Back to the Real World (about a month and a half belated)

(First of, I've skipped a description of my vacation, but will try to write something up about it and get it in soon. Until then... back to Africa!)

As the title of the post says, it's time for me to re-enter the 'real world' after my delicious, relaxing, well-deserved (ok, so that one's a matter of opinion) vacation. Upon my return to Dakar, I was instantly hit in the face by a wall of hot, humid air and surrounded by 1,000 people calling my their 'friend,' trying to grab my bags from my hands and carry them to a taxi for me for an exorbitant price. Welcome home...! I ended up having to spend a few more days in Dakar, doing paper work and getting my mid-service health exam. Lucky me, I even got my first cavity and filling! I assume that's thanks to the sugary tea and coffee that I drink far too much of here. Fortunately, I got a chance to go out 'surfing' (I use quotes because it mostly just involved my getting tossed by waves all day) with some other volunteer friends.

So after a few days of hanging out in the big city, I took the beloved 13 hour car ride down to Kolda (as usual, I was in the back, middle seat... they manage to make me take the worst seat in the car every time, not exactly sure how). It was a pretty average ride down, desperately trying to get some sleep in a seat that's so small my head is pressed against the roof at a 45 degree angle. It was, however, spiced up a bit when a bus hit our car around the Gambian border, taking off the back bumper and tail-light. I guess that I'm lucky that my first Senegalese car accident was so harmless (no-one got hurt), another volunteer had just the week before seen a car flip and roll, killing multiple people; and of course if you're the only white person around at the scene of the accident, people for some reason assume you know what you're doing and expect you to help all the injured people and officially declare the dead. Like I said, I'm lucky my accident was minor and no-one was hurt, her description of what she saw was pretty graphic, and even a month later she was scared to enter a car in Senegal. The Senegalese tend drive really crazy, the car's are usually about 30 years old, don't have seat belts and are made up of pieces of six different cars, so I dont blame her.

Upon my arrival in Kolda I spent a couple days getting back into the swing of things, walking around town practicing my Pular a bit (which fortunately was still there, I didn't lose too much of it over the course of the vacation) and getting ready to go back to site. At this point I was quite ready to get back, while vacation is great it can get tiring not being able to sleep in your own bed and living out of a bag for a month. I wasn't looking forward to the inevitable "Wheres my suriche (gift)?" question that I knew everyone in Velingara would be asking me, but I knew that would only last a couple of days. For some reason every (people I've talked to for a total of 5 minutes before included) thinks I'm going to bring them back cell-phones and other such gifts upon my return, and they act offended when I say I didn't bring them anything. I know, I'm so selfish. Here I am, so rich that I'm just rolling in the money, and I just keep it all for myself and never help anyone out (it's very nice to listen to people tell you that all day)! Fortunately my family knows I hate it when people ask me that, so they don't any more, plus they're they only people I actually did bring gifts back for, so that probably contributed to their praise and approval and lack of nagging. In the end, however, it was great to see my host family again. I had missed them and they had genuinly missed me. They all started singing and dancing: "Ahmed returned! Ahmed returned!" which is quite a welcome home.

There was, however, a big surprise awaiting me as well. My sister, who had gotten married right before I had left on vacation was back living in our house. Apparently while I was gone she had decided that she didn't like her new husband and didn't wish to be married to him; which is bizarre considering he wasn't even at the house with her the whole time, but in Dakar working. There was some small conflict and drama between the two families, whom have been friends since my parents were young, but in the end they decided to annul the wedding. While my parents were disappointed (and, understandably, somewhat angry) with my sister for waiting until after the wedding to declare that she didn't like her husband instead of speaking up before hand, the whole situation made me realize how reasonable and 'Western' my host father really is. Many, if not most, marriages around here are forced; usually involving the marrying off of a young girl, aged 14 years old or so, so an often much older man with no choice given to the bride-to-be. My father, however, has stated how he wants all of his daughters to be able to choose who they marry and to do so at a point late enough in their lives to allow them to finish school.

My sister is lucky to have a father who is as forward thinking as that, it's a rare trait here. I find it admirable that she had the guts to speak up and say that she didn't wish to be married to this man instead of living out her whole life in silent discontent, as many women do here. It's just too bad she didn't speak up sooner, for a family that already has difficulty simply eating each day and buying each child one pen for school, they spent A LOT of money on the wedding and strained the relationship between the two families. I just hope she can now find something good to do with herself, as she's no longer in school and is now a 'woman' after her wedding night, which her in Senegal means it will be much harder for her to find a husband in the future. As of now she pretty much just hangs around the house, yet another mouth for my father to feed which is quite a challenge in and of itself. We'll see how that one works out, only time will tell!

When I got back I also had a lot of work to do, which is good and makes the transition a lot easier. For one, all the money for the computer lab project has been raised! We thank you all again for your help, it's really appreciated! So the computers are currently on the ship and are due to arrive in Dakar around the first of December. Peace Corp has offered to ship the computers from Dakar to each of our sites, although the date for that is not yet definitively set. I plan on trying to go up to Dakar to see the computers before they are shipped down to Velingara and buy all the other needed computer accessories to have them shipped down to Velingara along with the computers. Hopefully all this will be happening around December 5-10; although this being Senegal I would not be surprised if that date gets pushed back. In preparation for the arrival of the computers, we have started getting the room ready, which has been keeping my busy to say the least. The chairs and tables are being built, the electricity and security (metal bars in the windows and a reinforced door) are being installed in the room, and the internet company is planning on bringing the line in soon. At this point it's a bit of a waiting game on the computers themselves. It's just nice to know that they're at least on the way... so even if it takes longer than expected they will eventually arrive.

Upon my return the school year had officially started as well. I say officially because while the schools had opened they have yet to really start classes. In most classes only a quarter of the students show up each day because their parents don't let them go to school until the majority of the crops have been harvested (which won't be until near the end of November). So the teachers and 1/4 of the students come in each day, just to be sent back home. Worst of all, some of these students are walking miles and miles to come in just to turn around and go back home. Also, in many classes the teachers are already on strike as the government has yet again failed to pay the teachers salaries on time. Oh well... at least the hundred-odd government ministers in Dakar (aka. friends of 'His Excellence, Master Abdoulaye Wade") are boosting the sales of expensive imported cars and boosting the economy!

The beginning of the school year also means that my classes at the CETF (Centre d'Enseignement Technique Feminine) are getting under way. I had worked all summer with one of the teachers from the school, Mr. Corea, giving him personal business classes and creating a curriculum that will span three years. Each grade, therefore, will have 2 hrs of class time a week, thereby giving me some structure for at least three afternoons a week. This combined with the preparations for the computer lab and my work at World Vision with 'The Grandmother Project' is doing a good job of keeping me very busy.

Being back in Velingara, I can really tell that I was due for a vacation. It was exactly what I needed: I came back feeling refreshed and ready to go. It's nice to have a clear 'half-way done' divide like that as well. I can already tell how different this second year is going to be from the first. I'm used to being here at this point, each day seems pretty normal instead of something wildly different and unpredictable, thereby making being here simply life as normal. Plus, I now have a level of French and Pular that allows me to communicate without much difficulty. Most importantly, however, I now have more direction in terms of work and how I spend my time. Instead of aimlessly wandering around town trying desperately to find places where I can help out, I know have stong connection with many people and concrete projects on which to work. This leaves me with more of a 9-5 type schedule which is actually quite nice after a year of ambiguity. All this with the fact that it is the beginning of the cool season (Alhumdoulhilai!) means that I am ready and happy to be back.

Here's to one more year!