So last weekend was the Muslim New Year. They celebrate by eating millet and cross-dressing. The latter part of that I didn’t get to be a part of nor witness since I can’t be two places at once. I sure to try sometimes though! I initially had plans to visit a friend’s village and celebrate there but the celebration is late a night and I wanted to be in Dakar early Saturday morning for softball. I’ll visit the village some other time and the “cere” or millet was delicious, provided by the family of a friend in Dakar.
So Saturday we had our softball games with a break in the middle with plenty of time to swim some laps and lay out at the Atlantic Club. I’m so happy I brought my cap and goggles even though I thought they were just comfort items among all the necessities in my 100 pounds of luggage! Sunday we went out for a seafood dinner on the western most tip of Africa (I’m as close to you as I can get without crossing the Atlantic!). The 5 of us shared 2 huge piles of clams and I had mussels and boiled calamari. I think I splurged and spent about seven dollars! At sunset even! I do like it here!
It has occurred to me that you may not understand the difference between my two homes. I will try my best to explain… Ndem is a small village of about 500 people. It is divided into 3 areas. The first is a guarded area just off the main road. It has 12 workshops, a gallery and office, where I hang out. All the artisans have their place, for example the metal workers have a building in the front and the weavers are near the back. All the buildings are painted white and blue, as they are in the next section of the village. Outside the artisan center, there is a mosque and the entrance to the neighborhood where the Marabou lives. There are probably 10 houses of permanent residents and just that many more buildings for people who come and go like me! Animals are kept in cages and there is beautiful landscaping. On the outside of that section, there is a gathering of huts that make up the population of the village where there is a microfinance credit mutual and a health center. 350 employees work in Ndem coming from 15 villages totaling about 8,500 people. A power line goes out from Bambey so we have power in the office but not many huts have power. There are several taps through out the village but not everyone has a “robinet” as the French call it. These villages that surround depend on water they collect from wells.
Now for my explication of Bambey: it is a city of about 25,000. There is a daily market, boutiques, cybers, and hardware stores. We’ve got just about everything I need! There are animals, pigs, sheep and goats that roam, and sometimes I see chickens and turkeys (and wonder how they would taste), and donkeys and horses are tied up that eat the garbage that is blowing around. We do have a designated place on the outside of the city where garbage goes, but if people don’t bring it there, it just goes in the street. And the street! There is a blacktop road that divides the city a few ways, otherwise its just sand. But the blacktop isn’t used anymore for anyone besides pedestrians since it is so worn out that cars and horse/donkey carts cant use it and just use the sand next to it. As for security, I’ve never had any problems, but everyone keeps their compounds locked up by huge metal doors. It isn’t very welcoming but I have seen this same set up in other parts of the world, like France and Brazil. I guess it works for them, although I miss my grassy front yard!
So people here are always looking for jobs and I am trying my best to find Ndem some more clients, ahem, those in America looking for beautiful fair trade products! Help wanted signs don’t exist here since everyone wants a job. Men in their 20s are trying to attend class, find work or apply for visas, the thing is since all education here is paid for by the government, teachers strike and they usually have to go to Dakar to find work, or abroad. BRAIN DRAIN is a way of life. I can hope to help the women in my town since they all stay here. I want to teach them how to manage the money they do have since when men do send money, they need to know what to do with it. I sure have my work cut out for me, right?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Normality
So I was talking online with my mom and dad the other day, since I can do that now that we have internet at home. (Yes, I quite possibly am one of the most spoiled Peace Corps Volunteers). It was my host mom’s idea! She figured since both my sister and I go to the cyber often enough, this is worth it! Awesome! Anyways. In talking to mom, my real one that I love the most, I realized there are quite a few things that have become normal and sometimes I need to take a step back and realize that I am living in Africa and some people consider that kind of different!
For example, every day I get up and get a sandwich for breakfast. At first I prided myself in getting out of the family compound but really there is no choice for milk and cereal. One because there is no grocery store to provide Honey Bunches of Oats and two, because I have no way of keeping milk cold. I was told I would be given a fridge but it hasn’t happened yet. These sandwiches are amazing though! The only type of bread here is like a fresh French baguette. And I get either an onion sauce, or hard boiled eggs and mayo, or spaghetti noodles with a spicy oil sauce. Not exactly pancakes but delicious! Chebb u jën or rice and fish for lunch and most every night I eat with my hands. Not to mention that I never use my left hand for anything anymore! No big deal!
Another thing that is normal is falling back on French. My language skills have really improved. Dad reminded me of this when he mentioned that in my last blog entry I said that I understand Wolof. The truth is for the most part I do. And when I don’t understand, I ask for clarification in French. I never thought English could be so useless! Don’t get me wrong, I love getting together and having care free conversations in English but I also really like that I can get away with my other two languages just after four months.
Bambey is now my home. It took a while to call it that but I absolutely love going away for the weekend and then coming back to sleep in my bed and use my shower. My family is very nice and I rarely can walk outside without someone shouting “OURIA”. Have I mentioned I’m the famous white person and that everyone wants to shake my hand? I don’t know what I am going to do when people don’t greet me in America. I may be very upset! All you have to do is ask about the weather and where I am going and where I was. I can always say, “I was there” and “I’m going for a walk” and “No, it’s not cold here, I am from a place where there is snow”. I am going to melt in April…
Overall, my life has started to become normal here and you will need to remind me to explain things for you. Like if you call me during the call to prayer you probably won’t be able to hear me, and rather my two nearest mosques that compete for airtime. Yet, it doesn’t faze me and I sleep right through them now. Muslim holidays are completely normal and honestly, don’t eat anything the day before and you won’t even need to the day after since the food is so good and there is too much to eat. Cold Fantas and Cokes have replaced other beverages that I used to drink casually but neex na! they are good! Please let me know if there is anything you want me to explain since I would love to! I didn’t know anything about this country before getting here and since I love it so much, I’ll answer anything because honestly, I’d like to help you understand a bit of my normal world a few thousand miles away from yours!
For example, every day I get up and get a sandwich for breakfast. At first I prided myself in getting out of the family compound but really there is no choice for milk and cereal. One because there is no grocery store to provide Honey Bunches of Oats and two, because I have no way of keeping milk cold. I was told I would be given a fridge but it hasn’t happened yet. These sandwiches are amazing though! The only type of bread here is like a fresh French baguette. And I get either an onion sauce, or hard boiled eggs and mayo, or spaghetti noodles with a spicy oil sauce. Not exactly pancakes but delicious! Chebb u jën or rice and fish for lunch and most every night I eat with my hands. Not to mention that I never use my left hand for anything anymore! No big deal!
Another thing that is normal is falling back on French. My language skills have really improved. Dad reminded me of this when he mentioned that in my last blog entry I said that I understand Wolof. The truth is for the most part I do. And when I don’t understand, I ask for clarification in French. I never thought English could be so useless! Don’t get me wrong, I love getting together and having care free conversations in English but I also really like that I can get away with my other two languages just after four months.
Bambey is now my home. It took a while to call it that but I absolutely love going away for the weekend and then coming back to sleep in my bed and use my shower. My family is very nice and I rarely can walk outside without someone shouting “OURIA”. Have I mentioned I’m the famous white person and that everyone wants to shake my hand? I don’t know what I am going to do when people don’t greet me in America. I may be very upset! All you have to do is ask about the weather and where I am going and where I was. I can always say, “I was there” and “I’m going for a walk” and “No, it’s not cold here, I am from a place where there is snow”. I am going to melt in April…
Overall, my life has started to become normal here and you will need to remind me to explain things for you. Like if you call me during the call to prayer you probably won’t be able to hear me, and rather my two nearest mosques that compete for airtime. Yet, it doesn’t faze me and I sleep right through them now. Muslim holidays are completely normal and honestly, don’t eat anything the day before and you won’t even need to the day after since the food is so good and there is too much to eat. Cold Fantas and Cokes have replaced other beverages that I used to drink casually but neex na! they are good! Please let me know if there is anything you want me to explain since I would love to! I didn’t know anything about this country before getting here and since I love it so much, I’ll answer anything because honestly, I’d like to help you understand a bit of my normal world a few thousand miles away from yours!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A road less traveled
So I made it! I biked to Ndem from Bambey and it was much easier than I thought it would be and damn! Did it ever feel good to get a bit of exercise. I’ve come to realize a few things that I am missing. Whenever I was stressed out in school I could go out for a run or rollerblade to the river. Here, I don’t exactly have that same choice. Greetings are super important here and if I ignore people they think that I am a rude toubab or even worse that I don’t understand them; and I do! So I haven’t gotten outside much to do anything besides walk and it frustrates me. Even that isn’t relaxing since people always want to talk and it doesn’t exactly clear my head. But I did it – went for a 45 minute bike ride on a bumpy gravel road 13k to Ndem. Now I’m just missing my ipod because of all songs to have stuck in my head, it was “Let it Snow”. Honestly.
When I got there I think somehow I became famous. Everyone was asking where I came from and how much strength I must have. Haha, if only they knew I used to rollerblade to and from work at the Neenah Pool every chance I got even though it was about 7 miles! I am sure trying to get everyone’s names down because they have no trouble with mine! I know the office well now and a few artisans are very friendly. I am still trying to make myself have a familiar face rather than just another toubab visiting. There are always so many people coming and going and I have yet to go to Ndem and not see someone there for the day checking the place out. Which I know is a great thing for Ndem, but not for me trying to get established with a reputation of actually knowing Wolof and wanting to get work done. I’ve got time right?
So I work with Abdou there and he showed me a few things that he’s done since I was last there and I showed him some of the research that I found online. If you don’t know what www.ifat.org is you should look it up. I am going to try my hardest to get Ndem’s organization non-gouvernemental certified as a fair trade ONG. They deserve the certification and I just have to research to make sure the kids there are doing “light work” rather than child labor and the environment isn’t being abused by how they care for the toxic waste from the dyes, for example. I don’t really know if I am the best one for this job but like I said, I’m sure going to try.
I hit kind of an emotional roadblock yesterday. I was extremely excited since as of this week, Ndem set up dial-up internet in the office! Hurray! It is much faster than I remember dial being when we first got the internet when I was kid and I was so happy for them to be able to check their email more often. That is there only way right now of receiving orders and they have a brand new client who sent in an order just this week and we hope to send their product out before the end of the month, Inshallah! The emotional roadblock was more because I was researching the option of having PayPal on their website. We’ll come to find out, Ndem isn’t exactly ready for that. The internet is a vast place and it may get out of hand too quickly. I have been thinking having internet is the first step to a great future of expanding the business but as my boss said in training: “Americans, get off the jumbo jet and take the train”. Yes sir. I am American and crave instant results but that’s just not how it works here. Soon enough; little victories: we have internet!
So 2 nights of village life and I was ready to come home. I prefer my mattress and my own bathroom with a shower. You can call me spoiled but even though my bucket bath outside under the trees and bright blue sky was wonderful, it loses is glory when the wind blows! And I got to eat with a spoon for lunch today rather than burning my hand on hot food. Although I have to say thank goodness my taste buds are changing quickly. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that vending machines and pantries don’t exist and by 3pm and 9pm I’ll eat anything! But I eat Senegalese couscous (aka millet) that, in the beginning had the consistency of sand, and yes, I eat beans. The day had to come right? I still refuse to eat them when I come home!
No real big plans besides going to visit a friend 22k away since its her bday and she left me for the last 3 weeks to spend the holidays in America. Otherwise I’ll be sticking around Bambey until our next softball game in Dakar! Send a card in the mail for me! I’d love to hang it on my wall!
When I got there I think somehow I became famous. Everyone was asking where I came from and how much strength I must have. Haha, if only they knew I used to rollerblade to and from work at the Neenah Pool every chance I got even though it was about 7 miles! I am sure trying to get everyone’s names down because they have no trouble with mine! I know the office well now and a few artisans are very friendly. I am still trying to make myself have a familiar face rather than just another toubab visiting. There are always so many people coming and going and I have yet to go to Ndem and not see someone there for the day checking the place out. Which I know is a great thing for Ndem, but not for me trying to get established with a reputation of actually knowing Wolof and wanting to get work done. I’ve got time right?
So I work with Abdou there and he showed me a few things that he’s done since I was last there and I showed him some of the research that I found online. If you don’t know what www.ifat.org is you should look it up. I am going to try my hardest to get Ndem’s organization non-gouvernemental certified as a fair trade ONG. They deserve the certification and I just have to research to make sure the kids there are doing “light work” rather than child labor and the environment isn’t being abused by how they care for the toxic waste from the dyes, for example. I don’t really know if I am the best one for this job but like I said, I’m sure going to try.
I hit kind of an emotional roadblock yesterday. I was extremely excited since as of this week, Ndem set up dial-up internet in the office! Hurray! It is much faster than I remember dial being when we first got the internet when I was kid and I was so happy for them to be able to check their email more often. That is there only way right now of receiving orders and they have a brand new client who sent in an order just this week and we hope to send their product out before the end of the month, Inshallah! The emotional roadblock was more because I was researching the option of having PayPal on their website. We’ll come to find out, Ndem isn’t exactly ready for that. The internet is a vast place and it may get out of hand too quickly. I have been thinking having internet is the first step to a great future of expanding the business but as my boss said in training: “Americans, get off the jumbo jet and take the train”. Yes sir. I am American and crave instant results but that’s just not how it works here. Soon enough; little victories: we have internet!
So 2 nights of village life and I was ready to come home. I prefer my mattress and my own bathroom with a shower. You can call me spoiled but even though my bucket bath outside under the trees and bright blue sky was wonderful, it loses is glory when the wind blows! And I got to eat with a spoon for lunch today rather than burning my hand on hot food. Although I have to say thank goodness my taste buds are changing quickly. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that vending machines and pantries don’t exist and by 3pm and 9pm I’ll eat anything! But I eat Senegalese couscous (aka millet) that, in the beginning had the consistency of sand, and yes, I eat beans. The day had to come right? I still refuse to eat them when I come home!
No real big plans besides going to visit a friend 22k away since its her bday and she left me for the last 3 weeks to spend the holidays in America. Otherwise I’ll be sticking around Bambey until our next softball game in Dakar! Send a card in the mail for me! I’d love to hang it on my wall!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
quick update
So since I wrote that blog, a bit has changed! I caught a bit of a cold and dont feel up to biking to Ndem. Our softball game was canceled so now I think I may have to meet some friends in Thies for a day maybe.. well see!
I celebrated my christmas in the most bizarre way! my host mom called me when i was in st louis telling me i had lots of mail waiting for me but also a tax of 11000 cfa for 2 packages!! i was rather mad at you people, making me pay over 20 bucks for presents! geez! i know i didnt get you anything but come on!! haha so i went to the poste and picked up not 2 but 6 packages! ahh happy day! i was only charged for one above the normal rate even though they were all opened and taped shut. I dont care - I have some of the best family and friends! and i didnt even have to wait my turn to rip open packages!
I dont know how i will ever finish all the food or when i will actually get around to watching all 3 seasons of Greys but man was i ever smiling and still love going home, cuz i can really call it that now, to see my maps hanging on my walls and snow and the smell of candles and ahhh you people are great!
needless to say there is a very happy peace corps volunteer living in bambey! you people are going to have to wait til 2010 to get be back there if life continues like this! keep the cards and pictures coming! i hope to run out of wall space! all of you who sent something will have letters from africa in the mail soon! love you and THANKS!
Happy 2008!
I celebrated my christmas in the most bizarre way! my host mom called me when i was in st louis telling me i had lots of mail waiting for me but also a tax of 11000 cfa for 2 packages!! i was rather mad at you people, making me pay over 20 bucks for presents! geez! i know i didnt get you anything but come on!! haha so i went to the poste and picked up not 2 but 6 packages! ahh happy day! i was only charged for one above the normal rate even though they were all opened and taped shut. I dont care - I have some of the best family and friends! and i didnt even have to wait my turn to rip open packages!
I dont know how i will ever finish all the food or when i will actually get around to watching all 3 seasons of Greys but man was i ever smiling and still love going home, cuz i can really call it that now, to see my maps hanging on my walls and snow and the smell of candles and ahhh you people are great!
needless to say there is a very happy peace corps volunteer living in bambey! you people are going to have to wait til 2010 to get be back there if life continues like this! keep the cards and pictures coming! i hope to run out of wall space! all of you who sent something will have letters from africa in the mail soon! love you and THANKS!
Happy 2008!
2008
Happy New Year’s everyone! Hope celebrations were everything you wanted and more! I had a blast up north. Last time I was up there it was for demystification, so needless to say I have learned a little since then and was a bit more confident.
To start off my vaca, I went in to Thies and hung out with my family there. The kids were all thrilled to see me and although I missed my host dad, since he was visiting family in Dakar, my host mom was wonderful. She was a bit tired considering all the work she had to do to prepare Tabaski outfits (she’s a tailor) but made sure to make me not one but two lunches. Pays de la taranga = country of hospitality.
Mandi and I then made the five-hour hike up to the north. We went to Richard Toll and spend a few nights there. We spent Christmas Eve at some French missionaries house and had a nice meal with lots of Catholics and watched RV (Robin Williams dubbed is not as funny) and made brownies in their oven. Bryn is amazing and made us all stockings and filled them with lots of fun things like floss, oral rehydration salts, drink mixes and candy. It was nice to open something Christmas morning since my packages didn’t make it in time. Who knew that a huge Muslim holiday would slow down the Senegalese postal service!?!
After a few days in Toll, we went to another friend’s site and hung out with his family as he showed us around. Since there were so many people, we even got the privilege of having a sheep for dinner! I took more pictures so maybe you can enjoy the thought of how dinner goes from a living, breathing being to dinner; and it’s delicious. I never thought I would look at an animal and think about how it will taste for dinner later, but I do! Hanging out at Josh’s site was fun, but a little scary. You may have heard on the news that a French family was murdered in Mauritania. Well, their killers crossed over into the exact location we were which made for tighter security. We decided to avoid the beautiful river and discuss Wolof with Josh’s brothers so we didn’t leave the family compound the second day and had like 10 rounds of attaya (tea that causes cavities) instead!
After that, we went to St. Louis. BEAUTIFUL. I loved it there. Over 20 volunteers got together to celebrate the New Year and there were more white people than we were used to seeing in the streets since it’s quite touristy. But we did go on a walk to where the ocean meets the Senegal River. Had an amazing shrimp dinner that you probably don’t want to know how affordable it was. Laid out on the beach but didn’t go in since it’s cold! Yea, I guess I’ve adjusted to the heat of Bambey!
Now I’m back home, and it feels good. Hope to bike to Ndem (13k on a gravel road, wish me luck!) this week and we have a softball game in Dakar this weekend. I plan on using computers there to update you on photos. Happy 2008!
To start off my vaca, I went in to Thies and hung out with my family there. The kids were all thrilled to see me and although I missed my host dad, since he was visiting family in Dakar, my host mom was wonderful. She was a bit tired considering all the work she had to do to prepare Tabaski outfits (she’s a tailor) but made sure to make me not one but two lunches. Pays de la taranga = country of hospitality.
Mandi and I then made the five-hour hike up to the north. We went to Richard Toll and spend a few nights there. We spent Christmas Eve at some French missionaries house and had a nice meal with lots of Catholics and watched RV (Robin Williams dubbed is not as funny) and made brownies in their oven. Bryn is amazing and made us all stockings and filled them with lots of fun things like floss, oral rehydration salts, drink mixes and candy. It was nice to open something Christmas morning since my packages didn’t make it in time. Who knew that a huge Muslim holiday would slow down the Senegalese postal service!?!
After a few days in Toll, we went to another friend’s site and hung out with his family as he showed us around. Since there were so many people, we even got the privilege of having a sheep for dinner! I took more pictures so maybe you can enjoy the thought of how dinner goes from a living, breathing being to dinner; and it’s delicious. I never thought I would look at an animal and think about how it will taste for dinner later, but I do! Hanging out at Josh’s site was fun, but a little scary. You may have heard on the news that a French family was murdered in Mauritania. Well, their killers crossed over into the exact location we were which made for tighter security. We decided to avoid the beautiful river and discuss Wolof with Josh’s brothers so we didn’t leave the family compound the second day and had like 10 rounds of attaya (tea that causes cavities) instead!
After that, we went to St. Louis. BEAUTIFUL. I loved it there. Over 20 volunteers got together to celebrate the New Year and there were more white people than we were used to seeing in the streets since it’s quite touristy. But we did go on a walk to where the ocean meets the Senegal River. Had an amazing shrimp dinner that you probably don’t want to know how affordable it was. Laid out on the beach but didn’t go in since it’s cold! Yea, I guess I’ve adjusted to the heat of Bambey!
Now I’m back home, and it feels good. Hope to bike to Ndem (13k on a gravel road, wish me luck!) this week and we have a softball game in Dakar this weekend. I plan on using computers there to update you on photos. Happy 2008!
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