Travels

Hello again!  So I've been busy since the last time I wrote.  After the election I had a site visit from my boss to have a meeting about my baseline survey.  It went really well.  I think everyone at the meeting really understood what I was doing with the survey and everyone was excited to do it.  That was probably the easiest part of the survey.  I only had to do 12 surveys but it was so difficult to get it going.  The first day that we started to translate the survey was one of the most frustrating days of work I have ever had.  I got to the health post in the morning and my doctor started to translate the survey from french to wolof.  Getting someone to translate it was difficult as well because I asked my midwife to do it and she said no problem but then my doctor was like no we'll wait for this other woman, saa ka, who knows how to write in wolof.  I was sitting there going.....ah I know how to write in wolof.  But that didn't matter.  But so my doctor translated about half the survey before he decided he had too long of a line outside his office.  He told us to go to this other girl that knows french but that woman was out in the fields so she couldn't help us.  So we went back to Saa's house to start the survey.  It quickly became apparent that she did not know how to run a survey.  and when she got done with the translated part she was like ok I'm done.  I was like um....nope we still have three more pages and she was like well it's in french.  So then she went to go get another woman that works at the health post, Ndeye.  She came and finished the first one but then they told me to come back in the afternoon.  I came back after lunch and a girl came to help translate it.  She ended up crying because she couldn't do it.  So we went back to my doctor and he then asked my midwife to help us conduct the survey.......where I had started.  So she said she would help and we finally started it the next afternoon.  The first one took awhile just because my midwife had a lot of questions for me as she went but it was so much better than day one.  And we got all 12 done before I left for thanksgiving and Italy!  I was very surprised.  I also learned a little about my community.  In January I will be hopefully starting my first real project, although I am continually entering med records into my computer as well.

Now leaving for thanksgiving and Italy was interesting because I had to tell my host family that I was leaving for so long.  My host dad and grandpa had no problem with it, they were surprised I was going so far away but other than that it wasn't a big deal.  Now the women in my family were a different story.  They didn't believe me at first and then they were like well are you going home?  and I said no I am going to Italy that's not home for me.

Well are you going to see your mom and dad?

nope they live in the U.S. and will not be coming to Italy.

oh. ok. well will you come back?

Yes I will come back, I'm just going for a visit. 

oh ok well then you can go.

That is pretty much how all the conversations with the women went.  and one of my aunts asked if I would get to see my mom and I said no she was like well after Italy you can go home for one day to see your mom and then come back.  I was like haha.  I can't do that but thanks for your permission to go home.  They also wanted me to bring all of my Senegalese clothes with me to wear in Italy.....I did not. 

Before Italy though, we had Thanksgiving at the missionary's house.  The night before Thanksgiving we had two live turkeys delivered to the house and that night we killed them ourselves.  It was an interesting event.  And then we had to hang them up high enough so the dogs wouldn't be able to get them.  The turkey's were delicious.  We had so much food and it was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Not as good as a family holiday back home but probably as good as I could get in Senegal.  We spent the afternoon at their house.  Most people left in the evening but a small group of us stayed and we got to watch thanksgiving episodes of friends, scrubs, and modern family.  We also got popcorn and brownies!  It was a great day, ending with skyping my real family during their Thanksgiving celebration.  That night I took the night bus to Dakar for my flight out to Italy!

Italy was absolutely amazing!  Airports on this side of the world are definitely less strict than the U.S. but it was easy to get through.  At the Dakar airport all the desk workers liked me because I speak wolof and am probably the only white person they deal with that spoke wolof.  I also met a Senegalese man that speaks perfect english.  He exchanged my money for me and I didn't speak any english to him first but then he just whips out his english and I was shocked first that he knew english so well and as I was walking away I realized that it was with no accent as well.  I wanted to go back and talk some more.  My flight into Italy got in an hour late but I made it to the train station to meet Cathy.  It took a little while to find her at the train station but we eventually hooked up and walked to the hostel we were staying at in Rome.  It was so great and strange at the same time to be in a place that I was normal in and with people I knew.  We had a great night in Rome and then found an episcopal church the next morning!  It was beautiful!  We also found a park to hang out in before our train left for florence.  It was so nice to be in a place with reliable public transportation and transportation that had time schedules.  We got to florence in the evening.  I met Cat's host family, wonderful people.  That first dinner was amazing.  We had delicious food and it was a sit down at a table family dinner.  I haven't had one of those in a long long time.  And I got to sleep in a real bed with a down comforter and another blanket and many pillows.  It was so comfortable.  I got a museum pass while I was there.  Great decision.  I went to many museums and got to see the original David.  I saw so much beautiful art and churches!!!  so many churches and all so different.  I got to go to another episcopal church the sunday I was in Florence.  The priest was so kind and inviting.  Florence itself was beautiful and I went on many long walks just wandering around.  They put up christmas lights in the streets and it was gorgeous.  It rained almost every day that I was there but I had my raincoat so that was no problem.  I went to a drawing class with Cat...I never knew how much work went into drawing.  Her teacher asked me if I was going to draw and I was like oh no I don't do the whole art thing.  and she was like well you could try and I was like, no no you don't understand I can't draw.  She said well you could just sketch and I was like I really can't draw.  She said ok........well you could try. lol.  but then later at a break she asked if I was part of their program and I said no I am actually in the Peace Corps and am just visiting Cathy.  I think she then understood why I couldn't draw.  The Italians were very nice people.  I also heard Wolof being spoken by Senegalese people!!!!  I had to do a double take just to make sure I was hearing correctly.  Overall though.....Italy, I definitely recommend to anybody.  I hope to go back and travel to more places around Italy.  I got my Christmas shopping done in Italy and this is probably the earliest I will ever have my Christmas shopping done before Christmas. 

Coming back from Italy was another adventure.  First, the lady at the desk made me check my duffel bag since I also had my backpack.  This wasn't a problem at first and I really didn't feel like giving her a problem over it cause it wasn't a big deal.  However, I had a 4.5 layover in Algeria which was mostly spent watching 30 Rock because I had finished my book already.  Then we got into Dakar an hour late so I got in at one in the morning and was not looking forward to arguing with cab drivers about a price to the house because they like to charge white people more in general and then when you are coming out of the airport it's even more.  And then I waited for my bag for about half hour and was told it probably wasn't there so then I had to go wait in line to claim my bag and tell them it wasn't there.  This took forever!  I was at the airport until 4 a.m.  And then had to get to the office in the morning by 9 for a doctors appointment......I was late.  And I was told I had a lung infection.  So I have been hanging out in Dakar for the past few days.  but it is all better now so I get to go back to village and I got my bag back on saturday!!!!!!  It was a very happy moment when the lady on the phone told me they had it and I could come get it because I had realized my new scarf was in there with my chacos and all my jewelry.  And now I am getting ready to head back to village for about a week before I leave again for Christmas!!!  Hope everyone is in peace and have a very merry Christmas and happy new year!!!!!  xoxo

Religion Craze

So let me start off by telling you all that my skin infection is gone!!!!!  Everyone has been telling me I look beautiful again.  It's been lovely.  My host family and all my neighbors have noticed it gone too.  Although I did get a lovely parasite in my arm but I got some meds and got rid of it.  My skin is back to Senegal normal!!  The next big thing that happened was our health summit in Thies.  This is where all of the health volunteers in Senegal go to Thies for two days and talk about projects and best practices.  The first day was mainly discussing our baseline survey that my stage has to do starting November 12th.  It is exciting to finally be able to do it.  The second day was a day of presentations from second year health pcv's and other people such as NGO's or people affiliated with Peace Corps.  It was very productive and I came out with many project ideas.  However, I don't think I'm going to start any major projects until after the holidays in January because I will be in and out of village too often.  I am currently working on med record data entry right now in village.  It has been a great learning experience with the health system.  My midwife has explained everything in everyone of her books to me and has even been having me right in the information for her.  It helps so much with my understanding of the information.  I will be doing data analysis once I have it all in my computer. 

After this, I made it back to Affe in time for Tabaski.  Tabaski is a muslim holiday.  In Arabic it is Eid-Al-Adha and in English it is the Feast of Sacrifice.  It is the day that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his first son before God provided a ram for him.  So in honor of this people kill a ram and eat it on Tabaski.  My host dad killed four rams.  They were not all ours but it is common for important men in the village to kill other peoples rams as well.  The day of Tabaski was very uneventful.  In the morning we didn't really do much up until the point my dad killed the rams.  The men went to the mosquee to pray and then my dad killed rams and the women started cooking.  I finally got to help cook without a big fuss from my family.  I just started cutting onions with me sister and slowly the rest of the women came over and mentioned that I was cutting onions but that was it.  After lunch, we got dressed up around 5ish and walked around the village.  That was about it for the first day.  The second day, I wake up and there are my uncles and other men sitting outside on a mat reading out of the Qur'an.  I was very confused but apparently we were having some type of ceremony.  I was called over to cut onions again.  :-)  So they must think I can do it.  The women cooked again and the men sat and chatted.  Then everyone gathered together and some of the men gave speeches or said prayers.  I sat with my 19 year old aunt and she talked me through what was happening.  It was interesting to see the attention of the men as opposed to the women.  The women sat in the back and sometimes chatted among themselves.  That went until about 11:30 and then everyone was served lunch and left!  That evening we dressed up again and walked around to different compounds and drank some soda then went home.  The third day things seemed to be over but my sister was cooking dinner for her husband-to-be and posse.  This was going on most of the day.  I was told to watch them so that when I go home I can cook dinner for my mom.  Mom.....I think you would rather eat your cooking.  ;-)  They cooked pasta with chicken and onion sauce.  We had a different dinner at the normal time but then after dinner I fell asleep and as I was going into my hut to go to bed the husband and group were just getting to my house around 10.  I was then woken up by my host mother at 12:45 am to eat a second dinner, the dinner my sister was cooking  all day.  It was delicious and I got a soda with it but my body wasn't awake enough to really enjoy it.  My host mom, when she gave it to me, told me that I had to eat it now and couldn't leave it until the morning.  I ate it and then went straight back to bed.  After this event though life returned to normal.  Tabaski is an interesting holiday to experience with a Senegalese family.  I then got back to running and working, which was nice to get back to my routine.  Except for a neighborhood Gamou that we had!!  A gamou is a gathering of people where they pray a lot and sing a lot and give alms.  However, the singing is more shouting into the microphone and it gave me a headache.  The Gamou I went to started at 12:30 am!  and I stayed until 3 before my mom told me to go home and go to bed.  But everyone else stayed until it was finished which was the wee hours of the morning.  The next day nobody did much except sleep and lay around.  I enjoyed it.  I then started preparing for my visitors.

I am currently hosting American exchange students that are studying in Dakar.  This was the only way I could get out of village without a big fuss from my family.  At first they were upset that I was leaving and then I told them I was bringing back two visitors and they said that it was ok to leave.  These students live and study in Dakar for a semester and are required to do a rural visit.  So I have two girls hanging out with me right now and tomorrow we will be going to village for them to experience life in the bush.  We stayed in Linguere tonight to watch the election!  There are American missionaries that live in Linguere and they get world cnn for the election and they invited us over to watch for the whole night!  It has been fantastic.  I've gotten caught up on what has happened while I've been out of the world and eaten good food (spinach dip, carrots, and onion rings). 

I will be back on thanksgiving for dinner at the missionaries and then head to Dakar for my Italy trip!!!  I'm so excited to go to Italy and see Cathy Kaye.  It is a much needed break and I've only heard great things about Italy.  I will be staying mainly in Florence.  The election is exciting and a little nerve racking but I'm glad I get to watch it. and I voted by absentee a couple weeks ago!!!! Also, we were walking down the street in Linguere today and a Senegalese man chanted OBAMA!!  OBAMA!!  with his hands in the air.  It was wonderful!   Everyone should go vote!!!  Good luck and Good night. 

fun, friends, and frustrations

Jigeen Gem sa Bopp....Girls Believe in yourself!  That was the cheer of my team at our wonderful girls camp.  The week started off with a bus ride from Dahra to St. Louis.  The girls didn't talk with each other at all and were looking at the crazy volunteers in the back singing and dancing.  We got to the University and proceeded to stay up until midnight playing name games and such.  I was exhausted on the first day!!  The next day was our business theme.  The Peace Corps staff member that is in charge of our small business sector came and played a game about making and saving money with the girls.  They seemed to love it.  Oh!  and everyday before breakfast we did about half hour of zumba!!!  and we also danced to Beyonce because she's great and everyone here loves her.  We also had a panel of college students that day.  The next day was environment day.  We took a field trip to a PCV garden and they learned about composting, planting trees, and making nurseries.  After the garden we took them to the beach, which could have been the best part of the whole week.  Most of the girls have never seen any body of water let alone the ocean!  The loved it!!!  they were picking up garbage and finding plastic bottles to have people put ocean water in for them.  and then we let them put their feet in and they freaked out!  Fantastic!  We also played the Lorax for them with translation.  The next day was women's rights day.  We had a speaker that came and talked about going to college and the fact that women have all the same rights men do.  Then it was health day which was a great hit!  We had a mini olympics in the morning and a midwife come in the afternoon for a question and answer session.  The girls loved it!  A volunteer also gave a nutrition talk and played a game with it and it was interesting to watch because the education system here is very different than the education system in the U.S.  Here they just memorize things, so when it is time to apply what they learned it is very difficult.  That night we also had a bonfire, which was insane.  We just ran in circles around it while singing songs and people kept getting closer and closer.  I had a mini panic attack at one point.  Oh speaking of mini panic attacks, we used whistles all week to call girls to do something and it drove me up a wall because whistles have never meant good things for me.  So when girls would just blow whistles for ten minutes straight it drove me up a wall!  But so the last day was gender and development day.  This was another great day.  We watched a movie about women that grew up from similar backgrounds as these girls and have great success stories to tell.  And then we had one of the women in the movie come and talk to the girls!  Awesome.  We also did Theatre with the girls and they are great actors and hilarious!!  Then that night we had a talent show and gave out cake and certificates at two in the morning because things just went so late that night!!  Overall, fantastic week!!  The next day we had a bus ride back to linguere with the girls being much more talkative!  The girls just blossomed over the week and it gives me so much hope that they will do more with their lives.  I wish there was a way that we could keep up with all of them but its up to them now.  :-) 

So that was the fun and friends part......infections and PC doctors are frustrating!  I have had a skin infection for the past monthish and tried to see a doctor two weeks ago but couldn't get in.  So I finally sent pictures and description to one of the doctors and she was like you need to come to Dakar asap.  So I got on the night bus, which is by far the easiest way to get to dakar from linguere, after a lovely birthday party for one of the missionaries daughters.  She turned five.  We had delicious lunch with homemade cake and ice cream afterwards.  But so I get to Dakar and I settle into the med hut and one of the doctors comes gets me to go to the dermatologist.  I went with two other girls and we were waiting outside and they asked me if I was going for a mole removal too.  In my head I was like seriously!!!  Do you see my skin??? Do you really think I'm going for a mole removal.  but to their faces I was just like nope I have this lovely skin thing going on.  and they were like oh ok.  If you all could have seen this infection you would think the same thing I did.  I had bumps all over my face and chest and shoulders and neck.  It was a ridiculous question.  But one good thing that came from this was that I got to spend the week in the med hut with AC, internet, hot showers, and good food!  I also got to skype with so many people and it was wonderful.  I also got to run along the ocean and I don't want to leave.  Dakar is wonderful with the ocean and I don't want to go back to where everything is about to die.  But I will get through and get reacquainted with the desert.  It will be nice to see my host family again.  Oh and the PC doctor told me that this whole thing started from a bug bite and told me to see how I could avoid bug bites in the future and I was like I live outside!  I can't avoid bugs. lol.  But real work is starting now which is very exciting.  Hope all is well in the good ole U.S.A.  until next time.

The Rains down in Africa

Just got back from inservice training and Dakar.  Inservice training was much more useful than pre service training.  All of our sessions were much more applicable to what I am going to be doing.  I got a lot of project ideas which is exciting and I am also really excited to start my baseline survey.  However, I can't start that until the end of October because Peace Corps is just now standardizing our baseline surveys so they can actually compare the data we collect.  So because of this D.C. has to approve the questions and they haven't done that yet but I have other things to keep me busy until than.  Before IST was good as well.  Ramadan has finally ended!!  Korite was kind of a let down.  The morning was good.  We made beignets in the morning for breakfast and spent the rest of the morning cooking for lunch which was delicious!!!  My dad slaughtered a goat for lunch and dinner as well in the morning.  But other than that we sat around our compound and people came to say hi and ask for forgiveness for any wrongs they may have done you.  And also to show off their new clothes.  My mom and sister made me a new outfit for Korite which was super nice of them!  However, the next day I did laundry and washed the outfit and my sister saw and told everyone else.  I forgot you aren't supposed to wash new clothes until after the third time you've worn them and so I got a lot of grief for that one all day.  Even my dad made fun of me for it!  I have also decided that I never want to be in a room full of teenage-early 20 year olds again.  My sisters husband came over the night of Korite with a bunch of his friends.  I was settling in my bed outside for the night to watch the stars before dinner and my sister came out of her room to tell me that they all wanted me to go in there and hang out with them.  So I did....bad life choice.  I went in there and the conversation never left me.  The boy I sat down next to decided within two minutes of me being there that he loves me.  He told me in English once he found out I was american and then when I didn't say anything back he was like you don't understand me....then said it in French.  I was like I understood you the first time!  My first language is English!!!  Then they all decided that they wanted me as a wife but I had to break it to them that I'm a selfish girl and I don't want to share my husband with three other women.  They all tried to tell me that they didn't have any wives yet but my sister had my back and told me that all but one of them had at least one wife already and most of them were 18.  Crazy world I live in.  But then one of the boys asked if I could drive a car and I said yes then he asked me to be his chauffeur.  haha!  I told him I didn't know how to drive cars in Senegal...which is technically true because they are all stick shift and I don't know how to drive those.  I then had to go eat dinner which was a nice relief but they told me to come back after dinner.  I sat with my mom and rest of family after dinner for a couple minutes and told them that all the boys want me to marry them.  My mom was like just tell them they don't have any money or they need to have a lot. lol.  Then I got grief the next day as well for that.  I also think my family can have the shortest memories ever when they want to because my family and I talked about me leaving the next day for at least 15 minutes.  The next day when I was sitting on my bush taxi, my dad walked by and asked where I was going.  Then my aunt walked by and asked where I was going.  goodness. 

After spending ten days in Thies for training, I went to Dakar for a few days and it was great!  I got to eat good food and swim in the ocean.  I also stayed with a friend that lives in an apartment overlooking the ocean....great way to wake up.  I didn't want to leave but I am headed back to village tomorrow.  It will be great to see my family again.  And I can't wait to see how my garden is doing. 

I am also going to add a plug for one of my projects again.  I am currently trying to raise money to buy computers for my school in village.  Each computer costs $75 and my school director would like 7 computers.  Computers and the ability to access the internet are becoming more and more important especially for kids in villages that don't have any other access to educational resources.  For these children the internet will help them progress farther in their studies.  So please consider donating...https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1004912 

until next time....

Life Lottery

So not much has been going on in the past month but I do have a few things to write about.  First I'll recap my adventures.  I have mainly been in my village where nothing really ever happens, especially now because we are in the middle of Ramadan.  However, I did get to go to the big city of Richard Toll for a week and then to the ocean city of Saint Louis.  Both were fantastic.  Richard Toll has a beautiful river that you can look across and Mauritania is on the other side.  My friend and I decided that we are going to take a boat across sometime to Mauritania.  We thought about swimming but then decided that that is a sure way to get schisto.  I also got to go to church with my friend Maureen who lives there.  It was wonderful and the church is on the river so we went down there after the service one night and stood on the dock as the sun set.  It was very soothing and relaxing.  I only wish I had a place like that to go in Affe.  Her priest is from Nigeria so he speaks english as well.  He also told me when I left that if I don't come back he is going to blame Maureen for it.  Her apartment is very nice as well with an actual shower which was nice to use. 

We then headed west to Saint Louis for a day.  It is a beautiful french town and it used to be the capital of Senegal when the French were here.  It is right on the ocean and the Peace Corps apartment has a balcony that looks out on the ocean and it was beautiful to sit out there and watch the sun set.  I got to go to a cute little cafe where I ran into a surprising number of english speaking people.  Then for dinner we went to a restaurant on the water and had delicious pizza.  I kind of wished that I was a volunteer in Saint Louis but when I got back to Affe I realized I would rather have my little village experience because I have plenty of time to live in a big city with cute cafes when I get home.  And now I have just spent the past two weeks in village. 

Ramadan started two weeks ago and I have been fasting with my family which is quite difficult but it makes break fast at sundown that much better.  I also really like the idea behind fasting.  For our breakfast we have a cup of cafe first and then drink lots of delicious, cold bissap juice.  My family then prays and then we get bread with butter and more cafe and cold water!!!  Everyone buys ice for break fast during ramadan.  It is so fantastic.  I also have to wake up at 5 am to eat my breakfast though.  but then I just go right back to sleep and sleep in a little.  Ramadan has given me lots of time to think though because no one does anything.  We all just lay around all day.  I have officially been called crazy by my family as well because the rains have come and so my backyard is now green and they want me to dig everything up but I won't do it and they think it is crazy that I want it all back there. lol.  

So I was talking with Maureen one day and we decided that we have won the life lottery for many reasons.  The way this all started was by learning some new information about members of my host family.  I found out that my favorite sister-in-law, who is 19 and already has two kids, is pregnant with her third.  Her current youngest is also only 7 months old.  The other piece of info that I found out is that my 14 year old sister has a husband.  Now she doesn't live with him yet so they may not actually be married but just betrothed to each other but still thats crazy.  It made me think about how I think this would be more ok if these girls at least had the option of doing something else but they don't.  It is what is expected of them, to get married and have kids.  So I decided that I won the life lottery especially as a woman by living in the U.S.    Just by this fact alone I am given so many more opportunities that women here don't even think about.  However, there are plenty of people in the U.S. that do not have wonderful lives, so I have also benefited from having an amazing family that encourages me to do the things I love and pursue anything I want.  Just the fact that I am in Senegal shows the great support system I have back in the U.S.  Many women here never even leave their village for their entire life.  And some women may move when they get married but never leave the city they move to after that.  It is very sad for me to watch my sister-in-law because I know that if she were in the U.S. she most likely would not have three kids at 19.  She still acts like a kid herself.  She acts how I acted when I was a sophomore in college.  That is something that I would like to change here but that takes more than a written grant or asking for money from home.  Even in the states, it took a whole movement to get women to where we are at today.  Senegal is slowly moving towards that but very slowly.  So maybe someday when I come back here my sister-in-laws granddaughters will be able to go to college and it will be a normal thing.  who knows...but we can dream.

Camp Gem Sa Bopp

In the U.S. girls have many opportunities to become and do whatever they dream.  Here in Senegal girls and women do not have that luxury.  If they have grown up in a bigger city then maybe the will create a life outside of the house for themselves.  However, many women in my village of Affe will never leave because they do not have the opportunity.  They also do not have the support system in place that many girls in the U.S. are lucky to have.  Many girls are expected to get married at a fairly young age and begin a family.  These women are some of the strongest women I have met.  They cook and clean and take care of children all day without the modern conveniences the western world has.  However, many girls drop out of school when they are teenagers either by choice or by outside pressures.  Men do not have those outside pressures to drop out.  In fact in most cases they are pressured to finish school.  When asked what they would like to do when they grow up, many girls say doctor, midwife, teacher, or something similar.  They have the same dreams that little girls in the U.S. do but do not have the same liberties to realize these dreams.  In September a group of Peace Corps Volunteers, myself included, will be holding a camp in Saint Louis for 12-15 year old girls.  The camp is named Gem Sa Bopp, which means believe in yourself.  This is an amazing opportunity and experience for Senegalese girls to get outside of their village and meet successful women.  I have included the website of the camp.  Please take a look at it and consider donating even five dollars, every little bit helps.

http://campgemsabopp.wordpress.com/donate/

 

Greenery

So not much has happened in village except a couple of really awesome things.  The first one was one day when I came back from a run my aunt had on this beautiful blue outfit and so I told her that it was really pretty.  She asked if I wanted it and because all Senegalese people tell me they want my stuff I said yes, not thinking she would actually give it to me.  But then twoish days later she came into my hut with the outfit and gave it to me!  I was shocked but now I have a wonderful new outfit that my mom made me wear when I went into linguere last weekend.  The Senegalese dress up when they travel for some reason.  I normally wear just comfortable clothes but I had to wear this nice outfit because they told me to. lol.  Then the next awesome thing that happened was when I was cleaning my room one day and the same aunt came in and saw my tub for food and asked what it was for because it has a cover on it.  So I opened it and she asked what was in a package and I said macaroni.  Then she asked if I wanted it for dinner and I said yes, once again thinking that I could do it myself sometime but then on thursday she cut up onions and potatoes and mad me a delicious pasta dinner with a potato and onion sauce!  My stomach was bursting afterwards because a different aunt had brought my normal dinner in first so I ate that thinking that was my dinner and then my other aunt brought me the pasta and I ate it all.  So good!  I then headed into linguere to begin our fourth of July trip to Kedougou in the south of Senegal.  It was about a 12 hour car ride including blowing a tire and many bathroom breaks on the side of the road.  But we made it fun and it slowly got greener and greener on the way down!  It was so beautiful.  Kedougou has forests and rivers and fat cows.  I haven't seen a fat cow in Linguere since I've been here.  Then on the 2nd a few of us hiked through the beautiful green forest to a waterfall and went swimming.  The water itself was great to see and be in but the waterfall made it spectacular.  On the hike back it started to rain and we had to hike almost the whole way in the rain which was delightful because I have only had one rain since I've been here.  The next day the same group went floating down a river together. It was wonderful.  The water felt so good.  We got a little freaked out at one point because a man on the shore told us that there were hippos and that the part of the river we were floating to was bad.  However, there was no place to get out so we just had to keep floating.  Guess what....no hippos.  But we did see monkeys playing in the trees!  It was so cool.  Kedougou has hills that look like mountains compared to the flatness of my area.  I didn't want to leave but we eventually had to.  We had a huge party on the fourth at the regional house there where pigs were roasted and delicious food made.  We had fireworks and everything.  Then on the fifth we made our trek back to the north.  This trip was a bit shorter, being around 11 hours.  We also stopped at a great gas station that had everything.  I got chocolate milk, cheese, pringles, chocolate, and pretzels.  It was amazing and I wish we had one in Linguere.  Now it is time to go back to village and work.  until next time....

Five week challenge

Five week challenge is done!  The challenge is to stay at site/not spend a night outside of site for your first five weeks at your permanent site.  Definitely one of the hardest things I have had to do yet especially because my phone broke a week into the challenge.  About two weeks after it stopped working some people tried to help me fix it and I think sometimes they think that because I don’t understand their language I also don’t know how to do other things or I say something but really meant to say something else.  I say this because when these people were trying to help me the first thing every single one asked was well where is the charger.  I would then proceed to tell them that the battery was fully charged and they would take my battery out and put it in their phone to see if it was actually fully charged.  Then a few of them would take their battery and put it in my phone to see if it worked. Lol.  They would then tell me that it was my phone that was bad because the battery and sim card work so it must be the actual phone that is bad.  In my head I’m saying thank you captain obvious…..I can figure that much out on my own.  However, one person finally brought me to my dad who gets things done and he gave me my moms phone to use while they tried to fix my phone but then one of my sisters brought my phone back to me after lunch and said once again that the phone is bad.  So I just have to get a new phone.  Now you must be thinking oh you didn’t have a phone for a month that can’t be that bad right…..wrong.  This meant that I had no one to speak English to except myself for a month.  It wasn’t fun.  The five week challenge is hard enough without having a broken phone. 

    On the other side of things, I really like my family and my village.  I still don’t know how everyone in my family is related.  I think my dad has two wives but then there are other women that also live with us and have kids so I don’t know how everyone is related.  It’s also very difficult to figure these things out when you just ask because everyone says they are your sister, aunt, brother, uncle, whatever you can think of.  But my dad’s second wife has this adorable little boy whose name is Mabdou.  At first he was quite annoying because he cries all the time but after about two and half weeks we became good friends.  I now can make him stop crying and sometimes when I leave the group he either tries to follow me or he starts to cry until I come back.  He also will come into my room looking for me.  I’ve decided I’m going to teach him English because he is around the age of just starting to talk so it is perfect timing.  I really enjoy playing with him and my other younger siblings because you can interact with them without needing to know a lot of language and they don’t laugh at you every time you say something.  Adults do.

    That brings me to the next subject, language.  I know that I know a lot of language for being here only three months but I still have so much to learn and it is very frustrating at times because depending on who I am talking with they just laugh at everything I say whether it is right or wrong.  That is probably the most frustrating thing I have had to deal with is people laughing or just treating me like I’m stupid.  There is one woman who will the same thing to me five times even when I tell her after the second time that I understood what she was saying or she just mumbles to me and makes hand motions which is kind of funny to watch but frustrating to figure out what she is saying.  My family has been really good though.  They laugh every so often but they are now understanding that I am learning and to talk to me so I can learn.  There is also a woman that lives with us that is a teacher at the school here and she has been very helpful because she is very patient with me and makes me repeat things that she says so I remember them.  She also corrects me when I’m wrong and praises me when I’m right.  Although, She is leaving in July to go home for their summer break for three months.  But she will be back.  She also gave me a desk from the school which was exactly what I needed.  I was going to have one made but now I don’t need it because she said I can keep this desk until I go home.  I had papers and books everywhere and now I finally have  place for everything.  It has made life so much better. 

    I have decided that my family thinks I am a very strange girl for many reasons.  I have started running and working out again and they think running is funny.  And every day that I go before I go they tell me today is hot don’t go running but every day is hot here and every day is too hot for them.  Lol.  Which brings me to another reason I think they think I’m funny because part of the greetings here is asking how the heat is and I’ve acclimated to the heat so it’s not that bad some days so I will say it’s only a little hot and they say only a little? No it’s very hot today and then they ask if the U.S. is hot and I say not as hot as this but my state is actually really cold compared to this and then they say nope it’s really hot I don’t know what you’re talking about.  As I am writing this it is 101°F.  One day I put my thermometer outside in the sun and it was 140°F.  So when I wake up in the mornings now and it is 75°, it feels kinda chilly.  I also wear pants/capris.  Girls in this culture do not where pants unless you are in a bigger city.  One of the funniest things is that I like animals.  We have a whole bunch of cats running around our compound most of them I don’t think I would want to pet because they have funny looking spots or bites but there is one really pretty cat that I have adopted as my cat.  She has also taken a liking to me now too since she has realized that I am not going to kick her or hit her, so she comes to sleep in my room in the afternoons and sometimes she’ll just wonder in for some attention.  When I pick her up to pet her everyone’s reaction is hilarious!  Especially the first time, they all freaked out and told me that she was going to bite me or scratch me.  None of the adults will touch her but the kids have started to try to pet her but then get scared and hit her which makes me unhappy.  She is a cutie though and I’m glad she likes me because I was thinking about getting a dog but then knew that I would want to take him home after two years but since this cat likes to live outside she will be ok to stay here when I leave.    

So now I am having a relaxing weekend in Linguere for a girls camp meeting which is great because it helps me feel like I"m finally working!  Here is also a plug for the girls camp!  Everyone should think about donating to it!  It is a week long leadership camp for girls between 12 and 15.  It is to show girls that there is life outside of their villages and they are capable of doing the same things that men do.  I will get more info out about that when I know it but that is what is going on in the life of Katie/Kine and I will be back in a couple weeks!!!!

Finally a PCV

So I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer!  After saying goodbye to my family I had my language exam the next day.  We had to get an intermediate mid level on our test in order to swear in as volunteers.  If we didn't get that level we would have to stay at the training center another week to study.  However, I did get intermediate mid!

Then on Thursday, we had a reception for our families which was a lot of fun.  My mom and youngest brother came.  We had a nice lunch after a welcome speech.  We then had drummers and a dance.  It was fun to watch.  I danced a little but liked to watch everyone else who knows how to do the traditional dances.  It was really nice to see them one more time but it was a little sad to see them leave again.  After all the families left, all of the trainees had a dance party with american music.  We danced for almost three hours.  I also got a dress from my mother and earrings from my brother.  The dress is so pretty.  And because it is tailored for me it fits perfectly, which also means it is a little difficult to get off. 

Friday was the big day!  We left Thies to go to Dakar at 7am.  We first stopped at the Peace Corps office for a quick break, then continued on to the U.S Ambassadors house.  It is a beautiful house with a crystal chandelier in the banquet room.  We got speeches from our country director, training director, ambassador, and four trainees gave speeches in their local languages.  After the banquet we had a reception outside.  There was a pool and mosaics.  The food was delicious.  There were mini pizzas, quiche, muffins, peanuts, cream puffs, brownies, strawberry pastries.  We took lots of pictures but it was hot out and even hotter in our Bazan outfits.  After we left the ambassadors house we convinced the driver to stop at an ice cream shop!  Once we got back to the center we all chilled for a while then went to Massa Massa for dinner.  It was delicious.  I had lasagna and all that cheese was great!  I then had to make it back to Skype with my family which was great and around 2ish am a couple of my friends invited me to go to a club with them that they had been at.  It was so much fun.  We danced until 3:30!  The music was a Senegalese Salsa, so cool!  I had so much fun and was amazed that I could stay up that late. 

Saturday was a day of chores....laundry, packing, making lists. Fun day but got everything done!  Then I had to get up early Sunday to pack all my life into a car with two other people to head to Linguere!!  It took about four hours to get there and we got to lounge most of the day.  Then yesterday we did a lot of shopping for mattresses, laundry benoirs, glasses, and other necessities for our huts!  It was great but it was another hot day.  There are also some Lutheran missionaries that live in Linguere and they invited us over for cocktails and snacks.  One of our bosses who is installing us in our villages had us over for dinner and it was delicious!  it was spaghetti with french fries and meat.  after that we got mangoes as dessert and then they brought us huge slices of watermelon and then sweet milk to top it all off!  I was stuffed. 

This morning we met all the important people in Linguere and started cleaning out the back yard which was fun to be doing something.  Three people then left to be installed into their respective villages.  And tomorrow I am going to Affe!!!  So excited.  I will be there for five weeks for our five weeks and then we have a fun party at the regional house!  So five weeks will go so fast!  I am also really excited to finally be able to move in to a place and unpack all my things and nest in my hut.  It will be a long day but a good day tomorrow!  See you in 5 weeks!

Sad goodbye

Today was a sad day because I left my home stay family, who I have come to love.  It is a bittersweet feeling because I am happy for the end of training but I wish I could just live with my family for two years.  I will get back to today though.  First, I need to back up about a week.....

I had my first experience with sickness in Senegal.  During volunteer visit I drank some unfiltered water for the day that we spent with my family and my stomach didn't like it.  However, I just had an upset stomach whereas some of my friends have gotten really sick.  A couple people have had amoebas, one girl had to be hospitalized for a couple days.

We got to go to a cool drumming/dance party at one of the schools in Tivaouane.  We also took a field trip to one of my friends permanent site and met some spanish farmers.  Then went to lunch in Thies and ran into some americans!  Small world.  My friends new mom also gave us like 20 melons from these farmers when we left.  They were delicious.

So I think my mom thinks I am a strange girl, she loves me but thinks I"m funny because I am not a typical senegalese woman.  I don't know how to cook and she was doing some ironing today and asked me if I was going to help and I said I don't really do my own ironing.  She was really surprised and asked who did my ironing and I said that my mom in the U.S. does my ironing because I'm her baby.  She just laughed at me and I helped her with the ironing the next day.  This was also an interesting day because that morning there was a guy that walked past our house that knew my mom and they were talking and then he was turned to me and was like I miss you we can get married.  I was just getting up to leave and my mom was like he's crazy. lol.  Then on my walk to class I was stopped by another guy that told me in english that he loves me and I'm a nice girl.  Then later that day I walked past the first man and he asked if I wanted a boyfriend and I accidentally said yes but he realized it and it has just become a joke between us. :-)

The next day was a huge wrestling match between Yikini and Balla Gaye 2.  My mom, oldest and youngest brother wanted Yikini to win but my middle brother wanted Balla Gaye to win.  If you don't know what Senegalese wrestling is you should look it up, it's kinda funny to watch.  But so Balla Gaye wins and the city just goes nuts!  My brothers run out into the streets and I go outside and my mom was like I'm so sad!  and so I walked to the main road with my neighbor and there were a ton of people running through the streets chanting balla gaye.  Then that night there was a heated discussion about Yikini and Balla Gaye and how Yikini still has the better record.  There was a friend of ours there, Moussa, that was in on the discussion.  So Moussa talks fast for me in the first place but when they were all getting excited he talked even faster and I couldn't follow the conversation.  I love hanging out with him and my brothers though, they are hilarious.  My middle brother, Omar, is 16 and the funniest ever.  I also explained to my mom where in the U.S. Wisconsin is and how states compare to regions here and about Eau Claire.  So the rest of the night she walked around and would randomly say Wisconsin. lol.  I love her.

We have to get Senegalese outfits made for our swearing in ceremony, so we went to do that with my friends mom.  At the fabric shop they first gave me a pink fabric that I almost got but then my friends saved me and told me it would have looked like Malibu Barbie meets Africa. lol.  So I got this pretty light blue fabric. We then went to the tailor and tried to explain what we wanted.  It was interesting but worked because they turned out beautiful!!  I will put pictures up of our swearing in on friday when we wear them.

So I finally put a baby on my back the way the Senegalese women do and my mom loved it!  all the women loved it.  We then had our counterpart workshop at the center for a couple days.  Our counterparts are the people that we will be working with in our communities.  They will also be the ones to help us integrate and meet people.  My counterparts are my ICP and a matron at the Poste de Sante.  My ICP is great.  He seems really excited about everything and can't wait to have me there.  At the end of the workshop we had a soccer game between the trainees and the counterparts/LCFs.  It was so much fun.  I also realized how out of shape I am.

We then went to Dakar to meet some Embassy people and get our residency permits.  Dakar is like a magical place compared to the rest of Senegal.  It's crazy.  Then we got to go to Popengine for a beach weekend!!!  It was so much fun.  We rented houses on the beach and it was beautiful.  There were cliffs but it was too shallow for cliff jumping.  :-(  But I got to swim in the ocean and lay in the sun for two days!!  So now I have a good tan going.  Omar told me the other night that after living in linguere for two years I am going to look like him from all the sun and heat. lol.  love that boy.

Yesterday was so hot!!  and my family all day kept saying it was hot and then they would turn to me and got but it is even hotter in linguere and you have to go live there. lol.  Also, this is how funny Omar is....I was hanging out outside with him, my other brother, moussa, and some more friends.  Moussa has a crush on me and we were standing together and Omar comes over and says Moussa!  Fataw doesn't want a Senegalese husband, she wants a Toubab husband so just forget about it.  hahaha.  He watches out for me.

My wonderful brother Omar

Omar, Muhamed, Abdul, and Youssu

I had to go around to my neighbors last night with Omar and Moussa to say goodbye and everyone told me that I need to stay here and why do I want to go to linguere, it's too hot there.  I want to stay with my family so much!  Today I picked up a new outfit from the tailor.  Well actually what happened was my mom took me to her tailor to be measured and then she bought me fabric and is having a dress made for me!!  It's crazy.  and So we stopped at my tailor to pick up my outfit that he had been making and it wasn't ready yet.  So I said I would come back later but I got caught up taking pictures with my family and carrying the most adorable baby around all afternoon.  So he showed up at my house with our clothes!  I was so surprised.  and my family loved the outfit and told me I am senegalese now.  :-)  I also got a bracelet from my mother and then Omar gave me a necklace.  Then my oldest brother Youssu saw and so he had to give me something too....not to be out done by omar so I got another necklace from him too.  I love my family and was so sad to leave.  Everyone gave me a hug goodbye and my mom started crying which made me cry and I just didn't want to leave.  I think I was really lucky to have such a great family because a lot of my friends did not have good experiences with their home stay families.  They told me I have to come back and visit and call all the time.  I think I have already decided that I'm going to visit every other month hopefully.  It was a sad day.  On the upside, I get to see my mom on thursday because we have a party for our families before we swear in.  I can't wait to see her!!  I love my family so much.....almost as much as my real family.

Excitement

A lot has happened since my last blog entry.  So I will do my best to capture everything.  First off is volunteer visit.  I was so nervous when we pulled up to my new house and was getting dropped off.  But at least this time I had someone with me that knows wolof and I know at least a little now, so it wasn't quite as frightening as being dropped off at my homestay house with no language knowledge.  Everyone gets out of the car to see my new house and my family and my hut.  We go in and my dad shows us my hut, which is nice...it is hexagonal, has two doors and a window so I get a nice breeze through there which will be nice during the hot season.  I also have a light and an outlet!  So now I've decided I need to get an external hard drive to put lots of movies on because now I can have my computer at site with me so I can watch a movie every night if I want!  I'm so excited.  I just got a few movies from a friend here and am psyched to get more.  So anyways, I also have a little backyard with a little bathroom back there.  Well a Senegalese bathroom....I have a latrine and room for a bucket bath.  But that's nice.  I also have a robine in my compound, which means I don't have to pull water from a well and carry it a long ways.  I am feeling very spoiled at this point.  Then my dad gives me my new name which is Fati Kinee Niang.  However, my moms name is Fati so I will just be called Kinee.  I really like my new name and it is also nice because it is semi close to Katie.  But so my grandpa is the chief of the village so I'm pretty important.  I think my dad has two wives and there are many children running all over but they are the most well behaved children I have seen here.  They sat for a couple hours one day playing marbles without getting into a fight and they boys had a wrestling match for a good half hour before anyone started crying.  I was impressed.  

We spent one night with my family before going to Dara which is where Laura, the volunteer that was with me, lived.  But the day that we were there, after lunch many women started to show up to my compound to chat and drink cafe touba.  Laura and I hung out for a while but then decided to go for a walk.  When we got back my moms were walking somewhere and so we asked where and they were like oh just to another compound to drink cafe touba.  and we were like you just drank cafe touba!  but we decided to walk with them anyways and we turn the corner into this compound and I swear every woman in affe was in this compound.  It was so overwhelming at first.  They were all talking with each other and dressed in their best.  But a couple good things that came out of it is now everyone will know who Kinee Niang is and my mom already was claiming me as her child!  Which was awesome and such a good sign.  Laura and I later found out that apparently the women do that either once a week or once a month as a solidarity thing as women.  Kinda cool and definitely a good way to get to know the women who you have to get on the good side of or else no one will like you.  

We also met with the school director and the ICP of the poste de sante.  Both were great.  They already have things they want me to do and realistic things as well, nothing like build me a new school more like create after school groups and create a school garden.  I'm really looking forward to working with them both.  The ICP is also one of my counterparts in the community.  He already told me that I am welcome to go on all of his vaccination tours with him and am welcome at the poste de sante anytime even just to continue working on my language.  

But so we left in the afternoon to go to Dara.  We traveled by bush taxi, which is the best way ever to travel I have decided.  It is a pick up truck with boards placed across the back and people sit on the boards, in the cab, or on top of the cab!  It was awesome.  I had goats under my feet for our ride.  It is like a safari without the african animals.  We got to Dara and got cold drinks which were great and went back to Lauras house but it was so hot that night that it was difficult to sleep even with a fan.  Mosquito nets are incredibly hot to sleep under which is why it is difficult to get people to sleep under them especially during the hot season.

The next day we had lunch with lauras family and went to the school in the morning.  We also sat at a boutique for a long time chatting with the guy that works there.  It was really good for my wolof to be able to listen to someone I can understand and see how she interacts with wolofs.  Oh!  It also rained this day which was incredibly unusual for this time of year.  It normally doesn't start raining until July.  I got to watch the daily show and paint my nails which was amazing.  I forgot I was in Africa for a little while. lol.  

We then went to Linguere to the Regional Office to meet and hang out with the other volunteers in the Linguere region.  It was a great time.  We had some wonderful Bissap juice and played name games/icebreakers.  Then it was time to go back to Thies for a few sessions and back to our homestays.  Which I wasn't looking forward to because I didn't feel well but it was great to be back and I understood a lot more than I thought I would.  Also, when my family found out I am living in Linguere everyone just kept telling me oh it is so hot up there.  You are going to be hot all the time.  It should be interesting.....definitely investing in a fan!

New Home

Today was an exciting day!  We had our site placement ceremony today!  The way this is done is we all make a circle around this big map of Senegal painted on the basketball court.  We are then blind folded and walked around in circle and then finally placed in the spot that we will be for two years.  Once everyone is placed they count to three and we take off our blind folds to see who is all around us.  I am going to be living in Afe which is in the Louga/Linguere region of Senegal.  I love the volunteers that are going with me and will be living near me.  Some current volunteers that set up my site said that they are really excited for me.  My hut is awesome and has electricity and my backyard is awesome.  We are all going on volunteer visits tomorrow so I will get to see it!  So excited.  It also sounds like the people at the health post are excited and want to work with me. Today was finally the day that everyone had been waiting for because up until today they kept telling us things like it depends on where you'll be and it was frustrating.  And people kept talking about how their counterpart is bad and the people in their village are not motivated.  So I was really worried but now it sounds like I am going to have an awesome site!  Look it up.  :-)

Homestay

So my first night with my host family was very overwhelming.  I had no idea what anyone was saying to me so I just did a lot of smiling and nodding.  I also thought my family hated me for a little while because I was left at a neighbors house for an hour by myself and then when I got back to my house my younger brother offered me some food so I thought my family had eaten without me.  Then once I was done eating my mom showed me to my room so I thought she was telling me to go to bed even though they were all watching tv.  So I was really sad and called one of my friends to vent about it.  I was also having a really hard time being called Fatou and no one even knowing or asking about my real name.  It is a very strange feeling to not even be known as Katie, which I have been called all my life.  But then my mom knocked on my door and told me it was dinner time and at dinner one of the family friends asked in english what my real name is.  So after dinner I felt much better and actually went to bed this time.

My family is great though.  I have one mom, a Dad, and three younger brothers.  My brothers are Youssu, he's 17, Omar, 16, and Muhammed, 8.  We all live in one house but then within our compound I have two uncles, an aunt, and my grandma all live there too. My brothers all speak french which has been helpful when I don't know what something is in Wolof.  Although they also don't know everything in wolof because I have asked them what a french word is in wolof and they just think it is the French word and then I get yelled at in class for using too much french.  haha.  but I love my family they are all super nice and accepting.  My mom has never had any daughters so she loves me.  There was one night when I was sitting in the courtyard playing with my two adorable cousins, Mami and Caro, and a family friend came by and sat down with us.  His name is Moussa.  My mom came back and saw us and we weren't even interacting at all and she started to talk to him and I heard her say something about her kid.  I assumed she was talking about me and sure enough a minute later she told me to come into the house.  So I went in and she told me to sit with her and watch tv.  Then the next day she was talking with my language teacher and told her how she wouldn't be able to have a daughter because she would probably kill her because she can't handle boys and girls together. lol. 

So my family is pretty great.  I really am not looking forward to leaving them and having to get to know a new family.  but it will happen.  We just recently got done with a two week homestay which was good but long.  I felt really good at the beginning of it but by the end of the two weeks I felt like I hit a wall with my language.  I can understand what people are saying when they use the words I know but I just don't know that much vocabulary and it is quite frustrating.  I also think that my brain was in overload after constantly thinking in wolof for two weeks straight.  It was good though because then we had our first LPI when we got back to the center.  This is just a test of our language skills.  There are 9 levels novice low, mid and high, intermediate low, mid and high, and advanced low, mid, and high.  We are supposed to test at intermediate mid in order to be able to swear in.  I tested at a novice high which was about average for our group.  My language teacher said that I am capable of speaking at the intermediate level but I just don't do it all the time.  So I'm close and I have five weeks to improve so I can totally get it done.  I also speak too much french amazingly. 

Easter was a little sad for me because I really wanted to be at home with my family in Church but then our language teacher, Regina, invited our group over for the day to celebrate easter.  We had a fantastic day.  I think at least five languages were spoken throughout the day french, wolof, spanish, english, and sereer.  It was so much fun.  We had a delicious meal and great appetizers.  Regina has 4 brothers and two sisters all of who were great and so welcoming.  I already told Regina that I am coming back next easter. 

I have run into this problem that it seems a lot of people run into here.  I find that I am eating a lot at meals but at the end of meals I am not satisfied, I'm still hungry.  It is an interesting feeling.  I've always eaten so well in the U.S. and I eat well here but the meals are just not well rounded meals.  This is why so many people are malnourished here.  But it should be better once I go to my permanent site and can cook for myself and make a garden and have a little bit more control over what I eat. 

But tomorrow we have our site announcements so we are all super stoked for that, to finally find out where we will be living for the next two years!! 

The Beginning

We have officially been in country for one month now!  That is a crazy thought.  My friend Katie and I were talking about how it has felt like one long week.  It has been an emotional roller coaster.  We began our journey to Senegal on March 6th in Washington D.C.  The farewell to my parents and Gus was so hard to do.  However, I still got to talk to them that night and I got to see Chris, my brother, in D.C.  Once again though, very hard to say goodbye to him and Laura.  Staging was good nothing to interesting but it was nice to finally be around people that were having the exact same feelings as I was.  We left from Dulles airport on March 7th to start our adventure to Africa.  Taking off was the most nervous I think I have ever felt, knowing that I was leaving the U.S. for possibly two years. 

Landing was a mixture of emotions, excitement, nervousness, worry, joy, relief.  We were met off the plane by Peace Corps staff which was all very surreal.  We got on buses in Dakar just as the sun was coming off and drove off to Thies.  We got to Thies, where the training center is, and had a very warm welcome.  We weren't allowed to leave the training center for the first few days which was fine with me because I didn't know any of the local language at the time.  I know a little bit of french but nothing that I was too confident going out by myself and using.  However, we finally did leave the training center and current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV's) gave us a tour around Thies.  We went through the market and went to the toubab store and finally sat down at a restaurant where I used my french for the first time ever!  I was completely overwhelmed by this whole experience.  I didn't want anyone to talk to me because I wouldn't know what they were saying so I just didn't look at anyone on the street.  Everyone was looking at us though. 

The next big event was being assigned a language and homestay location.  For most people, depending on your language you can guess the area of the country your permanent site will be.  However, I got Wolof, which I am super excited about, I just don't have a clue as to where in the country I may be because it is one of the main languages and spoken all over the country.  Wolof though, is one of the easier languages to learn and also more widely used in Senegal.  We began classes that day.  My LCF's name is Regina and she is fabulous.  There are three other people in my language group Cristina, Maureen, and Margaret.  All of which I like and have enjoyed having with me.  We are currently living in Tivaouane, which is a beautiful town. 

Two days after beginning our language we left for our community based training or CBT sites.