Site Visit :)

So I am currently in Linguere on my volunteer visit. The purpose of the volunteer visit is to see what a volunteer in your region/sector does on a daily basis. My situation is a little different because there is not a current SED volunteer in my region, nor a volunteer in my site since it is a new site. I am staying in the regional house with the PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader) who is basically in charge of the administrative stuff in this area. The house here is really nice, couple of rooms, wifi, and dogs :) Linguere seems to be pretty chill too...pretty calm compared to Bayakh. Being at the regional house, I've been able to meet several of the other volunteers in the region; everyone seems pretty cool, so I am looking forward to living and working in this region :) The PCVL has cooked some awesome American food for us while here, so I am very happy.

Yesterday, we headed to Dahra to see the town and meet my new family. My new "dad" is the deputy mayor of the town, so pretty well connected. My new "family" is rather large (19 people!) but seem really nice. I also got to meet my counterpart whom I'll be working with a lot while in Dahra; his name is Balla and seems very nice as well. We spent most of the afternoon just hanging out with my new family. We also went to a soccer match that my "dad"'s organization sponsors, so we were treated as VIPs :)

Dahra seems like a nice town; a little bigger than expected -- about 40,000 people. Because it is such a large town though,  I believe that I will have a lot of options when it comes to volunteer projects. I''ll just have to figure out which projects will be the most feasible and most beneficial to the community.

Korite

Friday was the Muslim holiday Korite, which represents the end of Ramadam. I headed back to Bayakh to celebrate with my family, as did the other volunteers. We were told that Korite was a pretty big holiday, but I guess it depends on the family. I had a good time eating and socializing with my family and the other volunteers, but it wasn't that much different than any other day (except for the eating part!) I did get to have some amazing fried potatoes and lots of yogurt though :) Below are some pictures of my African family (extended) and the other volunteers in my village.

YUMMY!



While in Thies, I made it into town with a few other volunteers. I was able to share a chicken sawarma (sp?/ chicken, onions, sauce and fries in a wrap) with my friend Daisy, have a beer, and an ice-cream treat!!! Sooo good!!! I have been living off of fish, rice, and bread for the last two weeks, so it was nice to change things up a little:)

Site Placement!

Site Placement!


So today we headed back to the training center in Thies for some more medical sessions and then to receive our permanent site placements. This will be where we will be working at in Senegal for the next two years. The way in which they reveal our sites to us was really cool  There is a basketball court at the center that has a map of Senegal painted on it. All of the volunteers were blindfolded and a staff member or current volunteer led each trainee to their respective spot on the map and handed them an envelope. Once everyone was placed, we were told to take off the blindfolds, look around to see who would be near us, and to look at our folder (see pictures below). It turns out that I will be serving in Darha in the Louga region. By what I can tell, this is a new SED site (and possible new Peace Corps site). The town has a population of 15,000 to 20,000; the town also has a busy market area. Other than that, there was not that much information in my folder, so I guess I will have to wait until my volunteer visit next week to find out more  At least I know where “home” will be for the next two years. I promise to post more information as I get it 

I returned to Bayakh on Wednesday, August, 25. I had mixed feelings about returning, but my host family was so welcoming that I felt completely relieved. It’s hard to integrate into a family, especially when you do not speak their native language. My family is very nice though, and helps me out as much as possible. Here are some pictures of my Senegalese family breaking fast one evening (my family is Muslim and fasting during the day since it is Ramadan).

coffee and bread -- typical "breaking fast" meal

In terms of classes, I am on my own a lot. My LCF recognized that my level of French is higher than the other volunteers (as it should be, since I’ve studied it for years and lived in France as well), so I am studying separately than the other volunteers. I’ve been going out into the community and speaking with a few business owners in French. It’s rather difficult to find people here to speak French to you; Wolof is the local language and people’s French levels vary tremendously. I like going out into the community though and greeting people :) I laugh a lot and they laugh at me, so it’s all good.

In terms of cultural experiences, I truly enjoy watching my family do everyday chores. My “sisters” wash clothes by hand, and my mom roasts her own coffee and dyes clothes. My brother takes care of the livestock (we have 2 goats and a sheep); watching him give the sheep a bath is hilarious! I think the sheep knows that it will be dinner one day soon, so it tries to be as annoying as possible – I think it’s hilarious :) I have also been able to watch a new brick wall be constructed and actual bricks be made

Overall, I am having a great time in Bayakh. There are times that I question “why am I here?” but I know that I am here in Senegal for a reason. I just pray that I make use of any and all opportunities that I am given. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and checking in on me – I greatly appreciate it!

week one in Bayakh = wonderful learning experience

So I spent the last week in my PST CBT site (pre-service training community-based training), Bayakh. Bayakh is a town of about 5,000 people. Everyone that I have met so far has been really nice. My host family is very welcoming; I have one set of parents, two brothers, and three sisters. My family is Wolof and speaks that language for most of the time. I have one brother and one sister who speak French, but no one else in the family does, which makes it rather difficult to communicate to the rest of my family. Hopefully I can test out of French in a few weeks and start learning Wolof, that way I can actually communicate with my family 



Language classes are good. As most of you know, I already know French, but I did not interview well which is why I am still studying French at the moment. This week has been a nice refresher course though. The two LCFs (language cross-culture facilitator) have noticed my level of French though and have recommended that I start doing some other activities within my community to improve my French at a quicker pace. Then, maybe in a few weeks, I may be able to test out and start learning Wolof.


In terms of culture, I am just taking it all in right now…there are a lot of things to observe. Once I get a good grasp on everything, I will post more  Some of the biggest adjustments have to do with food and lack of privacy. The food here is really good…lots of rice, which I truly enjoy. It’s just really hot, so I haven’t been very hungry. Also, when eating, everyone sits around one bowl and eats together. I get to eat with a spoon while everyone else eats with their hands. Kind of interesting for me if any of you know my strange food habits. Plus, I know how my stomach is, so I have been trying to watch what I eat so that I don’t get too sick.


In terms of privacy, my family is always hanging out, so it’s kind of rude to go lock myself in my room. My only alone times are breakfast and lunch (because it’s Ramadan, my family is fasting so I eat alone in my room), and right before bed.


Right now, I am back in Thies at the training center. I head back to Bayakh on Wednesday and will be there for two weeks next time. There is an internet café there, so I should be able to update some more and post pictures in a few weeks. A huge thank you to all who are keeping up with me! A bientot!

Leaving for homestay :)

Hello all! So the last couple of days here have been full of learning :) We had a culture fair where the staff went through and explained some really important aspects of Senegalse culture; my favorite sessions were on clothes and food (of course!). We also learned our hoemstay sites for the next two and a half months; I will be living in Bayack (see map) and continue to study French. We will be living in our homestay sites off and on for the next couple of months to help us better understand the culture and languages of the Senegalese people; and then travel back to Thies for debriefings. I am really looking forward to this, but definitely a little nervous. I will be living with a Senegalese family, so it will be interesting to see how I adapt. We also got to get out and explore Thies a little bit last night; I was able to have a nice beverage and buy a few things at the market. That's all for now; I'll try to update more after my first week in Bayakh :)