Sorry that it has been so long since I last wrote. I have been really busy working, which is always good and have neglected to update my blog. As most of you know I spent a good two weeks down in the southern region working in a village and hanging out. I am happy to say that my main project has been meet with sucess so far. I helped install a new accounting system in the health post in a small village. Befor, there was money missing every week and it was becoming a real problem. Now There hasn't been any money or product taken in the last month. It was really good for me to have a succesful project that people got excited for. I can't take all of the credit however. Kirsten did all of the translating and teaching since I am not able to speak the Mandinka language. She also had a similar accounting system, but it was done more in her head then on paper, which causes conffusion on the behalf of the health hut workers. So I just tweeked it a little to show all of the individual steps.
In about three weeks I will be coming home and visiting for a few weeks. I am very excited and can't wait to se some familiar faces. I will be coming home mid december and I wont have a cell phone. SO if anyone wants to get in contact with me call my parents phone number or send me an wmail with your phone number. Any who, See you all real soon
Josh. PS I am currently reading "Last of the Just"
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
RAMADAN IS OVER
So Ramadan is here only and work has slowed down a considerable amount. I was supposed to start an information class and then do a gestion class. It was 5 days at three hours a day for each subject. I figured it was a bad idea to teach such an ambitious class during Ramadan, but the head of the youth group insisted. E said people would be willing to come and do these classes. So on Saturday I go to the community center at 8:30 for a 9:00 start in my computer class. The had of the group approaches me and says the classes will start at 11 cause it is to early since people wake up at 5 to eat then pray. So he figured the start of the hottest part of the day would be best for people who aren’t drinking water or eating to have a 3 hour class. I figure what ever since only one person out of 25 showed up. I return to the computer lab at 10:30 and check out the computers. Guess what, none of them had Word or Excel. The one thing I asked the guy to do for me, find computers with the software needed. He acted shocked when he found out. O we decided to do a gestion class on Sunday starting at 10 in the morning. SO I prepare a class over the next two hours show it to him and he says he doesn’t want a class that teaches people how to come up with an idea for an enterprise. He wants a class to do marketing, accounting, feasibility, and a few other subjects. One none of these people have businesses so those classes’ wont help, and secondly marketing alone takes a long time to teach, it isn’t a 3 hour course. But that is what he wanted so I took the next 4 hours preparing for the next class. The next day I get to the school half an hour early, prepare my classroom. The head of the group arrives and we wait till about 11:30 before he starts complaining and saying how we will just do the class in October. Then he told me how a French group came in and gave him all this money to do other formations and he wanted to know why my organization didn’t give money. At that point I snapped, I just told him that I am hear to teach not give money and that I am fasting along with the rest of them and the fact that everything was so poorly organized makes me mad. It didn’t make the difference, but now I get to hang out and do nothing until Korite.
So I have a quick question, please feel free to respond on my blog. I am curious to se what other people think. For Ramadan people fast and don’t drink water, to learn about suffering among other things. Is it still valid if you sleep and don’t work all day? In general people eat at 5 and pray then will go to sleep until 4 or 5pm and wait until 7:15 to eat bread. I feel like if you sleep the entire day and don’t work you are loosing perspective on what Ramadan is. I am not saying that it is everyone, but it is a majority. I do see men mixing cement in the morning until 11. I see women walking 2 k to the market in the heat of the day. Another thing is that you should be generous and giving during Ramadan, but my family doesn’t give food to the Talibé during Ramadan. I have unfortunately seen 5 year olds who haven’t eaten in over 24 hours because no one is willing to feed them. Ramadan has been interesting from the perspective that people complain about having to fast and how tired they are, but they don’t do anything all day. I am fasting and every day I am going to peoples houses and I work out. Any who, until next time.
Josh
So I have a quick question, please feel free to respond on my blog. I am curious to se what other people think. For Ramadan people fast and don’t drink water, to learn about suffering among other things. Is it still valid if you sleep and don’t work all day? In general people eat at 5 and pray then will go to sleep until 4 or 5pm and wait until 7:15 to eat bread. I feel like if you sleep the entire day and don’t work you are loosing perspective on what Ramadan is. I am not saying that it is everyone, but it is a majority. I do see men mixing cement in the morning until 11. I see women walking 2 k to the market in the heat of the day. Another thing is that you should be generous and giving during Ramadan, but my family doesn’t give food to the Talibé during Ramadan. I have unfortunately seen 5 year olds who haven’t eaten in over 24 hours because no one is willing to feed them. Ramadan has been interesting from the perspective that people complain about having to fast and how tired they are, but they don’t do anything all day. I am fasting and every day I am going to peoples houses and I work out. Any who, until next time.
Josh
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Ramadan
Book “Grapes of Wrath”
Song “Consoler of the Lonely” The Racontuers It reminds me of Ramadan
So as you may of guessed, Ramadan will be starting on Sep 2. I plan to fast with my family and try to make it for most of the month. It will be hard to do it everyday since I will have to travel on a few of the weekends. But in general I should be able to adapt to the schedule.
Recently I took a little vacation with my host family to St. Louis. We celebrated the 15th of August (Assumption). We stayed at my host uncle’s house and spent the days at the beach or in town running errands. To celebrate people will stay up until the 5 am call to prayer. The marabou comes and will chant all night until in is time to pray. Then everyone goes home. The ceremony takes about 5 hours and consists or a meal of millet and beef. A cool thing that happened was that the same night we had a lunar eclipse. All the kids around the neighborhood freak out because they think it is the end of the world. The mosque will chant Allah over and over again until the eclipse is over, this is a tradition that has gone on for a long time and I was lucky to be able to see it happen. The last day I was there I received a call asking me to head to Thies to help with an auction. The auction is for gender development in Senegal. So I spent the next week in Thies working on that and watching some of the Olympics. After that we went to the beach for the day and night to relax a little. The following day we headed to Dakar where I had two meetings at the office. I had a pretty good trip and accomplished a lot along the way so I don’t feel as bad about being out of site for so long.
I wanted to also bring up the subject of development. I know many of you donate money to organizations, but to make a real difference volunteer. When you donate your money, you have no clue where your money is going. In some cases your money may not reach it’s intended targets. Or the money may just be wasted. At my site we have a new school for women. There are over 30 new computers that haven’t been taken out of boxes and rooms that aren’t ever going to be used. That is an example of receiving money and not receiving help from their organization. Take some time on your weekends and help out. People can really use it.
Song “Consoler of the Lonely” The Racontuers It reminds me of Ramadan
So as you may of guessed, Ramadan will be starting on Sep 2. I plan to fast with my family and try to make it for most of the month. It will be hard to do it everyday since I will have to travel on a few of the weekends. But in general I should be able to adapt to the schedule.
Recently I took a little vacation with my host family to St. Louis. We celebrated the 15th of August (Assumption). We stayed at my host uncle’s house and spent the days at the beach or in town running errands. To celebrate people will stay up until the 5 am call to prayer. The marabou comes and will chant all night until in is time to pray. Then everyone goes home. The ceremony takes about 5 hours and consists or a meal of millet and beef. A cool thing that happened was that the same night we had a lunar eclipse. All the kids around the neighborhood freak out because they think it is the end of the world. The mosque will chant Allah over and over again until the eclipse is over, this is a tradition that has gone on for a long time and I was lucky to be able to see it happen. The last day I was there I received a call asking me to head to Thies to help with an auction. The auction is for gender development in Senegal. So I spent the next week in Thies working on that and watching some of the Olympics. After that we went to the beach for the day and night to relax a little. The following day we headed to Dakar where I had two meetings at the office. I had a pretty good trip and accomplished a lot along the way so I don’t feel as bad about being out of site for so long.
I wanted to also bring up the subject of development. I know many of you donate money to organizations, but to make a real difference volunteer. When you donate your money, you have no clue where your money is going. In some cases your money may not reach it’s intended targets. Or the money may just be wasted. At my site we have a new school for women. There are over 30 new computers that haven’t been taken out of boxes and rooms that aren’t ever going to be used. That is an example of receiving money and not receiving help from their organization. Take some time on your weekends and help out. People can really use it.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Work work work
Book: “Catch 22”
Song: “Love” John Lennon I am also on a Muddy Waters kick. Smokestack lightning’ has inspired me…. Artistically that is
10 Ways my life has changed since summer time in Senegal
1: It rains every week or two weeks, where I am.
2: I have seen grass now for the first time in 10 months. It is beautiful
3: More siblings have moved back home from University
4: No school so kids have time to bang on my shutters 24/7
5: Neighborhood kids have increased their skills in Football American
6: Moths, Beetles, Roaches, and Grasshoppers
7: Melons are back in season. Woooohooooooooooooooooooooooo
8: Ramadan is around the corner so I get to stair at a wall for long periods of time while everyone sleeps the day away.
9: The River has turned brown
10: I now consider myself a professional fisherman. I have a homemade poll. It is made with recycled materials. (Wine corks, rocks, stick, fishing line, hook, and rusty metal wire.
Any who, I have had quite a few changes in my life as of late. To start off I will be taking a vacation to America December 11th to January 7. I will be in Washington DC area from the 11th to the 19th. Then I will be in Ann Arbor from the 19th to the 5th. So when I am DC, I expect to see all my friends in the east. You know who you are! I am very excited to take a vacation and see my new nephew and spend some time with the fam. It will be good for the soul and sanity. As far as work goes, it has been a real rollercoaster. To start, I went to the health center and they told me that they didn’t currently need help. So I went to a second smaller health post, only to discover that it is a faith healer. That was slightly awkward. But I made a quick recovery and went to another health post and spoke to the head nurse and offered my services. She said I should come back on Monday and then I could start to volunteer. I came back Monday and she said ”Yeah, about helping here, yeah, can you come back next week?” That was the first disappointment. Then I met up with my Artisan that I found an order in Dakar for. He comes up to me and asks me for more time and if I could give him money to buy supplies. That was a little disappointing since he made so much money during the tourist season. I went to his house 5 days later to check to see if he was able to get the materials, and I noticed on his roof three new satellites. Really, there goes the money to buy new supplies. Not only that, he had to close his shop down, because he couldn’t pay the rent. Teaching how to budget is part of my work, but in my defense, when I asked him where he got the shop, he said, “Oh it’s been in the family for years.” Then I asked “Well why have you been selling your art out of your house?” He just looked at me. It makes sense now because he didn’t have it in the family he rented it and was paying rent. People lie about weird stuff. But what can you do. That was a blow to my work load. The last thing that kind of was a disappointment, was my classes with the Handicapped association. As of now the president of the group is very unmotivated and it has started to cause problems in the planning of the classes. He wants to still have the classes, but he doesn’t want to help me translate from French to Wolof. So, I can do the class in French and bad Wolof, but No one would get anything out of it, except for a cool Peace Corps diploma at the end. All of this happened to me in the last two weeks. All of my projects for the last 7 months have fallen through within a two week period. Don’t feel to bad for me, because, as quickly as my luck went downhill it turned around in my favor. This past week I showed up to the health post again. The nurse was very shocked to see me show back up. She grabbed me a chair, put it next to her desk, and now I am spending 8 hours a week at the health post. As of now, I really don’t do to much. I mostly fill out some of the paperwork. I am going to start doing temperature and baby weighing soon. I also will start to do blood pressure, in a few days. Also I just started walking into random Talibe houses and talking to the Marabous. I now am associated with two houses and spend time talking to the kids and drinking tea. I really want to get to know these kids, cause as it is, no one gives them attention, and they really have nothing. I also went to the SDEP’s, which is the center for youth organizations in the region of St. Louis. There is a new director who is very laid back. I just walked in, greeted him and he gave me a list of every youth group in Dagana. The old director, refused to give me the list. He wanted me to come back and talk to him a bunch to make sure that I was serious. So I got the list and took down the name of three different groups. The first group I meet with is the Reseau D’Action Pour L’Enviorment et La Sante. They go by their acronym, which is Rapes. I thought it was funny that a youth group is called that, but no one else understood what I was explaining to them. So I meet with the president, and the first thing he says, is “I have been waiting for you.” Apparently he has worked with every volunteer that has come through Dagana. The three volunteers before me have all done formations with him. He wants me to teach English to a group with the tourism ministry. I am excited to do it, because, I can speak English. No problem! In exchange, he is going to help me find funding for my program, lend me 5 people or so for a formation. My grand idea is to have a youth group go to Talibe houses and teach basic health, like hand washing and nutrition. The talibe don’t necessarily have the ability to control what they eat and washing their hands, but there are no programs as of yet in Dagana or in the peace corps that works with the Talibe. Also giving the youth in the community an opportunity to teach classes to the Talibe is a valuable experience. The Talibe could also use some more attention and have a day for dedicated to them. So as you can see my luck was down for a little, but it is starting to turn around and things are looking a lot better. I will keep you guys updated on how my projects go. Talk to ya soon
Josh
Song: “Love” John Lennon I am also on a Muddy Waters kick. Smokestack lightning’ has inspired me…. Artistically that is
10 Ways my life has changed since summer time in Senegal
1: It rains every week or two weeks, where I am.
2: I have seen grass now for the first time in 10 months. It is beautiful
3: More siblings have moved back home from University
4: No school so kids have time to bang on my shutters 24/7
5: Neighborhood kids have increased their skills in Football American
6: Moths, Beetles, Roaches, and Grasshoppers
7: Melons are back in season. Woooohooooooooooooooooooooooo
8: Ramadan is around the corner so I get to stair at a wall for long periods of time while everyone sleeps the day away.
9: The River has turned brown
10: I now consider myself a professional fisherman. I have a homemade poll. It is made with recycled materials. (Wine corks, rocks, stick, fishing line, hook, and rusty metal wire.
Any who, I have had quite a few changes in my life as of late. To start off I will be taking a vacation to America December 11th to January 7. I will be in Washington DC area from the 11th to the 19th. Then I will be in Ann Arbor from the 19th to the 5th. So when I am DC, I expect to see all my friends in the east. You know who you are! I am very excited to take a vacation and see my new nephew and spend some time with the fam. It will be good for the soul and sanity. As far as work goes, it has been a real rollercoaster. To start, I went to the health center and they told me that they didn’t currently need help. So I went to a second smaller health post, only to discover that it is a faith healer. That was slightly awkward. But I made a quick recovery and went to another health post and spoke to the head nurse and offered my services. She said I should come back on Monday and then I could start to volunteer. I came back Monday and she said ”Yeah, about helping here, yeah, can you come back next week?” That was the first disappointment. Then I met up with my Artisan that I found an order in Dakar for. He comes up to me and asks me for more time and if I could give him money to buy supplies. That was a little disappointing since he made so much money during the tourist season. I went to his house 5 days later to check to see if he was able to get the materials, and I noticed on his roof three new satellites. Really, there goes the money to buy new supplies. Not only that, he had to close his shop down, because he couldn’t pay the rent. Teaching how to budget is part of my work, but in my defense, when I asked him where he got the shop, he said, “Oh it’s been in the family for years.” Then I asked “Well why have you been selling your art out of your house?” He just looked at me. It makes sense now because he didn’t have it in the family he rented it and was paying rent. People lie about weird stuff. But what can you do. That was a blow to my work load. The last thing that kind of was a disappointment, was my classes with the Handicapped association. As of now the president of the group is very unmotivated and it has started to cause problems in the planning of the classes. He wants to still have the classes, but he doesn’t want to help me translate from French to Wolof. So, I can do the class in French and bad Wolof, but No one would get anything out of it, except for a cool Peace Corps diploma at the end. All of this happened to me in the last two weeks. All of my projects for the last 7 months have fallen through within a two week period. Don’t feel to bad for me, because, as quickly as my luck went downhill it turned around in my favor. This past week I showed up to the health post again. The nurse was very shocked to see me show back up. She grabbed me a chair, put it next to her desk, and now I am spending 8 hours a week at the health post. As of now, I really don’t do to much. I mostly fill out some of the paperwork. I am going to start doing temperature and baby weighing soon. I also will start to do blood pressure, in a few days. Also I just started walking into random Talibe houses and talking to the Marabous. I now am associated with two houses and spend time talking to the kids and drinking tea. I really want to get to know these kids, cause as it is, no one gives them attention, and they really have nothing. I also went to the SDEP’s, which is the center for youth organizations in the region of St. Louis. There is a new director who is very laid back. I just walked in, greeted him and he gave me a list of every youth group in Dagana. The old director, refused to give me the list. He wanted me to come back and talk to him a bunch to make sure that I was serious. So I got the list and took down the name of three different groups. The first group I meet with is the Reseau D’Action Pour L’Enviorment et La Sante. They go by their acronym, which is Rapes. I thought it was funny that a youth group is called that, but no one else understood what I was explaining to them. So I meet with the president, and the first thing he says, is “I have been waiting for you.” Apparently he has worked with every volunteer that has come through Dagana. The three volunteers before me have all done formations with him. He wants me to teach English to a group with the tourism ministry. I am excited to do it, because, I can speak English. No problem! In exchange, he is going to help me find funding for my program, lend me 5 people or so for a formation. My grand idea is to have a youth group go to Talibe houses and teach basic health, like hand washing and nutrition. The talibe don’t necessarily have the ability to control what they eat and washing their hands, but there are no programs as of yet in Dagana or in the peace corps that works with the Talibe. Also giving the youth in the community an opportunity to teach classes to the Talibe is a valuable experience. The Talibe could also use some more attention and have a day for dedicated to them. So as you can see my luck was down for a little, but it is starting to turn around and things are looking a lot better. I will keep you guys updated on how my projects go. Talk to ya soon
Josh
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Look at a map
Book; “Blood Meridian”
Music; “Rehab” Amy Winehouse
Get a map of Senegal up on your screen.
Hey, I have had a big adventure the last few days so let me tell you all about it. I started on my adventure on the 28th of June. I had a nice back seat middle car ride to Daniel site in Tivauane. I stopped for a few hours and we watched the documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” (Cory and Aaron I think you will like this documentary. After that we headed on to a city a little south of Thies where we have a regional house. The plan was to go on down to Kolda and hang out with our friend who lives in a small village south of the Gambia. The problem is that once we called him the day before we were about to head to his site, we discovered that he was in Dakar with a bacterial infection, and possibly gout. I thought it was a dirty sailor disease gout, but apparently it’s a disease still around. Since we ran into this little problem, we decided we would just head onto Tamba and spend a few days down in the south before we headed to Kedagou. So it takes us 8 hours to go 200 k because the road is so bad. We still make it and are happy to just go to bed and call it a night. We wake up in the morning and decide to take it easy and watch movies then head down to Kedagou with a few other people the next day. We wake up ready to go but Daniel wasn’t moving. He caught some sort of bug and we ended up being grounded in Tamba for another two days. Everyone else went on ahead, but I figured I would stick around Tamba so Daniel wouldn’t get to lonely. Two days pass and we take the “4 hour” car ride down south. I use quote because 30 k out of Tamba our car hits a cow dead center then runs off into the tree. At this point everyone in the car is laughing and making fun of the driver. It seemed like he was aiming for the cow. We had to get out of the car and push it out of the ditch, then push start the car to get it going again. We finally get the car going again and the driver stops at the next village and sends for a new car for us. He says it is to dangerous to continue on in our car. So we are in a tiny village sitting next the town well for two hours till the replacement car comes. It is already 2 at this point and we hadn’t eaten. We load up the new car and get ready to go when the mechanic that came in the new car says, “Nothing is wrong with this car. Why didn’t you keep going?” So we unload the new car and reload the old car and continue on the way. The funny thing is that we stopped a k befor a small town with places to eat. Our driver was a dick. We were stuck in a village waiting for two hours when we could of went on or just gone another K to a decent town and eaten lunch. We continue on the road and go through the national park in the south. It was really neat, you have to go through this park to get to Kedagou. We saw wild boars, fawns, and a bunch of different monkeys. We finally get to the regional house in Kedagou and take it easy for the night. He next day we went on a 30 K bike ride to go to the waterfalls. It was awesome, the ride was off road over rocks, through water. At one point I had to carry my bike over my head, as I was armpit deep in water. We also go to bike through forest; jungle and we saw a bunch of chimps barking at us. We finally get to the river and go on an hour hike through the water to get to the waterfalls. On the hike we had to climb rocks go down a few vine ropes. We also go to swim in small pools in the river. After the long hike we get to this big waterfall. It is surrounded by rock walls. So you are in a cave almost with tree canopies covering the sky with vines hanging down. We climbed the rock wall and were jumping in 20 feet high down to the water below. It was neat, then the same day I rode my bike back 30 K and hung out the rest of the day. The next day was the 4th of July party. There was a piñata, fireworks, and music. A good time was had by all. We even had a water balloon fight which worked out nicely. We hung out for a few more days after then we went on back to Tamba to start the trek back home. When I got to Tamba I was starting to feel a little tired and figured it was normal with all of the festivities. But then I started to have some GI issues about every 30 min for 24 hours. I got pretty dehydrated, but I made sure I drank a lot of water and rested. So I was stuck in Tamba another few days until I was well enough to get out on the road again. When I was well enough to get back on the road, I ended up taking the back way home rather then going back through Thies. I took a six hour car ride back seat middle to Orassogi, then waited in that garage for 5 hours to get another car to Richard Toll. We finally left and the driver was terrible. HE drove so slow that it took him 6 hours to go a 4 hour distance. We had to stop so he could pray, then he changed a headlight in the car. Well, after 30 min, I decided to take over and do it. But After I didn’t it he took the light out and redid it himself. We continued on and it was dark, the driver was pulling off the road whenever a car passed us so I decided to get out of the in Ndioum and continue on the next day. The next day I got a car that took me two hours to get home, but it was safe, so I can’t complain. So yeah, I had an exciting few days. I hope Dagana can compete with all of my adventure. I know it will. Untill next time.
Music; “Rehab” Amy Winehouse
Get a map of Senegal up on your screen.
Hey, I have had a big adventure the last few days so let me tell you all about it. I started on my adventure on the 28th of June. I had a nice back seat middle car ride to Daniel site in Tivauane. I stopped for a few hours and we watched the documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” (Cory and Aaron I think you will like this documentary. After that we headed on to a city a little south of Thies where we have a regional house. The plan was to go on down to Kolda and hang out with our friend who lives in a small village south of the Gambia. The problem is that once we called him the day before we were about to head to his site, we discovered that he was in Dakar with a bacterial infection, and possibly gout. I thought it was a dirty sailor disease gout, but apparently it’s a disease still around. Since we ran into this little problem, we decided we would just head onto Tamba and spend a few days down in the south before we headed to Kedagou. So it takes us 8 hours to go 200 k because the road is so bad. We still make it and are happy to just go to bed and call it a night. We wake up in the morning and decide to take it easy and watch movies then head down to Kedagou with a few other people the next day. We wake up ready to go but Daniel wasn’t moving. He caught some sort of bug and we ended up being grounded in Tamba for another two days. Everyone else went on ahead, but I figured I would stick around Tamba so Daniel wouldn’t get to lonely. Two days pass and we take the “4 hour” car ride down south. I use quote because 30 k out of Tamba our car hits a cow dead center then runs off into the tree. At this point everyone in the car is laughing and making fun of the driver. It seemed like he was aiming for the cow. We had to get out of the car and push it out of the ditch, then push start the car to get it going again. We finally get the car going again and the driver stops at the next village and sends for a new car for us. He says it is to dangerous to continue on in our car. So we are in a tiny village sitting next the town well for two hours till the replacement car comes. It is already 2 at this point and we hadn’t eaten. We load up the new car and get ready to go when the mechanic that came in the new car says, “Nothing is wrong with this car. Why didn’t you keep going?” So we unload the new car and reload the old car and continue on the way. The funny thing is that we stopped a k befor a small town with places to eat. Our driver was a dick. We were stuck in a village waiting for two hours when we could of went on or just gone another K to a decent town and eaten lunch. We continue on the road and go through the national park in the south. It was really neat, you have to go through this park to get to Kedagou. We saw wild boars, fawns, and a bunch of different monkeys. We finally get to the regional house in Kedagou and take it easy for the night. He next day we went on a 30 K bike ride to go to the waterfalls. It was awesome, the ride was off road over rocks, through water. At one point I had to carry my bike over my head, as I was armpit deep in water. We also go to bike through forest; jungle and we saw a bunch of chimps barking at us. We finally get to the river and go on an hour hike through the water to get to the waterfalls. On the hike we had to climb rocks go down a few vine ropes. We also go to swim in small pools in the river. After the long hike we get to this big waterfall. It is surrounded by rock walls. So you are in a cave almost with tree canopies covering the sky with vines hanging down. We climbed the rock wall and were jumping in 20 feet high down to the water below. It was neat, then the same day I rode my bike back 30 K and hung out the rest of the day. The next day was the 4th of July party. There was a piñata, fireworks, and music. A good time was had by all. We even had a water balloon fight which worked out nicely. We hung out for a few more days after then we went on back to Tamba to start the trek back home. When I got to Tamba I was starting to feel a little tired and figured it was normal with all of the festivities. But then I started to have some GI issues about every 30 min for 24 hours. I got pretty dehydrated, but I made sure I drank a lot of water and rested. So I was stuck in Tamba another few days until I was well enough to get out on the road again. When I was well enough to get back on the road, I ended up taking the back way home rather then going back through Thies. I took a six hour car ride back seat middle to Orassogi, then waited in that garage for 5 hours to get another car to Richard Toll. We finally left and the driver was terrible. HE drove so slow that it took him 6 hours to go a 4 hour distance. We had to stop so he could pray, then he changed a headlight in the car. Well, after 30 min, I decided to take over and do it. But After I didn’t it he took the light out and redid it himself. We continued on and it was dark, the driver was pulling off the road whenever a car passed us so I decided to get out of the in Ndioum and continue on the next day. The next day I got a car that took me two hours to get home, but it was safe, so I can’t complain. So yeah, I had an exciting few days. I hope Dagana can compete with all of my adventure. I know it will. Untill next time.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Been a while
Sorry it has been so long since I last wrote. Katie has left and is now getting ready to make her move to Boston. Since she left I have been a little lonley but I feel like I am starting to get some work done. Yesterday I had a meeting where I got to present my project plan for my work with the handicapped association. It was a little nerveracking since I was sitting at the big table and there were people in from Dakar and all of the presidents of the Handdicaped association. Since my language containes a half French and half Wolof tounge I kind of bombed the presentation. All of the French people couldn't understand my Wolof and the people in the Handdicaped association didn't understand the technical terms I used that were in French. In alot of cases people with disabilities arnt able to get a good education, because if a parent has to make a choice to send one kid to school, it will be the healthy male child. Many of the disabled don't speak French. Also the fact, that I was so nervouse I started to stutter over my name didn't help. I was really emabressed, but after the 6 hour meeting all in Wolof, people came up to me and asked about my program. So no matter how bad I felt about my presentation, people still really respected my attempt to speak their language and are interested in working with me. Now it all comes down to actually getting my classes underway. Also they just opened up Liberia as a peace corps site. So alot of people are thinking of extending 9 months there after their service is through in Senegal. Talk to you soon. By the way I just read, "Kavalier and Clay", "Farenhite 451", and "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Sugar Sugar
So to start off with a true story, I was sitting down watching the TV when my brother sits down next to me. He is holding a package in his hands, so I ask what do you have? He opens the small package and pulls out underwear. He hands me a small pair of whity tighties. I say nice and try to hand them back. He refused them back and now I am the owner of blue puma undies. I am the luckiest man alive!!!!!
So yesterday we went to Richard Toll for a tour of the sugar factory with Bryn and Casey (PCVs in Toll)! It was very neat... it was hot and there was sugar covering everything, so we got pretty dirty, but it was neat getting a personal tour and seeing all of the huge machinery! It was interesting b/c there were not really any safety regulations- no hard hats... My favorite part was the packaging part at the end... it definitely looked like something that would be on the show 'How Things Are Made'... they make different sized packages and sugar cubes- it was neat!
So yesterday we went to Richard Toll for a tour of the sugar factory with Bryn and Casey (PCVs in Toll)! It was very neat... it was hot and there was sugar covering everything, so we got pretty dirty, but it was neat getting a personal tour and seeing all of the huge machinery! It was interesting b/c there were not really any safety regulations- no hard hats... My favorite part was the packaging part at the end... it definitely looked like something that would be on the show 'How Things Are Made'... they make different sized packages and sugar cubes- it was neat!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Jazz Fest
Books: Josh – “The Three Musketeers” Dumas, “Things Fall Apart”
Katie- “Things Fall Apart”, The Ecstasy and the Agony”, “Into The Wild”
Music: “Let it Be” The Beatles
Joke: Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?
No I didn’t!
Yeah it runs in the jeans!
Any who life has been treating Katie and I well. We have had a few busy weeks and I will let Katie tell you all about them. Just to summarize, we did an English class at the high school, went to Jazz fest, and my classes have been put off for a week or two because of time restrictions. I did however find a website that donates art supplies to children in Africa. Talk to you soon. Josh
So, yes, Josh and I were invited to an English class so they could ask us questions. Many of them really want to come to America and become rappers…. The first question was ‘do rappers really live like they do in their videos?’ They also asked about JFK, terrorism, and the weak American economy… Will America still be the most powerful country in 20 years, or do you think China will become more powerful? Also, why are there more black people in professional sports in the US? Some of the questions were kind of difficult to answer, but we did the best we could… Josh did a good job of trying to relate things back to Senegal and overall it went well and we had fun! At the end they asked me if I could cook rice and fish, if I ate with my hands, and they asked me to do the bulacaste dance, which I did… haha!
Last Tuesday we left for St. Louis because there was a Jazz Festival there! The festival started on Thursday night, but some Peace Corps Volunteers were there early celebrating a birthday and such…. We stayed in this flat for free the first 2 nights- a Peace Corps Volunteer who stays for a 3rd year gets the flat and it is a very nice flat with a view of the water and 3 balconies… someone is moving in next month or something…
On Wed. Josh and I went to a bird park nearby and it was great! We were the only people visiting the park, so we had a private boat and tour guide (in French, so I understood only a quarter of it)… we saw pelicans, herons, cormorants, flamingoes, and some others! There was this island that was completely covered with birds and it was so neat… I liked these seagull-like birds (called Red Beaked Royals, I think?) that were coming up and “yelling” at us to stay away.. they were being protective of their babies.. Josh’s favorite birds were these dark blue herons that had a feather coming out of their head…I like cormorants a lot!
The next day we left the flat and stayed at a house with a bunch of Volunteers… it was located on the Longue de Barbarie- so on one side is the ocean (which was right outside our house) and on the other side is the river… it’s so pretty! The ocean was really rough, partly because there is a sand bar so there’s no way to get past the breaking waves like I’m used to doing in the Atlantic- breaking waves just constantly surround you… so the ocean beat us up, but it was a lot of fun! In general St. Louis was cold especially after being in 120 degree heat! The days were comfortable, but I was freezing outside at night!
So Jazz Fest occurs on The Island… there were a bunch of Artisan tents and live music in a lot of the bars! I think everyone was a little disappointed in the amount of Jazz they heard, but the stuff we did hear was pretty good! Overall, it was a very relaxing trip and I loved being right on the ocean and not sweating for almost a week! We ate very good food too… we ate burgers at ‘Nice Burger’, Wild Boar with salad, meat sandwiches they sell on the street, and even ice cream! I think I’ve eaten more meat here than the total amount of meat I’ve eaten in my life… although when we’re in Dagana we just eat fish, so maybe not…
We got back to Dagana yesterday and it’s hot, but nice to be back!
I love and miss you all! Xoxo
Happy Mother’s Day to our moms, sisters, grandmas…
Katie- “Things Fall Apart”, The Ecstasy and the Agony”, “Into The Wild”
Music: “Let it Be” The Beatles
Joke: Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?
No I didn’t!
Yeah it runs in the jeans!
Any who life has been treating Katie and I well. We have had a few busy weeks and I will let Katie tell you all about them. Just to summarize, we did an English class at the high school, went to Jazz fest, and my classes have been put off for a week or two because of time restrictions. I did however find a website that donates art supplies to children in Africa. Talk to you soon. Josh
So, yes, Josh and I were invited to an English class so they could ask us questions. Many of them really want to come to America and become rappers…. The first question was ‘do rappers really live like they do in their videos?’ They also asked about JFK, terrorism, and the weak American economy… Will America still be the most powerful country in 20 years, or do you think China will become more powerful? Also, why are there more black people in professional sports in the US? Some of the questions were kind of difficult to answer, but we did the best we could… Josh did a good job of trying to relate things back to Senegal and overall it went well and we had fun! At the end they asked me if I could cook rice and fish, if I ate with my hands, and they asked me to do the bulacaste dance, which I did… haha!
Last Tuesday we left for St. Louis because there was a Jazz Festival there! The festival started on Thursday night, but some Peace Corps Volunteers were there early celebrating a birthday and such…. We stayed in this flat for free the first 2 nights- a Peace Corps Volunteer who stays for a 3rd year gets the flat and it is a very nice flat with a view of the water and 3 balconies… someone is moving in next month or something…
On Wed. Josh and I went to a bird park nearby and it was great! We were the only people visiting the park, so we had a private boat and tour guide (in French, so I understood only a quarter of it)… we saw pelicans, herons, cormorants, flamingoes, and some others! There was this island that was completely covered with birds and it was so neat… I liked these seagull-like birds (called Red Beaked Royals, I think?) that were coming up and “yelling” at us to stay away.. they were being protective of their babies.. Josh’s favorite birds were these dark blue herons that had a feather coming out of their head…I like cormorants a lot!
The next day we left the flat and stayed at a house with a bunch of Volunteers… it was located on the Longue de Barbarie- so on one side is the ocean (which was right outside our house) and on the other side is the river… it’s so pretty! The ocean was really rough, partly because there is a sand bar so there’s no way to get past the breaking waves like I’m used to doing in the Atlantic- breaking waves just constantly surround you… so the ocean beat us up, but it was a lot of fun! In general St. Louis was cold especially after being in 120 degree heat! The days were comfortable, but I was freezing outside at night!
So Jazz Fest occurs on The Island… there were a bunch of Artisan tents and live music in a lot of the bars! I think everyone was a little disappointed in the amount of Jazz they heard, but the stuff we did hear was pretty good! Overall, it was a very relaxing trip and I loved being right on the ocean and not sweating for almost a week! We ate very good food too… we ate burgers at ‘Nice Burger’, Wild Boar with salad, meat sandwiches they sell on the street, and even ice cream! I think I’ve eaten more meat here than the total amount of meat I’ve eaten in my life… although when we’re in Dagana we just eat fish, so maybe not…
We got back to Dagana yesterday and it’s hot, but nice to be back!
I love and miss you all! Xoxo
Happy Mother’s Day to our moms, sisters, grandmas…
Sunday, April 27, 2008
it's really hot!
Book: Josh “A Farewell to Arms” Ernest Hemingway, “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” Mark Twain
Katie “The Agony and the Ecstasy”
Quote: Josh “The coward dies a thousand deaths, the hero just one” Ernest Hemingway
Katie “If you want to be a citizen of the world, you must speak English.” “America is the most powerful country in the world, so English is the most powerful language.” Dagana’s high school English Club
5 new things that have happened to me this week that has never happened before
5: My host mom left 3 weeks ago and hasn’t come back.
4: The baby in my house drank the juice out of a tuna can.
3: I’ve watched 3 movies within this week.
2: Went to speak with and English teacher about helping his class, but he didn’t greet me or talk to me. After about five minuets talking to Katie he asked what she did in Dagana and she told him that she was just visiting and I was the volunteer. There was a short silence.
1: Woke up at 2am with a stray cat inside my mosquito net. Luckily for us we didn’t freak out and get rabies.
So any who, Katie’s visit has been going good. We have spent most of our time in Dagana, but we have made a trip or two to Richard Toll, and Ndioum (my regional house in the desert). We also have spent a little time in St. Louis and Dakar. In two weeks we will also be going back to St. Louis for the Jazz festival and the Conference that I have put together. Before Katie leaves we are also planning a little trip down south near the Gambian border, which will be a very different setting then what we are used to. That is a travel update.
It has started to get really hot in Senegal. I don’t have a way to get the exact temperature, but I know that St. Louis is 90 degrees and Podor is 111 degrees, so that puts Dagana at about 105 degrees. Boy I can’t wait for the hot season to really get started. At least the humidity hasn’t started yet. The nights are also cold so we are able to sleep on the roof and enjoy that. The big problem is that all the houses are concrete and hold the heat in. So at 10 at night it is still close to a ninety in the rooms and you have to be outside just so you don’t die of heat stroke.
Even though it sounds like a lot of fire and brimstone, the season has brought many good things along with it. For instance for 250 CFA I can get 4 mangos. Also for 100 CFA I can get these potato things(4 of them), called Potat in French and Potase in Wolof. They are a mix of regular potato, with sweet potato. They are the greatest vegetable in the world. Tomatoes, 15 for 100CFA. I decided that I can take the heat, as long as the good produce keeps on coming. In other news we rescued a small kitten that was starving and in bad shape. Unfortunately Katie has gotten really attached and the cat has really gotten attached to her as well. It will be a hard separation, and I’m not quite sure what I will do with the cat. Her name is Salte (Dirty in Wolof). Other than that life is good and Katie has adapted well and has become part of the family. Her name is Awa Fall, which is funny because my mom’s name is Awa, and I have a sister who lives in the house, named Awa. I guess the third time is a charm. Any who Till next time. Look at my pics.
Katie “The Agony and the Ecstasy”
Quote: Josh “The coward dies a thousand deaths, the hero just one” Ernest Hemingway
Katie “If you want to be a citizen of the world, you must speak English.” “America is the most powerful country in the world, so English is the most powerful language.” Dagana’s high school English Club
5 new things that have happened to me this week that has never happened before
5: My host mom left 3 weeks ago and hasn’t come back.
4: The baby in my house drank the juice out of a tuna can.
3: I’ve watched 3 movies within this week.
2: Went to speak with and English teacher about helping his class, but he didn’t greet me or talk to me. After about five minuets talking to Katie he asked what she did in Dagana and she told him that she was just visiting and I was the volunteer. There was a short silence.
1: Woke up at 2am with a stray cat inside my mosquito net. Luckily for us we didn’t freak out and get rabies.
So any who, Katie’s visit has been going good. We have spent most of our time in Dagana, but we have made a trip or two to Richard Toll, and Ndioum (my regional house in the desert). We also have spent a little time in St. Louis and Dakar. In two weeks we will also be going back to St. Louis for the Jazz festival and the Conference that I have put together. Before Katie leaves we are also planning a little trip down south near the Gambian border, which will be a very different setting then what we are used to. That is a travel update.
It has started to get really hot in Senegal. I don’t have a way to get the exact temperature, but I know that St. Louis is 90 degrees and Podor is 111 degrees, so that puts Dagana at about 105 degrees. Boy I can’t wait for the hot season to really get started. At least the humidity hasn’t started yet. The nights are also cold so we are able to sleep on the roof and enjoy that. The big problem is that all the houses are concrete and hold the heat in. So at 10 at night it is still close to a ninety in the rooms and you have to be outside just so you don’t die of heat stroke.
Even though it sounds like a lot of fire and brimstone, the season has brought many good things along with it. For instance for 250 CFA I can get 4 mangos. Also for 100 CFA I can get these potato things(4 of them), called Potat in French and Potase in Wolof. They are a mix of regular potato, with sweet potato. They are the greatest vegetable in the world. Tomatoes, 15 for 100CFA. I decided that I can take the heat, as long as the good produce keeps on coming. In other news we rescued a small kitten that was starving and in bad shape. Unfortunately Katie has gotten really attached and the cat has really gotten attached to her as well. It will be a hard separation, and I’m not quite sure what I will do with the cat. Her name is Salte (Dirty in Wolof). Other than that life is good and Katie has adapted well and has become part of the family. Her name is Awa Fall, which is funny because my mom’s name is Awa, and I have a sister who lives in the house, named Awa. I guess the third time is a charm. Any who Till next time. Look at my pics.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Katie came to Senegal
Book: Exodus
Album: The Cool Lupe Fiasco
So after my adventurous car ride I reached the Peace Corps house and relaxed for a few days. I took care of some business at the office and then headed over to Ngor Village to Chez Dou Dou (Doo Doo). Dou Dou is a good guy so I didn’t bust his chops too much. Can any one name that movie. Any who I got to the house and walked around the village for a while and ate some dinner at a sandwich stand. By the way mom and dad, the sandwich lady decided we are now boyfriend and girlfriend. I don’t remember her name, but she is very nice and makes a good beef pasta sandwich. Anyone who comes and visits will eat a sandwich there. On another note I went to bed at 8:30 so I could get to the airport by 5:30 to pick Katie up. Dou Dou was real cool and gave me a ride to pick up Katie. For any one who doesn’t know much about Senegal, As soon as she stepped outside a brawl started over her bags because people saw dollar signs. It was really nice to see Katie, after six months you really start to forget the little things about a person and it was really refreshing to be reminded of those things.
We had a good time in Dakar. We walked around the Village ate at some nice restaurants, swam at the dirty beach, went downtown and ate. By the way there is a beer called the Maximator, which is an 11.6 percent alcohol. Living the dream.
After a brief stint in Dakar we went over to St. Louie for two days. Our car broke down twice on the way. I think that Katie might be bad luck when it comes to travel. We stayed on the Lang de Barbrie where our hotel was on the beach looking out to the Ocean. We spent some time on the island and main land as well. It was a big food day for Katie also because she tried Yassa and fish, Thiou, and Wild Boar. From Sst. Louie we went to Richard Toll and hung out with Bryn for the night. Nothing like watching European Football and rice to make a night.
We now have just gotten back to Dagana and have been hanging out with the family. A few of the people are a little upset that she isn’t fluent in Wolof but she will eventually get it. I give her two weeks to get it down. Since being in Dagana we have been having some fun. We went to a parade for the Senegalese Independence day. April 4th, 48 years of freedom. We some how wondered up onto the stage with the mayor of the surrounding towns and a few of the president’s advisors. Either way we had a good seat and Bryn even came into watch the parade. After the parade we relaxed for a fe hours until it was time for the dinner party. And what a party it was, juices, donuts, just for an appetizer. Ohh and for the main course, I have never see seen a look like the one on Katie’s face when they brought it out. For every six people, a leg of goat with some ribs. Yes just a large platter in the middle of the table. As soon as they set it down everyone’s hands went straight to it and started ripping it apart. Katie had said earlier she wanted to eat with her hands. She got her wish and we tore a goat apart. It was yummy but Katie didn’t eat to much. It was hard for her to cut the meat using only her right hand. There is a technique to it actually. Have your neighbor hold the base of the leg while you pinch and pull at the meat. Any who we had a nice meal waiting for her when we got back to the house.
It has been nice to have Katie around and I am looking forward to the next few weeks and to see what adventures we have in front of us. This wed we will be on the radio. (Actually the radio thing didnt work out.)
Until next time.
Album: The Cool Lupe Fiasco
So after my adventurous car ride I reached the Peace Corps house and relaxed for a few days. I took care of some business at the office and then headed over to Ngor Village to Chez Dou Dou (Doo Doo). Dou Dou is a good guy so I didn’t bust his chops too much. Can any one name that movie. Any who I got to the house and walked around the village for a while and ate some dinner at a sandwich stand. By the way mom and dad, the sandwich lady decided we are now boyfriend and girlfriend. I don’t remember her name, but she is very nice and makes a good beef pasta sandwich. Anyone who comes and visits will eat a sandwich there. On another note I went to bed at 8:30 so I could get to the airport by 5:30 to pick Katie up. Dou Dou was real cool and gave me a ride to pick up Katie. For any one who doesn’t know much about Senegal, As soon as she stepped outside a brawl started over her bags because people saw dollar signs. It was really nice to see Katie, after six months you really start to forget the little things about a person and it was really refreshing to be reminded of those things.
We had a good time in Dakar. We walked around the Village ate at some nice restaurants, swam at the dirty beach, went downtown and ate. By the way there is a beer called the Maximator, which is an 11.6 percent alcohol. Living the dream.
After a brief stint in Dakar we went over to St. Louie for two days. Our car broke down twice on the way. I think that Katie might be bad luck when it comes to travel. We stayed on the Lang de Barbrie where our hotel was on the beach looking out to the Ocean. We spent some time on the island and main land as well. It was a big food day for Katie also because she tried Yassa and fish, Thiou, and Wild Boar. From Sst. Louie we went to Richard Toll and hung out with Bryn for the night. Nothing like watching European Football and rice to make a night.
We now have just gotten back to Dagana and have been hanging out with the family. A few of the people are a little upset that she isn’t fluent in Wolof but she will eventually get it. I give her two weeks to get it down. Since being in Dagana we have been having some fun. We went to a parade for the Senegalese Independence day. April 4th, 48 years of freedom. We some how wondered up onto the stage with the mayor of the surrounding towns and a few of the president’s advisors. Either way we had a good seat and Bryn even came into watch the parade. After the parade we relaxed for a fe hours until it was time for the dinner party. And what a party it was, juices, donuts, just for an appetizer. Ohh and for the main course, I have never see seen a look like the one on Katie’s face when they brought it out. For every six people, a leg of goat with some ribs. Yes just a large platter in the middle of the table. As soon as they set it down everyone’s hands went straight to it and started ripping it apart. Katie had said earlier she wanted to eat with her hands. She got her wish and we tore a goat apart. It was yummy but Katie didn’t eat to much. It was hard for her to cut the meat using only her right hand. There is a technique to it actually. Have your neighbor hold the base of the leg while you pinch and pull at the meat. Any who we had a nice meal waiting for her when we got back to the house.
It has been nice to have Katie around and I am looking forward to the next few weeks and to see what adventures we have in front of us. This wed we will be on the radio. (Actually the radio thing didnt work out.)
Until next time.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Nice car ride
It was time for me to come to Dakar to get a shot and to pick up Katie at the airport. I had heard that there is a bus that will takke me from site to Dakar in one shot. I figure oh how easy, and it only cost ,3,500 where normally it is 6,500. To good to be true. And it was, it took me 12 hours to get to teh transit house. Normally it should of only taken me 5 to 6 hours. The bus was moving so slow and every single city we got to, the driver or one of his helpers had to smk=oke a cigarete. On top of that the car broke down twice. Once we got to teh outside of Dakar where all of the traffic is, the driver made every one get out of the bus and find another way into the city. I ended up getting into a large van that was going to Liberty six (A neighborhood). I had the help of a man i met on the bus. So we are cruising into Dakar and he ays, ok we are here at liberty six. I get out with him, he walks me to the bus stop and says, it is just up the street. So i get into a taxi and ask to goto a certain road. No problems, went rather smoothly, until I got out of the car and walked a little and realized I was in the wrong neighborhood all together. Luckily I found a guy on the street who led me to another bus and I was able to make it to teh house and watch Gladiator and Temple of Doom. Now that I have time to relax and take a hot shower, I feel alright and have learned a valuable lesson about traveling. The best deals arnt always as they seem. I also want to give a shout out to my freind Nilan, whose village I got to stay in. It was my first time without ellectricity and running water. It was alot of fun and I got to eat wild boar woth the one Christian family in the village. By the way, wild boar is the best meat ever. It taste like steak, but is not as chewy, and is mostly meat. I took a tooth and now have a sweet necklace. Any who, i will catch up with you guys later when i have more time to write. I also was on a radio show. We did it live, and now I am some what of a celebraty.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Trees
Book: “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel
Song: “Gloria” Jimmi Hendrix
Quote: “All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it no species would survive.” Yann Martel
Cool things the president can do
1: Calls national holidays when he has a meeting in Dakar.
2: Buy a village a machine for separating rice from its shell, but doesn’t realize the village has no electricity.
3: Defy the evil European union.
4: Close the gap between the dollar and CFA. When I came the CFA was 500 to one Dollar. Now it is 430CFA to a dollar.
5: Hold an Islamic conference with thousands of people coming into Dakar.
Not to much has been going on as of late. I started to watch the first season of hero at my regional house. I have become obsessed and now think of my self with super powers. For instance what would I do if I could stop time? Any who. St. Patties day is coming up and I am having a little party in Richard Toll. I bought Bryn’s house a BBQ and I also got some shorts made for the occasion. I’m sure you will eventually see pictures when I get around to putting them up. My English club has learned hello and good-bye so we are progressing along. I can now play redemption song on the guitar, which is a nice advancement. My tree nursery has been coming in nicely. I have about five trees growing right now. They are healthy and green. I have two or three sacs that haven’t started to grow yet. So that is a little disappointing. If I had to make a suggestion to every one, grow a tree or a plant. You feel like you have accomplished something and also you are sustaining life, which is cool. I feel almost like a father when I go to water my trees. It is something that you have created and become attached to. Don’t worry I haven’t gone crazy yet. A lot of the other volunteers feel the same way about their plants. I have gone a little crazy
Song: “Gloria” Jimmi Hendrix
Quote: “All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it no species would survive.” Yann Martel
Cool things the president can do
1: Calls national holidays when he has a meeting in Dakar.
2: Buy a village a machine for separating rice from its shell, but doesn’t realize the village has no electricity.
3: Defy the evil European union.
4: Close the gap between the dollar and CFA. When I came the CFA was 500 to one Dollar. Now it is 430CFA to a dollar.
5: Hold an Islamic conference with thousands of people coming into Dakar.
Not to much has been going on as of late. I started to watch the first season of hero at my regional house. I have become obsessed and now think of my self with super powers. For instance what would I do if I could stop time? Any who. St. Patties day is coming up and I am having a little party in Richard Toll. I bought Bryn’s house a BBQ and I also got some shorts made for the occasion. I’m sure you will eventually see pictures when I get around to putting them up. My English club has learned hello and good-bye so we are progressing along. I can now play redemption song on the guitar, which is a nice advancement. My tree nursery has been coming in nicely. I have about five trees growing right now. They are healthy and green. I have two or three sacs that haven’t started to grow yet. So that is a little disappointing. If I had to make a suggestion to every one, grow a tree or a plant. You feel like you have accomplished something and also you are sustaining life, which is cool. I feel almost like a father when I go to water my trees. It is something that you have created and become attached to. Don’t worry I haven’t gone crazy yet. A lot of the other volunteers feel the same way about their plants. I have gone a little crazy
Thursday, March 6, 2008
March Is Hear
Book: “Confederacy for Dunces” By John Kennedy Toole (I was laughing so much that my host family was just starring at me. I am only 58 pages in)
Song: Want You by Bob Dylan
Quote: “The free exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.” East of Eden John Steinbeck
5 Things that will happen to you if you have a beard in Senegal
1: People ask me if I am a Moore (Mauritanian) or a Naar (Arab)
2: I get asked if I am a member of a terrorist organization.
3: Every Senegalese Women tells me to shave it off.
4: At the end of the day I find food in my beard or pieces of string. Not knowing how long it has remained in my beard.
5: I have been told at least three times that if I were in America, George Bush’s father would shoot me dead. (My favorite)
Any who, life is going well. I am really starting to get some work done and reading some good books. I first want to congratulate my sister on being pregnant with her first child. If you even mention that someone is pregnant in Senegal they will freak out because it is considered bad luck to talk about pregnancy. Also don’t mention a kid is cute or that will turn them ugly. Just a quick suggestion for all of you who come to Senegal in the near future. My family loved the chicken calendar, they laughed for a long time. The books you sent me are great. I am really enjoying the “Confederacy of Dunces.”
The artist I am working with seems to be really motivated and making some good progress. He has opened up his new boutique and repainted, made a sign for the outside, and put up new shelves. He is probably my first work partner that really wants to listen to what I have to say so it is rewarding to see the progress we are making. Hopefully we will be up on the Internet in a few short months and selling to Europe and America. The kids I am tutoring are making some progress but it is hard to help them since they get sick a lot and have other duties in the house. It is really hard to get some people moving in general also just because I went to go pay my electric bill at 9 in the morning and I could barley go outside because it was so hot. C’est pas bon.
So now that I am back at site my English club has restarted. I had a little trouble getting restarted because the kids only come outside at sunset. So I don’t have as much time with my kids like I did before. Also the first time I saw them, they ran from me and hid because they didn’t recognize me with my beard. They hid behind a wall of cinderblocks and it took one of them a few seconds to come out and shake my hand. Although I must say I was walking around when I first got back and Papa one of the smaller children yelled “How are you?” I turned around responded, then he said “Thank You.” After that he went into “What time is it? Time to get Ill.” Then we went into the song I taught them, Starts high and ends low “Djiby’s English Club.” I was so proud of Papa I almost felt like he was my own son and I have been teaching him everything he will need to know when he learns English if he gets to go to school.
Any who I really have no good stories as of lately. Stuff has become so normal to me and routine I feel like the stories I had earlier are just now routine and it is harder for me to pick something out of the ordinary. I do shower four to five times a day because of the heat. Ohh I know, I started my tree nursery. Nothing has grown yet but I’m hopping. The dirt is a little to clay like. I rode out a few K down the riverbank and dug under some grass to get dirt. But I just think it won’t sustain the life I want to create. My next test is two parts manure, one part sand. I think I will pay kids to collect the manure for me. I already get strange stairs from people for collecting garbage to use pots for my garden. Actually I got a really nice pot brought it home and my second mom yelled at me. Dafa Salty, It’s dirty! Apparently I brought home a Childs toilet and the dry dirt in the bottom of it was poop. Opps. Any who Until next time.
Song: Want You by Bob Dylan
Quote: “The free exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.” East of Eden John Steinbeck
5 Things that will happen to you if you have a beard in Senegal
1: People ask me if I am a Moore (Mauritanian) or a Naar (Arab)
2: I get asked if I am a member of a terrorist organization.
3: Every Senegalese Women tells me to shave it off.
4: At the end of the day I find food in my beard or pieces of string. Not knowing how long it has remained in my beard.
5: I have been told at least three times that if I were in America, George Bush’s father would shoot me dead. (My favorite)
Any who, life is going well. I am really starting to get some work done and reading some good books. I first want to congratulate my sister on being pregnant with her first child. If you even mention that someone is pregnant in Senegal they will freak out because it is considered bad luck to talk about pregnancy. Also don’t mention a kid is cute or that will turn them ugly. Just a quick suggestion for all of you who come to Senegal in the near future. My family loved the chicken calendar, they laughed for a long time. The books you sent me are great. I am really enjoying the “Confederacy of Dunces.”
The artist I am working with seems to be really motivated and making some good progress. He has opened up his new boutique and repainted, made a sign for the outside, and put up new shelves. He is probably my first work partner that really wants to listen to what I have to say so it is rewarding to see the progress we are making. Hopefully we will be up on the Internet in a few short months and selling to Europe and America. The kids I am tutoring are making some progress but it is hard to help them since they get sick a lot and have other duties in the house. It is really hard to get some people moving in general also just because I went to go pay my electric bill at 9 in the morning and I could barley go outside because it was so hot. C’est pas bon.
So now that I am back at site my English club has restarted. I had a little trouble getting restarted because the kids only come outside at sunset. So I don’t have as much time with my kids like I did before. Also the first time I saw them, they ran from me and hid because they didn’t recognize me with my beard. They hid behind a wall of cinderblocks and it took one of them a few seconds to come out and shake my hand. Although I must say I was walking around when I first got back and Papa one of the smaller children yelled “How are you?” I turned around responded, then he said “Thank You.” After that he went into “What time is it? Time to get Ill.” Then we went into the song I taught them, Starts high and ends low “Djiby’s English Club.” I was so proud of Papa I almost felt like he was my own son and I have been teaching him everything he will need to know when he learns English if he gets to go to school.
Any who I really have no good stories as of lately. Stuff has become so normal to me and routine I feel like the stories I had earlier are just now routine and it is harder for me to pick something out of the ordinary. I do shower four to five times a day because of the heat. Ohh I know, I started my tree nursery. Nothing has grown yet but I’m hopping. The dirt is a little to clay like. I rode out a few K down the riverbank and dug under some grass to get dirt. But I just think it won’t sustain the life I want to create. My next test is two parts manure, one part sand. I think I will pay kids to collect the manure for me. I already get strange stairs from people for collecting garbage to use pots for my garden. Actually I got a really nice pot brought it home and my second mom yelled at me. Dafa Salty, It’s dirty! Apparently I brought home a Childs toilet and the dry dirt in the bottom of it was poop. Opps. Any who Until next time.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Where have I been
Book: “East of Eden” Steinbeck, and “Taoist Tales”
Song: “You aint a killer” Big Pun
Quote: “Bien Sur”
10 things I love in Senegal
1: Speaking English to people who are trying to learn. (They know how I feel now)
2: Kids scared of my beard
3: The expectation that I am fluent after 6 days of Wolof Training
4: Cheeb u Jen
5: Petting goats
6: Inventing stuff (Fishing Poll, Mosquito Net Holder)
7: Even with horrible French people ask me if I am French
8: I can walk into any building and demand the boss and then see them
9: The national anthem
10: If you are at some ones house during lunch, they offer you food. I have a circuit worked out to eat three lunches a day.
Wow, it has been a while since we last spoke. No I haven’t completely lost my mind yet and yes I think I am starting to figure out some stuff I can accomplish. To start off with, training was a little slow for me, but it was good to reconnect to a few other people and see what they have been up to for the last few months. I discovered I am just as useless as most of the other volunteers in my stage. Many others are in a similar stagnant stag of their service, just trying to figure out what is going on and discovering the language and community. I learned a little more Wolof, which I was proud of, but I am not fluent so I was reminded of that when I got back. I do now have the skills to improve on my own which is really important for me. We also had a softball tournament, which was a lot of fun. My team lost every game by a lot, but we did have the cutest uniforms and best dance moves. My team was almost all girls so we had the important things in order such as dancing and uniforms. It was a nice break to eat hotdogs and have an occasional beer. You can check out some of the pictures online also if you were curious as to my uniform. After the tournament I spent a night in Louga to check out my friends site and see what type of work she has going on. It is good to be back and I have a lot on my plate which is great since I wont feel so bored or useless anymore. I am still working with the artisan and we are right now trying to get him to export via the internet. So I am taking pictures of his product and starting a website for all of the artist in Senegal that the Peace Corps volunteers work with. A funny story actually, I go to his house the other day where he sells his art from and he tells me we are going to go to his boutique. “Oh you have a boutique?” I start asking my self why have you not been selling out of your boutique this whole time, maybe it is a new place. Yeah, he has a store on the river front where the tourist get off of the boat. This whole time, for years in fact, and he has been selling his product out of his house. My mind has officially been blown. So we are now working on fixing up his boutique a little bit. Besides that I am starting a garden, with tomatoes and a few other vegetables. I am using all recycled materials for the garden except for making the gate to keep the goats out. I am using old tomato cans and buckets. Also using some onion bags to protect from lizards and the sun. I am also starting a tree nursery to see if I can get the kids to start one. I am one of three people planning the all SED conference, which is for all volunteers in the business sector. That will be a little difficult since I am not even sure if we have permission yet to have a conference. Djiby’s English club is at a standstill also because the kids are scared of my beard. It is ok, they will overcome their fears and we will have a strong English club once again. For all of you people with snow, it was 92 degrees in St. Louie, which is the coldest city in Senegal. So I have no clue how hot it is here because it gets way hotter where I am.
That is all I have to report as of now. I will talk to you soon and have a spring. Check out my photos.
Song: “You aint a killer” Big Pun
Quote: “Bien Sur”
10 things I love in Senegal
1: Speaking English to people who are trying to learn. (They know how I feel now)
2: Kids scared of my beard
3: The expectation that I am fluent after 6 days of Wolof Training
4: Cheeb u Jen
5: Petting goats
6: Inventing stuff (Fishing Poll, Mosquito Net Holder)
7: Even with horrible French people ask me if I am French
8: I can walk into any building and demand the boss and then see them
9: The national anthem
10: If you are at some ones house during lunch, they offer you food. I have a circuit worked out to eat three lunches a day.
Wow, it has been a while since we last spoke. No I haven’t completely lost my mind yet and yes I think I am starting to figure out some stuff I can accomplish. To start off with, training was a little slow for me, but it was good to reconnect to a few other people and see what they have been up to for the last few months. I discovered I am just as useless as most of the other volunteers in my stage. Many others are in a similar stagnant stag of their service, just trying to figure out what is going on and discovering the language and community. I learned a little more Wolof, which I was proud of, but I am not fluent so I was reminded of that when I got back. I do now have the skills to improve on my own which is really important for me. We also had a softball tournament, which was a lot of fun. My team lost every game by a lot, but we did have the cutest uniforms and best dance moves. My team was almost all girls so we had the important things in order such as dancing and uniforms. It was a nice break to eat hotdogs and have an occasional beer. You can check out some of the pictures online also if you were curious as to my uniform. After the tournament I spent a night in Louga to check out my friends site and see what type of work she has going on. It is good to be back and I have a lot on my plate which is great since I wont feel so bored or useless anymore. I am still working with the artisan and we are right now trying to get him to export via the internet. So I am taking pictures of his product and starting a website for all of the artist in Senegal that the Peace Corps volunteers work with. A funny story actually, I go to his house the other day where he sells his art from and he tells me we are going to go to his boutique. “Oh you have a boutique?” I start asking my self why have you not been selling out of your boutique this whole time, maybe it is a new place. Yeah, he has a store on the river front where the tourist get off of the boat. This whole time, for years in fact, and he has been selling his product out of his house. My mind has officially been blown. So we are now working on fixing up his boutique a little bit. Besides that I am starting a garden, with tomatoes and a few other vegetables. I am using all recycled materials for the garden except for making the gate to keep the goats out. I am using old tomato cans and buckets. Also using some onion bags to protect from lizards and the sun. I am also starting a tree nursery to see if I can get the kids to start one. I am one of three people planning the all SED conference, which is for all volunteers in the business sector. That will be a little difficult since I am not even sure if we have permission yet to have a conference. Djiby’s English club is at a standstill also because the kids are scared of my beard. It is ok, they will overcome their fears and we will have a strong English club once again. For all of you people with snow, it was 92 degrees in St. Louie, which is the coldest city in Senegal. So I have no clue how hot it is here because it gets way hotter where I am.
That is all I have to report as of now. I will talk to you soon and have a spring. Check out my photos.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Holiday fun
Book: The Ecstasy and the Agony By Irving Stone. (Great book if you want to go to Italy or have been.)
Song: The Other Side By Josh Ritter
Quote: “My best interest can only be my best work.” Irving Stone “The Ecstasy and the Agony”
So it was a bi day in Senegal yesterday. It was the last of the big holidays until Ramadan in August. It was Tamkharite, the New Year. So naturally I have no clue what is going on. I just know that we eat a lot of millet and the whole family gets together to celebrate. I wake up just like any other day and get ready to go out for the day. I decided I want to read a little and do a tour of town to see if I can maybe discover a few new things. So I walk past the market, find a nice spot along the river, read a few pages, or closer to 50 and get ready to go on home. (Don’t worry mom, they caught the terrorist in Guinea-Bissau so it is safe to be back on the river.) So I head home and eat the usual for lunch, fish and rice. Then my cousin tells me I am going to help prepare lunch. By help she means I will sit and watch her cook. Every time over the next few hours I would try to get up she would say Foo Dem? Where go? Then she would yell at me to sit. So I got to watch her cook, by the way I must of eaten at least 5 handfuls of salt last night for dinner. For the fete you eat a lot of millet with beef, vegetables, and a tomato oil based sauce. So we sit down for dinner and eating a meal like that with your hands is not easy. You can only take food with your right hand so when you dig into the bowl to take meat, the person next to you help by grabbing the other end and pulling it apart. So it was a fun and messy experience. For dessert we they cleaned the beef and vegetables out of the bowl and added milk. So we ate a millet, tomato, milk mix. It wasn’t the best thing in the world, but I do recommend it, without the tomato paste. It is called Lakk, Millet balls with milk. All milk here is powdered with sugar added, even though we have a lot of cows. So I figure at this point it is time to relax and take a load off. I’m minding my own business reading a little of my novel when I get called into my brothers room. Here put this on, UHHHHH. Apparently it is tradition for men to dress like women and the opposite. So I put on this dress made to fit a tiny human being. My brother and our friend do the same and we went around the house dancing. You can check out the pictures online. I made a pretty girl, and I wore the dress with confidence. Or as they tell me, Tu ne parles pas Francais et Wolof, mais tu intergres tres bien. So I can’t speak but am well integrated into society. Half of the battle is has been won. Hopefully this formation in Thies will help me with solving the second half of the equation for me. Any who, until next time.
Song: The Other Side By Josh Ritter
Quote: “My best interest can only be my best work.” Irving Stone “The Ecstasy and the Agony”
So it was a bi day in Senegal yesterday. It was the last of the big holidays until Ramadan in August. It was Tamkharite, the New Year. So naturally I have no clue what is going on. I just know that we eat a lot of millet and the whole family gets together to celebrate. I wake up just like any other day and get ready to go out for the day. I decided I want to read a little and do a tour of town to see if I can maybe discover a few new things. So I walk past the market, find a nice spot along the river, read a few pages, or closer to 50 and get ready to go on home. (Don’t worry mom, they caught the terrorist in Guinea-Bissau so it is safe to be back on the river.) So I head home and eat the usual for lunch, fish and rice. Then my cousin tells me I am going to help prepare lunch. By help she means I will sit and watch her cook. Every time over the next few hours I would try to get up she would say Foo Dem? Where go? Then she would yell at me to sit. So I got to watch her cook, by the way I must of eaten at least 5 handfuls of salt last night for dinner. For the fete you eat a lot of millet with beef, vegetables, and a tomato oil based sauce. So we sit down for dinner and eating a meal like that with your hands is not easy. You can only take food with your right hand so when you dig into the bowl to take meat, the person next to you help by grabbing the other end and pulling it apart. So it was a fun and messy experience. For dessert we they cleaned the beef and vegetables out of the bowl and added milk. So we ate a millet, tomato, milk mix. It wasn’t the best thing in the world, but I do recommend it, without the tomato paste. It is called Lakk, Millet balls with milk. All milk here is powdered with sugar added, even though we have a lot of cows. So I figure at this point it is time to relax and take a load off. I’m minding my own business reading a little of my novel when I get called into my brothers room. Here put this on, UHHHHH. Apparently it is tradition for men to dress like women and the opposite. So I put on this dress made to fit a tiny human being. My brother and our friend do the same and we went around the house dancing. You can check out the pictures online. I made a pretty girl, and I wore the dress with confidence. Or as they tell me, Tu ne parles pas Francais et Wolof, mais tu intergres tres bien. So I can’t speak but am well integrated into society. Half of the battle is has been won. Hopefully this formation in Thies will help me with solving the second half of the equation for me. Any who, until next time.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Been a while
Books: “The Fountainhead”, “Puppet Masters”, “Into the Wild”, and “Metamorphosis” by Kofka, "The Agony and the Ectasy" Irving Stone
Song: Boom Boom by the Animals
Quote: “Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea. That presupposes the ability to think. Thinking is something one doesn’t borrow or pawn.” Ayn Rand
In the Peace Corps one feels many highs and many lows sometimes within a few days time. I recently had a feeling of stagnation, which was eating away the pit of my stomach. I decided to go out and try to make some progress in my relations and the work I am doing. I started out by going to my friend’s house and speaking to the grandpa who invited me over for lunch the next day. By the way my friend is a 10-year-old girl so I’m not the social butterfly I was hoping to be but what can you do. So after the brief meeting I headed over to my counterparts house so I could set up a time to go to the mayor’s office and meet some of the big wigs in the town. After a nice 30 min walk I reached my counterparts house only to discover she wasn’t there. I did make another discovery however at that time. My counterpart’s house contains 4 wives and 16 children. The father died a few years ago, so now it is starting to all come together why there is so many people hanging around the house all the time. I couldn’t ever figure it out but I finally put it all together after getting confused on everyone’s name. So after I set up another time to come back and try to set up another appointment to go to the mayor’s office I decided to walk home. So I set up a time to return to make an appointment. I love Senegal for that very reason. Any who I was walking home and I discover a large building that looks like a hotel. Well next thing I know I am lost walking down random roads, I find a street of barber shops, a bus depot with direct routes to Dakar, a water tower, a beautiful missionary, and met a new friend on the walk home. So I finally felt productive after having a few low days at sight.
I also have been going to a management class and afterwards consulting with the teacher to make the class a little better. Teachers tend to teach straight out of a book and not use any real life experience, which is a problem I think when trying to teach people who have no clue what is going on. I made a few suggestions to try to get the students to interview business owners and ask relevant questions. He seems enthusiastic, but has not actually done anything to change the class so that I guess that might be that. We will see in the upcoming days. I am also teaching him how to use search engines so he can teach others but it just turns into him wanting me to look stuff up online for him so that is getting a little aggravating. I did however help an artisan who sells to French tourist. I gave him some advice about presentation and hopefully we can start asking the French tourist what they think about the setup and maybe take a quick survey to improve business. Outside of the business sector I have been taking these two kids to the library which has become a difficult task in itself. It is good to get them familiar with the library, but the two kids are on two totally different levels. One of the kids doesn’t speak any French so that is a little struggle. I am going to start making lesson plans so I can keep them working and be productive. I just need to figure out what to do. I put up a picture of the two kids for you to check out. Their names are Fatou and Demba Aziz. Brother and sister. They are great kids and really respectful of me which isn’t always the case in my neighborhood.
I have just posted a bunch of pictures and movies on my picture page. So you should check it out. It is my most honest photographs that I have taken up to date. It is what I experience every day and puts a smile on my face. The funny looking little dude in the white outfit is one of my favorites. His name is Vieux, which means old. It is a fitting name. Every day when he sees me he runs across the field and gives me our handshake. He is a good kid who doesn’t speak French or Wolof so it makes it a little harder. He is a cool one who makes me laugh.
On a more serious note, over a thousand people have been killed in Kenya because of the elections. If anyone was thinking on sending me a package, I would rather have you donate $20 to a fund in Kenya. I live well and eat well, and the situation is a lot worse over there so please don’t send me anything except for letters and emails.
Song: Boom Boom by the Animals
Quote: “Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea. That presupposes the ability to think. Thinking is something one doesn’t borrow or pawn.” Ayn Rand
In the Peace Corps one feels many highs and many lows sometimes within a few days time. I recently had a feeling of stagnation, which was eating away the pit of my stomach. I decided to go out and try to make some progress in my relations and the work I am doing. I started out by going to my friend’s house and speaking to the grandpa who invited me over for lunch the next day. By the way my friend is a 10-year-old girl so I’m not the social butterfly I was hoping to be but what can you do. So after the brief meeting I headed over to my counterparts house so I could set up a time to go to the mayor’s office and meet some of the big wigs in the town. After a nice 30 min walk I reached my counterparts house only to discover she wasn’t there. I did make another discovery however at that time. My counterpart’s house contains 4 wives and 16 children. The father died a few years ago, so now it is starting to all come together why there is so many people hanging around the house all the time. I couldn’t ever figure it out but I finally put it all together after getting confused on everyone’s name. So after I set up another time to come back and try to set up another appointment to go to the mayor’s office I decided to walk home. So I set up a time to return to make an appointment. I love Senegal for that very reason. Any who I was walking home and I discover a large building that looks like a hotel. Well next thing I know I am lost walking down random roads, I find a street of barber shops, a bus depot with direct routes to Dakar, a water tower, a beautiful missionary, and met a new friend on the walk home. So I finally felt productive after having a few low days at sight.
I also have been going to a management class and afterwards consulting with the teacher to make the class a little better. Teachers tend to teach straight out of a book and not use any real life experience, which is a problem I think when trying to teach people who have no clue what is going on. I made a few suggestions to try to get the students to interview business owners and ask relevant questions. He seems enthusiastic, but has not actually done anything to change the class so that I guess that might be that. We will see in the upcoming days. I am also teaching him how to use search engines so he can teach others but it just turns into him wanting me to look stuff up online for him so that is getting a little aggravating. I did however help an artisan who sells to French tourist. I gave him some advice about presentation and hopefully we can start asking the French tourist what they think about the setup and maybe take a quick survey to improve business. Outside of the business sector I have been taking these two kids to the library which has become a difficult task in itself. It is good to get them familiar with the library, but the two kids are on two totally different levels. One of the kids doesn’t speak any French so that is a little struggle. I am going to start making lesson plans so I can keep them working and be productive. I just need to figure out what to do. I put up a picture of the two kids for you to check out. Their names are Fatou and Demba Aziz. Brother and sister. They are great kids and really respectful of me which isn’t always the case in my neighborhood.
I have just posted a bunch of pictures and movies on my picture page. So you should check it out. It is my most honest photographs that I have taken up to date. It is what I experience every day and puts a smile on my face. The funny looking little dude in the white outfit is one of my favorites. His name is Vieux, which means old. It is a fitting name. Every day when he sees me he runs across the field and gives me our handshake. He is a good kid who doesn’t speak French or Wolof so it makes it a little harder. He is a cool one who makes me laugh.
On a more serious note, over a thousand people have been killed in Kenya because of the elections. If anyone was thinking on sending me a package, I would rather have you donate $20 to a fund in Kenya. I live well and eat well, and the situation is a lot worse over there so please don’t send me anything except for letters and emails.
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