Back to Reality

So I’m back in Bambey after being away from site about a month! Everyone I see tells me they miss me, I was gone too long, and asks for gifts. The norm. In-service training went well; although I am glad it’s done. Early mornings of Wolof and technical training is not my idea of fun although I did improve on my wolof and am very comfortable telling people I understand now. In Dakar, I went fruit shopping with a friend of mine. She greeted and asked how much everything was and was talking in French to the fruit seller. She asked me a question in English, and I responded, in English. Well, this upset the fruit seller and he looked at me and said, in French, “You are in a French country, you need to speak French”. I looked at him, insulted and said, Degg naa Wolof, man may lakk Wolof. He was dumbfounded. He didn’t believe me and asked me what I had for lunch and if I have an “owner of the house” aka husband just to test me. I was pissed and he got just what he asked for. I bought fruit elsewhere and made my point. They just aren’t very friendly. Earlier in the week I was also called a racist since I didn’t give money to a bayfall. Little does he know I work with bayfalls in Ndem daily and am in no way a racist!

Anyways! Dakar is fun! After training and plenty of playtime in Thies we went to Dakar for the West African International Softball Tournament (WAIST). But first, did I tell you about my birthday? Celebrated it in Africa as close to an American celebration as I could get. Went to training, got out early and went to get a drink. Told the owner of the resto it was my bday and he treated me to a second. After eating white rice and fish, not my idea of a dinner out with my fam to Red Lobster or Nakashimas but it did the job, we went to Palais des Arts. It’s our new favorite bar in Thies and we convinced them it was a good idea to offer PCVs happy hour! I made friends quickly and one of the artists gave me a sand painting! Beautiful! I even got his signature and phone number on the back! YES! The live band that was playing made me come up on stage, get kissed on both cheeks like the French do, and they sang Joyeuse Anniversaire to me! It was really fun and I had a good time!

As for WAIST! It was the 35th annual and everything went wonderfully! We stayed with an expat couple who have lived abroad working for the foreign service for the last 28 years in like 8 or 9 countries. They had an amazing house, 4 bedroom, washer and dryer, microwave, American tv! We had a blast! I stayed with 2 of my good friends and we each got our own room and hot showers everyday! Was I this easy to please in America? We played softball everyday and hung out at night! Very good time in Dakar. On Tuesday we had an All-Volunteer conference that was very useful. Good to see most everyone in the country although it was impossible to talk to them all. We talked about new ideas for malaria prevention and how to collaborate. I will be doing a lot of work with artisans and linking that to the tourism aspect of PC. Should be great. If you are interested in vacationing in Senegal, let me know, I have a few connections!

As for my plan now that I am back in Bambey – I hope to meet some more people, poke my head into a few English classrooms, work with artisans here, talk with women’s groups and the microfinance org. I will be back and forth in Ndem and some other villages not to far away and can’t wait to get the application in for the Fair Trade certification. Hope to get a lot accomplished but know that it’s going to be an uphill battle the whole way. Wish me luck! Happy winter! Mom sent me a thermometer and it’s inside my room, after 6pm and it says its 95 degrees. Can’t wait for the hot season to start!