To Thies and Back

October 11, 2009

Today we had a day off and it is our friend Elizabeth’s birthday, so Tamar and I decided to journey solo to Thies. We were both Senegalese public transport virgins so it was a little intimidating. Public transportation here in Senegal is something you have to see to believe. It’s crazy. In an attempt to kill two birds with one stone we both packed a bag full of stuff to take back to the center so we wouldn’t have to take everything back at once on Tuesday. Tamar got to my house around 9:30 and then we took a 30 minute walk/ death march in the Senegalese heat to the garage in order to get a sept-place.

Sept-place: A decrepit station wagon where 7 people are forced to sweat on each other while the driver peers through a cracked windshield. Driving may or may not be made easier by rear view mirrors.

At the garage we found the car going to Thies, paid the government mandated flat rate between the two cities, and then bargained for how much our baggage would cost. I really enjoyed bargaining and I had practiced my numbers in Wolof (prices in Wolof and ridiculous because after the CFA was devalued in 1994 the Senegalese never reassigned the numbers so you have to multiply by 5 and there are special words, etc, etc) so I could barter better and was feeling pretty good about myself. I think Tamar’s favorite moment of the day was when we were trying to get a cab in Thies and I was bartering with the cabbie by yelling across the busiest street in Thies. He wanted to charge me 600CFA and I was having none of that. Tamar was also incredibly lucky and while we were trying to get out of the Thies garage before we were run over or had something stolen the sept-place driver ran after us and gave Tamar some anti-itch she dropped. 10 seconds later a young boy came up and gave her a pen she dropped. We were stunned. PC always drills us about theft in public places and we were on our way out to avoid that so it was surprising to have things returned to us. Don’t worry, my guard is still up mom. It is exhilarating doing things by myself here though. My life is so tightly controlled (hey, my mom throws food from her side of the bowl at me to eat) that anytime I can do things for myself I feel like a champion and it’s a real high. In a few days I’m going to be pushed out of the PC nest and into the crushing masses of city life. Hopefully I’ll swim not sink.


The sept-place was a sweaty, sweaty place and I had the best/ worst seat in the car both ways depending on how you look at the situation. The back row, middle seat is supposedly the safest place to sit, but it is also the most disgusting since you’re cramped in the back on the person on either side of you is sweating profusely. On the way there I sat next to a really nice guy from Mauritania who was really impressed with our Wolof and was really nice, but on the way back I sat next to a giant who played his cell phone music obnoxiously loud and sweated all over me. Gross.

Regardless, the horrors of public transport were well worth, dropping stuff off at the center (it still represents an oasis of sanity and joy to me) and meeting up at Big Faim, a restaurant frequented by PCVs and other toubabs. Any place with wireless internet, AC, and a real menu is heaven on Earth. A lot of people showed up to celebrate Elizabeth’s birthday and it was really nice to see people in the middle of a village stay. The mood was festive and gossipy! My favorite!

At Big Faim, Tamar and I split a salad, only my second potential death in vegetables experience in Senegal, and it was beyond amazing although the corn and some other veggies definitely came out of a can. I usual French style, the salad had hard boiled eggs on it. I hate hard boiled eggs. I can’t let anything go to waste here so I put in in my mouth and it was delicious. I’ve also been noticing that my sister’s cooking has gotten a lot better. Has it actually gotten a lot better or will I know actually eat anything and like it? Yup, it’s the later because we had pasta boiled in oil with fish balls for dinner last night and I ate it up.

As usual being at home always has its own je ne sais quoi ridiculousness and tonight was no exception. My dad had already gotten my Africa cell phone number and I his as he’s the person I communicate through when I’m in Thies or will be late etc. Last night, my mom wanted my number and my younger sister was putting it in the phone for her. I made a joke that they were going to put me in as “Jeenaba Toubab,” and my sister burst out laughing because that’s what she had done. This flew my mom into a rage, obviously we have to have at least one per night, and said how she wanted me to be just Jeenaba. Problem: they named me after their oldest daughter who I’ve never met because she lives in Mauritania. My sister attempted to explain this and that the Senegalese Jeenaba had already claimed the top spot. After 15 minutes of arguing over what to call me everyone settled on “Jeenaba Amerik.” Then they wanted to know what I had put my mom in my phone as. Disclaimer: My mom’s name is some out of control, long Africa name which I can’t say let along spell so I put her in as “Yaay Ba” or “Mother Ba (our last name). This reduced everyone into fits of laughter.

Only two more nights left in the village! I can’t believe it.

There is currently something very noisy and possibly large walking around in my ceiling. Save me.

My Future Self

October 10, 2009

Today my class went to visit a setkat, which in English is commonly known as a psychic. Personally, I’ve been looking forward to this for days. While I’ve never paid the $3/ min to call the psychic hotline back in the US, I would gladly pay 200CFA, about 50 cents, to have my fortune told by a huge woman, throwing cowry shells at a basket, in her inferno of a room. Obviously, I wanted at least some of the fortunes to be all hell, fire, and brimstone so that I could have a good laugh, but we turned out to be a pretty lucky bunch. Here’s a recap:

Me: I will have a very happy life and service here in Senegal. Two older women at home are always thinking about me (this could potentially be my mother and grandmother who attempted to put the entire contents of Meijers in a flat rate shipping box) at home. I will have the attention from one man at home and one man in Senegal, but the man at home will win out (no contest). Yeah, that was pretty much it. She just told me how great and lucky and healthy I was for a couple of minutes. Boring.

Byron: His life is also great, but if he gives some poor people milk and sugar he will have three daughters.

Brian: Same as Byron except that he’s going to have money problems with his real family back home. A rich relative wont help him out and hides his wealth and once Brian is wealthy his family will try and take money from him (this is what happens to every Senegalese person no matter what the economic background).

Ryan: Good life blah, blah, blah

Tamar: Tamar is also going to have a good life, but the psychic told her she’s going to have boy troubles and although she’s really smart she’s kind of an airhead.

Tamar’s was pretty funny, but I really wanted some terrible things to be revealed in our fortunes for my own personal amusement, but alas.

I had another good conversation about Senegal and the US with my siblings. I was trying to ask them what I should do to help people during my service. Their answers always came back to money. Just give people money so they can buy things and not be so poor. I asked about the educational system and they think it’s fine. They understand that there’s corruption, but they think money is the answer. I questioned them about teach accounting (yeah, I know) skills to women’s groups, which they thought was fine, but not that valuable because they didn’t see the direct link to making more money. I can tell it’s going to be an uphill battle whatever I do, not to just write grants and search for financial backers. Everywhere I go I get asked for money, it’s constantly on everyone’s minds (as it is in the US, but it’s different when you’re living hand to mouth). My siblings just see me as so incredibly wealthy, the same with all Americans, and think that we should just be able to either make everyone’s life here better by giving them money or by exporting Senegalese products to the US for sale. So, I didn’t really get any great suggestions for future work, but I’m hoping my family in Thies and my work counterparts will be helpful and have good ideas.
After eating a greasy yet delicious dinner of fried eggs, fried potatoes, and fried onions, which I scooped out of grease at the bottom of the bowl with my hand, my sister and I went on an epic journey to find one of her friends who’s a tailor to see if she could get a job. At least this was her cover, I think she really just wanted to be social and dragged me along. It was actually really fun. While I infinitely prefer older women over older men (creepy old men asking you to be a 2nd or 3rd wife isn’t fun), my interactions with my siblings male friends has been a lot nicer and more fun than with their female friends. Just the other day my sisters had a friend over who berated me about not speaking Wolof because I didn’t know the word for a piece of clothing she was wearing, even though I had been talking to her for a while. Tonight, I talked to some boys my own age, and even though they told me they could be my Senegalese boyfriend/ husband and we wouldn’t have to tell my boyfriend at home, they were really patient with my Wolof and really impressed when they found out I’ve only been studying for two months.I hate to make this generalization about the girls, but it’s probably because they work their asses off and are tired and maybe jealous that I get to sit around like a boy, under a tree, fanning myself.

Regardless, it was still a good day if not filled with greasy food, unbelievable amounts of sweat, and unbearable heat. Tomorrow Tamar and I are using public transportation for the first time alone! Wish us luck! We are going to Thies for a friend’s birthday. It should definitely be an adventure!

Also, I just put some pictures of everyday objects up for your amusement and hopefully to induce some shock about what Africa really is like.


PS: Tamar's family watched a soft-core porn movie featuring Anna Nicole Smith last night. Ridiculous.

52 States

October 9, 2009

This afternoon I overheard my brother telling the rest of my siblings a common Senegalese myth: the US has 52 states. Walking into the room to explain that, no, Guam and Puerto Rico aren’t states opened up a huge discussion on the United States and how incredibly wealthy my Senegalese siblings perceive me to be back in the States.

A common question here is which do you like better: America or Senegal? Aside from one’s obvious allegiance to their place of birth the divide between the US and Senegal is indescribable to both you back at home and my family here in Senegal. My siblings often complain there is no money and no jobs in Senegal. Many people at home are saying the same thing, but my siblings point out that we still have washing machines, fully stocked kitchens, and most importantly iPods on which we can listen to Akon. I tried to convey to my siblings that people in the US do work hard. I worked hard in school to get into a good university and I worked hard to get into the Peace Corps.

While I really want to illustrate that life isn’t all rainbows, sports cars, celebrities, and McDonalds to my family, it’s equally as difficult to rationalize this to myself. Because, as my sister put it: “you have a washing machine.” Too true. I do tell my family that I like Senegal and the US and Senegal are just different, but really there is no comparison. This is a developing nation after all.

This conversation was only driven home by my walk to my afternoon class as children and adults alike approached me to ask for money, my sunglasses, my water bottle, and my bag. As I politely keep moving and give the culturally appropriate response that these items are gifts, I want to scream.

But, this brings me back to the events of yesterday and why people here dream of going to the States in search of a better life. Yesterday, we had no water. After I took my morning bucket bath I returned to the faucet to fill my water filter and no water came out. At lunch there was still no water and at dinner we all had to share a very small amount of leftovers because we didn’t have any water to cook. Now, most family’s keep huge plastic bins of water in their compounds for just such an occasion, but mine obviously doesn’t. Luckily, the water came back on right before I went to bed so I could bathe/ not absolutely reek. Now, the water is back on, but on a daily basis we almost never have power between 11am and 4pm. That’s just the way things are here and it’s ridiculous and frustrating for people who are trying to better themselves.

I will now get off my blogosphere soap box and regale you with what you really want to hear: the ridiculousness of my life in Africa.

Clothing Update: It appears as though I will not be wearing rhinestones to my swearing in ceremony. I know you are all disappointed. We may have had an epic miscommunication and now think we will have awesome outfits.

Mouse Update: I heard the mouse last night, but didn’t see it and there are no droppings or other signs of the rodent around my room. My family finds my hatred for the mouse absolutely hilarious and my dad loves to ask me how my mouse is at every opportunity.

Bugs Update: There are small, infuriating, beigish bugs EVERYWHERE and I want to be under my mosquito net all the time. Grr.

Mouse Trap

October 8, 2009

Remember that game called “Mouse Trap” that we also used to play when we were kids and it was so cute and fun? Well, it’s not easy to catch/ kill a mouse. This morning I woke up early to talk to Matt and heard something in my room. I located and crushed a giant cockroach and that thought that was the end of it because it was still dark in my room. As the morning light creeped in I saw that there was sand all over my room. Mounds of it. Not good. I heard the scurrying again and was terrified I was going to see a giant Africa rat, which is the size of a small dog. At this point Matt and I have hung up and I’m furiously text messaging him while I crouch on my bed wrapped in my mosquito net for protection. Yes, obviously my mosquito net is no protection, but Africa rats are scary. I use my upukay (fan) to move the curtain that covers my door and I find a very small mouse. Gross. And how did this tiny mouse dig up all this sand? The sand is literally everywhere. Now Matt is texting me things like “just hit it with a magazine” and “drown it,” great, thanks. I don’t want to potentially ruin my Elle magazine with mouse guts so I use my upukay to nudge my Wolof dictionary toward my bed. When I see the mouse again I attempt to pounce from my bed, through my mosquito net, to squash the mouse with the Wolof dictionary. Fail. Damn.

Now that I’m out of bed I bravely move to and open the door and find my younger sister staring at me. I tell her there’s a mouse in my room. She proceeds to scream this information to my mom in another room and then push some of the dirt back over the hole and calls it a day. Not cool. I tell everyone I want to kill the mouse and they pretty much shrug me off. When I came back home for lunch my dad asked me what I was going to do about the mouse. Awesome, thanks dad. Although, I probably would have received a fairly similar answer from my dad back at home… I did purchase some rat poison from a very quizzical boutique owner who thought I was fairly crazy and now have a poison water bowl in my room. I hope it works, but I have very little faith in my mouse killing skills/ the unmarked, miscellaneous supposed poison tablets I bought at the boutique. It did entertain everyone in language class so that was a plus and I did reward myself with a bean sandwich for my valiant effort.

In other OMG I’m in Africa news, Tamar and I told our teacher about our swear-in outfits that will surely be encrusted in fake jewels and she immediately burst out laughing and told us we would look ridiculous. Can I actually look more ridiculous than I usually do? Obviously I can. She was very adamant that we attempt to rectify the situation. She agreed to called Tamar’s mom and explain that our ceremony is very conservative and we need traditional, African clothes, not blinged out monstrosities. I just got a text from Tamar and I think we’re cool, but we’ll see on Monday.

I’m writing this at lunch because we’re going to the cyber after class so there very well could be more ridiculousness this afternoon, but I’m hoping just to sweat under our tree and read and maybe claim victory over a dead mouse.

I hope everything is good at home.5 more nights in the vil!

Rhinestones

October 7, 2009
Today’s events of note:

1. I still feel like I have been marooned in Death Valley. I have not stopped sweating since I left Thies.

2. I came back from my morning class and found my sisters slaving away over a hot fire. They told me we were have mafe for lunch which is a delicious rice, peanut, paste concoction and I was elated and said that I would get us some cold drinks. Unfortunately, I learned that mafe can be any type of sauce over rice and we did not have peanut variety for lunch. I was severely disappointed, but I still went and got us some Sprite. I told my sisters that it was a treat for us girls since it was so hot and we were cooking. They were definitely excited about getting some pop, but when I returned they had already set out enough glasses for everyone in the family and they poured the pop from the bottles in the glasses. My oldest sister only had a sip from the bottle because after doling it out for everyone else there wasn’t enough for her and she’s the one who does the vast majority of the house work. This was a powerful reminder for me that Senegal is a very communal society and that I need to be careful with my American idea and sense of individuality and ownership, but at the same time isn’t it sad that my sisters couldn’t have this one treat for themselves? They work so hard and then shared (through sense of duty or ignorance of personal property I don’t know) the littlest present I got for them. That would never happen back home, but pop isn’t a luxury item in the US either.

3. My afternoon class consisted of my class going to the chief of the quarter’s house to practice our Wolof. It was also an eye opening experience. This man is the head of his neighborhood and is looked to for advice and dispute resolution, but isn’t educated. I know that there are many politicians in the US who aren’t the brightest crayon in the box and who are not well traveled or very knowledgeable at all, but I was shocked by our discussion. He has only been to three cities in Senegal, has never been outside the country and doesn’t want to, and was shocked when we told him people don’t speak Wolof in the US. Would we, as Americans, be able to speak Wolof if it was widespread in the US? We were there for almost two hours and the vast majority of the time our discussion revolved around marriage! What else? The family wanted to know if we were married, why none of us are married, when we are going to marry a Senegalese person to take them back to the States, and how I expected to have many children if I don’t get started right now. Well, well. These types of situations usually end badly because I don’t have the language skills to thoroughly explain that I don’t need a husband to be successful, average families in the US don’t have a million children running around, and that at 22 I am not some old maid who is too completely undesirable to find a husband. The questions in and of themselves aren’t what’s frustrating. The frustrating part is the lack of give and take. I’m here sitting on mats, drinking tea, and speaking in Wolof, but a lot of people here are completely unwilling to accept that social mores are different in the US. Many people tell me that since I’m in Senegal now I should do as the Senegalese do aka immediately get married and take my new husband back to the states. I am interested in Senegalese cultural and I’m learning a lot, I just wish that there was a little more give and take, a little more interest in my culture and what I’m about.

4. After thoroughly rehashing this discussion with Tamar on our walk home, we made our way to her uncle the tailors house to see about our swearing in outfits. Yesterday we didn’t understand him and unfortunately today we did! He told us that in 2003 he received the Golden Scissor award which is a very prestigious award in Senegal for tailors who also design clothes. He told us this because Tamar and I had horrified looks on our faces as we pictured what we will be looking like when we swear in as official Peace Corps volunteers in front of the American Ambassador as well as everyone watching Senegalese TV that night. We wanted traditional Senegalese complets with traditional embroidery. Amadou, the tailor, told us he is a visionary and wants to make us what will be hot in 2010 not 2009. Sheer terror can only describe how I’m feeling. While we wanted embroidery, he took our HUGE rhinestones to bedeck our traditional Senegalese clothes. And since he’s Tamar’s family we couldn’t flee in horror and find another terror so we’re pretty much stuck with whatever creation comes out of his atelier. He did make my skirt and dress which were awesome, but huge rhinestones are making me a little uneasy. The only possible upside is that the TV lights will reflect off of my rhinestone encrusted outfit and obscure my face from view…

Yeah, it was an interesting day to say the least. There is a slight breeze about so I’m going to move my bed directly in front of the window to try and cash in on any reprieve from the heat.

Staying Sweaty in Senegal,

Alyssa

My Family Drank Water Today

October 6, 2009

My family routinely questions why I drink so much water and always have my water bottle around. This is Africa, it’s hot. Anyway, today they were drinking water constantly and my poor sister was repeatedly sent out into the sweltering heat to buy ice because it was so damn hot. It’s impossible to describe how hot it was. I was having a personal struggle about whether to fan myself or not. I couldn’t figure out if fanning myself was making it cooler or if I was sweating more from the physical activity. Sitting under our tree, in the shade sweat was literally streaming off my body as the hot wind only exacerbated my discomfort and annoyance. Even buckets baths offer little relief since the water that comes out of the robinet is warm. Yeah, it was a bad one. I was also in a fairly bad mood because instead of being dropped off at our individual houses we were dropped off at our teacher’s house and then forced to walk with all of our stuff back home. My mom commiserated with me and said that was mean… I agree!

No class in the morning meant a lot of reading since my brothers sleep until the early afternoon, my dad was gone, my mom is sick/ sleeping under the tree, and my sisters are toiling away cleaning or the like. I finished “Cry, the Beloved Country,” and started “Half the Sky,” by Nicholas Kristof and his wife about gender disparity, which was an interesting choice on my part since we talked about women in Senegal during my afternoon language class.

Women have a hard, hard life here. They do all the housework and housework in Senegal is not easy. Even attempting to explain the difference between American housework and Senegalese housework to our teacher was nearly impossible. It was inconceivable to her that nearly everyone in the US has an oven, a stove, a laundry machine, and a dish washer. At home my least favorite activity in the entire world is unloading the dishwasher. This takes approximately 3 minutes after I’ve done the prerequisite 20 minutes of complaining before starting. Dishes here take hours. Plus, unlike in the US you can’t through them into a machine and come back 45 minutes later to clean dishes. You have to wash them while you bake in the sun. The same with laundry; it takes 30 seconds at home to throw everything in the washer and walk away to do other things while you’re laundry is getting clean. The time modern conveniences save the average American is astronomical and unimaginable here. I wonder if my Senegalese sisters would use that time wisely or if they would sleep in and do nothing like my brothers.

This brings me back to my continuing and growing obsession with my Senegalese mom. I had homework tonight about the market, which I asked her for help with because I think I’ve already tried everyone else’s patience today. She patiently explained everything to me and attempted to use circumlocution when I didn’t know 50% of the words she wanted to use, but I was transcribing what she said onto my homework sheet, something she can’t do. What in the world does she think of me? I sit around all day asking questions, reading, studying, and text messaging Tamar. The only one of those she can really do is ask questions and she doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of curiosity. Is curiosity born of some type of intelligence? Regardless our relationship is getting better as my Wolof improves although she’s still a terrifying woman for how tiny she is.

My day was pretty boring so I had to get all “deep thinking” on you. Sorry. Tamar and I did go to her uncle the tailor to try and get outfits made for our swearing in ceremony. It was an epic fail. Although we had asked our teacher about the styles and what we should get, Tamar’s uncle was super bsuy with other clients who have a wedding on Saturday and he was confused with our requests. Long story short we have to go back tomorrow and try again.

Now, I’m going to attempt to cool down in a bucket bath and try not to completely sweat through my sheets. I’m guessing both will be failures. 7 more nights in the vil… I’m almost getting nostalgic.

Dakar Day

October 5, 2009

For some reason I thought that Dakar Day was going to be a very glitzy expedition filled with us snapping pictures while everything was wonderful. I did get to eat amazing falafel, chwarma, and ice cream, but the day wasn’t as interesting as I expected. I shouldn’t have expected so much. That said Dakar does seem really cool. We took a driving tour around the city and the coast and the views are beautiful. There are also two really cool islands right off the coast that I definitely want to visit. One is a national park and the other is an old slave trade hub. Since, Thies is the second biggest city in Senegal I wasn’t expecting that much more out of Dakar even though I had this glorified image of the day in my mind. While Thies has no buildings higher than three stories, Dakar does have some high rises and modern buildings. Dakar has a better city plan than I was imaging, but we really didn’t see much so these are my surface observations. I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time in Dakar, all of the volunteers told me I’ll be spending a lot of time in Dakar, since I’m so close so I have a lot of time to explore. We can also sign up to have an ex-pat family home stay in Dakar, which will be amazing because I’m definitely signing up!

We spent most of our time in the Peace Corps office in Dakar. It was also really nice and surrounded by other aid organizations like the UN. We pretty much just sat through security briefings and other administrative things, which were interesting but not really anything to write about.

Back in Thies, we had chicken for dinner which is always wonderful and amazing and we found out that the first person from our stage is doing Early Termination (ET). While, it’s really sad to see anyone go because we are a group now and we stick together, I would like to give myself a huge pat on the back for sticking it out this far. There were without a doubt people thinking that the first person to ET would be yours truly, so go me. I’m actually feeling pretty good and confident right now. I’m going back to the village tomorrow, but for the last time! One more week and I’m done with the village, which is going to be a huge accomplishment. It’s definitely scary at the same time too though. We are going to be on our own soon. The safety of the group and the center will be gone and we’ll have to find our own way. PST has been hell, but it’s definitely necessary and prepares you for post. I’m looking forward to some freedom, a DRESSER, and cooking for myself.

The most entertaining part of my day came tonight as my roommates and I mourned the power outage at the center which caused the internet to crash by trying on each other’s horribly made Senegalese clothing. Tamar and I have had amazing dresses and skirts made in our home stay village and our thoroughly impressed with the tailors’ skills. Most tailors here can copy ANYTHING and are pretty good designers too, but in the smaller villages it seems like there can be some problems. Katherine has a pair of pants that are backwards. You may be asking, how can pants be backwards? Can’t you just turn them around? Well, the answer is no if they have pockets! These pants also have an incredibly low crotch and are super tight around the thighs! Hilarious. Jackie also has a funny pair of pants. The zipper is approximately a foot long and the legs are so tight you can barely get them on. You would have to be a giraffe with an extremely long crotch for these pants to fit. Obviously, you can tell that we are all in desperate need of entertainment. Trying on each others’ pants is now a pastime. Wah wah…

I think that’s all the news from Senegal. It’s still hot and humid, but at least my clothes finally dried after two days. Oh! I got a FOUR package slips today, but getting the package slips today means I don’t actually get the packages until I get back from the village in a week. Boo! At least I have FOUR packages and dinner at the infamous/ delicious chicken dibi place to look forward to after a week in the vil.

Until my next internet café visit…

Rambling Thoughts

Today was amazing. I had nothing to do and I didn't do anything.

My day consisted of:

1. Sleeping in until I got hot
2. Doing laundry for an ungodly amount of time
3. Going into town for lunch

Going into town for lunch was nice although the heat index was 107 degrees with 85% humidity. Gross. I went with two other girls and we decided to try a new place. It's called Les Delicious and is pretty much a toubab restaurant. We usually go to Big Faim and we really never see any Africans eating there. The entire staff is African, but the cliental is mainly French, Lebanese, and PCs. Les Delicious had a very mixed cliental and it was very interesting to me. There were tables of just white people, tables of just Africans, and then a mix. It was interesting because I haven't really interacted with Africans in a restaurant setting. In the village we sit on mats eating around a communal bowl and the same thing happened in the center with our work partners, so it was a little bit strange seeing Africans eating at a table with a knife and fork. I have yet to see a fork in my home stay village and we only use knives to cook, not to eat. In the US I wouldn't even notice the racial mix of a restaurant and in Africa I'm usually the only white person. I will definitely get used

It was just kind of an interesting experience. The restaurant itself was really funny. It smelled like an American diner, but looked fairly French, and had the most ridiculous menu. They had a section entitled "Asiatique" which was all Asian food like fried rice and "shrimp asian style." While I'm currently craving Asian, I went safe and just got a sandwich although the three of us did split some falafel.

4. Back at the center I got to talk to Leigh on Skype! Yay! She's my frist friend I've talked to on Skype and I have to give her a shout out for calling my Africa phone a couple weeks ago. It was amazing. I'm hoping that I will be able to talk to people more once I move into my site and have internet.

5. I spent most of the afternoon wandering around on the internet and attempting to download Gmail offline, but the center's internet is incredibly slow and it wont download.

Yeah, pretty boring, but still amazing day. I absolutely reek so I'm planing on taking a shower and going to bed. I still haven't gotten used to how bad I smell most of the time and I hope I never do because that would be really gross.

Additionally, some of you have been asking for some other and perhaps less cynical perspectives about what's going on here in Senegal. I've added some of my friend's blogs to the side of my blog so feel free to check them out.

Hope you're enjoying the start of fall in the US. I want to do back to school shopping (although not go back to school) and wear jeans. Oh jeans. Some people actually wear jeans here. I can't imagine it. Mine have been sequestered at the bottom of my suitcase since I learned that Senegal is actually located on the surface of the sun.

Ok, I'm rambling. Time for a shower and bed!

Goodnight.

Hail to the Victors?

Today was my last bean sandwich breakfast and thankfully my last morning commute from my home stay village back to the center. It was an absolutely brutal couple of days and I'm completely exhausted. I really couldn't have continued on much longer so I'm really happy that I will be able to have a very relaxing weekend at the center.

Our first session this morning was a debriefing of the counterpart workshop with the head of the SED program. She is an American so it was really nice to voice our concerns, complaints, and constructive criticism to a person who could truly understand our perspective. A lot of people didn't have a lot to say, but I really wanted to voice my concerns and hopefully help improve the programing. The Peace Corps is something I've always wanted to do and until now it's been disappointing and I don't want that so I hope I can help improve the situation and I really think the new head of the SED program wants to make changes. I just think it's ridiculous to think that trainees can commute back and forth, staying less than 10 hours in the village, and then come back to the center and function at a high level in multiple foreign languages with work partners we've never met. I'm pretty awesome, but I'm no superwoman.

Unfortunately, we also had an insufferable language session after tech, which I was disillusionally tired during and pretty much rambled on in Wolof as Tamar and laughed at inside jokes and our teacher practically nodding off during class as well. Ceebu jenn for lunch, obviously, and then a glorious nap in my bed, in the center, under a luxurious ceiling fan! Oh ceiling fans, I can't wait until I get to mine at my permanent site!

Today was also the Michigan - Michigan State game. The boy from MSU has a subscription to the Big Ten Network site which allows us to stream the games live internationally. In case you didn't know I can't stream any network sites here because of licensing, therefore my request for DVDs and TV programs. Anyway, a handful of us, including the boy from OSU, went to a restaurant in town that supposedly has really good internet. The first half was terrible and we watched the play by play scroll on ESPN as the internet connection skipped, but the second half was pretty good and we got to watch half of it. WHAT AN AMAZING LAST TWO MINUTES OF REGULATION! GO BLUE! Only to throw an interception in the end zone. Really? So disappointing! The MSU boy and I commiserated with each other that neither team deserved to win as the OSU boy basked in the thought that OSU will probably be at the top of the Big Ten by the end of the night. Oh well. I got a delicious marguez sandwich and some fries and good company so it was a good night.

After the game is when things really got interesting... I thought Tamar and some other people were at a nearby bar so I called to see what was going on. A random Senegalese person answered her phone. Lines do get switched here sometimes so I called back, still random guy. Then I started demanding for Tamar and got in a big Wolof fight with this guy on the phone. By this point, I'm in a cab back to the center and I see Tamar walking down the road. From the cab I couldn't tell she was walking with one of the guards from the center so I tried jumping out and screaming at her but she didn't hear. It pretty much ended up that she left her phone in a cab, I harassed the nice people trying to get her phone back to her, and the guard finally helped her get her phone back. All good news.

I've been trying to save the beautiful, white sheets I brought from home that are still creased from when my mom ironed them and smell like Tide until I move into my new place, but duty called tonight. We found a projector and a random extension cord and everyone at the center decided to watch a movie so I broke down and offered my sheet. At least the fitted sheet is still pristine. Let's not kid ourselves, when was I ever going to use a top sheet anyway? Yeah.

I'm hoping to sleep until I'm either A) rested or B) wake up in a pool of my own sweat (preferably after 8am). I really need a good night's rest. Tomorrow is another day off! Yay! I'll be around to respond to emails and calls from Skype hint, hint...

Kaityln = Winner

October 2, 2009

Yes, Kaityln has taken home the prize as the first person not related to me to send me anything! And she sent me a sweet package therefore she rocks. Also, I will be sending her an amazing gift from Senegal as soon as I install at my permanent post. Just in case anyone was wondering, I licked the package of the Reese’s Cups she sent me…it’s all the rage in Africa…everything melts. I was able to open Kaitlyn’s package only after voyaging to the post office with Tamar since otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten them until Tuesday. I refuse to be denied my mail! I also got a letter from Aunt Cindy and the rest of the Kogelschatzs clan so it was a great mail day! Thanks again!

Bean sandwiches again for breakfast got the day off to a good start and although I’m still exhausted I was quite as bad as yesterday so I really thought today was going to be good until the first session with our counterparts. We were supposed to map out our first three months at site before we come back to the center for more training, but neither my counterpart nor my supervisor were there. Obviously, it’s the hardest for the closest people to the center not to actually show up on time. I took the opportunity to curl up in some random chair for a nap until I was jolted out of my sleep by a PC staff member who told me my counterpart had arrived. We said our pleasantries and then she told me she didn’t want to map out my first months of service because my supervisor wasn’t there, go figure.

I can already tell the working here is going to be the ultimate test of patience. Watching our PC instructor Bamba is infinitely helpful. At first his technique made me want to pull my hair out because it’s so slow and repetitive, but that’s how it has to be done here. Even though I really haven’t learned anything in any of our business sessions, I can now appreciate that I have at least learned some technique from Bamba that I can use. Repetition, allowing everyone to talk even though they say the same exact thing, and being willing to be snapped at are all integral parts of working with and teaching the Senegelases. It’s going to be rough.

My counterpart and supervisor are definitely nice, but I’m not sure how much work they actually do. They seem like big talkers. I would be fine with them being big talkers if I could go in and do some work. This is actually another thing I’ve really been thinking about. My work as a Peace Corps Volunteer is development work. That means I need my projects to be sustainable, which means a lot of teaching. I wasn’t mentally prepared for this. I wanted to come in and change the world. Get things done. That’s not how it works. I need to teach business techniques to entrepreneurs so they can do the real work themselves. While I will without a doubt do some work myself, my real goals need to be teaching and helping. That’s a mental shift that I’m still working on making and what I’m taking away from the counterpart workshop. I think it’s a difficult thing for many American’s to understand since we just DO things. I know it’s going to bother me so I’m trying to prepare myself.

The day was really pretty uneventful. I actually got information from the Peace Corps today which is a first. I know I will install at my permanent site the Monday after swearing in, which is October 19th. I also know that I can stay at the center all weekend and sleep! Yes! I’m already planning on going to a restaurant with supposedly excellent wireless to watch the Michigan game with some State boys tomorrow afternoon. Go Blue! And that we are all going to Dakar on Monday for our first tour. Exciting.

What is not exciting is being back in the home stay village although it’s really not bad anymore. I’m starting to connect with my family and especially my mom as my Wolof is getting better and better. My cousins from Dakar are back for the weekend which means I get a delicious dinner tonight! My aunt loves potatoes and I love her for that.

Sorry for the rambling post. Utter exhaustion is taking over any capability I have left to speak English or any other language for that matter.

Keep the letters coming and check your mailboxes because there are some pretty awesome postcards in the mail!

I forgot the LOST IN TRANSLATION part of my day:
As I mentioned my cousins from Dakar is back and that means all of my uncles friends were visiting the house last night. When they were here for Korite all of my uncle’s friends kept asking me to marry them and when I told them they were too ugly everyone thought it was hilariously funny. Last night, my uncle’s friend sits next to me and starts talking about getting married tomorrow. I was like “haha I don’t want to get married,” and he kept talking about it and saying tomorrow, tomorrow. I called him ugly, said I had a boyfriend, and was ready to call it a day when my whole family started laughing uncontrollably. I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack/ pee in her pants. The man was telling me he’s getting married tomorrow and was inviting me to the wedding…Oops.

Happy Birthday Kristen

October 1, 2009

I woke up feeling amazing this morning even though it was early because I became a real PC volunteer last night and slept wrapped up in a wet towel to combat the extreme heat and humidity. I’m now hooked and will be sleeping that way every night. My morning only continued to improve because we had to meet the PC car at the Total station and I bought a bean sandwich for breakfast. Bean sandwiches are my new obsession they are absolutely delicious and 25 cents. It’s literally some cooked/ mashed up beans with my cayenne and other mysterious ingredients on a baguette. They are actually filling and have texture and a little kick. Amazing. I bought one for Tamar who was already in the car and it made her day.

At the center, I prepared for my presentation on the SED program since my counterparts still hadn’t arrived. They live the closest to the center and are therefore the last to arrive. They actually got there 2 hours into the morning session. Oh well. My supervisor is a man named Diof and I would guess he’s 40-45 ish. He’s a little pompous but really nice and he seems like he works hard and is motivated so those are huge pluses. My counterpart, the person I will be working more closely with, is a woman named Mme. Seck and who’s probably around 55, it’s impossible to guess people’s ages here, and she is ridiculous. She was so happy that I was a girl and that I am learning/ can put elementary sentences together in Wolof. She told me to call her mom, and that I was her child, and that she was going to carry me around on her back like a little Senegalese baby. All very nice things to say.

The main project that my work partners are working on is food transformation with women’s groups. Food transformation literally means the women go to the market and buy whatever is seasonally available and then turn it into something else. In the spring they turn fruit in jams, in the summer grains into cereal, in the fall/ winter they preserve vegetables. It sounds pretty cool since PC is interested in food transformation projects and I really wanted to work with women’s groups. I think it will also involve traveling to nearby villages since my work partners work with upwards of 20 women’s groups.

The morning session was definitely tolerable although my good night’s sleep was wearing off, aka I was nodding off in session, and the bean sandwich was no longer sticking to my stomach. It was the first time we’ve been with a large group of Senegalese people who aren’t our teachers and it was quite an experience. First, as we were told by our teachers, Senegalese people have ZERO cell phone etiquette. Someone’s phone would literally ring every 2 minutes and they would answer it and proceed to have a conversation in the middle of class and we were expected to keep presenting. It was really challenging to both present and pay attention since in the US speaking on your cell phone during a class is completely unacceptable. Second, every Senegalese person in the room has to answer every question even if they are going to repeat verbatim what someone else already said. Needless to say, my patience was wearing thin extremely quickly. I know that I will learn infinite patience during my time in Senegal. I just wish that I had come to this country with a little longer fuse…

At lunch I was starving and literally inhaled my ceebu jenn. I was happy because I sat at the bowl with the crunchy rice, which is delicious. It’s the burnt rice from the bottom of the pot and it’s really flavorful and provides textural contrast to the mush that is everything else. I’ve had a bottomless appetite the past few days, which I think is due to complete and utter exhaustion. I have to consumer298357894 calories in order to keep myself awake, responsive, and moving. This exhaustion was only exacerbated by the fact that I currently have no personal space at the center and there was nowhere to lay down and take nap. Luckily, other volunteers not work counterparts are staying in my room so I can still get into my suitcases and go in there to sit, but it also means that there were 8+ girls in there at all times during the break which didn’t make it much of a break.

The afternoon was pretty much insufferable. I felt like the same thing was said a million times. Actually it was because everything was said in French, in English, in Wolof and then various other local languages. I thought I was going to die. I know it’s important to go over the details with our counterparts, but listening to all of them say the exact same thing drove me absolutely crazy. All I wanted to do was go back to the home stay village… yes, I actually did just say that.

Back in the vil, my family was really nice and excited about dinner. They know I love peanuts and peanut butter so they were happy to tell me all about dinner and how they were making it from scratch all day and how much I was going to love it. Dinner was Reeses Pieces cereal. I kid you not… or at least the Senegalese version of the sugary kids cereal. Let me explain. Dinner was peanut butter soup and millet balls with approximately 18 pounds of sugar mixed in. My family knows that I hate nothing more than breakfast for dinner and that’s mainly because I don’t want a sweet dinner, I want a savory one. Well, this was no eggs and pancakes this was a quantity of sugar that barely dissolved in peanut butter soup over millet balls. It wasn’t bad, but millet balls sink to the bottom of my stomach and form a rock, this one happened to be covered in sugar. I ate as much and as slowly as I could to show that I liked it and appreciated the thought. My mom could tell I was exhausted and I can’t form sentences in any language right now. I told her my head is not working in Wolof and she thought it was the funniest thing in the world, took my bowl away from me, and told me to take a shower. Victory.

I’m about to wrap myself in a wet towel and call it a night.

Ps. Other funny things:

Jackie got locked in the bathroom. She screamed for help for 20 minutes and no one came. Finally someone entered the bathroom, but it was obviously someone’s work partner who didn’t speak French because the person just left without helping. 20 minutes after that another trainee came in and tried to help. She couldn’t and went to get someone else who eventually told Jackie she had to scale the bathroom wall to get out. Jackie stood by a disgusting toilet for almost an hour in 90 degree heat. Too funny.

Tamar’s work partner asked her her astrological sign.

Happy Birthday Jackie!

September 30, 2009

As my only friend who has made a trip to Africa, Happy Birthday and congratulations on surviving you trip. You rock my world and I hope #23 is good to you. I wish I was there to celebrate.

But, I am in fact in Senegal. And because I’m in Senegal I had a semi-ridiculous day. Last night I got to sleep in the center and while my roommates were up all night and one of my friends even took out their computer to discover there was 89% humidity, I slept like a baby due to absolute exhaustion and Tylenol PM. I actually woke up refreshed for the first time in a while only to be greeted on Skype by Matt eating chicken wings and a pizza. Yeah, that’s love. It really bothers some of my friends to hear about home; what people are doing, eating, and friends seeing each other makes people here more homesick, but it makes me feel more connected. I want to stay in the loop! Even if I ate mystery meat the night before and my stomach is growling for breakfast as my boyfriend gorges on pizza and wings. My only solace was that it was Domino’s and I don’t really like Domino’s.

This morning class was all about preparing for our counterpart workshop which starts tomorrow. Therefore, the center was pretty much chaos and there was lots of running around, directions being shouted in many languages, and general confusion. I worked on translating the goals of the SED program with another boy and we will be some of the first presenters tomorrow. The SED workshops will be in French since that is the common language and the language of business. As volunteers’ counterparts started arriving throughout the afternoon, I went into town to buy fabric for a sweet outfit that I will wear at swearing-in and surfed the internet since my counterparts aren’t staying at the center and I’ll meet them tomorrow. I really enjoyed the afternoon off, especially since I’ve been banished back to my home stay village for the nights. Grrr.

While I’m not happy about commuting back and forth, going back to the vil is getting less and less disagreeable. As my language really starts to progress, it’s easier to bond with my family and especially with my mom. She definitely felt left out at the beginning when everyone had to communicate in French with me and she doesn’t understand French. Now, although I can carry on simple conversations in Wolof, my dad will get frustrated and revert to French, but since my mom doesn’t have that option she will sit and work with me to figure out the correct word or context. I’m also starting to enjoy my siblings more, but we still aren’t a close family.

In town I forgot to get my family a small gift, which is traditional when you’ve been away, and my cousins came to rescue! I’ve been saving the delicious jelly beans they sent me for a special occasion and tonight they provided me with absolute hilarity. I brought the candy out after dinner as a present and my family was very confused. The different colors mixed together was just too much and they demanded that we take one of each color out so I could explain each flavor. Now, everyone in the US understands what “Cool Blue” would taste like… it would taste like blue candy. Well, that’s impossible to explain here as is black licorice. I told everyone that I really like the pink and the red flavors and that black licorice is just plain bad. My mom, taking another food related dig at me, said that I don’t like a lot of things (not true, I eat whatever is put in front of me) and proceeded to put several black ones in her mouth. She chewed for a second and then proceeded to spit them out. I couldn’t help myself from laughing it was hilarious. She agreed that they were disgusting as I had described them. Victory Alyssa! They really liked the candy aka it’s sugar and Senegalese people love sugar and it was a fun night time activity. Thanks again!

That’s pretty much it from the vil. It’s ridiculously hot still so I might have to sleep in my favorite new pajamas… aka a wet towel wrapped around my body which I then fan to cool myself down while I watch Gossip Girls. Doesn’t that sound like how you want to fall asleep?

All kidding aside, I am starting to actually be able to tell that I’m adapting to life here in Senegal. Yes, the heat is terrible, but I can deal with it now. We had pasta with fish balls and 9876753467 gallons of oil tonight for dinner, a meal I usual can’t stomach, and I ate so much my mom didn’t even yell at me when I got up from the bowl. I also didn’t flinch when a cock roach crawled out of the squat toilet to greet me. Maybe I can do this after all.

Hope all is well at home. I hear a lot of mail is on it’s way! I can’t wait. Letter writing is a great way to past time here so send me your address and I’ll send you a sweet Senegalese post card!

Signed,
Jeeneba

A Day at the Beach

September 28/29

Only two things worth mentioning happened before I left my home stay village:
1. My devoutly Muslim cousin from Dakar who is still staying with us was wearing a HUGE belt buckle with a hologram of Jesus on it.
2. We were actually picked up ON TIME to go back to Thies. Yay!

Once we got back to Thies I had about 30 minutes to look for my swimsuit, check my email, and update my blog. It was surprising how efficient leaving for the beach was... the even was planned by two trainees though. We rented two Alhams (buses that have bench seating without seat belts and which can barely make it up hills) to take us directly to the beach.

We made an epic booze and food run before making it to the beach, but when we finally got there I almost forgot I was still in Africa. It was absolutely beautiful (pictures are up as proof). The beach house we rented was amazing and had western toilets and a full kitchen and a huge porch and the beach was beautiful and pristine.

After eating spaghetti Senegalese style from huge platters, we all jumped in the ocean and it was spectacular. It was literally the first time in several days that I have not been sweating. The last couple of nights I have had to wrap myself in a wet towel and fan myself to sleep. The heat has been really horrible so the ocean felt awesome even though it was luke warm. The sand on the beach is like powder and there are barely any shells and the bottom of the ocean is perfectly sandy as well so we pretty much stayed out in the ocean all night. I got out of the water around 2am and some people were even later than that.

Being in the ocean, under the stars, with my new friends, having fun was one of the moments when I could step back and look around and be happy that I am in Africa. It was amazing to be in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Africa. Who gets to do that? The African night sky is awe inspiring. I have spent many hours of my home stay staring up at the infinite sky here and it was even more spectacular as I was hanging out in the ocean. While I can see how some PCs are able to just take off and enjoy being in Africa and go with the flow, I'm still concerned about getting serious work done... although I will definitely be visiting Tamar and the other eco-tourism SED volunteers at their beautiful sites!

I had hoped that being near the ocean would mean a great night's sleep with a lovely breeze blowing over me, but that was naive. This is Africa. And it's always hot in Africa. I also had to sleep on a 2 inch phone mat with my friend Katherine. While that was slightly uncomfortable, it was worse not sleeping with a mosquito net because my lower legs are a complete disaster. Oh well. Being in the water made it totally worth it.

We woke up in the morning and made pancakes and played some more in the water and walked around on the beach. It was really relaxing being away from the home stay villages and Thies. Just getting out and seeing another part of Senegal and not having any PC staff around was great. I also reveled in the fact that I just really didn't care what happened. Other people stepped up to play mom for the sick people, clean up the house, and take care of the minutia that I would usually take care of at home. Instead, I took an extended lunch in town and had an amazing omelet with fries. Sweet.

I'm happy that I had a relaxing 24 hours because the rest of the week is going to be hell. This is week is the counterpart workshop where our work partners from all over the country will be staying at the center so we can do team building things together (my favorite activities) and this means that there isn't enough room to house all of us trainees at the center. The super far away home stay people get to stay at the center. I'm 45 minutes away and we were the next people that were going to get to stay at the center, but, obviously for me, I have to make the commute every day and eat dinner with my family. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so angry. It's so unfair and the last thing that I wanted. I plan on complaining bitterly about it to make myself feel better. I just have to push through these last 2.5 weeks and then I'll be done with the home stay village and this training hell and I can move on and make some decisions about my life here in Senegal for myself.

The American Dream

September 27, 2009

We only had class in the morning today which left me with plenty of time to sit under a tree with my mom this afternoon. Since I now can hold a somewhat comprehensible conversation in Wolof, my mom is a lot nicer to me and potentially even wants to talk to me sometimes. Today she was telling me about the educational system here in Senegal. From what I understood public schools, the one’s the government pays for, is only offered for seven years and the kids only go to class in the morning. These are the schools my siblings go to. My mom told me herself that they are terrible schools, but that the family doesn’t have enough money to pay for the better private schools. It was actually really, really sad because she effectively told me that it will be impossible for my brothers to ever find meaningful or well paid work. She told me all of this very matter of factly.

While I wish that my siblings could go to the best schools Senegal had to offer, I also take offense that my family thinks American’s are spoon fed and have infinite amounts of cash. I’m not going to pretend that I can comprehend what growing up here, pretty much destitute, would be like, but it does amaze me that people don’t think American’s work. Here, people are resigned to never making any money or improving their station in life. They think The American Dream, that you can be successful, is just the reality and that hard work and perseverance isn’t involved. I have definitely grown up in a privileged house hold, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t work my ass off to get into a good school and that the rest of my life will be an easy path filled with money, candy, and rainbows.

A couple nights ago when I was sitting with my youngest brother and his friends, I tried to impress upon them the fact that yes, Americans do have to work very hard to get what we want and that everyone isn’t born rich and is best friends with Rihanna. I know it’s extremely difficult for them to look at me and not think the US if a magical playground of fun, but it’s also very frustrating. It’s frustrating that they get angry when I don’t understand Wolof. Sorry, I’ve been here for 6 weeks and you don’t speak any English.

It’s also amazing to me that I walk the same route everyday and still scare and amaze small children, adolescents, and adults alike. The same people scream Toubab, toubab, TOUBAB, Toubab, toubab, TOUBAB at me every single day. Yes, I am a toubab. Yes, I say hi to you everyday. Why do you still find it amazing that I’m a toubab? It barely registers in my mind when I see a person of another race in the US so it’s really interesting to me that after 6 weeks people aren’t used to my presence.

I wish that I could convey to my family that I’m living my American Dream. That you have to get out there and make things happen for yourself. I understand that most kids here can’t even image the world beyond their village and that they don’t get the same encouragement from their parents that many kids in the US have and that they don’t have the history of the US to look at… that people have brought themselves up from nothing. To people here, everyone in the US drinks a special KoolAid and then everything’s great.

I hope when I get to my post I can find people who are motivated and have faith that hard work will accomplish something. Unfortunately, too many people here are disillusioned…
Sorry for the blah post. Pictures are also updated and they are awesome!

Mystery Meat

September 26, 2009

Today we had our second language test and I think mine went fine. I can tell that my Wolof is progressing and we have another 3 weeks to improve before we swear in. To celebrate the end of the test/ to not eat ceebu jenn for lunch the five us went on a hunt for some delicious Senegalese street food. The choices in my home stay town are dibiteries, which are places that grill random meat, or restaurants which are all inevitably called Fast Food. Unfortunately our first Fast Food choice was closed and we went to our second. Again, we were disappointed because the chawarma wasn’t ready and wouldn’t be ready for another couple of hours. Typical Senegalese time delay. Nevertheless we continued ordering. I didn’t want a hamburger so I went for the sandwich as did Tamar.

Conversation:
Me: What type of meat is in the sandwich?
Waiter: It’s meat.
Tamar: Yes, we understand it’s meat, but what type of meat?
Waiter: Do you not know what meat is?
Me: Yes we know what meat is. Is it goat, sheep, or cow?
Waiter: It’s meat.

Tamar and I both order the sandwich which is meat (of the mystery variety…aka the best kind), onions, and French fries. It was delicious. The only problem with our little adventure was that the restaurant was so incredibly hot that sweat literally rolled off me the entire time we were there. Photographic proof of our adventure will be up shortly.

In an attempt to spend an afternoon without ceebu jenn or our families, we soldiered on in the extreme heat to the internet café. Unfortunately the awesome new internet café was closed for lunch (hours are never posted here) and we had to go to the crappy one, but my USB drive worked as did the internet browser so I can’t complain too much.

Tamar and I refused to go home so while the boys went home to nap we went to sit under our favorite baobob tree that is until some creepy old guy attempted to take Tamar into the tree for some unknown activity and we fled to our class for safety and cookies from the attached boutique.

The children that live near our classroom are the nice, not extremely rude and annoying variety that usually harass me as I walk around town so it’s fun to speak with them in Wolof since we can sound like idiots and they still have infinite patience for us. One thing that is really annoying is that everyone expects you to remember their name after one meeting. There are 50k people in my home stay town and 5 toubabs. That’s just not fair. So people we getting angry at me and Tamar for not knowing their names. And names are hard here. Most people’s name’s contain letter combinations that don’t exist in English and are incredibly hard to remember. To show the kids how hard it was for us we decided to give all the kids American names since we have Africa names. They love action movies here so we gave all the boys ridiculous names like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean Claude Van Damm and the girls names such as Tiffany, Britney, and Jessica. It was hilarious. They couldn’t say their names let alone remember them. One little boy who we randomly named Bradley was incredibly confused and whenever we said a name he didn’t understand (aka an American name) he would run over thinking that we were calling him. Adorbable. Now, I actually know all these kids by name… or at least the random American name I gave them…oh well.

Back at the house I actually engaged in some conversation with my mom as I did my homework. I may be making progress on that front, but I don’t want to get too excited.

It’s raining now, which is amazing. It was shockingly hot today. Maybe I will get some good sleep tonight!

Question of the Day
Senegalese kid: Do you have clouds in the US?
Me: Yes.