Happy Tabaski! So It's been another week or two at site (the days tend to just blend together here) and my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer chugs along. I have basically been spending my days hanging out with my family, working on my language skills (that will never end!) and making more introductions and figuring out exactly where I will be working. I have a meeting coming up with the Inspector of schools of the Department of Velingara (similar to the Superintendent in the States) where we will be discussing the possibility of me giving computer training to students, and during the summer vacation, to all of the teachers (very few of whom know how to use a computer at all). This will be interesting as I will be teaching many people things as basic as how to use the mouse and what a cursor is... I should be returning from Senegal with a new found appreciation for the saying: 'Patience is a Virtue.' I'm still waiting on my Supervisor to return from Mecca, which should be in about a week, at which point I will be introduced to the women's groups with whom I will provide some business / management advice and training. I really need some more Pulaar for that, as most women here don't speak French.
As a whole things have been going well. As I said the days can kind of blend together, some days being better than others. There are definitely days where I am completely bored, feel as though I'm doing nothing and really realize how much of an outsider I am. But then there are also the days that are great, I get along well with everyone and make some new strides in my language. I had my first loss of patience with a Senegalese man who was more educated than most and was persistently asking me for money which he said he's spend on a party (this was immediately following a long and in depth conversation about the causes of poverty and the lack of funds and work in Senegal: such as the fact that all the most highly educated people leave for Europe or the US and having no capital with which to invest). I then lost my temper and yelled at him in French that spending money on things such as parties was exactly the problem and that nobody here saves for the future and that it was exactly the reason for the lack of funds and work. I did manage to add a few apologies in and walked away mid-sentence with my face clearly red and my fists clenched. It wasn't that what he said was any worse than other Senegalese, it was just kind of the boiling point. (Don't get the impression by this story and my last post that all my time with the Senegalese is spent deflecting demands for money... it's usually just once and then we can talk for hours and have great conversations.)
This past week was also Tabaski, the largest Muslim holiday of the year. It is to celebrate the Story of Abraham (same in the Koran as the Bible) where God told Abraham he must kill his only son as a sacrifice as he didn't have a goat. Right as Abraham was about to engorge his son, God replaced the boy with a goat... hence proving Abraham's faith in God and God's status as great and caring. The more I learn about it, the more I realize how similar the three major sects of religion (Christians, Muslims and Jews) are basically the same thing. They all preach doing good towards others, they all believe in one God, and they all draw on the stories and history of the same area and roughly the same time period. Religion aside, a Senegalese holiday basically consists of a lot of buildup with very little actual ‘party.’ Everyone who can (and many who can’t but do anyway) buy new clothing for the event. This is likely the only clothing they will buy that year, so it’s a pretty big deal for them. Also, the girls all do each other’s hair by adding fake hair extensions and braiding for a week straight. Finally, and most importantly, each family buys a goat for slaughter in celebration of the holiday and in recognition of God.
In the morning I got up early and joined the male members of my family at the large prayer session in the center of town. There were many, many people there and it was pretty powerful sitting in huge lines with the rest of them as we bowed and kissed the ground simultaneously in the Muslim style of prayer. I obviously didn’t know exactly what to do, but I’d seen others do it enough at this point that I could just mimic the people around me and get along fairly well. I must say, being at the prayer session earned me a little ‘Velingara street-cred!’ It was also quite powerful to kiss the ground and pray with so many people at the same time, it really invokes a sense of community and humility. After that I returned home where we did the ceremonial killing of the goat (that thing was stick and bones... hardly any meat at all!) after which the day of eating began and so I came to realize the reality of a Senegalese holiday. They basically just go around giving benedictions to all their neighbors and eating all day. I ate so much goat meat at every house that I visited that by mid-afternoon I passed out for a couple hours because I was just so stuffed. When no ‘party’ arrived as I had expected, I realized that eating meat and a new pair of clothing is definitely the most exciting thing that happens each year and is celebration enough in itself.
Also, at some point I took out my camera which made people go completely nuts. EVERYONE wanted a million photos taken of them and I was basically a photographer for the day while my family were the models; my sister’s especially loved it. I even was taken around to all my Dad’s friends’ houses to take photos for them as well (not as if I even have a way right now of making prints!) and by the end of the day I had taken over 100 photos and I wasn’t in a single one (got some of me in my bou-bou the next day). As a whole Tabaski was a good time... if nothing else I got my year’s worth of protein in one day, even though most of it came in the form of fat and cartilage (it’s amazing how good even that tastes now). And I will never forget my mental image of my brothers fighting over the cooked and picked clean skull of the goat (it looked like one of those skulls next to a tumble-weed in an old western) as they managed to find little pieces of brain and eye socket to eat. They picked it clean like a chicken wing. It’s too bad that with all the pictures I took that day I missed that one!
Two days later I left to go to Kolda for a few days as most all the other volunteers would be there, it was Jess’ birthday and we were having a house meeting. I had previously decided to ride my bike from Velingara to Kolda with two other volunteers who live close by, a distance of about 80 miles. All week my family was saying it was too far and I couldn’t do it, but I knew it was possible and was looking forward to the long ride... at least I could tell myself I accomplished something these first couple months! (Just kidding, my language has improved and I know my way around much better now. It’s just weird living for so long with no schedule or tangible accomplishments, so a little challenge like this is exactly what I needed!) So I got up to leave with the sunrise, beating the Mosque wake-up chants, and left by about 6:30 in the morning. I made it about 7km when I hit a pothole in the road and my back tire exploded! So after a week of being told I couldn’t make it to Kolda, I had to walk my broken bike back the 7km and prove them right. Needless to say I was a little disappointed but getting over stupid things like that is something I’ve gotten good at here: the land where pride can oftentimes be your biggest enemy. I ended going to Kolda via sept-place and the two girls rode their bikes without me... I passed them in the car on the way! But they made the whole distance in one day, so I will be doing that as soon as the next opportunity arises. Probably not for Christmas, as I will be carrying a fair amount of baggage, but my next visit to Kolda.
Ohhh, and for Christmas I’m going to spend it with the other volunteers in Kolda, baking cookies, watching Christmas movies and even eating duck! After which, for New Years, I think I will be going to the beach, but I’m not sure. I was originally going to go north to the beach with my stage-mates but unfortunately I think that might be a little too much for my Peace Corps budget right now. But that’s okay, this month as a whole is going to have a lot of time away from site and with other Americans, so it’s fairly relaxing. Meetings and class tomorrow, need to get some sleep. Goodnight and Merry Christmas!
Peace Always!
P.S. : Check out my Webshots albums, I’ve added some photos of Velingara... many more to go but it’s tough with the internet here to load too many. Got at least 100 up though!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Life as a Volunteer... I think
So I haven't written in a while, but I'll try to remember everything! First of all, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I celebrated at the Regional House in Kolda with other volunteers from the region. We each cooked something, and it turned out surprisingly well! We fortunately have some real chefs in the group. Going to Kolda was relaxing after my first two week stint with hardly any English and being the only American for miles (I do fortunately get at least 1 volunteer visitor a week as I live in the 'city' and they all live in the villages). Going to Kolda also means I successfully took 'public transportation' a distance of more than 100km by myself for the first time... a task that seemed impossible upon my arrival in Senegal but was actually done quite easily. I had to take a Sept-Place (REALLY old Peugots, none of which would ever come close to passing inspection in the States) and wait 4 hours at the garage just for it to leave because there were only 5 people (they wait for 7). There were two ladies trying to convince me to buy the last two seats, as being white I could clearly afford it. But fortunately I know enough Pulaar now to say only if they pitched in, which ended that conversation quite quickly!
People asking me for money solely because I am white is a daily occurrence here, and usually doesn't bother me as it is true that even as a volunteer I have more money than most everyone here. It's just unfortunate that begging for money is so ingrained in the culture that people expect me to give it to them, just to go out and spend it on some short term benefit. I'm not complaining, I can't blame them for wanting that 1 new article of clothing they get per year for Tabaski (the big holiday coming up this week), but they spend money without regard to investing or saving for the future. I suppose that's why I'm here as a SED volunteer... but it's hard to tell someone not to spend that money on food but save it instead . I have given food to the young boys begging, as all the money they collect only goes right to their teachers at the Koran schools who then feed them next to nothing. But I don't think I've ever given money to someone on the street. It's often tough to say no, especially when complete strangers who can't even speak hand you their unfilled prescriptions, but it's just one of those things you have to get used to here. From time to time it gets on my nerves, but fortunately I am able to keep my cool. Gotta just got shrug things off every once in awhile! Being able to laugh at yourself and shrug things off are certainly vital attributes a Peace Corps volunteer must have.
I have spent most of my time hanging around Velingara, getting a lay of the land and meeting the people here. My average day consists of waking up at 5am to the Mosque next door calling the morning prayers (they yell stuff really loud in Arabic out of crappy speakers that sound worse than scratching a chalkboard for about an hour!) and laying in bed half awake for a couple more hours. For breakfast I walk to the nearest boutique and buy some bread, say good morning to my family (introductions at all times are important here and usually take five minutes) and return to my room; all of which I can now do in Pulaar! I like to relax and eat in my room in the morning with my AMERICAN COFFEE... soooo much better than the sugar/milk drink they call coffee here, although it was hilarious to have them try my coffee and watch as they all grimaced! I also have been going for bike rides in the cotton, millet, rice and peanut fields at sunrise, which is absolutely beautiful. It's also fun to see the surprised look on peoples' faces when a toabab rides by on a bike in the middle of their fields. For the rest of the morning I spend a couple hours drinking tea and joking around with my cousins, two of which are my age and speak great french.
I've also been spending a lot of time getting my room set up (which it finally is!) and just getting situated here. Then I eat with my family around 2 (some meal that involves white rice... usually "mafe gerete", white rice with peanut sauce. Although on more than one occasion I have simply eaten white rice with a little palm oil on it). After lunch everyone naps for two hours, as even in the cold season the sun is unbearably hot in the middle of the day. I usually just go in my room and read a bit or study some Pulaar, because if I took a nap I would be out for hours! I'm pretty much always a little tired here, so I'm going to try and get more consistent exercise and augment my diet a bit now that I'm situated. I have a nice big bed, a table and chair, and a chalkboard I painted on the wall to practice Pulaar; as a whole I have one of the nicer Peace Corp rooms, but no electricity yet. Also, the wall of my bathroom just barely comes up to my belly button, so I'm fine while using the 'toilet' (hole in the ground) as I'm squatting. But the entire main road can watch my shower, which a religious parade of young girls in burkas did just the other day as they stopped right in front of my house for some reason. After nap time is some more tea and then dinner and bed. A lot of sitting around and chatting!
Just the other day I've started to go around and talk to micro finance banks just to introduce myself and get a handle on their terms for loans. I've also spoken with the Principal of the High School and the Inspector of all the schools here in Velingara, and I will likely be giving computer lessons to High Schoolers and all the teachers / administration in the public schools! Just Word, Excel, Internet, basic things like that, but in french. I've also been reading my GERME books, which are basic business books in French geared specifically for the informal West African market. Good source of new vocab for me! Also I have discovered that the life of a Peace Corps volunteer involves a lot of travelling, which I am excited about. No one goes much more than two weeks at site without a little trip to the regional house. There are also frequent excuses to go to further locations. In the near future, my whole Stage is going to the beach at Popenguine again for Christmas for 5 days. And you don't even have to use vacation time if it's less than a week away! I need to start saving up for the trip across West Africa I'd like to do... I just hope Peace Corps allows us to travel to some of the countries (Cote D'Ivoire, Liberia, etc... watch 'Blood Diamond,' that's why some of them are off limits).
I have already gotten to go to two celebrations where I was able to improve my Senegalese dancing, to the amusement of everyone around me! The first was an official declaration for TOSTAN, which is another American non-profit that works in West Africa for women's rights, mainly the ending of genital cutting and forced and under-aged marriages. The declaration was basically just a party with some music, a few skits, and an official statement that the people of the area will / have stopped such practices. The second was a project that one of the volunteers in the area, Laura, had been working on for some time. It was a contest of traditional story telling, as much of the local culture is being lost as the younger generations follow the American pop culture (or at least as they see it on TV and on the internet) development certainly has its positive and negative aspects!) There were also some skits about abusing anti-biotics and under aged marriages. As with all Senegalese events, this was followed by an entire night of dancing and some food (I swear they eat more at special occasions than the rest of the year combined). That night I hitched a ride in a bus full of teen aged Senegalese Red Cross employees who acted as security for the event. They were jumping all around and singing as we careened through the bush at 2am in a dilapidated bus with holes in the floor... alas they were singing in Wolof, so it was a little tough for me to sing along. Just another average day in Senegal... I always ending up with a bunch of people I've never met before in a place I've never been, speaking two languages I hardly know. It's worth not having AC!
So I've been at the Cyber for a long time now and should probably be heading back home. I need to keep working on that Pulaar and a bucket bath is sounding really good right now. I wonder what will be on the white rice tonight?...
Until next time! Peace and enjoy the holiday season! Celebrate properly for me!
Sorry... no time for the pics! There are a few good ones though! Hopefully in a couple days but probably not until the 12th or so when I'm in Kolda. (There will be Tabaski Pics then too!)
People asking me for money solely because I am white is a daily occurrence here, and usually doesn't bother me as it is true that even as a volunteer I have more money than most everyone here. It's just unfortunate that begging for money is so ingrained in the culture that people expect me to give it to them, just to go out and spend it on some short term benefit. I'm not complaining, I can't blame them for wanting that 1 new article of clothing they get per year for Tabaski (the big holiday coming up this week), but they spend money without regard to investing or saving for the future. I suppose that's why I'm here as a SED volunteer... but it's hard to tell someone not to spend that money on food but save it instead . I have given food to the young boys begging, as all the money they collect only goes right to their teachers at the Koran schools who then feed them next to nothing. But I don't think I've ever given money to someone on the street. It's often tough to say no, especially when complete strangers who can't even speak hand you their unfilled prescriptions, but it's just one of those things you have to get used to here. From time to time it gets on my nerves, but fortunately I am able to keep my cool. Gotta just got shrug things off every once in awhile! Being able to laugh at yourself and shrug things off are certainly vital attributes a Peace Corps volunteer must have.
I have spent most of my time hanging around Velingara, getting a lay of the land and meeting the people here. My average day consists of waking up at 5am to the Mosque next door calling the morning prayers (they yell stuff really loud in Arabic out of crappy speakers that sound worse than scratching a chalkboard for about an hour!) and laying in bed half awake for a couple more hours. For breakfast I walk to the nearest boutique and buy some bread, say good morning to my family (introductions at all times are important here and usually take five minutes) and return to my room; all of which I can now do in Pulaar! I like to relax and eat in my room in the morning with my AMERICAN COFFEE... soooo much better than the sugar/milk drink they call coffee here, although it was hilarious to have them try my coffee and watch as they all grimaced! I also have been going for bike rides in the cotton, millet, rice and peanut fields at sunrise, which is absolutely beautiful. It's also fun to see the surprised look on peoples' faces when a toabab rides by on a bike in the middle of their fields. For the rest of the morning I spend a couple hours drinking tea and joking around with my cousins, two of which are my age and speak great french.
I've also been spending a lot of time getting my room set up (which it finally is!) and just getting situated here. Then I eat with my family around 2 (some meal that involves white rice... usually "mafe gerete", white rice with peanut sauce. Although on more than one occasion I have simply eaten white rice with a little palm oil on it). After lunch everyone naps for two hours, as even in the cold season the sun is unbearably hot in the middle of the day. I usually just go in my room and read a bit or study some Pulaar, because if I took a nap I would be out for hours! I'm pretty much always a little tired here, so I'm going to try and get more consistent exercise and augment my diet a bit now that I'm situated. I have a nice big bed, a table and chair, and a chalkboard I painted on the wall to practice Pulaar; as a whole I have one of the nicer Peace Corp rooms, but no electricity yet. Also, the wall of my bathroom just barely comes up to my belly button, so I'm fine while using the 'toilet' (hole in the ground) as I'm squatting. But the entire main road can watch my shower, which a religious parade of young girls in burkas did just the other day as they stopped right in front of my house for some reason. After nap time is some more tea and then dinner and bed. A lot of sitting around and chatting!
Just the other day I've started to go around and talk to micro finance banks just to introduce myself and get a handle on their terms for loans. I've also spoken with the Principal of the High School and the Inspector of all the schools here in Velingara, and I will likely be giving computer lessons to High Schoolers and all the teachers / administration in the public schools! Just Word, Excel, Internet, basic things like that, but in french. I've also been reading my GERME books, which are basic business books in French geared specifically for the informal West African market. Good source of new vocab for me! Also I have discovered that the life of a Peace Corps volunteer involves a lot of travelling, which I am excited about. No one goes much more than two weeks at site without a little trip to the regional house. There are also frequent excuses to go to further locations. In the near future, my whole Stage is going to the beach at Popenguine again for Christmas for 5 days. And you don't even have to use vacation time if it's less than a week away! I need to start saving up for the trip across West Africa I'd like to do... I just hope Peace Corps allows us to travel to some of the countries (Cote D'Ivoire, Liberia, etc... watch 'Blood Diamond,' that's why some of them are off limits).
I have already gotten to go to two celebrations where I was able to improve my Senegalese dancing, to the amusement of everyone around me! The first was an official declaration for TOSTAN, which is another American non-profit that works in West Africa for women's rights, mainly the ending of genital cutting and forced and under-aged marriages. The declaration was basically just a party with some music, a few skits, and an official statement that the people of the area will / have stopped such practices. The second was a project that one of the volunteers in the area, Laura, had been working on for some time. It was a contest of traditional story telling, as much of the local culture is being lost as the younger generations follow the American pop culture (or at least as they see it on TV and on the internet) development certainly has its positive and negative aspects!) There were also some skits about abusing anti-biotics and under aged marriages. As with all Senegalese events, this was followed by an entire night of dancing and some food (I swear they eat more at special occasions than the rest of the year combined). That night I hitched a ride in a bus full of teen aged Senegalese Red Cross employees who acted as security for the event. They were jumping all around and singing as we careened through the bush at 2am in a dilapidated bus with holes in the floor... alas they were singing in Wolof, so it was a little tough for me to sing along. Just another average day in Senegal... I always ending up with a bunch of people I've never met before in a place I've never been, speaking two languages I hardly know. It's worth not having AC!
So I've been at the Cyber for a long time now and should probably be heading back home. I need to keep working on that Pulaar and a bucket bath is sounding really good right now. I wonder what will be on the white rice tonight?...
Until next time! Peace and enjoy the holiday season! Celebrate properly for me!
Sorry... no time for the pics! There are a few good ones though! Hopefully in a couple days but probably not until the 12th or so when I'm in Kolda. (There will be Tabaski Pics then too!)
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