So I have officially reached the halfway point of my service here in Senegal! It is a great benchmark. Work has finally started to pick up and plans are in the making of heading to the US in the fall. February was a busy month with two conferences and a softball tournament. The softball tournament was a big success with team Linguere representing prehistory. This softball tournament is a West Africa softball tournament. It also coincided with our All Volunteer conference, so teams from Guinea were there along with a few other volunteers from benin and togo. There were also competitive teams from Dakar, such as the US embassy. In the Peace Corps bracket every region has a theme that they dress up as, we were prehistory. There was also high school stereotypes, senior citizens, the jungle, and others. At night we had different activities such as bowling and a talent show. The marines were also kind enough to throw us a party. I stayed with a wonderful woman named Catherine who works as a courier for the embassy. Overall, great week of conferences and great weekend of hanging out.
March was full of work! My computers finally came to my village. Everyone was very excited. However, it also created a bombardment of people coming to me and asking me for a computer. They just didn't get it that they were for the school and not for anyone else. I also found out that my school does not have electricity, even though the rest of the village does. My school director then wanted to see if they all worked so we had a fun afternoon of getting a really long extension cord from his families house to a classroom and hooking up one computer, turning it on, checking a few applications, turning it off, disassembling it, and doing it all over with the next 7. Then I got to sit and watch them as they were trying to force different holders to the monitors. It was quite entertaining. So now we are currently just waiting for the inspector to approve of giving us electricity.
I also had another volunteer come to help me with garden trainings. We had a great week. We gave trainings to my host dad, doctor, and a womens group. They learned how to make organic pesticide, compost, and how to start a garden. Everyone was very motivated and I am excited to continue to work with them when I return to village.
Recently, I just spent this past week in Dakar. I came in for my midservice physical exam (don't worry I'm healthy) and stayed through Easter. A friend and I stayed with an embassy couple. It was absolutely fantastic. I had my own room with a fan and a/c. I also had my own bathroom with a real shower that has hot water and a mirror that I can see my whole face in. They also let us watch American television and even fed us dinner some nights. They also invited us to their Easter dinner with some of their friends. So we helped cook mashed potatoes, leg of lamb, salad, orzo, and rolls. It was delicious and had very nice company. We also got to attend church at the cathedral here. It was all in French so at times I was a little lost but I got through it. I also got to meet the West Africa Cardinal. He came to both maundy thursday mass and Easter mass. I am a little sad to be heading back to village because I love the feeling of Dakar and how much more like home it is. However, I will head back and continue to make gardens. We also have new trainees that got here in march and we will meet our regions new group on the 9th of April. It will be sad to say goodbye to the group that is leaving but exciting to meet new people. Until next time....
March was full of work! My computers finally came to my village. Everyone was very excited. However, it also created a bombardment of people coming to me and asking me for a computer. They just didn't get it that they were for the school and not for anyone else. I also found out that my school does not have electricity, even though the rest of the village does. My school director then wanted to see if they all worked so we had a fun afternoon of getting a really long extension cord from his families house to a classroom and hooking up one computer, turning it on, checking a few applications, turning it off, disassembling it, and doing it all over with the next 7. Then I got to sit and watch them as they were trying to force different holders to the monitors. It was quite entertaining. So now we are currently just waiting for the inspector to approve of giving us electricity.
I also had another volunteer come to help me with garden trainings. We had a great week. We gave trainings to my host dad, doctor, and a womens group. They learned how to make organic pesticide, compost, and how to start a garden. Everyone was very motivated and I am excited to continue to work with them when I return to village.
Recently, I just spent this past week in Dakar. I came in for my midservice physical exam (don't worry I'm healthy) and stayed through Easter. A friend and I stayed with an embassy couple. It was absolutely fantastic. I had my own room with a fan and a/c. I also had my own bathroom with a real shower that has hot water and a mirror that I can see my whole face in. They also let us watch American television and even fed us dinner some nights. They also invited us to their Easter dinner with some of their friends. So we helped cook mashed potatoes, leg of lamb, salad, orzo, and rolls. It was delicious and had very nice company. We also got to attend church at the cathedral here. It was all in French so at times I was a little lost but I got through it. I also got to meet the West Africa Cardinal. He came to both maundy thursday mass and Easter mass. I am a little sad to be heading back to village because I love the feeling of Dakar and how much more like home it is. However, I will head back and continue to make gardens. We also have new trainees that got here in march and we will meet our regions new group on the 9th of April. It will be sad to say goodbye to the group that is leaving but exciting to meet new people. Until next time....
