. meet with a compost steering group: but they don't really know yet that they are in it so first I have to convince them to join the group and then to show up to the meeting... hmmm
6. plant a lime tree! host mom wants a new tree, i want something to do and host sister likes limes!
7. set up my room with many many buckets to catch the rain
8. make a list of everyone to buy gifts for in italy
9. call or visit all work partners!
10. PACK for the most amazing vacation of all time!

Have I mentioned that its just 10 days away? 10 days until:

1. I can wander around and not be stared at or called toubab
2. i dont have to tell anyone where i am going or where I am coming from
3. eat whenever i am hungry
4. stop eating whenever i am full
5. be confused when people speak a foreign language... wait a minute... but not get ridiculed when i dont understand
6. eat gelatto!
7. drink wine!
8. I wont have to greet and shake everyone hands whenever i walk into a room... even though i will have the tendancy to do it anyways!
9. i can expose my knees
10. i can opperate on my own schedule!!! yey!!

10 days friends. 10 days!

Ranking System

My host sister Ndack is 16 meaning she is the bottom of the food chain in our house since its just her and my host mom Fatou and I. There is a strick system kids learn very young here in Senegal that they must follow in order to not get hit by a tree branch! So this ranking system has now been changed since Ndack went to live with her aunt for a month during vacation! I know am obviously younger than my host mom meaning I heat up dinner; I bring her water; I sweep up after lunch... damn I have officially been put in my place! It does feel good though. In the beginning I was served to and treated too well and didnt like it that way since I am supposed to be integrated into the family and such. Its official! I am!

Work was pretty easy this weekend! It rained plenty and so I got guilt-free time to spend re-organizing my room and reading. I needed to move my room around since when it rains it pours! And I mean in my room... I have a puddle that collects in one corner that used to be where my armoire was. I also got to plant a mango tree in the compound. I was too late in making a tree nursery. Next year I will be able to do it so this year I bought a mango tree that comes up to my waist for about a dollar. I put him, my tree that is, on my porch while I built a goat-free home. I turned my back for 5 mintues and the frickin goats got into my porch and ate 6 precious leaves! Ah! That's when I got Gista, the dog out and tried my best to scare the goats into the back. Here again is a ranking system: Gista beats up on the 2 baby goats and baby sheep but comes to be crying when she gets head-butted by the mom. I outrank the mommy goat who ate my tree so we obviously dont get along! Every chance they get, I swear they go on to my porch and poop... ah. Anyways, I planted my thinned out tree in a beautiful santuary that hopefully will also sprout some sunsflowers in a week or so! Ill take pictures if it turns out to be anything impressive!

I met our acting mayor (we dont have a mayor, just a president of something, politics here are very confusing) for the second time to talk about the compost project. The first time I didnt get the best impression of him. But this time we explained our progress and he was happy and very open. He mentioned that he currently has an order for 50 bags of compost from the PC Joal site! He works at an agriculture training center and if I understood correctly, works with an initiative of president wades wife of growing organic bissap. He is all about a project here and we have his full support. Astou Kan was so happy after our meeting and saw one of the guys we intend in working on the project with outside the mayors office. She chewed him out for not coming to the meeting, something that I wanted to do but was... well.. outranked. She is such a great work partner! We should have a designated compost spot next week and we will start going house to house training everyone in the neighborhood on the 1st. Hope that goes well!

Heading to Ndem tomorrow! Hope to work more on the IFAT application and work with the West African Trade Hub. Its an organization that is great with artisans all over W Africa. There is someone coming from WATH to Dakar next week that wants to help Ndem branch into America. This could be the link that we need! I get to meet the representative at the end of the month and hopefully bring Abdou, my work partner in Ndem.

Friday my PC supervisors are coming to town to meet all my work partners and make sure that Im not only on vacation here in Senegal. It will be fun to show them around since the last time they were here I didnt know anyone! Then is time to celebrate Mandis birthday all weekend! I think I need a break from my new spot at the bottom of the food chain! I get to be an American for 3 days before coming back to claim my integrated place in society next week!

Composting Project

As I have said before, it is a slow start as a first volunteer at a new site working with Small Enterprise Development. There has never been a volunteer in Bambey – which honestly has its perks along with downfalls. People see white skin and think money so ask me for it ALWAYS but there is no one to really compare me to in matters of personality and language skills. Other volunteers can’t go a day without hearing about their “anciens” or predecessor. But this has also been frustrating in terms with work. Agriculture volunteers work with trees and plant things every day, health volunteers work at health centers, teachers at schools, eco-tourism at campements… get the idea? I tell Senegalese that I work with small business and they say: “I have a small business! Work with me!” Yes, you and everyone else have a boutique selling the same thing. Those aren’t the people I want to work with. But as a SED volunteer, I can do just about whatever I want. It has just taken a long time to figure that out and who I want to work with. 10 months and 3 days in country – I found a permanent work partner who will be come my replacement volunteer’s counterpart.

AstouKan is a women’s group president interested in getting a compost project started in Bambey. I gave her a “test” when I went to Kedougou. I printed out over 50 invitations to hand out to the neighborhood. I got back and met with her. All the invites went out and she let a few officials know. I still had to figure everything out with the movie but I was in shock that she did everything I said!

There were a ton of technical problems on Wednesday, the day of our “town meeting”. First, I arranged to have a projector from a doctor at the health center. No problem right? Except that he forgot that he had an all-day seminar Wednesday. Should have been fine but power went out making them run late. So at 4, an hour before my meeting, I went to World Vision, called their director and got him to say it was ok for me to borrow theirs, even though a week prior, they said no. So all set right? Got the room set up at the Mayor’s Office and then the projector wouldn’t cooperate with my computer. Meanwhile, I had a friend at a cyber trying to help and set up speakers, which also weren’t working. So an hour and a half of fooling around with this, the other projector shows up. Now I have 2, but neither work. I called people from World Vision, had just about everyone who knows anything about computers come and look , meanwhile, Senegalese are starting to filter in the room to watch the display of a very stressed out toubab rather than a professional presentation. Finally, at like 7, someone sends for their manager of a microfinance organization to come with his laptop. Of course his works! So we played the movie, without very loud speakers, but at least everyone got the idea. Only 25 people showed up, but that’s just how it goes. People said I need to have live music, or at least a DJ and lots of food in order for people to come. AstouKan was also bummed more people didn’t show but there isn’t a whole lot we can do: except to go door to door in the neighborhood to let everyone know… sweet.

The day after all this, I stopped by AstouKan’s and talked with her about what to do. She said she didn’t want to wait too long until we pick out a site for the compost facility. I mentioned that I will be going on vacation in a month, for a month so (without even asking questions about that) she said Monday is when we will go to the mayor’s office to plan it out. After that, we will sit down and plan a budget. If that meeting goes well, I will write up a demand for money from the Peace Corps Partnership Program. The PCPP is pretty cool. I will fill out paperwork on information about my project, how many people it will benefit and what my goals and objectives are. Whatever money is budgeted, my community will have to provide 25%. PC will put it up on a website and people can check it out and donate money online. Can you do that for me? For the application to be complete, I need 5 names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of individuals, businesses, schools or foundations interested in donating to the project. If you are interested in being a part of this list, please e-mail me at keuhn.kira214@gmail.com and I will thank you forever! I will let you know of this more when I get to that point, but my goal is to have the application complete and turned in before Europe in like 3 weeks. (eeeeeeeeeee!!!)

So as for work, I am much happier knowing a compost project is under way. If I can get a good start to it for my replacement volunteer, he or she will have a much better start that the 10 months it took me to get going. So let’s hope the next few weeks go well: going door-to-door, explaining the project, teaching separation techniques of organic and inorganic trash, budget planning and learning my way around messed up African political systems! Wish me luck!

Fly Season

Back from Dakar. My foot is nearly healed, just a little puffy and tender in one spot. Honestly it is the smallest cut now that in America would have been perfectly fine. Here, I needed ten days of antibiotics. Gotta love Africa.

I have spent my time wandering around Bambey greeting people. Hope to get some more work done with people before I leave for Europe. After just over a week, people say they missed me and that they thought I forgot all about them. They all ask for gifts. It’s rather stressful leaving and coming back. Not looking forward to that after my 35 day Euro-tour. But I am very much looking forward to Italian pasta, Greek men (oops, did I say that?) and French cuisine. 31 days – but who’s counting?

As for work, I am very happy with how my women’s group president handled things while I was away. We are planning a sort-of town meeting next week. I hope to ask a few questions about what people think can be done, show the DVD of the compost project in Joal, south of Dakar, and get contacts of people interested in helping. I really need authoritative support as well as an entire neighborhood to show up to see what this is all about. Hopefully we have a good turn-out. This may be a big project and we will need funding but I think it will be a great project to start here and leave for my replacement volunteer.

Other stuff that is going on: My fish salesman makes a great profit. Finally got him to admit that to me. He doesn’t need funding, in my opinion, and could expand his business whenever. It’s a motivation thing. But I have made contacts with 2 villages: one that I want to send a volunteer there next year and another that may get funding from my contacts at World Vision. My other women’s group is out in the fields farming. It is the rainy season so EVERYONE is working and there isn’t much spare change lying around. We will pick up projects after the rain. My porridge training won’t go. At least I haven’t heard from my president and refuse to work with the man at CEDEPS. I’ll call her soon enough but think that project also needs to wait until food is less scarce after the harvest. Price of everything is high. Propane tends to even run out and prices are almost double.

What else is new in Bambey? Flies. Mosquitoes. Humidity. Heat rash. Just to name a few. Mosquitoes really only come out at night and I have screens so just refuse to sit and watch TV with my family. But the flies! Sick! They are everywhere, crawling all over everything and everyone! The humid air has given me this wonderful, prickly rash all over my back that I am guessing will spread everywhere else until I leave this continent. 31 days… Have I ever mentioned that it is hot?! And I slept horribly last night. Oh story – woke up in a panic last night thinking someone was trying to break in at 12:30. I tried to let my eyes adjust since I was worried this “burglar” would see my flashlight. But then I couldn’t stand it and shined my light in that direction. Come to find out, what I was hoping wasn’t on the outside of my door was actually on the inside! A nasty, stray cat somehow got in my room, probably when I was eating dinner and I was so frightened of it! I first texted 3 friends, to try and figure out what to do! I considered staying in my bed and dealing with it in the morn but knew that wasn’t a good idea. So I got up, opened both my doors, turned on all my lights and had to yell and throw things under my bed to get it out from under there. My heart was pounding for like 10 minutes after. I prefer dogs.

Enjoy your summer for me. Summer’s here just aren’t that great. Sorry I am not my normal, positive self. It’s difficult. I still like it here, don’t want to leave, but know very well it is easier elsewhere. Like maybe a lifeguarding position when every 20 minutes you can splash water on yourself, every hour go down the slide and constantly hope some kid is in distress in the deep end. Yea, now that’s a sweet job.