Senegal Fall '05

Day 95, 96: An unexpected journey

2005-12-06T09:10:00.000Z

On Friday, I was faced with a decision. I had the opportunity to take a trip with my French teacher to his village in the northern part of the country. The only thing I knew was that we would have to leave early in the morning (around 330am) and that we would be staying one night, and coming back Sunday. While it was tough to commit to such a huge amount of driving and such a little amount of sleep and time to relax, I decided that this was such a unique opportunity that couldn’t be passed up…maybe that’s one of the ways I’ve changed since being here (because I really fought the urge to stay in Yoff and have a nice relaxing Saturday.)

So, the next morning (Saturday) at 330, I woke up and went outside to be picked up by Ousmane (our French teacher) and Allison, who was the only other student who chose to go. It was still dark at that hour (and I was still asleep) and we drove to Ousmane’s house to wait for his friend to come (who would actually be giving us a ride to the village.)

After waiting around until 4, his friend showed up and we left by 430. We drove until the sun came up, and found ourselves in St. Louis by about 7am. Driving in a nearly new Toyota Land Cruiser, we reached St. Louis in about ½ the time it had taken us in our bus. We went to Ousmane’s friend’s house that lived in St. Louis and stopped in for a nice breakfast. His friend, Diallo, was very kind, and made sure that we were all well fed before parting. We left and continued on our journey northwards. Eventually, we passed the road that leads to Nder, and it pained me to drive by without visiting, but it would have been difficult to stop in for such a short amount of time...

We continued on and took a right before reaching Rosso, the town on the border of Senegal. We then traveled East on the main road that runs along the River Senegal, passed through Richard Toll, and finally reached a village in the region of Fouta. The first village we visited was Guede Chantier, the village of Ousmane’s father. This was where Ousmane had grown up, and where most of his family still lived. It was about 11am, and Allison and I were introduced to most of his family, but parted soon after.

We then drove to Ndioum, a rather large town close by. There, we met Ousmane’s maternal grandmother, and basically her entire village. Minutes after pulling up, we attracted quite a crowd, and ended up meeting tons of people, all of whom were extremely nice. The Toucouleur people of the northern part of Senegal are very nice by reputation, and they certainly lived up to that reputation.

After meeting one of Ousmane’s grandmothers, we continued on to another village called Diomandou where we met some friend of Ousmane’s and dropped off a letter from someone in Dakar…

We then crossed to rivers via ferries and arrived at the village of Ousmane’s paternal grandmother. This village was directly adjacent to the River Senegal, across which was the neighboring country of Mauritania.

We received an extremely warm welcome in this village called Lahel. We were invited in to a hut and introduced to Ousmane’s grandmother, who was seated. She told us (through translation) that she was 99 years old. She said that there had been other people in the village that morning, waiting for our arrival, as they thought we were coming in the morning. She then told us stories of what it used to be like there, in her village. She told us that what was once green and full of wildlife was now desert (which we could observe) and that she had once fought off a crocodile that had tried to eat one of her cattle. She also told us the story of when she encountered a lion (which were apparently abundant) while herding her cows…

After eating the best ceebu jen I’ve ever had (yea, it was amazing, I swear) we sat around and talked some more. Many people came by to greet us everyone was extremely kind. Although we had asked them not to, the villagers slaughtered a goat and cooked it for us while we were sitting talking to Ousmane’s grandmother. After eating lots of ceebu jen, I was disinclined to eat a lot, but managed to eat some of the goat, which was actually really good…

We spent most of the middle part of the day there, in the hut, listening to Ousmane’s grandmother’s stories and asking questions. It was truly an honor to be in her presence, and there was just something an aura around her; an aura of respect, wisdom, and fortitude. She was surprisingly sharp and aware for a person of her age, especially one who has lived in (not the most comfortable) conditions.

When it was time to go, she blessed us and sent us on our way. We left at around 4pm and drove back across the two rivers we had crossed on the way over. We visited one last village called Alwar, the birthplace of El Ajama Omar, a famous marabout who had an extremely large influence on West Africa in the 1800’s. We also saw a Sudanese style mosque, which was really interesting. As in most of the villages we visited, we were followed by a crowd of children, which seemed to grow larger as we would walk through the village.

Returning to the first village that we went to, we received a tour from Ousmane. He introduced us to many members of his extended family, along with some of his close friends as well. He showed us the community garden that was once so big that it created a microclimate over the village, bringing rain to a very arid region. Although the garden had been mostly destroyed by a government project in the 1990’s, there was still about 30% remaining. Walking in to this garden was like walking in to a rainforest, or rather, in to Narnia (as Allison put it), or some magical place. There were all sorts of fruits growing including bananas, guavas, mangoes, and dates.

Guede Chantier is a village of about 6,000, and is one that was organized by the French. Most of the buildings are arranged in streets or rows, and the village is shaped in sort of an “H” and is surrounded by rice (and other crops) fields. Ousmane also told us about how in 1960, a group of Chinese people had come and taught the village how to grow rice. The Chinese stayed for 15 years and now, the farmers in the village still use the techniques (and breeds of rice) that the Chinese brought.

By the time we made it back to Ousmane’s compound, we were nearly falling down from exhaustion. Having been awake since 330 that morning, we were ready to pass out. After a quick dinner, I fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, we awoke around 8. We had a nice breakfast, with good bread (like the kind in Medina Kouta) and coffee. We bid farewell to Ousmane’s family, and left for Dakar. On the way back, we drove through Dagana, a small city where the French had built a large fort when they conquered and colonized the area. We stopped in St. Louis briefly, and got back to Dakar around 4pm. We parted ways with Ousmane (until tomorrow when he’ll be giving us our final French exam) and returned home for dinner and some good showers.

While the trip was difficult and exhausting, it was well worth it. Before going on this short trip, we had seen 5 villages. In 36 hours, we doubled that number, and gained experiences that I would have regretted turning up. Plus, I’ll have plenty of time to sleep late in January…

Day 91: Back in to the Swing

2005-11-30T09:00:00.000Z

With only 10 days left, we began planning our final days of our program in Senegal. We had a meeting at 9 discussing the schedule that the staff had created the day before. The revised schedule now includes 2 or 3 exams, a 10 page paper, and 2 presentations. I spent the rest of the day writing e-mails and starting work on all of these tasks…

It appears that these last days (before my mom comes) will be extremely busy. I don’t anticipate much time to sit around and write journal entries, but hopefully I’ll have enough time to be able to enjoy and appreciate what this environment has to offer. This entry will be one of the last, and I’ll probably write one or two more on the last few days of the program…

Day 89: Back to Yoff

2005-11-30T08:58:00.000Z

Still being in my Nder routine, I woke up really early, at around 7. While I ought to have been quite tired, I really wasn’t…

After spending most of the morning typing up journal entries on my laptop, I had some tea and bread for breakfast. As a group, we decided that we would try to depart for Yoff around 1. Once again, we set off to explore St. Louis, this time, with Tom and Sam. We showed them the places we had seen yesterday, and ended up seeing more places we had missed on the first day. We stumbled upon a family that had a pelican as a pet…and they even invited us in to their compound to take pictures. The pelican was huge: almost waist-high. It was one of those things where you say: “only in Africa.”

After walking around some more, we began searching for a place to eat lunch. The search ended up being extremely difficult, due to Sam and Tom’s desire for “steak and chips.” Sometimes, those English can be quite picky. They turned down almost every place, and finally, under time constraints, they agreed to this café place (which didn’t have steak and chips.)

We returned to the hotel at 1:15 to find everyone still sitting around, waiting for the bus. After numerous transportation difficulties, the 14 of us and all of our luggage piled in to two “sept places” or, small station wagons with seven seats. It was quite a cramped ride home, and probably four of the most uncomfortable hours of this trip. We saw three camels walking with a herd of cattle...which added to the strangeness of the day (in terms of seeing animals.)

We arrived in Yoff at around 8, and Rich and I walked home to our house by the beach. We greeted our family, which was nice…I still miss my family in Nder though.

Day 88: A Sad Parting

2005-11-30T08:45:00.000Z

Before beginning this entry, I would like to write some things about my family in Nder. I’m going to individually mention some of them:

Pap Thioye: the father of my family and chief of the ecovillage (not to be confused with the chief of the village) Pap spent a lot of time away from Nder either in St. Louis or Dakar, attending eco-village meetings or visiting his third wife…

Ndeye Salle: Pap’s first wife. Ndeye Salle has 6 children, and one of them just had twins, making her a grandmother. She went to Mauritania numerous times and would return with massive amounts of goods (a lot smuggled through customs I assume.)

Asta: Pap’s second wife. Asta is a beautiful, stoic woman with strength like I have never seen before. She has massive hands, which she uses to keep her 4 children in check. She was my favorite woman in the village, and was always very kind and looked out for me. She is pregnant with her 5^th child, which will probably be born in December or January.

Iserre: Asta’s 9 year-old daughter. Iserre was my favorite child in my family. She looked like her mother, and was always very nice to me. When I gave out my gifts to all of the children, she was the only one who thanked me…she also invited me to come to school with her every afternoon (although most days I was unable to because I had to go work in the field…)

Ndery: Pap Thioye’s younger brother and member of our agriculture group. Ndery has one son who is only a few years old. In the agriculture, we referred to Ndery as “Rude boy”, as he frequently would express his opinion rather loudly and inappropriately…But that's not to say that he wasn't nice, he just had a strange way of treating people.

Ndeye Astou: One of Ndeye Salle’s 6 children, and mother of 3 month-old twins. Ndeye Astou was really loud and full of energy, but not to the point of annoyance. She was really nice to me as well, and offered to give me one of her twins to take to the US…she always wanted me to dance, and was a good dancer herself.

Marem: Another one of Ndeye Salle’s daughters, Marem did most of the work around the compound. She is 19 years old, and I spent a lot of time trying to communicate with her. Marem made sure that Eric and I had everything we needed, like meals and water for showers and stuff…

A few more things about Nder that I have to write down so I won’t forget…

Walking through the village, everyone knew my name. I would walk around during the day and little kids would come up to me shouting “Bilal!” and asking to shake my hand. Even most adults would call me by name…it just showed that the village really had an interest in our stay there.

As for Saturday, it was an early morning. After really sad goodbyes (including me nearly crying), our bus left Nder for the last time. After such a great stay, it was so difficult to watch the people whom we had come so close with grow smaller in the distance. I like to think that someday I’ll come and visit, to see my family and also to see how sustainable our projects ended up being…

The trip to St. Louis only took a couple hours, and for most of us, it was spent thinking and reflecting on the past 3 weeks. For me, it had gone faster than I could have possibly imagined. Being November 26^th, it was difficult to comprehend what happened to the entire month of November…

Before embarking on our trip to Nder, I assumed that it would be the longest and hardest portion of our trip. It ended up being the shortest, most enjoyable, and certainly most beneficial to me…It’s funny how what you get is so different from you had imagined it to be.

We checked into our “Auberge de Jeunesse” in St. Louis at around 9am. The name of the hotel is translated in to “youth hostel”, but it was really quite a nice place to stay. We each had our own beds, with mattresses (not made of foam), and a couple bathrooms with showers and hot water.

We had a breakfast of watermelons that we had brought from Nder (where they were plentiful), and shortly after, we set out in to the streets of St. Louis. The group split up, and I ended up walking around with Rich and Allison. The island on which St. Louis is located is pretty high-end, and there are some really colorful buildings. It kind of reminded me of New Orleans (or what NO used to be like). The streets were narrow and very clean, with an absence of trash, which is something we aren’t used to…

We had lunch at a small place that sold shwarma and burgers…it was border-line...

After lunch, the three of us walked around some more and saw pretty much the entire island. We walked all the way down to the southern point (our hotel was located at the north end) and looked out at the Senegal River.

After stopping in at numerous shops and artisan boutiques, we returned to the auberge. We took some really nice showers and hung around until leaving for dinner. We walked up to the northern point to this Vietnamese restaurant. The food was decent, expensive, and afterwards, we walked back to the hotel. After discussing what to do, we all went out again, but I returned after a little bit because I was pretty tired.

At around 11, I was about to go to sleep when Tom and Sam (our friends who are independent students in Yoff) walked in to the room. We had been contacting each other throughout the day, and they said that they might be coming to St. Louis, but I didn’t really believe them…

Anyway, after they arrived, we went out to a “tapas bar” where there was some live music. We got some drinks (sodas…of course) and some food. Allison and I talked to them, told them stories about Nder, and listened to them talk about their time in Yoff.

We came back pretty late, and I was exhausted and fell asleep.

Day 87: Last Day in Nder

2005-11-25T11:48:00.000Z

The day after Thanksgiving didn’t feel like the day after Thanksgiving…no shopping, no sales, no…anything. Except working. We got up in the morning and walked out to the field for the last time. We worked until 1230 planting and finalizing the drip system. Leaving the community garden, we all felt pretty good about what we had set up here. However, so much depends on the sustainability of the project. Now that our work is finished, it will be interesting to see how (or if) the villagers will continue what we’ve have all started together.

We came back to the village for our final lunch, which was truly, tremendous. We had “choo”, rice with a tomato/onion sauce, and I ate more than plenty.

We had a restitution with the villagers in the afternoon. We got together at the chief’s house with all of the people that had been involved with our projects (and many more), and discussed what had been accomplished over the past 2.5 weeks. There were prayers, thanks, and sad partings…but it was good to see how much has really been done here, considering how difficult work can be in developing countries.

After the restitution, I took some pictures of my family, and packed all of my belongings for our departure. There have been a couple things that I’ve learned here that really stand out to me at the moment; the first being the amount of Wolof that I’ve learned. Before coming to Nder, I knew very words in Wolof, because I had been trying to learn more French. However, at the end of our stay here, I realize that I now know basic vocabulary, and I can understand a lot of words when my family speaks to me…

The second thing that really stands out to me is the strength of the relationships that I’ve formed here, without being able to speak to my family. Learning how to communicate without speaking has been a really valuable experience…there’s not really a better way to describe it to someone who hasn’t experienced it…

After taking pictures, I gave out gifts (that I had been saving since coming to Senegal) to the children in my family. They seemed to really like the jump-rope, and hopefully they enjoyed the rest of the toys. I wish I had more gifts to give to the adults in my family, but unfortunately, I didn’t have any…

After dinner, there was a dance was a dance ceremony, which I went to (although most of the other students did not.) The dance circle was similar to that which we had seen in Medina Kouta, although there were more women at the Nder ceremony. I even danced a little bit, which greatly excited my family, who had been asking me to dance for them for quite a while.

After the ceremony, I sat with my family outside on a mat, talking with them (mostly listening of course) really for the last time. The stars were breathtaking, and I took one last good look…

Day 86: Thanksgiving Nov. 24th

2005-11-24T11:44:00.000Z

While most Americans will never work on Thanksgiving for their entire lives, I broke my own streak of 18 years today. Kristin and I had decided that I was important to finish what we had come here to do, and thus, would work on Thanksgiving to make it happen. The remaining work was planting and improving the fence. The only crops we planted were sweet potatoes, of which we planted almost 450 m²…

Planting was not really my favorite activity, but I consented to doing a few rows. Instead of planting seeds, we planted actual sweet potato plants that had been grown and cut from another farmer’s field. (I’ve taken so many pictures in the past couple weeks, so once again, I’m going to defer to my photos.)

After a busy morning, we returned for lunch and a nice rest. Daniel, a Full-Bright student arrived at around 3 with the rest of our materials. At 4, I went back to the field (Kristin didn’t come in the afternoon), and we installed the rest of the drip tubes. We watched the sunset, ate watermelon at the field, and walked back for dinner.

The girls and Rich had spent most of the day preparing our Thanksgiving dinner in solar ovens. We had brought the solar ovens to Nder when we came, and they have been used to teach the women to cook more nutritious food with less oil. Today however, they were used to cook potatoes, squash, etc. (no turkey, which in my opinion was basically sacrilegious…)

At around 8, we (the Americans and some of the Senegalese) had our Thanksgiving dinner, sitting on the floor in Rich’s room. It was pretty good, I ate loads of the garlic mashed potatoes…it was certainly quite different from any Thanksgiving I’ve ever had (or probably ever will have.)

Day 85: Installation

2005-11-23T11:11:00.000Z

After 2+ weeks here, today was the day we actually installed the drip system, the project which we had planned to do here. As beneficial a system as drip irrigation is, it’s surprisingly easy to set up. It’s quite simple, and involves connecting tubes, running the tubes out in crop lines, and poking some holes in tubes. Each of the 2 tanks has a principal line that is 20mm in diameter and runs perpendicular to the crop lines. Then, spaced at 80cm intervals, there are small diameter drip tubes connected to the principal line, running on top of the crop lines. All of the tubing needs to be staked in to the ground to prevent movement of the tubes. We worked from about 9:30 until 1. It has been extremely hot lately…brutal.

Lunch was really good today, a dish called “yassa”, and I ate way too much. However, I certainly didn’t regret it, as it’s a rarity that we receive anything other than Ceebu Jen.

After taking a long break after lunch, I decided that I wanted to go to the school for half an hour to watch the children perform what they have been preparing for the last couple weeks. My decision didn’t sit well with Ronald, who said that it was necessary to work, but I went to the school anyway. While I only stayed for 20 minutes, it was really nice to see the kids sing songs and perform skits. My sister Iserre was performing and I got to see her as well. I left to go to the community garden at about 5.

We installed as much of the small tubing as possible, but we came up a little short and realized that we didn’t have enough to cover the whole field. Luckily, a Full-Bright student working with Cresp will be coming to Nder tomorrow, and he will bring some more supplies.

After installing most of the tubing, we dug out trenches along the crop lines to prepare the field for planting. We even got some planting done before the sunset, and hitched a ride on a horse-drawn cart back to the village. Dinner was tremendous; chicken and pasta.

Day 84: Hard at work

2005-11-22T11:09:00.000Z

We had decided the day before that we would wake up early today in order to get as much done as possible. We brought the supports to the field that we had previously constructed, and began to place them. We had to figure out what was the best way to set up the tanks, so that we could supply water to the entire field. I’ve been make sure to take plenty of pictures throughout this entire process, so they can much better illustrate the process that we have gone through.

After placing the supports, we built a make-shift barbed wire fence around the field. The goats and sheep grazing can be detrimental to a crop field, so it’s important to keep them out. Working with barbed wire was slow and we had to be very careful. Also in preparation for the drip system, we hacked some tree stumps, and did various shoveling and hoeing.

In the afternoon, we finished the fence, and Eric and I returned for a really nice dinner of meat and potatoes. The stars lately have been quite spectacular here, and I’ve spent a lot of time outside. At night, I walked around, and sat outside for a while, trying not to get bitten by mosquitoes…

Day 83: Spreading (shit)

2005-11-21T11:07:00.000Z

This morning, we had a meeting discussing the final few days of our stay here. Each group had a status check, and gave an estimate on when they would be finished. Although some groups would be finished with their work prior to our departure date, we decided to stay until Saturday (as we had previously planned.) Also discussed was the upcoming holiday, Thanksgiving. We discussed some of the logistics of getting food to prepare, how to prepare it, etc.

The meeting lasted until 11, and we, the agriculture group didn’t go out to the garden until 4. We spent the entire afternoon shoveling manure in to buckets and spreading it over our field. This was the second time that we had done this, and the purpose was basically just to add more nutrients to the (nutrient-poor) soil. It was hard, but it felt good to do some physical activity. Once our massive pile of manure/soil was gone, we walked back home. Not much else today…

Day 82: Judy and Nicky

2005-11-20T10:26:00.000Z

For a Sunday, I did significantly more than I usually do. The Senegalese students and staff went to Rosso, Mauritania, and we (the Americans) chose not to go to Rosso, Senegal, because there’s really nothing to do there. For the Senegalese, the attraction of going to Mauritania comes from the fact that it’s easy to buy cheap goods (cell phones, DVD’s, fabrics, etc) and bring them back over the border into Senegal.

The Senegalese left early in the morning, but after being woken up by Eric, I was unable to go back to sleep. After a nice breakfast, I went to Allison’s, where she informed me that a meeting had been scheduled for the Americans and Judy and Nicky (the two program assistants that had arrived with Marian on Tuesday.

During the meeting, we talked a lot about how the program had been so far. More specifically, we talked about the goal of synthesizing our previous experiences, and gaining a better understanding of our trip (on all levels). Both Judy and Nicky are experienced in group dynamics work, and have worked in India (with the other Living Routes program.) They are very intelligent and articulate, and we all feel very comfortable speaking with them.

After meeting (for quite a while), we took a break for lunch and agreed to continue in the afternoon. We recommenced our discussion by talking about how these experiences (that we’re having now) will affect us when we return to the US. While this has definitely been a topic that I’ve thought about before, it was interesting to here what other people had to say, especially Nikki and Judy who have dealt with a lot of other international programs. Overall, everyone in our group was very happy to have some help in bringing all of our experiences together; help that we haven’t really received much of in the past.

(Unfortunately, Marian was not able to get the additional materials that we had expected to get. However, we weren’t really ready to receive them, and we can make due with what we have here already.)

Day 81: Market and Composting

2005-11-19T10:24:00.000Z

We got up really early this morning to go to a weekly market called Kurr Mam Sanga. We piled in the back of a truck, bundled up in sweatshirts and sheets (cause the mornings here are pretty chilly) and set off. The drive was pretty long and uncomfortable, with most people sitting on the bed of the truck. By the time we got to the market, it was around 830, and we all stopped in to this tiny little restaurant place where we got bread, eggs, and coffee. It was nice to have an addition to the bread; just plain bread every morning gets pretty boring (after 11+ weeks).

After eating, we all walked around the market together, some people buying things, and others just looking. To give you an idea of what the market was like, here are some examples of what people bought: Incense holders, palm oil, cloth, carrots, beesap leaves (hibiscus), tea by the bag, a metal pipe, bowls, and mats to sit on. This small town was clearly one that rarely saw any tourists, let alone toubabs (white people), especially in such a large group. So, we got stared at a lot, but the people didn’t really hassle us like they have in Dakar and even Yoff. In Dakar, they’re used to having lots of foreigners come through their markets, but this town was certainly no tourist attraction.

We got back to the truck, and returned to Nder before lunch. After a tiring journey, I planned to just sit around for the rest of the day, but my repose was disturbed by Ronald, who wanted to make some compost piles. The agriculture group then met and started 3 large compost piles. I took a lot of pictures, showing exactly how we did it, but I’ll describe briefly here.

We used what is called the “pit method.” First we dug 1mx1m holes about 30cm deep. We then put layers of tifa (dried reeds), chipped wood, manure, ash, and tall grass. This creates a good base on which people can put their organic materials to be decomposed. We are going to make the villagers aware of this composting area, and hopefully they will utilize (maybe even adopt) the practice of composting.

Dinner was alright, fish and French fries…we’ve had so much fish for the past 3 months that I’m really getting pretty sick of it…

After dinner, there was a get-together at another students house (who had cooked a large dinner) and I went and briefly visited, but left to relax and go to sleep.

Day 80: School

2005-11-18T10:21:00.000Z

After such a long day of work the day before, I really wanted to relax today. We met at around 9 to work on the tanks (for the drip system), installing valves, hinges, filters, etc. It didn’t take very long and certainly wasn’t physically demanding…

At 11, we had a meeting with all of the students and the staff, discussing our experiences here in Nder, as well as the status of our projects and plans for the remainder of our stay here. Although the meeting was a little more than 2 hours, it was pretty difficult to sit in one place for so long…

After lunch, a daughter in my family asked me to come to school with her in the afternoon. Her name is Ndeye Salle and she is the daughter of Pap Thioye’s second wife, Asta. It has taken me quite a while to learn names (there are SO many to remember), but I’m getting there. Anyway, Ndeye Salle is my favorite of all the children; she’s about 9 or 10 years old (it’s bad luck to ask), and she has a beautiful smile. If anyone knows me, they would know that I usually don’t spend any time with little children, but Ndeye Salle (and the other children in my family) are just so nice, and I love them. Every time they see me, they shout my name and come to shake my hand. We can’t really communicate that well, but we try.

So, I decided to take a break from agriculture, and went off to school at 4 with Ndeye Salle and the other Thioye children. I really had no idea what I was getting into. We arrived at the school room where there were probably about 50 children. The room was about the size of a normal class room, with some tables and benches for the kids to sit at. Sophie and Rokhaya, the two people in the education group were preparing to do a lesson on malaria, and to sing some songs. I really wish I had brought a camera, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to go back and take some pictures on another day…

Sophie and I taught the kids to sing “Row, row, row your boat”, although it was difficult because they don’t speak any English…But it kind of worked, and sounded pretty cool (even I sang, quite loudly I might add.)

It was nice to get away from agriculture for an afternoon and work with children. I don’t usually like kids, and I certainly never sing in front of everyone…but I guess I’m already far enough out of my comfort zone that it doesn’t make a difference anymore…

Day 79: All Work

2005-11-17T10:06:00.000Z

This morning, I woke up with the assumption that it would be a pretty easy day; laid back, relaxing, etc. This would not be so. After meeting up with the others in our group, we immediately went off to the fields where we began working. On the agenda for the day was to irrigate the field by flooding it. While I still haven’t figured out why this was a necessary step, I just have to trust that our 3 village farmers know what they are doing. Anyway, they say that before planting and installing a drip system, it’s necessary to get a water pump and flood the field, further mixing the nutrients with the soil.

Setting up the water pump was the first step. As can be seen in my pictures, the water pump was set up to get the water from the channel (running alongside the garden) to the channel leading to our field. With a crew of about 9 men, we placed the large moto/water pump in a location where it could complete its task. Following that, we dug channels to guide the water to our field, which we wanted to flood.

All of this took quite a good amount of time. Something that should be noted: There’s lots of watermelon here, and it’s usually delivered on trucks that are totally full of them. So, as we were working, a truck drove by, and I saw that it was full of watermelon. Off I went, running after the truck screaming “HAL, HAL!!” (Wolof for watermelon). Overjoyed, I caught up with the truck while it slowed down. A man riding in the back handed me two watermelons, and I carried them back to my fellow workers in the field. This scenario occurred a few times throughout the day, and we ended up eating about seven or eight watermelons…I felt sick by the end. We called ourselves “customs” as we demanded watermelons from each truck that passed…

Anyway, after preparing the pump and the channels, we turned on the pump and soaked the garden. It’s really hard to accurately describe it; I took a ton of pictures though…”flood irrigation.”

After flooding the garden, we sat down and waited for lunch to be delivered. By this point, it was almost 3pm and we were all pretty hungry. Finally, some boys came on a cart (pulled by a donkey) and gave us the lunch that our families had prepared for us. After lunch and a break, we began preparing the field to be flooded once more. After successfully doing so, we walked back to the village.

After spending 8 hours out in the sun working, we were all pretty exhausted and went to bed rather early…

Day 78: Moving along

2005-11-16T10:05:00.000Z

Because Ronald had returned the day before, we were able to get back to a more rigorous schedule. Our group (ag) had a meeting together to discuss our schedule for the upcoming week. In our plans included tasks such as preparing the drip irrigation system, getting the garden ready for crops, and training the villagers on how the drip system is built and used.

One of the tasks necessary for getting the garden ready was to spread a large amount of manure/soil on the field. After our scheduling meeting, we walked to the field and proceeded to commence filling buckets of this dirt stuff and dispersing the dirt over the existing soil. It’s important to understand that the current state of all the soil here is rather poor. To us northeasterners, it looks like we’re about to plant vegetables on a beach…However, it seems that other people are successful in growing crops here.

After at least a couple hours of shoveling dirt into buckets, we were almost finished spreading the soil over the field. We took a break and went home for lunch before returning to the garden to complete our work there. With the villagers, we manually mixed the brown soil that we had dropped on the field with the sand that was already there. To be quite honest, it still looks like a beach, but I think that there are a lot more nutrients in it now…

Marian left today for Dakar, saying that she had lots of work to finish, but that she hoped to return before our stay here is finished.

For our group, it’s nice to see that we’re really starting to get some work done. It’s quite remarkable how things can go so slowly, and how difficult it is to make progress sometimes. However, today was another step towards completing what we have come to do here. There’s certainly plenty more work to do, and hopefully enough time…

Day 77: Tuesday, November 15th – Marians Arrival (and others too)

2005-11-15T10:03:00.000Z

The majority of this morning was dedicated to the usual hanging around and chilling. Not much really happened until around 2pm, when Marian arrived, along with 2 new project assistants and 1 of the Senegalese students. The new project assistants had arrived in Senegal the previous morning. However, being very experienced in development education and action research, adjusting to this new place didn’t seem to be too much of a problem for them.

We were informally introduced to these middle-aged women, named Nikki and Judy and I talked with them about their abrupt decision to come to Africa and help with our program. They were asked to come after Daniel (head the Living Routes program) had visited Yoff in October. Both of the women seem very knowledgeable and certainly competent enough to help us learn as much as we can here in the last few weeks of our program.

Also coming with Marian was Ronald, our (agriculture) group leader, and we were able to speak with the villagers and to go out to the community garden to make some concrete plans for doing work. There was some debate over how much of the community garden should be used for sweet potatoes and how much should be used for other vegetables. This debate went on for quite a while (us Americans just kind of standing there not understanding a word) but it was finally decided to use ¾ of the field for sweet potatoes and the remaining quarter for vegetables like turnips and carrots.

Day 76: Rain

2005-11-14T10:02:00.000Z

Quite unusually, it rained last night and continued in to this morning. Because we’ve entered the dry season here, I didn’t expect to see rain again until I got back to the US in December. Of all places though, it rained here, a much more arid climate than Dakar. Not having had rain for at least a month, it was nice to have a change.

We had a meeting at 9am between the staff and the student. Each group talked about what they had accomplished so far and what they were planning to do for this coming week. Marian, Ronald, and a few other people will be arriving tomorrow, so it’s important that we know what we’re planning to do, to make sure that we wont get sidetracked. Also in the meeting of the subject of a trip to Rosso, Mauritania – a town right over the Senegalese/Mauritanian border. It was decided after calling embassies and other sources that it wouldn’t be safe for the Americans to cross the border, as there has just recently been a coup d’etat in Mauritania. While the Americans will stay in Rosso, Senegal, the Senegalese students and staff will cross the river to Mauritania to buy all sorts of cool stuff…

It’s unfortunate that we’ll miss out on seeing a small piece of another country here, but it’s really not worth taking the risk.

After the meeting, we took a break until lunch. After lunch, the agriculture group built the second of 2 wooden supports (that we had the materials for). Hopefully, Marian will bring supplies that will enable us to build two more supports, and set up two more drip systems, allowing us to irrigate almost the entire large community garden (which would be over 1000 square meters...huuuge)

Day 75: Hanging around

2005-11-13T09:55:00.000Z

This morning, Sunday, I tried to sleep as late as I could. Trying didn’t help much…

Because I did absolutely nothing today, I’m going to write up a schedule of my daily routine, to give you an idea of what everyday life is like here:

7:30 - 8:00AM is usually around the time when I wake up. Like I have mentioned in other entries, there are numerous sounds that can contribute to my awakening; animals, children, insects, to name a few.

8:30: Breakfast time. Everyday, Eric and I are given a baguette to split between us. Also, we are given powdered milk, margarine, sugar, Nescafe, and hot water. I don’t really like the margarine (which is basically just oil) so instead I put “Laughing Cow” cheese (which I purchased) on mine. Instead of the Nescafe coffee (which has a monopoly on coffee sold in this country), I drink chai that I got in my birthday package --mmm.

9-11AM: On a given day, we might be in a meeting at this time. However, it’s usually just hanging around. The weather at this time is usually pretty pleasant, and there are no mosquitoes. The sun is still rising in the sky, but it’s not hot yet. The women in my compound usually do the laundry around now, and most of the (many) children are at school.

11-1PM: This is the more uncomfortable part of the day, when it’s hot outside. Almost everyone (the villagers and us included) just kind of lay around in the shade. Basically, you would be crazy to leave the shelter and walk somewhere in the midday sun: it’s too hot, and nothing is worth bearing it.

1PM: Lunch is usually eaten around 1. It’s pretty much always rice and fish, usually a special style called Ceebu Jen, which is the national dish of Senegal. Other variations include yassa (sliced onions and mustard sauce), choo (tomato onion sauce), and maffe (peanut sauce).

2-4PM: After lunch, everyone (and I mean everyone) just sits around and talks. There’s also someone preparing a kind of tea (served in shot glasses) called attaia (spelling?). The tea is served in three courses (I believed I’ve explained the process in an earlier entry). Anyway, the tea is really good here because it comes from the nearby border of neighboring Mauritania, which is known for its good tea.

I usually just sit and listen to the conversations, understanding few (if any words.) Everything goes on in Wolof, and I certainly can’t contribute to that kind of conversation…(although I am trying to learn some.)

4PM: Being in the agriculture group, this is the time when we usually go out to the community garden. It’s still hot at this point, but it quickly cools down, and it’s pleasant around 430. Work in the field can include setting fire to brush, hacking plants with machetes, creating plant beds, or just observing the farmers do what they do.

6PM: Return to my compound, take a bucket bath, hang out. Like the morning, this is a really pleasant time of day because it’s cool, dry, and the mosquitoes haven’t yet come out to begin the nightly massacre.

730: Dinner time. Dinners have varied in quality, ranging from pasta & chicken to eggs served over oil and onion sauce…Sometimes Eric and I eat with the family, and other times, we eat alone in our room.

8-10: Around this time, I’ll maybe be sitting outside with my family, wrapped in a sheet to keep the bugs away, or I might be at Allison’s or Fatou’s house. This is really just more chill time before I go to bed, which happens at around 1030.

Day 74: Saturday

2005-11-12T09:54:00.000Z

While today was a weekend day, there wasn’t so much of an urge to sit around and do nothing, seeing that we already have so much downtime here. This morning, Kristin, Eric (who arrived last night), and I attempted to build one of the two supports for the water tanks. With limited tools (nails, wood, hammer, saw) we tried to make a structure that would hold a barrel of 200+ liters of water. We had drawn pictures of other supports we had observed at the Cresp garden in Yoff, and tried to replicate.

Without a leveling tool, we had a difficult time making everything even and flat (and level). However, with the help of Mr. Thioye, we were able to construct a pretty solid structure, and I feel very confident that it’s strong enough to support one of the water tanks. We’ll probably build the second support on Sunday or Monday (cause that’s all we have left to do until Ronald gets back.)

I ate lunch at Fatou’s for the second day in a row, and when I returned to my house, my family wasn’t so happy with me. Or at least I thought so…but Fatou said later that she talked to my mother and that they had just been kidding…

At around 6pm, I went with a few other people to the Laobe, a group of 3 women and men who are the artisans of the village. They make mostly crafts out of wood, and then burn designs in to them. They have made some really cool stuff, and it’s 100% authentic, which is something that’s surprisingly hard to find here.

Without any plans for tomorrow, I anticipate a pretty relaxing day…

Day 73: Ronald’s parting, working without him

2005-11-11T09:52:00.000Z

This morning was once again a late morning. By the time I got to Kristin’s to see what was on the schedule for the day, it was around 10:30. Fatou, who lives with Kristin, then informed us that there was a meeting at 11, for all of the staff and students.

At the meeting, we learned that Ronald (our agriculture group facilitator/leader/translator) had left for Dakar to attend the funeral of his uncle. This was sad news, but we were told that he would hopefully return on Tuesday (with Marian and the rest of the Senegalese students.)

Luckily, we had scheduled stuff to do until Saturday, so we weren’t totally (screwed). However, without a translator, Kristin and I worried if we would be able to communicate with the villagers (considering they speak Wolof…)

Anyway, the rest of the meeting included some brief summaries of what each group had accomplished (and planned to) so far. Also in the meeting was a discussion about some issues in the group…

After the meeting and lunch (at Fatou’s), Kristin and I went out to the community garden once again with Guedal, Maodo, and Ndery. This time Allison came with us, but we had no Ronald. Once we got to the field, we surveyed the land. Through broken French, the villagers were able to tell us that there wasn’t really much to do until Ronald came back, as they didn’t want to do the wrong thing. They said the only thing that could be cone was to prepare a few planting beds in an area adjacent to the community garden…so we helped them do that.

After going back home, we started to draw up a plan showing how we could irrigate the entire field with the limited resources that we had. Here’s a basic review of how drip irrigation works (it’s really simple): You have an elevated tank of water, with tubes running down to the ground and along lines of crops. Because of small holes in the tubes at spaced intervals, the water from the tank drips onto each plant. The advantages of this system include more efficient water usage, more accurate placement of water, and the fact that the system requires no energy source.

So, in a nutshell, our job is to: build wooden supports to elevate the water tanks, assemble the tubing, and strategically place tubes to irrigate the whole field. Also while we’re here, we plan to teach the villagers how to make better compost piles and how to make their soil better for growing.

Dinner was potatoes and goat meat served over oil. My family had looked for bread but couldn’t find any… It’s hard to understand how the villagers use SO much oil in their cooking…it’s ridiculous.

Day 72: More field work

2005-11-10T09:51:00.000Z

With no meetings or things to do in the morning, I slept late. By late, I mean about 8am. There’s really no such thing as “sleeping late” here; there are numerous things that prevent such a concept. When the sun rises, all life in our compound is awakened. This includes goats, sheep, cows, chickens, donkeys, bats (yea, for real) and loudest of all, small children. Also awakened are the insects, namely the bumble bees, which live in our room. It’s impossible to sleep with all these noises, but I guess I’ve just come to accept it.

After breakfast and stuff, we chilled until the afternoon. I spent some time talking with Mama Dou Thioye (the father of my family and chief of the ecovillage here.) He speaks French (one of the only people in my family,) and he has been extremely nice to me since I arrived the other night. Unfortunately, he wasn’t here for his last visit because he was in St. Louis visiting his 3^rd wife. His two other wives live here in Nder…

After lunch, Kristin and I walked out to the fields once again to observe the large tractor/plow machine clear the community garden. The garden has more than tripled in size, and has gone from a pretty scrubby looking garden to a massive crop field. It’s very cool to imagine what it could look like if we successfully install an efficient irrigation system for the whole thing.

After observing, doing a little work, and playing with machetes, we returned to our families. Dinner was rice and some kind of meat (maybe beef? I have no idea…). You just come to accept it, there’s really no other choice…

Day 71: Beginning our project

2005-11-09T09:49:00.000Z

After waking up, we ate a small breakfast and went off to a meeting taking place nearby. The meeting was for all of the staff and students to talk about how our time here would be managed. We then broke into our smaller groups to talk about how exactly we would use the time to complete our project (installing a drip irrigation system.) Kristin, Ronald, and I met with three of the villagers to discuss these matters. Together, we set up a schedule that began with improving the soil, installing the system, and finally, planting crops.

After the meeting, we hung around, ate lunch, and rested. At around four, Kristin and I walked out to the community garden to watch (and aid) a few of the villagers burn the growth and brush in the space that they wanted to use for the community garden. Basically, the community garden had previously only had an area of about 150 m²and we burned enough brush to create a garden over 3 times that size. Anyway, it was quite a display (and pretty damn hot as well.) When the tall grass ignited, there would be an exodus of flies, wasps, and all sorts of other bugs that had been living there. Really hot.

After watching the fields burn for a while, we walked back to the village, and then we were invited to go get some fresh watermelon from the fields. Kristin, Allison, and I walked with three of the villagers quite a ways out and found some ripe watermelons to eat. We just squatted there and ate fresh-picked watermelons. Note: in the past week, I’ve had So much (really good) watermelon, it’s hard to imagine.

We returned to our houses in time for dinner, and spent the rest of the night watching some Ali G. and sleeping.

Day 70: Back in Nder

2005-11-08T09:47:00.000Z

We came back to Nder today: 2 days later than we had originally scheduled. The delay in our departure was due mostly in part to the Senegalese students and staff that needed extra time after the Korite festival. Almost all of our (American students) time in Yoff was spent hanging around, and doing stuff (not much though) to prepare for this second voyage to Nder.

After arriving at around 8pm last night, we ate dinner (which was actually really good; pasta & chicken) and soon thereafter, went to sleep. Because of some issues with their university, some of the Senegalese students (and staff) were not able to join us for at least 1 week of this second trip. So, instead of staying with Eric (like last time), I stayed with Rich (who hadn’t come with us on the first trip here.)

Day 69: Update before Nder

2005-11-07T19:16:00.000Z

We have just spent a week in Yoff, and we will be departing for Nder early tomorrow morning. I apologize for the lack of entries, but not too much has been going on. Over the past week, we have done a lot of hanging around, while the holiday of Korite (the end of Ramadan) was being celebrated. We will be in Nder for close to three weeks, and we will not be returning to Yoff until around the 27th or 28th. I will be writing plenty of journal entries while in Nder, and I will be sure to post them all when I return to Yoff.

Day 62: Gnit

2005-11-01T09:30:00.000Z

We had planned to leave for Gnit (a village nearby to visit the market) at around 10am. However, after calling Marian to tell her about our proposed projects, the staff wanted to have a meeting with us to discuss how realistic these projects actually were. Basically, they told us whether the money we had requested from NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) would be available for us to buy resources etc. for our projects. Our group, the agriculture group, had requested 600,000 CFA (about $1200) to install a drip irrigation in a large community garden. We were told that only 400,000 was possible, so we’ll have to see if we can make it work. We might only be able to install a drip ag. system in a smaller, non-community garden.

Anyway, we didn’t leave for Gnit until about 130. We all piled in the back of this truck-like thing, (it look like a vehicle that you might see transporting troops, not a hummer) and started off for Gnit. It was about 10km on dirt roads, and it took about 45 minutes. We reached the market, which was pretty laid back, and shopped around for a bit. Most of the products being sold were produce and livestock. I bought a watermelon, because they are grown here (by the people of Nder and other villages) and they are of really high quality (and cheap too.) Some of the staff and some of the students even bought a sheep that they ate for dinner. (I didn’t participate in that, because I’ve developed relationships with the sheep and goats that live in my compound, and I couldn’t bear to eat one of their friends.)

The ride back to Nder felt shorter, but hotter. To give you an accurate description of the heat, this is what I came up with: Imagine that it’s a really hot day in early August. You’ve just started your car. You get out of your car, walk around to the back, get down on your knees, and station your head so that it directly receives all the exhaust from the exhaust pipe – that was how it felt to have the wind blow in your face…

Anyway, after that pleasant ride, we returned to our compound, where I rested and played some more chess with Ousmane. He then led us to the canal that leads from the Lac du Guiers to the pipeline that takes all the water to Dakar and the rest of Senegal.

For dinner, we had Ceebu Jen once again, but just as the first course. The second course was pasta and beef, eaten with the older men again, with hands of course. I’m starting to get better at eating with my hands…

After dinner, I went to Katie’s house, where there was quite a get-together with all of the students, staff, and villagers. There was plenty of dancing (by everyone) and some drumming, but not as formal as we had experienced in Medina Kouta. Nonetheless, it was a memorable Halloween. (I realize that I describe a lot of these experiences as ones that I won’t forget; please understand that there’s really no better way to describe them to people who back in the US…)

Day 61: AI Completion

2005-10-31T16:00:00.000Z

We woke up this morning to find a misty fog outside. While it was still cool, it was kind of unpleasant because of the humidity. We had our final AI meeting to do the Design phase.

We took the dreams that people had come up with the previous day and tried to design projects to fulfill them. We had the villagers prioritize their dreams, and figure out which ones were really possible for us all to accomplish together during our 18 day stay. Their first priority was to install a drip irrigation system in the community garden, to increase the water-use efficiency. We then figured out what materials/resources would be needed to do this, and how much it would all cost.

After designing projects for the drip irrigation and 10 other goals, we finally finished our meeting. The meeting had taken about three hours, and we were all pretty tired. Eric and I returned to our compound for lunch (back to Ceebu Jen, 6/7) Eric and I then got some cold sodas at the boutique, and hung out with Ousmane Thioye, one of the brothers in our family. Ousmane is my age, and he is studying for his baccalaureate. He really likes math and physics, and he’s really good at repairing electronics and in general, fixing things.

After the afternoon break, we met again to discuss the results of our AI. All of the groups came together and had a big meeting; each group presented what they had come up with and how much money it would cost. By the time the meeting was over, it was time to break the fast (because it’s still Ramadan) and we returned to our families to do so.

Once again, dinner was Ceebu Jen. Honestly: it’s really not that bad. It’s just the fact that we eat it every meal that makes it distasteful. After managing to eat some of the dinner at our house, Eric and I went to Tom’s (the British marketing student studying ecotourism) house and enjoyed goat over pasta. After finishing our second dinner, our brother, Ousmane, led us back to our house where we ate once again with some of the older man. This time, it was beef and couscous.

I haven’t really liked any of the couscous that I’ve had in Senegal, but, like the Ceebu Jen, the couscous is better here than it is in Yoff. Anyway, Eric and I ate with these older men, and no one sitting around the plate was using a spoon. So, for the first time since I’ve gotten to Senegal, I really had to eat completely with my hands. Usually, when there aren’t spoons, there will be bread to help with the messiness of the meal. However, this was not the case.

So visualize: Me, sitting (wrapped in my sheet to keep the bugs away) with my Senegalese friend, Eric, with five other Senegalese men, all reaching our hands in to a giant platter of couscous and beef. There’s a special technique to eat with your hands: you just kind of pick up some food, and roll it into a nice ball, so it’s easy to eat. This may sound easy, but trust me, it’s not. So there were all of the Senegalese have spent their entire lives eating with their hands, and me, who’s never done anything of the sort. Yeah…I was made fun of. It was a good experience though. Another one.

After dinner, one of the two French students traveling with us (Fred) had everyone over to his house to just kind of hang out. I played chess with Ousmane for a little while, and went home to go to sleep. The heat really drains your energy, so even though it cools off really well at night, you still feel the effects of the day.

Day 60: AI in Nder

2005-10-30T15:59:00.000Z

Today we completed the Discovery and Dream phases of Appreciative Inquiry. (For more info on AI, refer to previous entries from the first village visit.) In our agriculture group, we learned of previous successes that the villagers had accomplished, in terms of community gardens, organic practices, etc.

We met in Ronald’s room (another program assistant) with three villagers. There were four of us Living Routes students (Eric, Ali, Kristin, me) meeting with the chief’s son (Maodo), a brother in my home-stay family (Ndery) and another villager named Guedal. Because it was the morning, it was still cool, and we were able to stay comfortable (at least for a little while.) The villagers explained to us about the projects they had done when the previous Living Routes students had visited them back in the spring. They talked about their desires to use fewer pesticides, but at the same time, keep up their crop yields. They grow mostly sweet potatoes, but they also grow okra, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, and peanuts.

After finishing the meeting, it was about 1130, about the time when it starts to get really hot. As long as you stay out of the sun though, it’s bearable. Eric and I then returned to our compound to hang out, sleep, play chess, and eat lunch (Ceebu Jen, yup, 4 for 4.)

We did the Dream phase in the afternoon at around 4. We asked the three villagers to close their eyes, and imagine what this village would look like in 3 years. They came up with some good ideas, and we combined them with the dreams that we, the students came up with. It’s nice to have something to look forward to, like an actual project that we can accomplish when return here for our 2.5 week stay. After talking for a while, we, the agriculture group took a walk to (what had been) the community garden where there wasn’t much growing.

The landscape here is basically identical to that of a desert, with no trees taller than about 15 feet. There are lots of succulent plants, or rather, desert plants (however, no cacti.) The sun burns off any cloud cover by about 11am, and scorches most things that try to grow. There are so many types of insects here, including mosquitoes, dung beetles, scarabs, praying mantis(es) and plenty of others that you just don’t want to mess with.

Anyway, we finished our tour of the community garden, and returned to our compound by about 7pm. Dinner was Maffe (white rice with peanut sauce, not Ceebu Jen…YES.) Night activities included hanging out with some of the other students, and falling asleep early.

Day 59: Tour of Nder

2005-10-29T15:58:00.000Z

After a night where I didn’t get too much sleep, I woke up to the call from the mosque. During Ramadan, the person (I don’t know who) gets on the loud speaker at about 5am and starts yelling and telling people to wake up to eat before the sunrises. I’ve been experiencing this 5am wake up for pretty much the entirety of Ramadan, because they do the same calling/chanting thing in Yoff.

Anyway, Eric and I woke up, had some breakfast, and went to meet the others for our morning meeting. We then departed on our tour of the village. However, by the time we actually got going, it was about 10, and about an hour in to the tour, it started getting really hot. Oumar Diene, the director of our NGO Cresp, was leading the tour. Oumar has the tendency to talk for long periods of time because he is so knowledgeable, something that doesn’t really cater to 20 other people who are standing in the heat listening.

Let me explain a bit about the weather: The Lac Du Guiers is one of the first permanent water sources south of the Sahara. Basically, what that mean is, that Nder is very close to the desert. During the day, it gets up to about 100+ degrees, but it’s not very humid (like it is in Yoff.) By about 5pm, it starts to cool off relatively quickly, and by the time it gets dark, the weather is perfectly comfortable. However, most of our activities go on during the day, in the heat.

So, we’re on our tour, and it starts to get hot. We saw most of the village, including the school, the planting fields, and met some elders. After finishing the tour, we had another meeting, trying to organize for the afternoon. By that point, we were all sitting in the shade. Because it’s so hot, that’s really all you can do here in the middle of the day.

After the meeting, we continued to lounge around, and I played chess with Anthony, a French student coming along with us just for the Nder trip. He was pretty much a chess genius, but I managed to beat him once (out of 5 times I think.)

We ate lunch (Ceebu Jen, again) and lay around until 4, when we had a meeting at the chiefs house. The purpose of this meeting was to tell the village elders exactly why we are here, and to explain to them the concept and phases of Appreciative Inquiry (the same thing we had done in Medina Kouta on the first village trip.) After greetings, welcome-ings, thanks, etc, we split up into our 5 groups (education, agriculture, nutrition, ecotourism, and women’s roles in development) and discussed what we would be doing the following few days.

After quite a long meeting (2.5 hours,) we returned to our compounds to rest before breaking the fast. Even though we aren’t fasting, our family makes us break the fast with them. I then took a bucket bath, the result of which (for the first time) I felt really clean. Taking a bucket bath is really an art, and I’m just starting to get the hang of it. By Thanksgiving, the end of our second stay here, I’m going to be a pro.

Dinner was Ceebu Jen. Again. 3 for 3. Maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow.

Day 58: Déjà vu… kind of

2005-10-28T15:53:00.000Z

Last night, at around 8pm, I finished my college application essay and submitted my early app. to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell. The focus of the essay was my last stay in a village at Medina Kouta.

This morning, I found myself on a bus once again bound for a rural village. Instead of going East towards the interior of the country, we were headed North towards St. Louis (and the Sahara Desert.) Instead of increasing (like the last trip), the amount of green plants decreased as our journey wore on. On the contrary, the temperature rose. By midday, we had reached St. Louis (the first place that the French colonized.) We ate lunch at a place there that had good food but sub-par service (to say the least), and continued on our journey. About 2 hours later, we reached Nder. Nder is basically in the desert, but it’s next to Senegal’s largest potable water source – the Lac du Guiers.

(it’s important to note that this entry would be longer if not for the ridiculous amount of mosquitoes that are biting me right now. Right now, I’m sitting here typing this up, attempting to cover myself with my sheet…just try and imagine it…)

Anyway, we arrived here and hung out in front of the chief’s house while the staff worked out our living arrangements. I ended up being put with Eric, one of the Senegalese students. I was quite happy about this because quite frankly, Eric is awesome. He’s just really laid back and definitely the kind of person who would be cool to live with.

We ate dinner with the men of the family (rather than by ourselves) and enjoyed the national dish: Ceebu Jen (fish and rice). It’s basically the same thing we’ve had about 100 times here so far…but they make it a little different here (not so spicy, less oil.) After dinner, I rested, met a few of my family members, struggled to communicate to them in Wolof, etc. We then had a short meeting, the point of which was just to check in…

After finishing this entry, I plan on lathering up with bug/deet cream and wrapping myself in my sheet, and trying to go to sleep. We’ll be spending plenty of time here over the next month, so I’ll have plenty of opportunities to describe my surroundings…A demain…

Day 52: Updates

2005-10-24T08:56:00.000Z

First off, I would like to apologize for the lack of entries lately. It has been over a week since I’ve had time to sit down and write an entry. However, there haven’t been any significant events here, and things have been pretty much routine.

Early in the week, the director of Living Routes (our program) came from Amherst, MA to work out some issues that had come up about faculty and academics. Being a mediator, Daniel helped everyone to see both sides of the story, and more importantly, to work towards a solution that worked for everyone.

Thinking back on this week, it’s hard to remember what I did each day. In the beginning of the program, I could recount each day clearly, remembering lots of specific details. Now however, more than halfway through the trip, I realize that days have just become blurry. Routine seems to have eliminated details. Also, now that Yoff is starting to feel a lot like home, it doesn’t really occur to me to write journal entries. I mean, would I write a journal entry everyday if I were in Brookline? However, we’re leaving for Nder (a village in the north) on Thursday. Once there, we will be assessing the village, and how we can help (in our smaller groups). We will return to Yoff after 4 days, due to the end of Ramadan (a holiday called Korate). For the Senegalese students to spend Korate away from their families is like an American student not going home for Thanksgiving…So we’ll return to Yoff for 5 days before return to Nder again to really get going on our projects. We’ll be there for about 2.5 weeks. We’ll spend Thanksgiving in St. Louis, and return to Yoff for a couple more weeks. And then the trip is over. It’s weird because even though we’ve only completed a little more than half the trip, we’re on the home stretch. It’s sad, so I’m going to stop writing about it.

So to recount all that I can from the past week: Daniel from Living Routes left on Tuesday night, and the rest of the week consisted of a lot of lectures. Personally, I was working on college apps, because I’ve decided I’m going to try to get in to some other schools for next year. Writing essays and filling out forms were things that I never thought I’d be doing again, but I’ve decided that that’s what I want to do.

As for routines that I’ve developed: I now sleep on the roof, because it’s gotten too hot to sleep in my room. Even with a fan blowing right at my face, I wake up in a pool of sweat. Anyway, on the roof, I enjoy a great sea breeze, a starry sky, and a nice view of the beach and Yoff. Also, the sunrise wakes me up at around 7, which gets me going early, and I get a lot of stuff done. Once it’s starts getting hot, I tend to get less productive.

Another routine that I’ve developed is going to boutiques (the little shops here) and getting a cold soda. The sodas come in thin glass bottle (30cl), but they only cost 200CFA (about 40 cents). Usually, I go with Allison and we’ll split a Coke and a Fanta. You might compare this to adults going to a bar and getting a drink…While getting soda may seem not very exciting, there’s a reason why I mention it. It’s so much different from the US, where I’ll drive to Shaw’s Supermarket and buy a 12 pack of cans, which I’ll bring home to put in my fridge. Here, I walk 3 minutes from my house to the boutique where I know the guy who works there, and get one soda, and sit on the stoop there, and drink it. When finished, I give the bottle back to him, (because all the glass bottles are recycled). In fact, last night, Allison and I got a couple of sodas there, and when we realized we didn’t have any money, the guy just said we could pay next time. It’s like we have a credit there now, or a tab. It’s just one of those small things that really makes you realize that you’re at home, that you live here. It’s also nice to support local businesses, rather than going to the Shell Station and buying sodas there.

As for weekend events, we took another trip to Dakar yesterday. We went to the fabric market there, which was totally different from the other market we had been to called Sandaga. At the fabric market, no one hassled, no one followed us around, and everyone was pretty nice. There was probably enough fabric at this market to blanket the entire country…

After the fabric market, we went into downtown Dakar and got burgers and ice cream (just like we had done for my birthday). It was just as satisfying.

Today being Sunday, I’ll probably just hang around, relax, and get some work done hopefully. I’ll try to write at least one more entry before I leave for Nder, and I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write when I’m away from Yoff.

Day 46: My 18th Birthday

2005-10-16T18:53:00.000Z

To fully describe my 18^th birthday here, I must begin at 12AM. We were down at the beach celebrating Sophie’s birthday (our program assistant) having a party. It involved cake (I mean good cake…and for those of you who don’t know me, I don’t even like cake) and a lot of dancing. The music was provided by some of Sophie’s Senegalese friends who played the drums. Overall, it was quite a cultural experience (duh).

I then went back to my house with a few other kids and I consented to opening the package I had received the day before from my mom (because it was actually my birthday at 3AM). We just hung out, ate candy, and watched an Ali G. episode (which was stellar of course; we’ve been doing impressions for a few weeks now, just waiting for the DVD to get here.) Finally, people left, and I went to sleep.

I woke up around 10 and began to sort through the entire contents of the package. I opened the cards. I inspected each bag of candy, each granola bar, each package of hot chocolate, and sealed everything in their Ziploc bags. It was like Christmas in October (and 90 degree weather.)

I left my house and went to Cresp, where I met up with the other kids. We got in taxis and went downtown to Dakar to visit the market which we had vistited previously. This time however, I was much more prepared for the craziness of the Sandaga Market. I got a nice jersey and a bracelet (the kind that most Senegalese men wear) for myself. However, the things I bought at the market were not the highlight of the trip.

After walking through the market, dealing with the oppressive heat and humidity, and being hassled by 1023938 people, we were ready for a break. We walked to the restaurant that I had visited with Fatou Lo the day before, and sat down at a table to eat. Everyone liked the restaurant, and the girls that were fasting all broke their fasts to eat falafel. Personally, I got the Tyson Burger (double burger, double cheese) and pretty much inhaled it. It was the best burger I’ve had in my entire life. I say that without doubt.

After that amazing meal, we walked around in Dakar for a while, and eventually stopped for ice cream. We ate sundaes and banana splits at this little place owned by Lebanese guys. Incredible. (while writing this, I realize how hard it is to accurately portray how amazing it was to have these foods. It’s funny how food has such a huge affect on me now…)

After banana splits, we decided it was finally time to get back to Yoff. We hailed cabs, bartered for our passage back and enjoyed the 30 minute cab ride home. Walking towards my house near the ocean, I felt a great feeling of satisfaction.

Because everyone was so tired from the days events, we just kind of hung out on my roof, and recovered from a hectic day in the market.

It was a great birthday.

Day 45: Post Office Trip

2005-10-14T14:36:00.000Z

Today was Friday. On Wednesday, I had received a call from the post office in Dakar notifying me that I had a package waiting there (for my birthday on Saturday). While I was excited to hear the news, I didn’t get a change to get to the post office until Friday.

I was accompanied by Fatou Lo who is just simply the best. We took a taxi downtown. I’ve been in plenty of taxis since I got here a month and a half ago, but this taxi was by far the worst. I mean, the only thing about this cab that was acceptable was that the seats were comfortable. The transmission was nearly gone, and the driver was constantly fighting with the shifter to get it into gear, and when we slowed down the car would lurch back and forth. Every once in a while, the car would stall, and to start the engine again, the driver would just connect two wires (where the ignition used to be.) It was quite an adventure, and we got to the post office around 1.

Once inside, I was led to the room where international packages are received, fees are paid, etc. I walked in the room and found that the man in charge was putting all of his stuff away. He explained to me that it was Friday, and it was time to take their short break. He ushered me out of the room, and eventually, led Fatou and me out of the post office. He said they would be taking a break until 3pm. Fatou Lo pleaded with him, but to no positive result. We were then left outside the post office to wait for 2 hours. We got some sandwiches at a street stand and then walked down the street through markets and such till we reached this little café/restaurant place where we got a couple of sodas. After managing to kill nearly 2 hours, we returned to the post office.

The customs guy made me open the package from my mom and go through each item (milky ways, granola bars, starbursts, reeses cups, etc etc) and explain to him what each item was. To see such an assortment of candy and food from home made me really happy, and I walked out of the post office with a smile on my face and an 18 pound box in my arms.

Day 43-44: Yom Kippur, Update

2005-10-13T14:35:00.000Z

Because I haven't not updated my blog since I returned from my trip, I will post one just giving a general overview of what has been going on this week. We returned from our trip and had Monday off to recover. It's nice to be back in Yoff for a few reasons, such as having the ability to take showers regularly, sleep in a bed that you're almost sure doesnt have fleas or bed bugs, and just in general, feeling at home. However, I definitely miss my home in Medina Kouta, where I lived for three nights.

Since we have been back in Yoff, we've been having classes like we used to have, although not as many language courses. We are now 8 or 9 days in to Ramadan, and in a country that is 94% Muslim, you really become part of the holiday, even if you aren't fasting (which I have elected not to.) I’ve definitely lost some weight so far, which is a little disappointing, and even disturbing. However, I’m trying to eat as much as I can at each meal…

On Wednesday night, we had a Kol Nidre service at Alexa’s house. I have never been very religious but I thought I would just go with the few other kids to see Alexa’s house and do some Jewish stuff…so yeah. “Kol Nidre” for all of you non-Jews is the start of fasting for Yom Kippur. So we went to Alexa’s sat down, and read from a prayer book, and sang some songs. It was actually quite a nice little service. In the middle of our reading, the mosque about 100 feet down the street began blaring the call for evening prayer. For anyone who’s familiar with Judaism, let me provide you with this description: 4 girls and 1 guy sitting on a porch, in a circle, with a candle in the middle, singing “Oh sey shalom” while at the same time, a loud voice is chanting verses from the Koran on a giant loud speaker. The candle in the middle of us was kind of symbolic: it was like we were the tiny Jewish flame in the midst of the giant Muslim circle…definitely quite memorable. Maybe being in such an environment where Islam is so heavily felt is contributing to the fact that I feel more Jewish than I ever did…

Day 40: Really Long Journey Home

2005-10-10T12:35:00.000Z

We were woken up at 530 for breakfast. We left the campement at around 630, and drove. Luckily, it wasn’t very hot today so the driving wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had been on the way out. Because almost everyone was fasting, we didn’t really stop for lunch and we were pretty much driving in our vans continuously until about 15 hours later (2130) when we reached Yoff. We were all happy to be back in Yoff for a few reasons, such as the opportunity to take really long showers and wear some clean clothes. We have the day off tomorrow (Monday) so it will probably be spent hanging around, recovering, nursing my mosquito and flea bites, sleeping, and other similar activities. No journal entry needed.

Before I finish, I will just say one thing about this 10 day trip that we have just completed. While it has been one of the more physically/emotionally draining experiences of my life, it has certainly been one of the most unforgettable. It was ten days of not knowing where I’d be sleeping that night, not knowing if the food would be really bad (like couscous), being alone with 20 people that speak in a language you don’t understand a word of, and other stuff like that. It was also ten days of meeting the kindest people I’ve ever met, bonding with kids in my group, and experiencing cultures in ways that most people never will. Although it was hard and uncomfortable (for almost all of the time), I’m so happy to have been given the opportunity to have such an experience.

Day 39: Back to Kedougo

2005-10-09T12:35:00.000Z

We left early from Segou and got back to our campement at Kedougo where we had stayed two nights before, and relaxed for the rest of the day. The only significant event was the watching of the Senegal vs. Mali World Cup Qualifying soccer match. Although Senegal won easily, they were unable to gain first place in their group because the first place team, Togo, won as well. Because this was the last game, Senegal was stuck in second place and thus, short of a World Cup berth. The Senegalese were all pretty unhappy with that…I told them it was okay, my team (the Sox) had finished their season just the night before. We’re all in the same boat….kind of.

Day 38: Hiking/Sightseeing

2005-10-08T12:34:00.000Z

After finishing my journal entry last night, I ended up staying up really late. The late-night events were basically just having a good time with Alison and Lindsay, going in to people’s rooms with a video camera and doing the best Ali G impressions that we could do…

We went to bed at around 2, and by 6am, I had been woken up and harassed a little bit (by those whose rooms we had visited the night before.) It was all in good fun though, and everyone set off for the waterfalls in a good mood.

Accompanying us on our hike was our guide Sedou, who pretty much refused to tell us anything about where we were going or how long it would take. We ended up hiking to the top of the mountain, walking around for a long, long time, visiting a village and its chief, and finally hiking down the mountain to walk to the waterfalls. The hike was about 4.5 hours. By the time we finally reached the waterfalls, it was nearly lunchtime, but the fact that we were hungry and tired couldn’t distract us from the beauty of the falls. The water was coming from the top of a cliff that was a few hundred feet up; you couldn’t capture the whole thing with one camera shot.

After returning from the falls, those of us who weren’t fasting ate lunch. Four of the Americans and all of the Senegalese except for one were fasting. I’m starting to get used to eating alone…it’s not so bad.

After lunch, we walked to the chief’s hut in Dindefelo and gave him medical supplies. He was very appreciative, and he let us take limes from his lime tree. The medicines we gave them were just basic first aid supplies, some anti-malaria kits, and other medical supplies that the villagers could prescribe and administer themselves.

We then piled in the 4x4s and drove 30 minutes to Segou, a village where we would stay the night. Kristin, Lindsay, Eric, and I were all put with the same family, and we had a fun night hanging out. Our family spoke Pulaar, of which we know none of, so there wasn’t much communication. However, they were very nice and left us to our own business.

Though the boys and girls each had their own hut in the compound, I decided to let Eric have the whole twin bed in our hut, and I slept outside on a straw mat. I had a sleeping bag to keep the bugs away, I was really hot for pretty much the whole night. I didn’t get much sleep, but sleeping outside under the stars in a rural African village is definitely something I will never forget.

Day 37: Iwol and Dindefelo

2005-10-07T12:34:00.000Z

Despite the fact that it was raining at 7am when we woke up, we decided to risk climbing the mountain on top of which was a village that we were to visit. The rain stopped a couple of hours after that, and we were already on our way to the mountain. We drove for about an hour, parked, and started up the mountain. Even at 10am, it was already starting to get hot. The clouds from the earlier morning had been burned off, and we were pretty exposed climbing the mountain. After a mid-difficulty hour-long hike, we reached the top where the Iwol people live.

The village there was similar to Medina Kouta in terms of the housing construction. The huts were made of cement or mud and had thatched roofs. However, the huts weren’t organized into fenced compounds like those in Medina Kouta. Other differences from MK were the people, who tried to sell us crafts that they had made (and were successful.) We met a 115 year-old woman, who made us pay her if we wanted to take pictures of her. Some of the women had ears with 15-20 earrings in them. We gave them medical supplies and asked them about tourism in their village, which we learned was relatively frequent. In and around the village were incredibly large Baobab trees, which were awesome to look at. The mountain also provided some nice vistas of the valley below.

It took us a while to get down, but we made it eventually. Not many people in the group are in very good shape. At the bottom, I bought a Coke from a refrigerator, and it was the best Coke I’ve had in my entire life. You could have been there with a camera and filmed a Coke commercial. We ate lunch at a campement down the road, but a lot of people didn’t eat because they are trying to fast for Ramadan, which started yesterday.

After finished lunch and hanging around for a while, we got back in our 4x4 vehicles and set off for Dindefelo. Basically, the roads to get to Dindefelo aren’t really roads at all. We spent 2 hours driving on these “roads” and after a long, uncomfortable ride we reached a campement at Dindefelo where we sat through an awesome thunderstorm and rested. Tomorrow, we’re going to visit waterfalls that are close by.

Day 36: Another Day Gone By

2005-10-06T12:33:00.000Z

We woke up this morning to a dark grey sky. We were all ready to go at around 830, but this was all for naught as a rainstorm was looming. Considering we had planned to hike up a mountain to visit a tribe situated on top, the threat of giant storm clouds put a damper on our day. After discussing together what we should do, we decided that due to the (potential) torrential rains, we would stay in the hotel for one more night. The rest of the day consisted of sitting around, taking trip to the market, and eating some chicken. It did rain eventually, and it ended up pouring for most of the day, so our decision turned to be the right one. Having a day to totally relax was nice, and it kind of made up for the fact that our weekend had been mostly traveling and not relaxing. We will still be able to do all the things we had planned to do on this trip, we’ll just stay one less night at one of the villages.

Day 35: Nicolocoba National Park

2005-10-05T12:33:00.000Z

I woke up to the chicken in my room for the last time. It was a sad parting at around 7:30 when I left my compound. I took some pictures (which they asked me to send to them, but if I did, I doubt they would ever get there) shook hands, and waved goodbye. These people were so genuinely nice to me.

We had a short drive to the gates of Nicolokoba Nat’l Park where we gained entry and commenced our drive through the park. We drove on a rough dirt road for (what ended up being) almost 3 hours. It felt like longer. Along the way, we spotted only a little wildlife. After that long drive, we reached a visitor center/hotel place where we sat and ate lunch. After lunch, we saw some monkeys, antelopes, guinea fowl, warthogs, and an iguana. We retraced our path all the way back to the park gates. A quick word about the park: It seemed that we were the only visitors. Seeing that it was a Tuesday in the off-season, this isn’t too surprising. However, the National Park of Senegal was far different from any nat’l park in the US. We just drove in to the park in our vans, and drove back out. There wasn’t anyone trying to sell us anything, no scenic vistas, none of that. It was nice to see animals in their natural habitats though…

After seeing the park, we continued onto Kedougo where we found a “campement” to stay at. This wasn’t a hotel, but it certainly felt like the Ritz after we had been living in a rural village…It was nice to have running water and electricity. We will be staying here for just one night.

Day 34: Medina Kouta Day 2

2005-10-04T12:32:00.000Z

Once again, I was awakened this morning by a chicken walking around in my room. This morning however, I was much keener on how to get it out quickly. I actually managed to sleep in some more, till around 8am. I came out of my hut, washed my face and hands, and ate breakfast back in my hut. Noticing that I hadn’t eaten any couscous the previous morning, my family gave me the coffee stuff and two loaves of bread. I ate both.

I walked alone to the village center where we met back with our groups from the day before. If you recall, we ended yesterday with discussing successful programs that have been completed here. This morning, we moved on to the “dream” phase, where we asked the 6 or 7 villagers in our group to close their eyes and imagine what they wanted the village to be like in 5 years. More specifically, what health measures were in place to improve the lives of the villagers? Listening to them tell us about their “dreams” for the future, we were able to write down certain projects that could help make these “dreams” reality. After finishing with our health group, we came back together with all the other groups and the work that had been done in each group was explained to everyone. The village elders then decided on one program for each topic that was most important.

Before we went home for lunch, the village griots came to welcome us into their village. There were four altogether, and they each had their own drum. They came in a sort of procession, and proceeded to play for us. Women came into the circle to dance as well. See pics.

After lunch, we came back and met in our groups for the final time. This time, we completed the “design” phase, where we figured out how the previously chosen programs would be executed. For example, we asked them to decide: Who would be in charge of the program? What are the necessary resources? How much would this all cost? And other questions like that. In our group, we had a hard time because the villagers had chosen “Training of midwives and “relais” (which are informal nurses/doctors).” There’s not much that the villagers can do to train these people without funding from external sources. However, NGO Cresp will help the villagers write grant/funding proposals for these projects.

Back together again, each group shared what they had come up with. Across the four topics that the villagers had chosen, it seemed that there were many good projects as well as the incentive to begin them.

After completing the AI, a few of the Americans visited the banana plantation that is here in Medina Kouta, which was really quite interesting. I’ve probably eaten thousands of bananas in my lifetime, but never saw where they came from. The plantation was Huge.

For dinner I had some really good fish and some not so great couscous (I don’t really like the couscous in Senegal because the grains are too small and it kind of tastes like sand.) After dinner, we drank some tea, and went off to the “cultural soiree” that was taking place in the village center. Also there were all the American students and many of the villagers. The griots returned and played their drums, the women danced (as well as us) and it was truly a cultural experience. Before I came to Senegal, everyone told me to “experience the culture.” If what we experienced tonight isn’t culture, I don’t know what is. It was truly unforgettable.

Before I conclude the Medina Kouta entries, let me just say that I cannot get over how nice these villagers are. They don’t resent us in any way, where as a lot of other people have come across do. What I calculated today was that these people probably live on about 100CFA (20 cents) per day, probably less. However, these are happier people than Americans I know who spend hundreds of dollars each day. Everyone always said “money can’t buy happiness.” These people are living proof. I love it here in this village, and I will be sad to leave tomorrow morning.

Day 33: Medina Kouta 1

2005-10-03T12:32:00.000Z

This morning I woke up to the sound of roosters and goats. I looked around the room. It was barely light outside, and it was pretty much dark inside my hut. I unsuccessfully tried to go back to sleep. However, during that ten minute period, I heard some noises which I thought were coming from inside of my room. I discovered that a chicken had somehow managed to get into my hut and was wandering around. I didn’t really know what to do, so I just kind of watched. Later, upon further examination, I would find a hen sitting on her eggs behind the table in the corner of the room…

I laid around and read until I was “awakened” by my father here. I came out of my hut and viewed the compound. Altogether, there are 5 or 6 huts surrounding the center area. The huts are relatively large, probably about 15ftx15ft at least. They all have thatched roofs and cement walls. None of them have windows. As for animals, there are probably about 15 chickens, 8 goats, and a dog. The whole compound is fenced in to make sure that the animals can’t get away.

After sitting for a while, my father showed me to the toilet, which was actually not that unpleasant. He also gave me a bucket of water with which to wash. I washed up and came back to the center area for breakfast. I was given the fine grain stuff that I had been given for dinner, but I was also given a small loaf of bread with a cup of coffee (I think.) Note: There is a huge difference between the bread here and the bread in Yoff. In Yoff, all of the bread is in the form of baguettes, the kind you might expect to find in Paris. They have a crusty shell and soft insides, full of air. The bread here is much more dense (probably more nutritious as well) and tastes more like whole grain bread.

After breakfast, my father and I walked to the center of the village where we had been dropped off by the van the night before. We waited for a while and eventually met up with the other American and Senegalese students. After a while of sitting around and doing introductions with the village elders and such, we embarked on (what turned out to be) a really long walk. They called it a tour, but we just walked for about 30 minutes till we reached the planned site for an ecotourist area, and then walked back.

Lunch was eaten with our families, and I received my first good meal here. It was strange, because it was pasta with sauce that tasted a lot like the way my grandmother makes it (and she’s Italian…) The pasta was served on top of white rice and fish. After stuffing myself, I had an hour long conversation with the only French speaker in the family. (when I was in an honors French class, I could carry on a conversation for no more than 2 minutes. I must be learning something. Also, necessity plays a role: communicating in French was my only option, thus I was totally and utterly forced to speak it…)

I then returned to the village center where we broke up into groups to discuss a concept with the villagers called AI, or “appreciative inquiry.” AI is basically a way of community planning that involves the whole community. Rather than just go in to a village and start a project, first, go and collect lots of information. Figure out what the community wants for itself. Find out what the successful projects have been. Plan a project to be started. Figure out a way to make that project sustainable. And voila, you have AI.

The village decided that their 4 main priorities were education, agriculture, health, and eco-tourism. In the health group, we discussed the health issues in Medina Kouta with the two Peace Corps volunteers here, the guy in charge of health in this village, and about 5 other villagers. This afternoon was spent figuring out what improvements have been made already here, in terms of health. Tomorrow, we will complete the rest of the AI steps. Note: There’s a huge effort to keep everything positive, ie. Discuss the successful programs, not their weaknesses. One of the main objectives in AI is to keep people motivated, and optimism is a very important part of that…

For dinner, I had planned to eat with Mambui (because she was having Yassa, which I love) but my father wanted me to eat dinner with them. He brought me to Mambui’s hut after they had already fed me pasta and some meat (from which animal? I do not know…) I hung out with Mambui and a couple of the Americans for about an hour, got kind of lost trying to get home, but eventually made it back to my compound. Once again, it’s extremely hot inside this hut. Outside however, it’s pretty cool, and there are SO many stars. Rural Africa…you can’t beat that when it comes to zero light pollution. I mean, there’s no electricity here…

Before I end this entry, just let me say one thing about the people in Medina Kouta. They are SO nice. Without a doubt, the people here are nicer (and I think happier) than those in Yoff. This isn’t to say that the people in Yoff aren’t nice; it’s just that sometimes people on the street can be harassing and obnoxious. Here however, there are no streets, nor are there any people harassing us. My family is incredibly kind, my father has taken me in as his own (even though I’m only staying here for one more night) and he has even named me: Bilal Ifie (or something like that.) Pretty much no one speaks French, (only one person in my family) and it’s pretty frustrating not to be able to talk to much of anyone. However, I’m learning a little bit of Pulaar, the language that they speak here. Time to go, 11PM is way too late to stay up if you get up at dawn with the roosters…

Day 32: To the villages

2005-10-02T12:31:00.000Z

This entry is being written as I lie on my bed in a rural African village. The closest Americans to me are at least a mile away, and any modern facilities are about 100 times that distance from me.

Let me describe my surroundings: I am in a hut with a thatched roof and cement walls. I have a bed and a mosquito net. It’s extremely hot. It’s 9:17PM.

We departed Cresp at 7:00AM. Because of the length of this trip, we took two small private buses. Not all the Senegalese students came with because some had to take important exams this week in Dakar. So we left Cresp, and drove for a long, long time. I don’t even know how long. We got lunch at some restaurant at around 2pm, and bought some bananas and sodas.

The buses were somewhat comfortable, but not comfortable enough for me to sleep. Having woken up at 530, this was a very disappointing fact. The roads were horrible. (I’m not writing all this to complain, but merely to remind myself exactly what this trip was like when I look back on it in 10 years…) Imagine all the number of potholes you’ve seen in your entire life. Multiply that 4, and you’ve got something close to the number of potholes that we went through on the highway today. These were no interstates.

Our trip ended up being 13 hours long, and we arrived at this village, Medina Kouta, at around 8pm. It was dark, we were tired, and we couldn’t really see anything. Alexa and Mambui split us up and sent us with our families that we will be staying with for these two nights. I was taken to my house (or collection of huts) by the only French-speaking person in the family. After being introduced to everyone, I sat down in a chair they gave me, and did nothing while they stared at me (“they” being about 20 family members.) At some point, they asked me if I wanted to wash, (somehow I understood, even though I speak no Wolof) and I was led to a bucket with water. I took of all my clothes and managed to do some kind of washing.

After I returned to the communal area, I sat down again. They all just sat across from me and watched my every move. I was then given some cous cous like stuff, which tasted like sand, and I ate some of that. I’m still hungry.

A little while after that, I managed to signal to them that I wanted to sleep, so I was led to my hut, and now I’m here writing this. Hopefully, I’ll get some sleep in this heat.

Day 29: Making Tea

2005-09-29T09:37:00.000Z

Today was the first day that the weather was not oppressing. It wasn’t 58 degrees with leaves turning yellow and red, but hey, you take what you can get.

We had a good French class, and a very interesting lecture from Peter Trencher, who is a manager of natural resources at USAID, a government agency. The lecture explained USAID’s objectives, and programs that they have implemented here in Senegal to conserve and increase the efficiency of the nation’s resources. After he finished his presentation, we had an interesting discussion about the role of the US in general in Senegal.

After class ended at 1700, I went to the market, walked around with Rich while he bought a tea kettle (explanation later), and eventually went off on my own to find a pair of shorts. I had quite an experience walking through the extensive market by myself. It’s quite different when you are on your own, without a Senegalese person to help you speak and bargain. I must say however, that I did quite well bargaining for a pair of shorts and a Senegalese soccer jersey.

About tea: as I explained earlier, the Senegalese are very serious about their tea-drinking habits. Rich is very interested in how to make this tea, and thus purchased his own tea pot, shot glasses, tea, etc. to make this tea by himself. At dinner, I translated for him, told our mother and brother that he wanted to learn how to make it. As I sit here writing this, Rich and I are observing the long process of making this tea. Our brother, two of our sisters, and three of our cousins are sitting with us, watching, and listening to the Bob Marley songs that are playing on my computer. It’s only 1015, and we’re on our first round (of three) of tea. I’m tired, but the amount of sugar in this tea could keep me up for a while…

Day 28: Four Weeks

2005-09-28T09:24:00.000Z

Tuesday passed like other days. However, like yesterday, there were a few interesting/significant things that I ought to mention.

Lunch today did not meet my approval. In fact, it feels there has been a string of meals about which I feel the same way. After lunch, I was craving more food. We had eaten extremely late (1450) so I had no time to get anything else before going back to class. I had switched my service learning choice from sanitation to agriculture, which meant that I had to be at the organic garden to start a composting project. I arrived there after 1500 (which made me late) and I was still grumpy from an unsatisfying lunch. However, we had a productive service learning session, as we successfully started a compost pile. It’s funny how I switched out of sanitation (which hadn’t been very productive) and into agriculture, were we started a project that will eventually improve sanitation here (hopefully.)

After our agriculture service, I went to the Shell Station with Kaila, Lindsay, Kristen, and Eric. I was thrilled to find that cereal (which is not part of my diet here) prices had been decreased dramatically. I purchased Frosted Flakes, which had dropped in price from $7 to $3. You might wonder why I would be talking about buying cereal: the prices had been slashed because imported cereal is being subsidized by the government. Because the children here are starting school, the government is helping merchants pay for cereal to encourage a proper breakfast diet. I found this interesting, especially because just the other day, I mentioned in my journal how expensive cereal was.

The other significant event of the day was dinner. Dinner was probably one of the best meals I’ve ever had; not just in Senegal, but in the past few years. Rich and I ate upstairs on the second floor with our parents and their guest. When we eat upstairs, it’s almost always a good meal, and we end up eating more because there are less people. Tonight however, our mother and father had already eaten, so it was just Rich, their friend, and me. For us, there was an entire platter with yassa (chopped onions in a special sauce), French fries, a basket of bread, and three whole fish. After gorging ourselves, we continued eating until the entire platter was void of all food. Just as we finished, one of our sisters came into the room carrying a large platter of watermelon. Once again, we sat and ate until the plate was empty. Finally, our father poured us glasses of “besap” juice, which is the juice of the hibiscus flower. After finishing this, I struggled up the stairs, walked in to my room, and collapsed on my bed, groaning out of full-ness and satisfaction. An amazing meal was exactly what I needed, and it’s exactly what I got. I slept well.

Day 27: Monday, Feeling adapted

2005-09-27T09:39:00.000Z

While I won’t summarize the days events (to avoid repetition,) I will write a few breakthroughs I had on this hot and sunny Monday.

In the afternoon, we had a lecture on GEN Senegal. GEN stands for: Global Ecovillage Network. This lecture was similar to most other lectures save in one respect: I understood nearly every word that was spoken. I cannot explain how great a feeling it is to finally get a language. I figured I would get to that point eventually, but today it really clicked. Okay, so I’m not fluent, but I could understand this lecturer extremely well.

The second revelation came to me when I was walking to the Shell station. Walking across the street and through the sandy parking lot, passing by the bank and the magazine stand, I felt like I truly knew this place. I felt like I knew everything that was going on around me. I felt like I owned the place. I felt like I was at home. Tomorrow being day 28 of my trip and thus four weeks away from home, I’m finally starting to feel at home. I feel comfortable walking around, just as I do in Coolidge Corner.

Besides those two relatively significant moments, the day was quite average. I will take advantage of this and answer a few more questions that I’ve been asked. Remember, I urge you to ask more questions, or else I might not be able to write entries on such a regular basis….

Are all the American students from Umass Amherst?

No. Let me take this opportunity to give you an idea of the seven other Americans on this trip:

Rich: Umass junior, swimmer, whom I’m living with while here. Rich likes everything and everyone. We’ve heard him complain once. Just once. He’s enthused about all activities, likes all the food that’s put in front of us, and doesn’t speak much French. Rich’s favorite phrases: “C’est bon!” and “Je ne sais pas.”

Kaila: Vassar College junior, international studies major. Kaila lived in India until she was 4 years old, and now lives on Martha’s Vineyard. Kaila is the only true Sox fan on this trip (besides me), and she likes reggae and jazz.

Katie: UC Santa Barbara junior. Katie worked on a ranch over the summer, and has been away from home since May of this year. Katie knows a lot about tea, and is very interested in Ecotourism. Her nickname for me is “Mumbles.”

Deb: Junior at Oberlin. In Yoff, Deb lives closest to the Cresp annex. In fact, she lives about 100 feet from Cresp. In the US, Deb lives in Amherst, MA. Deb likes watermelon, and is very good at French. Deb really enjoys Wolof class.

Alison: Junior at Umass. So far on this trip, Rich and I have spent a lot of time with Alison. She has been over to our house so many times that she might as well be in our family. If she were to walk in to our house without us even being there, our family wouldn’t think twice. The reason for this frequency of visits is mainly because she likes the beach and swimming in the ocean. Alison is from New York and she doesn’t like Boston or people from it. She thinks that Boston just wants to be like New York. She’s just jealous of our Championship teams.

Kristin: Senior at the University of Vermont and is from Andover, MA. Kristin is the eldest of our group and I believe she is the most knowledgeable when it comes to permaculture and sustainable development. Kristin is fun to be with and likes dancing.

Lindsay: Junior at Umass. Lindsay is from Newton, MA. She went to Wash. U of St. Louis for one year before transferring to Umass. After this trip, Lindsay will be studying in Israel for her second semester. She lives with Fatou Lo and her extended family. Like Deb, Lindsay really likes Wolof class.

That’s a quick summary of the people I’m spending most of my time with. Obviously, there’s a lot more to these people than I could write here. But maybe that will give you a better idea of who I’m sharing my experiences with.

Day 26: Tea at the Beach

2005-09-26T17:15:00.000Z

Sunday turned out as another weekend day without any unusual occurrences. I woke up late, ate an entire loaf of bread for breakfast (literally) while watching a violent American movie dubbed over in French with English subtitles.(?)

We hung around till lunch, which ended up being late, but was well worth it. We don’t know what kind of meat we were eating; possibly goat or sheep? It tasted good though.

After lunch, we took a short trip to the beach, and then parted for Cresp to write e-mails. After finding that the internet wasn’t working (something that happens quite regularly,) I decided to go with Paupis and Sophie to the beach to drink tea. We had a relaxing time, sitting there, brewing tea on a small burner.

Let me explain this part of Senegalese culture. The Senegalese drink tea like Americans drink alcohol. The most common tea is that which is served in small glass that are about the size of shot glasses. Paupis’ friend who made the tea had me watch to see if I could learn. It’s a very complicated process. The end result is a little shot of tea (the second of a set of two with mint,) with a lot of sugar.

I had fun talking with Paupis, his cousin, and his friend. It was nice to break free from the group for a little while at least, and it definitely helps my French. With the Senegalese, I either speak French, or I just don’t communicate.

While I write this, the weekend feels like it was slow and not busy. However, it was anything but that. I feel quite exhausted sitting here on a Sunday night. I will write more tomorrow, and continue to answer questions that I’ve been asked in e-mails. Goodnight to all, go Red Sox.

Day 25: Soiree

2005-09-25T17:14:00.000Z

Today passed without any significant events. After staying up very late the night before, I only slept till about 1030, which wasn’t long enough. The rest of the day consisted of a trip to Cresp, a quick swim in the ocean, and a long nap.

For the night activity, Sophie (American program assistant) had invited us to meet her friends at a soiree in another suburb of Dakar. We met at Cresp around 2315, and took taxis to the place where this soiree was to be taking place. We were accompanied by Sophie’s husband Paupis (pronounced pope-eese), Alexa, Alexa’s boyfriend, and a couple other Senegalese men.

The soiree was being held at an outdoor bar/restaurant place on a quiet street. This town is called Baobab, and seemed to be an upscale neighborhood of Dakar. When we arrived at around 0030, there weren’t that many people there. The five American students that came were Rich, Deb, Kristin, Lindsay, and me. In the beginning, the five of us, and the rest of our entourage just sat in chairs, got drinks, and chatted. There was a DJ who was playing some loud music but no one was really dancing.

At some point, everyone started dancing and the place became pretty crowded. At around 300, we decided to leave and got a cab back home. We all got dropped off at Cresp and walked home. Note: you may think that it would be unsafe to walk home at 330 in the morning, but let me assure you that it’s extremely safe here. People here do not believe in violence. True, we stand out because we are light-skinned, but for the most part, people won’t bother you. At worst, someone might “Psssst” at you, trying to get your attention. This is Extremely annoying. It’s the accepted version of “Hey you!” We all think it’s very rude. Sometimes people will say stuff to us in Wolof, and then everyone will laugh. Frankly, it’s not very nice. Regardless of all this, I feel much safer walking around late at night here than I would in Boston or even Brookline. And that’s saying something.

Also, don’t get the impression that I’m out walking around at 330am every day. I’ve only had to do it once or twice, and I try to avoid being out that late. No need to worry.

Day 24: Friday, Senegalese people I’ve met, Orchestra Baobab

2005-09-24T17:18:00.000Z

The beginning of today was just like any other day here in Yoff: shower, breakfast (baguette, obviously), and French class. After French, we had a lecture on nutrition, and how it has changed in Senegal. We learned about the effects of colonization on imports, nutrition, diet, etc.

After lunch we did an activity on the difference of authority figures in American and Senegalese cultures. In general, it’s uncommon that any Senegalese person would challenge authority, whether it is a teacher, parent, boss, etc.

After class got out, we tried to enjoy our Friday afternoon by going to the beach. However, Alison, Rich, and I found that the ocean water was once again pretty dirty. We’re trying to figure out whether it’s caused by the tides, the rain, maybe even the full moon? Whatever the cause may have been, the state of the ocean greatly disappointed us.

After another dinner (or more specifically, stuffing), Rich and I went to Via Via a small hotel/restaurant for backpackers. We had a drink or two and then walked to Cresp where we met up with three more of the Americans as well as Fatou Lo.

Let me explain where we were going: The Wolof teacher is named Rudy Gomis. Rudy is in a band called “Orchestra Baobab”, which is apparently a famous afro-Cuban bad that has toured around the world many times and is pretty famous. Orchestra Baobab was holding a concert at a small bar/dance club in Dakar. So we all piled in to taxis, and eventually found the place. Note: Without Fatou Lo, we would have been helpless.

We got there pretty early, and just sat and hung out for a while, waiting for the concert. Finally around 1, the concert started. These guys were good. (Compare them with the Beuna Vista Social Club, who everyone seems to know…) We had tons of fun listening to them play, hanging out, and eventually dancing a lot. Even me.

We left around 345 and got back to our house around 430: overall, quite a good night.

Because this entry was rather short, I’ll take some time to answer a few questions that I’ve been asked. I’m posting them here for everyone to see:

What are the Senegalese people like?

The Senegalese that I’ve come into contact such as my family, teachers, program assistants, and fellow students have all been extremely nice. Everyone is very generous and willing to share all that they have. A few things that I found interesting about them: They never raise their voices. It’s also extremely rare that they will challenge any order given to them by an authority figure. They never complain.

As for the people that we don’t know: some are very nice and some are very weird and creepy. Lots of people will come up to you on the street and ask you to come to their house for tea or a meal. Not all of these people mean badly; in fact, most of them don’t. However, it’s been hard to get over what we’ve been taught our whole lives: “Don’t speak to strangers.” Every day, at least seven or eight children will come up to us and ask us for money. Some just hold out an empty tomato paste can. Others will be more direct and say “Donnes-moi l’argent” (Give me money.) I’ve been asked for my watch, cell phone, even my bottle of water. Older people will also approach us and try to sell us things, tell us that we are friends, etc. When we walk in the city as a group sometimes, we will have sort of an entourage of Senegalese people, none of whom we know.

Now that we have been in Yoff for almost a month, people are starting to recognize us and understand that we are students living with families, not tourists passing through. Nonetheless, the badgering hasn’t completely stopped. One last thing: Because we are white foreigners, people think that they can rip us off. For example, we were taking a taxi back home the other day, and we knew the price should be about 1000CFA. However, we asked the cab driver how much it would cost (because you settle this before you get in the cab) and he said 5000CFA. We laughed at him, and eventually managed to bargain our way down to 1000. This happens everywhere we go that doesn’t have set prices. In defense of these people this can’t be seen completely as “screw the tourist.” Marian explained to us that they believe we have money, and because we’re here, they have a right to have some of it. There’s such a strong sense of community here and communal property, that they really believe that some of our money/possessions are theirs.

While I’ve just spent a while being negative, I’d like to make the point that: Without the Senegalese staff and the integration/cooperation with the Senegalese students, this trip wouldn’t be worth going on.

“How does your family afford the enormous amounts of food they feed you?”

Our family (and all of the others hosting Americans) receive $6 per student per day to house and feed us. With this money, our family is able to amply supply food for us (good food I might add.) Our family might be different from other host families, but Rich and I get plenty of protein, comprising of fish, beef, and chicken once (which was amazing.)

“Does the US dollar go a long way in buying power?”

Yes and no. Some things are very cheap, while others are quite far from that. For example, a full size baguette costs 125CFA, which is less than a quarter. However, a box of Rice Krispies costs 3500CFA ($7) at the Shell station. Basically, if you buy domestic/local products, you will find great prices. Rich and I buy grilled corn from a street vendor for 25CFA. You pick off the kernels and eat them; they kind of taste like popcorn. Cab rides can also be gotten for small amounts. I’ve written earlier that we’ve paid $3 for 30-45 minute cab rides. As for the actual exchange rate of the dollar, its about 510CFA to one dollar. In comparison, 1 Euro will get you about 640CFA.

Well, that’s all the questions for now, I’ll answer some more in tomorrow’s entry.

Day 23: Tour of Ngor (that rhymes)

2005-09-23T09:18:00.000Z

Today’s French class was a little different from usual. Our teacher Ousmane told us about his grandmother who lived in a village about six hours north of here. He said she was 99 years old and had once killed a crocodile with her bare hands (when it attacked her cow.) I suggested that we go up north and visit her and her village. The rural culture that he described was extremely interesting. As a French class, we decided that we would find a day or two to go up there and meet Ousmane’s extended family.

After French class, I had tea and bread with the Senegalese students who had arrived from their morning English class. I’m starting to speak more French (and even a little Wolof) and this was a great place to practice my new languages. At around 1145, we had a lecture on permaculture: both the scientific and social aspects of it.

After lunch, we came back to Cresp, but parted immediately to go on a tour of the nearby town called Ngor. In comparison to Yoff, Ngor is very similar and has the potential to become an ecotourist attraction. However, the amount of trash in Ngor is significantly less than that in Yoff. With that said, it’s more realistic that there would be a successful ecotourism circuit in Ngor.

On our tour, we stopped at a place where they sold drums and other odd musical instruments. A guy who worked there told us about the items that they sold, and gave us samples of each. He even sang. We then walked down to the beach and hopped a ferry to Ile de Ngor (if you read day 12, you can see the first time we went here.) Once at the island, we walked around and got brief descriptions of the tourist attractions there. At the end of the tour, we went in to this house/museum which was beautifully decorated. See pics.

After taking the ferry back, Deb, Alison, and I took a taxi to change our traveler’s checks. This time, we had our passports (hard copies) and didn’t have any trouble getting CFA’s. Finally getting some money felt good, especially because I hadn’t any money since Sunday. It’s weird how having money in my pocket makes me feel secure. Obviously, it has to do with the culture that I come from (American) and the fact that it enables me to buy things like bottled water and ice cream at the Shell station (which is what we did after coming back to Yoff.) So we gorged ourselves with a liter of strawberry ice cream and came home for dinner. While stuffing ourselves with yassa (onions and some kind of sauce), French fries, fish, and bread, we watched the international news which featured G.W. Bush. I said to my sister, “il est stupide.” She laughed and said, “il est gentil?” (he is nice?) and I said, “yea, gentil, mais stupide.” She laughed and asked me if I would be the president some day. I told her “maybe.”

Let me take a quick second to speak to the amount that we eat here: Every meal that we eat with our family can be described as a stuffing. Most meals, like tonight, my family will not let me get up for the table. Literally. Tonight, we were eating bread, and I had already had 3 pieces, and everyone was pretty much done with all the food on the platter. All the bread was gone, so I tried to get up. I couldn’t get away that fast. My sister made me sit down and told me to “attendes” (wait.) I waited. Another one of my sisters came out of the kitchen with another piece of bread and told me to finish what was on the platter. I sat there, with pretty much everyone watching, while I ate more than I ever thought possible. The situation I just described happens at most meals. If I can eat this much and not get bigger, than I will never get bigger.

Day 22: Another hot day

2005-09-22T09:21:00.000Z

The weather here has been extremely hot for the past week. We’ve had barely any rain, yet the humidity still sits around 90%. The date being September 21, my body is confused to why it’s still so hot. I should be wearing hooded sweatshirts and maybe even jeans by now. However, this is not so.

Today’s weather was no exception to this heat. It was already starting to get hot when we walked out the door of our house at 850 in the morning. After French class, we had a discussion about our service learning projects from the previous day, and talked about how we could make them all better. After lunch was a lecture on the history of spirits here in Yoff. The professor showed us a video of women in trance who were supposedly possessed by evil spirits. It’s very hard for us to accept this stuff as true, unlike the Senegalese (most of whom have believed it their entire lives.) Came back for dinner, had Alison and Ali (Senegalese student) over for dinner.

In closing, I’d like to welcome any questions people might have about Senegalese culture, Yoff, or the experience that I’m having here so far. For the next week and a half, we will be here in Yoff doing a lot of the same stuff everyday. That said, it would be nice to hear what people are curious about, so I could answer their questions in my journal entries. My e-mail is: Element915@aol.com. Don’t hesitate.

Day 21: “Service Learning”, Media

2005-09-21T09:02:00.000Z

Today is Tuesday. According to the BBC, oil prices are up to $67.39. Regular priced gas is around $3.00 per gallon, and the Red Sox are ahead by only 0.5 games. What is going on? Seriously.

Living here, it seems that nothing changes. News around the world really means nothing here, you rarely see someone reading a newspaper, and whenever I go downstairs to see my family watching TV, they are almost always watching a soap opera or some movie. Coverage on Katrina was non-existent, which is even a little surprising because of the similarities between New Orleans and Senegal (both being colonized by the French, both being in danger of floods etc.) The media we do see here is rap culture. Kids with t-shirts with logos of rappers like Nelly, Ja Rule, and I’ve even seen a bunch that say “50 Cents.” Another very popular artist is Bob Marley, and people ask us all the time if we like him. As far as advertisements go, there aren’t that many (certainly not like the US,) but because we are close to the city, there are a few billboards next to the highway. For the most part though, media influence here is far below that of the US.

With that said, today’s quick summary: There was all the usual stuff like waking up eating breakfast (which was really the freshest bread we’ve had so far,) and having French class. At 11, we got together with our service learning groups to think of questions to ask in the afternoon (at our service learning sites). Let me explain: Service learning is a component of this course that involves not only learning but also acting in the community. The idea is to understand what the problem is, what needs to be done, and then do it. It’s like a living and learning environment. Anyway, I had chosen to help with the sanitation here, because I think it’s the biggest problem and more importantly, one that could be helped immediately. Today being the first of four visits to our service learning sites, it was really just a day to get info and ask questions.

After lunch, five of us (Kaila, Katie, Djimera, and Ali, me) walked to the sanitation headquarters here. For the next 90 minutes, we sat in a room with the coordinator of the project, asked questions, and received info about the sanitation project here. Basically, it’s very difficult to get projects going here because there’s a huge lack of funding, and problems have just grown to such a size that they are overwhelming.

Rich and I had a couple people over at night, and we just hung out on the roof for a while. Note: Senegalese are very welcoming when it comes to having people in their homes. For example, it would be perfectly okay to have the six other American students over. For meals, if you are at someone’s house, you are expected to eat there. No questions.

Day 20: Just a regular Monday

2005-09-20T09:08:00.000Z

Sitting here tonight writing up my entry for Day 20 marks the completion of 1/5 of my trip. Have I really been gone for that long? When I left Boston, the Red Sox we’re ahead by maybe six or seven games, the Patriots had played one or two preseason games and the Bruins hadn’t played a game in over a year. Right now, the Red Sox are 1.5 games ahead of the Yanks (and have the same record as Cleveland), the Patriots have lost their second game, and the Bruins have actually played a game. By the Boston sports time scale, I have been away for quite a long time.

Anyway, with that prologue, here’s today’s brief entry: After having passed out so early last night, I awoke at around 7am. I felt much better and ended up typing up the remainder of my weekend journal entries. Breakfast was served late, and we didn’t get to Cresp until 920. We took a French test, learned some vocabulary words for Wednesday’s lecture, and then talked about our service learning projects we would be undertaking on Tuesday. Then home for an amazing lunch. Best lunch I’ve had since I’ve been here. Beef and white rice, and some vegetable stuff. The best part: it was warm. The temperature of the food was warm, not hot. I stress the importance of the temperature because when it’s 90 degrees, 95% humidity, and you’re sitting around one bowl with seven other people, it tends to be hot and uncomfortable. Usually the food is so hot and spicy that eating it is extremely difficult, even if the food is appetizing. In this heat, you just lose your appetite (at least I do.) Anyway, today it was warm, so I was able to eat it easily. I mean I was still sweating bullets, but it was bearable. In fact, we ate until the entire platter was empty, and then ate more when our sister came and filled it up with more food. Already feeling the rice starting to expand in my stomach, I struggled to get up the stairs. I had eaten too much. It was alright though. As Rich says, “C’est bon.”

Back at Cresp, Marian gave us a short lecture on human consumption rates; a lecture that basically ended up being “the world is probably ending, this is how much time you have left.” However, there was a lot of very interesting (and scary) information given.

After our lecture, we were told (by Cresp staff) that we were only allowed to hang out at Cresp at certain hours, as they thought we had been spending too much time there. After discussing with the group (and a little arguing,) we agreed to the new rules.

Then, Rich, Deb, Allison and I went to the airport to change money and traveler’s checks. To our dismay, the lady couldn’t change traveler’s checks without a hard copy of our passports, which we had left in our rooms. Great. I returned empty handed.

Dinner was good again, French fries, mayo, bread, and fish. Some good juice was given to us after dinner (Jus de besac) or something like that, which is the juice from the hibiscus flower. We hadn’t had it in a while, and it was pretty good; very sweet and sugary. Overall, it was quite an average day.

Day 19: The Trip Home

2005-09-19T10:26:00.000Z

The next morning we got going pretty early, because Kristin wasn’t feeling well, and we thought she needed a doctor right away. After much discussion, we packed up and left the hotel at around 945. We walked back up the hill to where the cab had dropped us off the day before, where we would have the best chance of getting a ride to the bus station. We sat down and preparing to wait for a long time but surprisingly, a cab came within minutes, and we bartered for our ride to Jam Nageo (?) After being nearly hustled again, we got on a bus bound for Dakar, or so they assured us. The bus was really full, but somehow, we managed to all fit, and we were off. It was only about 1015, but it was already starting to heat up. After stopping at a few places to drop people off, we pulled into this parking lot and the driver stopped. All of the other Senegalese people got off. This was not Dakar. What was he doing? Why is he getting out of the bus? Is this some sort of mean joke on the toubabs (white people)? We agreed to sit in the bus until he came back, and drove us to Dakar. We had paid 600CFA and there was no way we were letting them scam us. So after about 10 minutes, the bus driver returned with a wrench, fiddled with some stuff, got back in and started the bus. Good. We’ll be there soon right? We left the parking lot and got back onto the highway. We were moving at a pretty good clip when the bus began to slow down, the engine sputtered, and just cut out. We were stopped on the side of the road. S***. This is not good. Imagine: A bus full of 8 young toubabs broken down on the side of the road. Great. It’s just our luck that we were the only ones left on the bus. This time, we got out of the bus, and stood on the side of the road. We stood there while the driver and his buddy tried to flag someone down to help us. After a while of waiting, another bus finally pulled over. After some words with their driver, our driver told us to get on that bus. Was it headed for Dakar? That bus is full, there’s no way all 8 of us can fit in there. But he persisted. We squeezed in. Katie counted 48 people. These buses are not built for 30 people, let alone nearly 50. In tight quarters with everyone else, we set off.

After a while, the we reached the traffic. There we sat. Sometimes for 5-10 minutes without moving. It was hot; really hot. After a long time, we reached the lake. This was the same lake I had taken pictures of on our way over. We went through it. The traffic over the next half hour was better, but a lot of stopping and stuff. Finally, we got to Dakar, (not Gare Pompiere, but downtown would have to do.) With great relief we got off the bus. We easily got cabs back to Yoff and enjoyed a vehicle whose carrying capacity was not exceeded.

Once home, I had a great lunch of beef and rice (it’s very unusual to have beef for lunch,) an amazing shower, and returned to Cresp. Most of us sat in the air conditioned room until it was time to go home for dinner.

It was around 1900, so I decided to take a nap. I passed out immediately, and was awakened for dinner. I was not ready for it, so I went down for a second, and came upstairs and passed out again. It was extremely hot. An hour later, I was woken again by two of my sisters, who had watermelon. I was very thankful. I also managed to eat some of the yogurt/millet stuff that they give us on Sunday nights. Then back to sleep again. Woke up when I heard dogs barking at the full moon. Sleep.

Day 18: Journey and eventually, Toubab Dialo

2005-09-18T10:23:00.000Z

This morning was quite an early one. The sun rises here abruptly around 7, so at 645, when we woke up, it was still dark. We quickly showered, got out the door, and met up with everyone at Cresp. We signed a release form (that wasn’t really a release form, just a form stating that we would make sure to stick together, etc), and departed. Before I go further, let me say that this trip had been planned by Rich and Katie, the two group organizers. It seemed like a good idea to everyone, so we all decided to go.

Being the pessimist that I am, I assumed that traveling in this country would be neither fun nor easy. In fact, I anticipated long waits, accidents, and possible disasters. However, I decided to go anyway, figuring I’m only young once, (not to mention in Senegal once.)

Off we went, searching for a cab that would take us to Gare Pompiere, or for you English-speakers, the bus station. We found cabs pretty quickly, and drove off. When the cab driver pulled over on the side of the rode, stopped, and let us out, I was frantically looking for a bus station. However, I could see no bus station (or rather any area that matched my previous notions of a bus stations,) but the driver insisted that this was it. We looked across the highway, and low and behold was…well it wasn’t really a bus station. Just imagine a giant parking lot with sand instead of pavement, and about 250 buses parked and surrounded by thousands of people. Imagine this, and you’re not even seeing half of it. Anyway, we made our way across (the highway), and into the fray of people and buses. Immediately, numerous people began approaching us, asking us for money, asking us where we going etc. Note: a group of eight white people (six of them attractive girls) tends to attract major crowds pretty much wherever we go. Clearly, this would prove to be no exception. By asking a bunch of people, we managed to find the bus leaving for our destination. Getting on this bus would get us through the second and longest leg of our trip. After being pretty much hustled by a very animated bus driver, we all agreed to pay 1000CFA (about $2) and got on the bus. After waiting for the bus to fill up, we finally go moving. This bus was in really good shape (certainly compared to ones we would take later), and for the most part we were all comfortable. There was some traffic, like the place where there’s literally a lake covering the highway (going both directions) but for the most part it was okay. The trip ended up taking about an hour, and we ended up in another parking lot with less people, but certainly more than we would have wished.

When you travel in a foreign country where the first language (and totally dominant) is one that you don’t understand any of, the level of stress is greatly increased. Another contributing factor would be the amount that we stand out, with out American clothes, backpacks and other obvious things. The heat and total disorientation with the environment and all the fore mentioned factors make traveling here stressful and in general, something you want to avoid (when possible.)

With that said, we managed to find a taxi that would take us to the town Toubab Dialo for 300CFA each. It wasn’t a bad ride; in fact we saw monkeys and parrots in some of the very African-looking trees, (the first real wildlife we’ve seen here) but just got a glimpse as we were driving by. After about a 15 minute ride, we arrived at our destination. We asked the cab driver to bring us to our hotel, but he said that would cost more, so we just got out, got lost, but eventually found our little hotel.

They showed us to our rooms, one of which had two large windows directly over looking the ocean. Although we had made reservations for four people to stay in each room, they had only provided three beds in each. Problem to be solved later. We dropped our stuff off, feeling pretty tired. It was about 1030, the trip had taken a total of three hours (for a distance that’s really an hour away.) We explored the area a little bit, then went in the ocean, and just kind of hung around. It was pretty relaxing, although the ocean water was kind of gross.

After napping, reading, etc. I went for a walk on the beach with Lindsay. We walked down the shoreline to see the cliffs (see pics) and stuff. About taking pictures: Here, I believe that the most striking photos to be taken are those with people in them. However, it’s really difficult to get those kind of pictures, because frankly, it’s rude, touristy, and you could get yourself into trouble. I mean, how would you feel if someone came to your country, your town, and started taking pictures of you while you were at your job, or in front of your house? It would be totally offensive, intrusive, etc. So if any of you were wondering why almost all of my pics are of landscapes, scenery, sunsets, etc, that’s why. Hopefully, over the next few months, I’ll be able to get a few shots that show the Senegalese doing their everyday activities.

So, Lindsay and I walked back, went up to the balcony kind of thing, and watched a disappointing sunset. After that, we just sat there for a while, before going to dinner at around 2130, and then back to the room. Luckily, I was able to get a spot sleeping in the room on the top floor, which had more windows, and a really nice sea breeze. Nevertheless, I had difficulty sleeping. I ended up watching the full moon set and the sunrise. See pics.

Day 17: Woosh. Another day gone

2005-09-17T10:37:00.000Z

Yes, the day really did go by that quickly. As I sit here at 2200, ready to go to sleep, I only realize it now. Somehow, I feel that the night of December 10^th (our last day) will feel the exact same way. Nonetheless, I will try to recount all that I remember from the day’s events.

Woke up, ate breakfast alone (Rich had slept at Cresp, due to illness) and set off to Cresp myself. I arrived 10 minutes late; not surprising really, seeing that Rich is the one who wakes me up every morning…forcefully I might add. Anyway, quick French class with lots of paperwork, a break, then a great lecture (yes I said great) on US funded food aid programs in West Africa. The lecture was given by Kevin Sturr, an American who spoke almost completely in English, which was very relieving. It was nice not to have to listen hard to translate everything he was saying. It was easier to stay focused and engaged etc.

We went home for lunch, and came back for an interesting gender role discussion. We split up into groups of Americans and Senegalese to define the gender roles in our own societies, then came together, shared, compared, etc. The discussion revealed the stark contrast between gender roles in our two cultures. Some of the Senegalese students couldn’t control their laughter when we explained to them that some men help cook and clean the house. They couldn’t understand; it was just so foreign to them. Overall, it was quite an interesting lesson.

We hung out at Cresp for a while, a few of the girls went in to Dakar, and Rich and I went home for dinner. Dinner was large fish balls with hard boiled eggs, with kind of sautéed onions and French fries on the side. Very strange, you might think, but it was pretty decent. We’ve stopped questioning the food here, having found that the only thing you can do is just eat it and try to enjoy.

After dinner, they invited us down for more watermelon, which was once again, incredible. We all laughed while Rich and I ate as much as I could, and I coined the phrase which our family loved: “Jamais suur na!” It’s a French/Wolof combination that means “never full.” They were very happy to hear that I had bought into their philosophy of eating more than you’ve ever eaten, for every single meal. And so, Rich and I struggled up the stairs feeling quite heavy, yet very satisfied.

Tomorrow, the Americans are traveling to an area called “Toubab Diolo.” It’s a somewhat touristy location about an hour away, and is supposed to be really nice. We’ll be staying there for one night, and returning Sunday. Details to come (obviously.)

Day 16: Long walk, and amazing sunset

2005-09-16T09:20:00.000Z

For the most part, today was just an average day in Yoff. I woke up on time, went to Cresp, had French, listened to a lecture on African literature, and went home for lunch. Again, I was able to eat well, which was a major improvement. Then, back to Cresp at 1500 for a walk around Yoff, to see the “ecotourism circuit.” Now, at normal walking pace, this tour of 5 or 6 sites would have taken about an hour. Somehow, we ended up taking two and a half hours. Patience is definitely something I’m learning here…I guess I don’t really have any other choice.

A brief explanation of the ecotourism circuit: An ecotourism circuit is a number of sites linked together that can be visited by tourists. It’s pretty simple. So here, in Yoff, there isn’t officially a circuit yet, but that’s one of the reasons why we’re here. Anyway, we walked around to the sites, and received explanations on them, histories, etc. Basically, besides the Mausoleum where the supposed reincarnation of Mohammed is buried, most of the sites were full of trash. I don’t know if I’ve explained this before, but the sanitation here is virtually non-existent. People just throw trash wherever they feel like it. The result is trash…everywhere you look. Actually, I saw a garbage truck once; I have NO idea what it was doing, maybe it was doing something else. I don’t know.

So, back to the circuit: All of us living routes group people thought that if the sanitation were better, and there wasn’t trash everywhere, these sites would be PERFECT for tourism. It’s really a beautiful village, very peaceful etc, ideal for tourists staying in Dakar, for a day trip or something.

While I said earlier this was an average day, I was lying. Let me explain: After we got back to Cresp, we hung around for a while. At around 1900, the sun began to set, and so I decided to go upstairs to Marian’s and sit on her balcony. Marian and I had a nice chat about the major positive effects that trash cleanup could have on tourism, thus seriously boosting the economy in Senegal (which is nearly non-existent.) While we were talking, the sunset began to look quite lovely. I went downstairs to get a camera, and grabbed a couple kids as well. We went up to the balcony again, and I figured out a way to climb to the roof. So, there we sat, on the roof of a four or five story building (the tallest within a fifty mile radius) and watched an incredible sunset. After coming down, I talked to Sophie for a while, and then found that Rich had gotten sick, as well as Alison. It seems that we’re dropping like flies. I’m calling it “The two week wall” that we’re all hitting right now. Our environment is finally starting to affect our health.

Rich stayed at Cresp, and I went home for dinner. Dinner was okay, nothing special, which fit in with the rest of the day (besides the sunset.) After dinner, I was sitting upstairs on our floor, watching the ocean when three of my sisters came up with a dish of watermelon for me. I was overjoyed. You should have seen the smile on my face; ear to ear. Note: this may seem a little dramatic, but this was the first time that my family had given me fruit since I’ve gotten here. Its not like they’re trying not to feed me properly, it’s just not really their thing to eat a lot of fruits. Plenty of cooked vegetables, but no cold vegetables or fruit. Hopefully that will help you understand why this was so amazing. Plus, they took me totally by surprise, so it was even better.

I went downstairs to eat more watermelon, and found that our family had finished almost two whole watermelons. I went upstairs completely and utterly satisfied. No better way to describe it.

While the sunset and the watermelon were major contributors to my very (non-average) great day, there’s more to it than that. As someone who cares a lot about their relationships, it’s hard for me to feel comfortable in a place where I have no established connections, ie. Here. However, over the past few days, I have gotten a lot closer with people like Fatou Lo, Marian, the kids in my group, and definitely my family. Feeling these relationships start to grow is extremely comforting, and really contributes to me feeling more and more at home each day. By stepping back to say this, I think I can also say that I have gotten over about 90% of the culture shock. Now that this feels more like home to me, I’m sure that the time will fly by. But for now, I must sleep.

Day 15: Still kind of sick, Doctor

2005-09-15T09:18:00.000Z

Didn’t sleep well again last night. It seems to be a recurring thing. It’s frustrating when all you went to do is pass out wake up healthy. However, it would not be so. Rich knocked on my door at about 830 to wake me up, but I told him I was going to try and sleep some more, and would go to Cresp if I felt any better. Alas, I couldn’t fall back asleep, but managed to get myself moving and out of the house by 11. By that point, the sun was almost directly overhead, and the sun was extremely hot. Being dehydrated malnourished and who knows what else, I trudged on towards the Shell station. I bought some water and some crackers, and then went to Cresp. (note: the Cresp annex that we attend class in is located on the 3 floor above 2 floors of apartments) I barely made it up the stairs, but somehow managed. I drank some, but the crackers didn’t taste very good, so I couldn’t really eat. After discussing with Marian what I should do, we decided that I should just rest in her apartment upstairs until about 1430, when I would go to my Dr. app that she had scheduled the day before. (I was not the only one who was sick, but two other people, Katie and Deb, were feeling much better today, while I was just mediocre.) After lounging for a while and even managing to eat some plain rice that Sophie (a program assistant) had made, I set off for the Dr. with Fatou Lo.

While my stomach problems had subsided, I was still feeling a pain in my upper chest, every time I swallowed anything. We thought it could be an infection or something, so it should definitely be checked out by a Dr. Anyway, Fatou and I took a taxi to the doctor’s office, where we waited a little while. I was very relieved to meet the doctor, an Iranian man who studied at McGill and the U. of Toronto, who spoke very good English, and seemed to be extremely competent. I described all of my symptoms etc to him, and after an examination, he concluded that the pain in my chest was a side effect of my malaria medication. In case you want detail…if you don’t take the pills with enough water, the get stuck in your esophagus and corrode the tissue there…It seems bad, but he said it was just short term, and gave me some oral liquid stuff to take. It was good to know that the problem wasn’t anything more serious.

Let me pause to say that together, Fatou Lo had quite a good time going to the doctor. Fatou Lo is Senegalese, has worked with Marian for over 10 years, speaks very good English, and in general is an extremely kind and caring person. Over the past few days, we’ve really become friends.

Anyway, after the doc, I didn’t really feel up for class, so I went home and read for a while. Last night, I even managed to eat dinner, which was very satisfying. After two and a half days without a meal, I guess that would be kind of obvious. Went to sleep early…

Day 14: Sick

2005-09-14T09:09:00.000Z

Today was by far the worst day I’ve had since I’ve been here. It also happened to be the longest…I didn’t get much sleep last night, and ended up with a lot of mosquito bites as well. About 20. On one arm. Anyway, woke up, breakfast, off to Cresp etc. About 1 hour in to French class, I started feeling really sick. I went out of the room to lie down, as I felt nauseous. I spoke to Marian, and we came to the conclusion that I should go home and rest. Once home, I felt even sicker. No need to give lots of details. I ended up taking 5 or 6 cold showers, had a fever, a stomachache, headache, and just felt purely miserable. And of course, to contribute, it was about 90 degrees, and the power was out. The next five hours seemed like five days. Finally, Rich came home with a couple other girls and we went off to the beach. Today, I just sat on the beach, which made me feel a lot better, because it was a lot cooler with the breeze. I was feeling much better, then tried to eat dinner, which end ed up being a mistake. This was especially unfortunate because the meal that we were given was especially good. My stomach however, would simply have none of it. Still feel a little sick, hopefully I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

Day 13: Lectures and school stuff.

2005-09-13T09:30:00.000Z

Before I write this, let me say that the past (almost) 2 weeks have been quite an experience (obviously). Given that, I have had a ton to write about. However, now that we’re starting to have more classes, things will get busier, and I won’t have as much to write about in my journal. I don’t anticipate that I will need to write every day, because it would just get repetitive and boring for the reader. With that said, here’s day 13:

For the first week and a half, the only thing that was served with our baguette in the morning was this chocolate spread stuff. Not being a huge fan of sweet foods, I would pass this up everyday while Rich would practically slab it on his. Last Friday, my “mother” asked me if I wanted anything else, and I told her I liked butter. Now that we have butter in the mornings, it’s a lot easier to eat an entire baguette of bread…

This morning at Cresp, we went over last week’s Senegalese history lesson. The Americans went through with the Senegalese students, and everyone spoke in English to make sure that we understood what had been said. We were then asked to come up with three questions that would couldn’t answer, and give them to be discussed by everyone. I found our end discussion very interesting and engaging.

At around 11, the power cut out, and we were left sitting in Cresp with nothing much to do. (Note: I think today was the hottest day we’ve had since we’ve gotten here. Without AC or fans or anything, there’s you can do really besides sit, sweat, and complain. Also, when it gets this hot, people who have air conditioners tend to use them, which overwhelm the power grid, and everyone is left in the dark.) We tried to do a lesson/lecture thing with Marian, but it was just too hot, so everyone went home a little early for lunch. To our dismay, the power was out at our house as well, and lunch was spicy, which didn’t contribute to the overheated state that I was already in. We got back to Cresp at 1500, and the power was still out. Shortly thereafter, I found myself sprawled on the tile floor because it was a lot cooler than sitting anywhere else. Anyway, just as we were being herded back in to our classroom for a lecture, the power came back. The AC was immensely appreciated. Another lecturer came at 1600 and we didn’t end up finishing till 1815, which was frustrating, as a normal day would only last till 1700. It figures, because it’s Monday.

Then we went off to the beach, where the water was gross and dirty today, with some pieces of trash floating around. It’s the first time we’ve seen it like that, but we had to keep the beach streak going. I have to check, but I think it’s been about ten or eleven days in a row. Before departing for Africa, I never imagined that I would be swimming in a beautiful ocean nearly every day…it has been quite a nice surprise. Off to sleep early…

Day 12: Sunday, September 11th, Ile De Ngor

2005-09-12T09:29:00.000Z

Today, I woke up late. We were supposed to be at Cresp by 11, and I ended up being 20 minutes late. However, it was quite worth it because I was given a huge breakfast, of the usual bread and butter, plus left-over chicken from last night’s dinner. Chicken has never tasted so good. Anyway, being late to Cresp wasn’t a problem, as we wouldn’t end up leaving till about 1245. We took a 5 minute taxi ride down to an overcrowded beach where the ferries were leaving from. Note: Compared to Boston, New York, or any American city, taxis here are extremely cheap. For example, yesterday, we took a 30 minute ride to downtown Dakar which only cost 1500CFA, or $3 US. Split that between four people and you get a very small amount to pay for a taxi. However, a lot of the time, the phrase “you get what you pay for” becomes apparent. For example, you might be lucky if you get a cab with windows and doors that open, side-view mirrors, and a driver who isn’t a total maniac. During the past two cab rides, I have experienced “bottoming out”, driving over median strips, nearly getting in five accidents, and coming very close to hitting numerous pedestrians.

Anyway, back to the overcrowded beach. Most people there weren’t buying ferry tickets, they were just kind of hanging out. So we got our tickets quickly 500CFA ($1) round trip, and got in line to get our life jackets. We were then stuck in to a boat with about 70 other people. If you have seen my pictures from the beginning of my trip, you might have seen long fishing boats that look like long, wide canoes. So, they packed about 100 people in a boat with a small 40HP motor, and we embarked. The journey across to the island in our low-riding boat took about two minutes, and we arrived to find almost as many people there as the beach we had departed from. We went off in search of another beach. This island was very small, but we managed to find a beach with less people, but you still might consider it quite crowded. After all, it was Sunday and the temp was about 90 degrees; conditions that would motivate people to come to a beach.

The beach was way too hot, and way too cramped to sit or lay comfortably, so I spent most of the time in the water. Without waves, we just kind of swam around. The water was incredibly salty, thus making it really easy to float and tread water. I don’t know the reason for the high salinity, but I’m definitely curious.

We left the beach at around 1630, and took a ferry and a taxi back to Yoff. After getting out of the taxi, a few of us walked back to my house and we went to our beach here and watched the sunset from the ocean, which was refreshing. I definitely prefer ours beach to any others that we’ve been to here.

After a strange dinner of what we thought was yogurt and millet, Rich and I went to Cresp to hang out for a while. After a few emails (the internet was finally working) we came home because we were both exhausted.

Day 11: Trip to Dakar, Charity, and Staying up late

2005-09-11T22:22:00.000Z

I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. It’s probably been this way for 3 of the last 4 days; it’s getting kind of frustrating. As the rain poured down, Rich and I walked to Cresp where we found that our scheduled trip to Dakar would not be taking place, due to flooded roads and too much traffic. This was certainly a disappointment, and we proceeded to just hang around the Cresp building for a while, checking e-mail on the one or two computers that actually work, and drinking tea. It finally stopped raining, and we decided to eat lunch, and then venture in to the city. Having told my homestay family that I wouldn’t be home for lunch, I felt bad going home to eat with them. So I walked to Kaila’s house with her, and then back to the Shell station where I got a lunch that really wasn’t enough.

We then met up with the rest of the group at 1530, we hailed some taxis, and set off for Dakar. Getting out of our taxis at La Place D’independence, we were immediately bombarded by vendors. As white people here, we obviously stand out, and people automatically think we have plenty of money and want to just spend it right away. We walked around a little bit of the city, fended off the vendors, went to the market, did some other stuff, etc. I really wasn’t impressed by Dakar, and I was surprisingly happy to get back to our nice little village of Yoff. Allison and I kept our beach streak going and decided that a trip to Dakar was not going to stop us from doing what wee really enjoy. Calm seas today, which I’m pretty sure means that the next couple of days are going to be very hot. After the beach, we went to meet up with the rest of the kids at Via Via, a restaurant, where we found that the “cuisine” or kitchen, was closed. Strange, considering it was a Saturday night…anyway, having once again told my family that I wouldn’t be home for a meal, we set off for Shell and maybe Mobil.

While walking to Mobil we were approached by a middle aged man, who asked us to help him. He spoke English, he said he was from Togo, and that he needed insulin, because he was a diabetic. He then proceeded to tell us that insulin was only sold in 10 day supply, and that he needed us to help him buy it. Basically, this guy was asking for $230 US, on the spot. He said he would inject in front of us, so we would know that he wasn’t ripping us off. While in America, this should almost immediately be dismissed as a scam, we felt bad and tried to help. A few of the Americans went to get Marian, and Allison and I went to the pharmacy with this guy, where he asked for insulin. At the Yoff pharmacy, all they had was “type II insulin”, which this man said would help him for an hour. Allison and I watched this man give himself a shot of insulin to his stomach, while he was visibly perspiring.

Now knowing that guy was pretty legitimate, we waited to see what the others would find with Marian. Marian eventually came out, and said she knew this guy, and that he was for real. After a lot of discussion, Marian decided that we should all give this man 10,000CFA, or $20US. So we did, and off the man went, to buy insulin. Maybe he was a scam artist, maybe he was just poor, we’ll never know. But hopefully we saved his life. Before you think to yourself, “Ross is losing his mind”, just try to take into account how different this culture is. Nonetheless, giving $230 to anyone on the street is not something we should make a habit of.

We then found some food, and went back fo Cresp for another night of chilling. In case you were wondering why we spend so much time at Cresp, we do so because it’s a place we all know, are located around, it has the internet (sometimes), and there’s a room with AC. Anyway, we stayed there for a while, most people left at around 2330, and I didn’t end up getting home until 0030, went out again to walk someone home, and got back at around 1. It’s weird, no matter what hour it is, there are people just kind of sitting in front of their houses or shops, just chilling. This is the first night I’ve really stayed up late, but its time for sleep now. Till next time…

Day 10: More Beach

2005-09-10T22:21:00.000Z

I haven’t been able to post for the past couple of days, as always, it’s been quite busy. Today was Friday, and it began with a lecture on Senegalese history and the influence of Islam here. Our professor was very animated, enthusiastic, and clearly intelligent, and he said that he had been teaching since 1972. Anyway, the lecture was completely in French, and instead of taking the two hours the he was allotted, his lecture lasted three hours. My comprehension and attention level rapidly declined after the first couple hours, as the lecture turned out to be twice as long as the longest class I’ve ever had, not to mention, it was completely in a foreign language. After lunch, we had French class, completing a very intense day of schooling; something we’re not all used to yet.

Something we are used to however, is going to the beach. While most New Englanders are preparing for the fall and eventually winter, we know that we’ll be swimming till the program ends on December 10^th. Today, everyone in our group came, and we met a few of the Senegalese students there as well.

The power went out at around 1930, just in time for the sunset. I watched the moonrise and looked over the dark city from the comfort of my roof. Power outages have never been this cool. Rich and I ate alone with our mother (by candlelight), and we were given a huge platter of couscous and beef. I ate more than I ever knew that I could. (Note: the Senegalese do not drink anything while they are eating. While it has taken some time to get used to, I now do the same thing. This is supposed to be healthier, and also contributes to my ability to eat more, as I‘m not filling up on liquids.) Rich and I then departed for Cresp, where we Americans just kind of hung out. After getting home, I went up on the roof of my roof to lie down and watch the stars. A “sister” and a “cousin” in my family came up to say hi, and asked me what I was doing on the roof. I told them I was watching the stars. They laughed at me. I guess stargazing isn’t popular here. I won’t let that stop me.

Day 9: More French, Rain, and Rainbow

2005-09-09T12:31:00.000Z

This morning began early with rain. I was awakened by the noise at about 730am and quickly got out of bed to get all of my stuff off the floor. If you have read the other entries, you might have read that my room floods a little bit when it rains, but that figures causei’m on the roof. Anyway, I went back to sleep after that, and didn’t wake up till 830. Before going further, its important to understand that when it rarins, life here slows down even more than it already has. Just compare rainstorms to the blizzards we have in Boston; no one really wants to get moving, people are reluctant to work, etc. So rich and I go downstairs to find our mother barely awake, preparing us breakfast. It was the usual baguette and chocolate spread. I don’t really like the chocolate stuff, so she said she would buy butter for tomorrow. Good stuff.

So we went out the door to French class. After a couple hours of learning French, Marian came in to announce the Ecotourism professor was rained in, and wouldn’t be able to come this morning. So we continued French for another hour and a half, working on translating the ecotourism text we had been given. (All of the classes are taught in French, so their text and references are en Francais as well.)

We walked back for fish and rice lunch, then back to Cresp for the ecotourism intro that we had missed in the morning. Didn’t get started till around 1545, and went until about 1730. Our teacher works in the ministry of tourism in Senegal and is in charge of all the ecotourism section. He seemed to be extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about teaching us. While the whole lecture was in French, I was able to understand a good part of it. However, the classes here are doubly hard for us Americans, as we have to comprehend not just the language spoken but also the concepts that are being spoken about. At the beginning I was getting everything, but by the end, I was tailing off. Marian said it would get a lot better over the next couple weeks. I really hope she’s right.

Today was also a good day because I got to spend some quality time with some kids in our group. Now that we’ve been here for 9 days, I’m starting to get to know people individually. The more I get to know these people, the more I like them…

After class ended, the sun was coming out; perfect time for the beach… again. This time I went with Allison, Kristin, and Kaila. Today, the ocean wasn’t as rough, and we were able to watch a beautiful sunset while we were swimming in the ocean. It doesn’t get much better than that…but I shouldn’t neglect the rainbow that we saw as well…see pics. After swimming, we all relaxed for a while, the girls went home and Allison stayed for dinner which was the best we’ve had, French fries, bread, and fish. I “mange tres bien”. My family was very happy with me.

Coming soon: What I miss the most from home.

Day 8: The Market, Adjusting to Senegalese Culture

2005-09-08T13:16:00.000Z

Day 8: The Market, Adjusting to Senegalese Culture

Last night, I was finally able to sleep well. Unfortunately, after eating breakfast, I felt really naseous. The pain in my stomach made it very hard to concentrate in French class, but Ousmane was very considerate, telling me to take it easy today. After French class, the pain began to subside, and I was able to speak with my Senegalese friend Suroow. Our Senegalese partners then taught us words in Wolof that would help us with the trip to the market. Suroow taught me a lot of words and phrases, but I don’t really remember any of them…Wolof is very hard because to us, it’s just memorization with no rules or patterns. I wrote all of the words down, and someday when I’m here, hopefully I’ll be able to use them.

After our Wolof lesson, we went to the market. The market comes to Yoff every Wednesday. It’s like a flea market or a farmers market, except about 50 times bigger. It felt never-ending as we walked through all the shops and stands. Any item you could possibly wish for, you would find at the Wednesday market. In my case, I was looking for sandals, and I found plenty. I was able to get a pair of Puma sandals for 1500CFA, or $3 US. However, this was not so easy. When we first asked the vendor how much they cost, he said 4000 CFA, but my Senegalese friend was with me and he said that was not a good price. It was extremely helpful to have Suroow there as a translator and a price advisor.

We then went home for lunch, and I donned my new foot apparel with joy. It is quite a good feeling to be wearing sandals again…

After returning to Cresp for another 2 hours, Allison and I went to the beach again. Today the waves were big and the current was strong, which means there’s a storm coming soon…I think. Hopefully the rain will cool us off, because it has been extremely hot for the past two days.

Because I have sometime to write now, and don’t have many events to record…let me explain some stuff I’ve been promising to explain. In this entry I will talk in some detail about the family I’m living with: In the beginning, it was hard to figure out who was actually in my “family”. At each meal, there were lots of people eating with us, who don’t live here. Now that I have been present at a good number of meals, I have been able to figure out who lives here. Both our mother and father work during the week, so we only see them at night. My mother is very kind and like I’ve previously written, makes me eat a lot. My father is gone a lot of the time, and sometimes is not even home for dinner. He speaks some English, which is helpful for Rich and me. He comes up on the roof sometimes, (like he is at this moment), and asks us how our day was. The mother and father eat upstairs on the second floor, with their guests. Sometimes, they invite us to eat with them.

As for the rest of the family, there are at least 4 daughters, who are all older than Rich and I. (They look older that us, so here, it means they are a lot older.) Then there are two very young boys who speak no French. The Senegalese children learn Wolof first, so they speak more of it at home when they get older. At this house, when they are not speaking to us, they are speaking in Wolof. As for names, I haven’t gotten around to learning everyone’s. While that my sound unreasonable and kind of ridiculous, I must add the names here are extremely different from our own, and are hard to learn. Not to mention, everyone who comes up to us on the street gives us their name and phone number, so we’re really quite overwhelmed. Anyway, enough writing for now..

Day 7

2005-09-07T09:16:00.000Z

Today marks that we’ve been here for a week. As you may have read, its been quite a long week. How long? Well that’s 8 pages single-spaced in Microsoft Word, and if any of you know me well enough, that’s a lot. Seeing this, and the fact that we have yoga class tomorrow at 8am, I will abbreviate this entry.

Today was the first weekday that our family has fed us breakfast. This is good. However, it wasn’t ready until about 9, and we got to Cresp at 9:30, which surprisingly made us late. I thought it was impossible to be late here…but I guess I was wrong. We walked into French class and had to catch up with the rest of the class…there are only 5 people taking French, and 2 of them have never taken a French class before. They kind of do their own intensive learning thing while Katie, Allison, and I do other stuff. …French class ends.

Had a break that wasn’t long enough…then an excersise where we talked to another Senegalese student in English. This helps them become more comfortable speaking a English, and it helps us get to know each other better. We talked with our partners for over an hour, and personally, I had a very interesting conversation. My partner Soruw (I think…) is a student in Dakar, whose favorite subject is English. We talked about our families and our cultures, politics, and just about everything. He was very curious to know how I felt about September 11^th, and if I was afraid of terrorists. He then asked about president Bush, and eventually inquired why I didn’t like the president…I told him it’s quite a long story. We talked about the differences between our cultures like for example, the fact that random people introducing themselves to you on the street and inviting you for tea is not uncommon here. In fact, I have been approached many times, given phone numbers, invited over to a house by two attractive girls, and been asked for my wristwatch. I’ve never been to a place where I attract so much attention…sometimes I wish I could just blend in…

After that activity, we had lunch at home, and returned to Cresp for a lecture. After what seemed like 5 hours (actually only 2), we were released to do as we pleased. I went to the Shell station to get a bottle of cold water, which I had been craving, and then went to the beach with another American student, Allison. Allison is majoring in legal studies at Umass Amherst, and she’s 19. Anyway, we went to the beach, without any items that could be stolen, and went in the water for about an hour and a half. After being forced out of the water by the oncoming darkness, Allison and another girl, Kristin, stayed for dinner. After dinner we were given a juice that we’ve had once before, called Jus de Bese, (pronounced bay say), which was really good. It’s like a dessert for them…then upstairs to write blogs and e-mails to be posted and sent tomorrow, respectively.

Day 6: Layenne Festival and French

2005-09-06T09:16:00.000Z

Without sandals I have been forced to wear shoes. Even worse, I have some 40 bug bites or some kind of rash on my feet, which feel like they are on fire. Wearing socks and shoes makes this even more uncomfortable, and I’ve started to just go barefoot almost anywhere. While this might sound a little dangerous in a city, I can assure you there is virtually no broken glass. These people do not drink Coronas or Heinekens from glass bottles, and any glass bottle they do drink out of is very thick and nearly unbreakable. Garbage is a huge problem in this area, but strangely, there’s no broken glass. So, I go barefoot. Meanwhile, the only thing that works for my burning feet is cold, running water. That’s not always available…but I’m coping/adjusting.

This morning class was scheduled at 9am. Because we’re on “Africa Time”, we got started at about 9:45. Everything is just slower here, no one really cares about time…Anyway, our teacher, Ousmane Pame is a really cool guy, he teaches in Dakar now, but has taught at Exeter in Great Britain. He speaks good English, but didn’t use much of it today. He says he really likes “blagues”, or jokes. He seems like a very fun guy to be around, it should be nice to have him teach us.

I will use this moment to explain my French abilities and how I’m getting along with them in Senegal: I took French for 5 years; from 7^th grade thru 11^th. I took AP freshman year, and honors for the next two, so I definitely had classes that should have taught me French. However, I have come to the conclusion that no French class could have prepared me for total immersion. It’s one thing to be able to fill out worksheets and talk about movies in French, but it’s totally another to rely on the language for pretty much anything you need to communicate. As for my French progress so far, I must say that my comprehension level has gone up by 100%. While in the beginning I understood very little, I am really starting to get a lot of what is said. Unfortunately, Senegalese speak in their first language most of the time (Wolof). When they talk to me, I ask them to speak French, and then I can understand. While my comprehension has improved a lot, my speaking hasn’t improved all that much. I’m sure that it will, it’s just a matter of getting confidence in speaking, which will come with taking French classes at Cresp. One thing is clear: by the end of this trip, I will be either fluent or near fluent in French, which is very exciting.

After our French class, we got a lesson from Faatula (a program assistant) about the Layenne brotherhood of Islam. The Layenne, based and founded in Yoff, my current location, believe that the second coming has already happened. They believe that Mohammed has already returned. For more info on the Layenne….go to Google or something. Anyway, the Layenne are having a huge ceremony today to mare the birthday of the man who they believe is the prophet returned. Although the prophet died years ago, people still celebrate his birthday every year.

After lunch, Rich and I walked down the beach to where the ceremony was being held, and where thousands of people were gathered. We observed, but didn’t get too close, because we didn’t want to invade on their space. However, Rich thought it would be a good idea to take out his camera and start photographing the kids on the beach. I told him he had no idea what he was getting into. Within minutes, he was swarmed and surrounded by twenty small children, demanding to have their pictures taken. I stood by and laughed. Meanwhile, two attractive older girls, about our age came up to me, and proposed that the four of us (the two girls, Rich, and I), go back to their house with them. I declined as politely as I could…

I finally pulled Rich away, and we had to tell the kids that his camera was “casse”, or broken. They followed us till we were about 100 yards from our house. Some of them were asking us to give them money or even the watches on our wrists…

After watching our first sunset from the roof of our roof (see pics), we hung out and then went down for dinner. For dinner we had spaghetti and beef, which again was another dish which I haven’t seen before. Tonight was a very funny meal, let me explain:

Note: when you see me in December, ask me to act this out, and I’ll be glad to show you.

When it comes to trying to get me to eat, the mother of this family is even more assertive than my on blood mother, and even my grandmother. Here, every time I try to say “I’m full” or in Wolof, “suur na”, I am told, “non, tu manges bien.” Usually, I persist, and they let me go. Tonight however was different. Throughout the entire meal, my mother was making fun of me for being small, definitely compared to Rich who is a swimmer for Umass, is 6’2”, and probably weighs almost as twice as much as I do. My “sister” was joining in as well, and we were all laughing together. When I was done, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: suur na

Mother: Suur na?? NO SUUR NA!!

Me: S’il vous plait, suur na.

Mother: Il faut manges bien! (you need to eat well)

Me: okay okay

So I continued, till I couldn’t eat anymore. I mean, I’m used to eating super burritos at Annas and half of a large pizza at T Anthony’s but this was a lot more than that… Just as I was about to launch my second attempt to go, one of my “sisters” came into the room carrying a plate with more beef. By that point I was the only person still eating, and my mother wanted me to eat more.

Mother: Manges Manges! (Eat, eat!)

Me: I won’t finish till tomorrow morning! (in French)

Mother: (laughs)

I ate one more piece of beef and got up, and left the table, groaning. They continued to laugh at me and they probably still are…it was quite a funny night. They would later tell me that if I eat this way for 2 weeks, I will be “grand comme Rich” (big like Rich). I hope so, but I’m guessing it will take more than two weeks…

Day 5: Gas Stations and Relaxing

2005-09-05T09:14:00.000Z

Sunday was rather uneventful for me, as I chose not to go to Goree Island, or as the Senegalese say, Ile de Goree. I woke up at around 11 and attempted to do some laundry. To my dismay, I found that as I finished washing and was ready to hang my clothes, it was beginning to drizzle. I then had to find a way to hang up all of my very wet clothes inside, which was quite a challenge. By the time I walked out the door to go to Cresp, it was around 1215. I spent a while at Cresp writing lots of good e-mails; it has been hard to find time to write anything with detail (besides this fabulous blog, of course.) Anyway, Allison and I decided to get some lunch, and Marian suggested the Mobil station. So we set off to find some food, and were distracted on our adventure by the Shell station. Let me tell you: this was no ordinary Shell station. No, this can only be described as an oasis. The shelves of Shell are overflowing with products which we haven’t had for about a week now. Okay, maybe I’m being too dramatic, but this place was cool. Probably the nicest thing was to see that they sold ice cream, and lots of it. And milk, and cereal, and cold beverages, and…etc. We then continued to Mobil, which was really superMobil, (my words), and picked up some burgers at “Steer.” While it was nice to have a cheeseburger, I will definitely not be going there again. The food that my family makes is a lot better than anything from a fast food joint.

After eating, the sun was finally coming out, and we decided to walk down to the beach. Other Senegalese people had gotten the same idea…probably thousands of others, and they accompanied us to the beach. If you think you’ve seen a crowded beach, think again. Anyway, we quickly got into the water, and stayed in for a very long time. When we got out, I found that my Adidas sandals had been swiped. If any of you know me well enough, you would know that for lack of better words, my sandals are my “bread and butter.” This theft really bothered me, but I suppose I can’t really blame anyone except for myself…and that punk who swiped them.

After sulking for a while, I ate dinner with my family and Rich who had returned from his trip (quite wet, I might add), and the two of us went back to Cresp to meet up with the other Americans. At Cresp, we hooked my laptop up to a projector and watched Anchorman with Will Ferrell and came home at around 12.

Day 4 (Sat, 9/3/05)

2005-09-04T14:00:00.000Z

Today we got to sleep in until around 10. (10am was the second wake up, the first was at around 4am by the Muslim chanting again.) Anyway, we had a quick breakfast of bread and some tea that must have had a lot of caffeine in it. We went to CRESP and went for our tour of Yoff.

It was probably around 86 degrees, with a humidity of about 95%, making it feel like 96%. Plus, the sun had finally broken through the clouds and was beating down upon us. So the 2 hour walk around town ended up being pretty hard, and had us yearning for air conditioning and cold showers. We then returned home for lunch, and I ate with just the mother and father of my family, while we watched the Senegal vs. Zambia World Cup qualifying match. (Senegal won the match, which puts everyone in this town in a very good mood.) After lunch, we went right back to CRESP to meet one of the Senegalese students who lives near by. Muslimatu (? Spelling…pronounced mOOse lee maa tuu) lives in a nearby town and she wanted to take us to a beach near her house. We walked out to the street and climbed in to the back of a large van which they called a bus, and we were off. This “bus” was basically a heap of metal on 4 wheels. Like most vehicles here, it probably belongs in a junkyard. As a rough estimate, maybe 5% of cars here would pass an American inspection, and most would fall far below expectations. However, it served our purpose quite well, so I can’t really complain. We hopped off while the bus was swarmed with people trying to get on, and walked about 20 minutes to get to the beach. Unlike yesterday’s beach experience, today’s beach wasn’t really a swimming beach with waves, but more like a wading beach. Today only one girl swimming, and even I just opted to relax on the beach. After relaxing for a while, we went off in search of an evening meal and activity.

Muslimatu suggested that we go “Le Blue Note”, a jazz club in her neighborhood. This sounded like a good idea to all of us, especially me. Let me explain. The “Blue Note” record label is known around the US for getting the jazz movement into full swing. Blue Note also has a very famous jazz club which has hosted pretty much every famous jazz musician to pick up an instrument. As someone who really likes listening to jazz, the thought of going to a “Blue Note” club seemed very appealing, even though I quickly realized that the label had no relation to this specific club.

We took taxis to the club because it started to rain, and when we got there we realized it was a nice pizzeria restaurant. Muslimatu was good friends with our waiter, and we all ordered pizza and other dishes. At around 2030, the live band started playing some jazz, andn we got our food around 2130. The food was pretty good; more importantly it was nice to have a fork, knife, napkin, and our own plates. By the time we finished our food, the band was really starting to play, playing all sorts of music including blues, songs by Ray Charles, and some others I didn’t recognize.

By about 22:30, the band had begun playing Latin music, even a little salsa. Suddenly, over the microphone I heard “….(something in Wolof) Ross! … Ross?!) Apparently, Muslimatu had told the lead singer in the band to call me up to the stage. Before I knew it, our waiter was pulling me out of my seat and escorting me to the stage where I stood not knowing what to do. “Dansez, dansez!” (Dance, dance!) I beckoned for the other kids to come up, because there was no way I was going to dance by myself…so everyone was already on their way up, and we danced for a couple songs. It felt like I had been thrown into a mix of Senegalese/Latin culture.

After Latin music, the band played Bob Marley songs, and by the end of the night, they were playing Hendrix songs like “Purple Haze” and even “The Wind Cries Mary”. They also played some traditional Senegalese music. At around 0:15, we realized we had been at the club for almost five hours, and decided it was time to leave. We all got in cabs and paid about three dollars to go 3 or 4 miles, which in Boston would cost probably $10. Tomorrow is the optional group trip to Goree Island, the last stop on the colonial trade before the US. However, I will be opting out because I have plenty to do including my laundry, cleaning up, relaxing etc. I figure I will definitely have time at some point to go visit a very interesting historical place. Because of this nice relaxing day, I will finally explain some of the things I have been promising to explain. Time for sleep now, its almost 2:30am here.

Still to come: explanation of the French language and its role on this trip, introduction to my family members, an insight into how I have slowly begun to adapt to this culture, explanations of many Senegalese traditions and customs. Also, common myths and misconceptions about Africa will be disproven.

Day 3

2005-09-03T13:46:00.000Z

Note: After finishing my blog late last night, I was kept up even later by the Muslim chant from the nearby mosque. Apparently, these chants are amplified and broadcasted until at least 1230am here. Just one more thing that makes this place different…

Lying here on my bed now, one part of me feels like I’ve been here for a couple of days, and another part of me feels like I’ve been here for my full three and a half months. Today I woke up at around 7, without my alarm. Strange…considering it was 3am back in Boston, a time when I might normally be going to sleep. Anyway, it had rained all night and was still raining, and our bedrooms on the roof had collected a good amount of water. Luckily I had subconsciously moved all my luggage and clothes away from the door and incoming water, so I was able to elevate it all before the water completely took over the tile floor. Let me explain a couple things. Even though we are in what’s called the “rainy season,” it rarely rains for continuous periods. A real rain might occur around ten times for the whole rainy season, so some might even think of the “rainy season” as a misnomer. Secondly, every building here has tile flooring. When I say tile flooring, I mean beautiful large tiles, and sometimes even mosaic floors as well. After working for a luxury homebuilding company over the summer, I have learned a lot about flooring from Paul the Tile Guy, and I am now able to appreciate the beautiful flooring, as well as other architecture here. Hopefully I will get some good pics of my house online, once the lighting gets better and I can fully show the beauty of this architecture.

After making sure all my stuff was dry, Rich and I went down for breakfast, but found that no one in our family was late. Off we went to CRESP where Marian was very kind once again and fed us the rest of the rice krispies while we talked about world events and Senegalese culture. To Marian’s credit, she has done a great job of accommodating everyone so far. Even though this is only the second time that the program has been run, she really has a very good idea of how to make kids feel like they are at home, rather than in a totally different world.

After breakfast we had a couple activities and a lecture about the origin and evolution of man, or en francais, l’homme. After the lecture, the American students, myself included, were given a lesson in Wolof, one of the two official languages of Senegal. We learned three questions and their response, and repeated them plenty of times. For example, Asalaam aleekum : Aleekum salaam, is how the Senegalese greet each other at any occasion. After language lessons, we went home for lunch where we ate a nice fish dish, which tasted different from all of the previous meals. Let me take a moment to explain about the cuisine that I have experienced so far. Every meal has had fish, except for last nights beef dish. However, they have all tasted different from each other, and each meal seems to taste better than the last. Sure, it might have something to do with my gradual acceptance of their culture, but let me tell you, this is good food. Tonight, they even made French fries to be served on the fish platter.

After lunch, we went back to CRESP, and received a full tour of the facility which was completely in French. By French, I mean to say very advanced French with lots of tough vocabulary which all of us except for one had a very hard time understanding. After the two hour tour, we tried to schedule a rendezvous at the beach. I went with a couple of girls while they got their bathing suits, and the others we’re going to meet at CRESP and then meet us at the beach. After quite a lot of walking along the beach, we decided to take out our cameras to capture the beautiful scenery. However, we were immediately swarmed by young kids who demanded that we take pictures of them and posed for us until we said “C’est tout, c’est tout!” (That’s all!) (see pics) Finally we got to where we were going swimming, which is right in front of the house where I live. There were hundreds, probably thousands of people on the beach, but no one was in the water. There were many soccer games going on, and people just sitting, but no swimming. We were nervous, but the water looked perfectly clean and quite inviting so we went in, and swam in the surf and waves. This reminded me of summers spent at Wellfleet beaches on the cape, except for the water temperature difference of about 40degrees. The water is a beautiful hue of turquoise, around 80 or 90 degrees, and extremely pleasant and refreshing. After about an hour of swimming, we went back to our houses, showered and ate another great meal. The rest of the night consisted of watching French news, then some experimental photos using time exposures and etc, and now a journal entry, then sleep.

First Days in Africa

2005-09-02T13:36:00.000Z

Before reading this blog, it is important for all readers to know of my inability to write very well. Throughout high school, I was never a great or even a good writer. However, in this blog, I will try to be as descriptive as possible, and I hope that my not-so-good writing won’t be so much of a problem.

To read this blog, I also think its important for me to inform of a few of my personality traits. When it comes to people and situations, I tend to be very analytical. So, this blog will include not only descriptions and summaries, but also analyses, explanations, and thoughts that will hopefully be helpful to any reader.

Note: The entries for these first two days are very long, as I have a lot to explain, I hope I don’t drag on too much…

After a surprisingly pleasant 8 hour flight from New York to Dakar, we arrived at the airport. We were filled with uncertainty as we stood on the threshold of our new environments. For one thing, we were a little uninformed as to what we would be doing for the next 3 and a half months. Sure, we knew we would be studying ecotourism and sustainable development, but that was pretty much it. As to the other unknowns, such as where we would eat our next meal, whom we would be living with for the next few months, and who was picking us up from the airport, we were clueless.

After waiting about an hour to go through customs, we got our bags and went out to the street where we met the person who would be escorting us to our homes. The taxi that picked us up had a windshield with about five large cracks in it, not to mention the actual driving of the taxi which was an interesting matter in and of itself. I was the first one to be dropped of at my new home, on a sandy street. As I was shown to a TV room and told to sit down, I came up with my first impressions of this new environment. This family was clearly somewhat well off, as they had electricity, a toilet that I would later find, and even a nice stereo. After a little bit of waiting, I was shown my room which to my dismay had no windows. As a person who covets fresh air and nature, I was disturbed by this lack of windows. Nonetheless, I was very happy to have four electrical outlets in my room. At the time, it didn’t seem like such a bad trade-off. The humidity was starting to get to me, and I had only arrived a few hours before. However the heat was not enough to keep me from lying down and falling asleep rather quickly. After a good sleep, I woke up at around 14:00 (all military time here) and was invited to sit down with the family for lunch.

For those who are not familiar with the way the Senegalese eat, I will provide a brief description: The entire family sits around one circular platter, everyone is given a spoon, and the eating begins. Everyone kind of sections off a part of the circle, and eats what is in front of them. Usually, immediately in front of a person will be rice or pasta, and in the middle is meat or fish from which everyone takes a portion. None of the Senegalese have a dining room, for them it would be a waste of space. It was hard to believe that here I was, at my Senegalese meal, sitting on a stool, eating fish and rice from their platter.

After eating my lunch, I talked to the boy who lives with my family. His name is Jean-Gala and he is very good at soccer. He is the captain of his soccer team. And that’s about all I understood. He also showed me his entire picture album. He was very friendly. He then escorted me to the CRESP annex, where we will be taking our classes for the next semester. It is also the home of Marian Zietlan, our program director.

After walking up four flights of stairs, we reached the CRESP center, where we were led into a room with air conditioning. While some of you back in the US may take AC in your car or house for granted, I certainly was not about to do that, even though it was our first day. After some hours of introductions and registrations and such, we went upstairs to Marian’s apartment and had some drinks. Marian’s balcony looks over all of Yoff, straight out to the ocean. This was the first great view that we got, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We were then fed spaghetti and sauce for dinner, which actually tasted a lot like it does at home. Then, we received another lecture on culture, and then back to our houses for sleeping. When I got home, my family tried to give me another dinner, but I refused (politely I hope) and went into my room to sleep.

Before I go any further, I will explain some of the people that I have met. Giving you an idea of who I am with will hopefully give you a better idea of my overall situation. I will start with Rich, whom I met at JFK in New York. From what I know so far, Rich is a swimmer at Umass Amherst, he’s 19 or 20, and he brought a lot of everything on this trip. Rich is the only fellow male in our group. The six girls are named Alison, Deb, Katie, Kayla, Lindsay, and Kristen. I’m pretty sure that everyone is older than eighteen. Everyone seems really nice, and really interested in the program that we are on. For more info on that, go to livingroutes.org. As for the older adults, there’s Marian, Alexa, and Sophie, the latter two being the middle-aged program assistants.

So, back to the summary: I fell asleep rather quickly once again but this time I was wakened at about 1am, by my “father” whom had just returned home. I tried to go back to sleep, but I was unsuccessful. Then, I began to feel extreme feelings of homesickness, and I declared to myself that I must return home the next day. I then proceeded to write four or five pages in my journal about why I shouldn’t be here, and why I’m not prepared, and etc etc etc. I then went to the bathroom, where I had to kill an inch-long cockroach. After nearly being in tears from the stress, sadness, and loneliness I was feeling, I was able to fall back asleep at about 3am to the comforting sound of the rain.

My alarm woke me up at around 8. After having a bad night, I was extremely tired but managed to get out of bed, and eat breakfast. We then left for Cresp, and arrived at 9. I was still feeling very uncomfortable with my situation, and was determined to talk to Marian and convince her that I needed to go home immediately. However, I didn’t get a chance to right away, but she noticed that I was looking rather awful and asked me to come up to chat with her. I told her about the events of the previous night, and she was worried, and said she would do what she could to help. She went out and bought me some rice krispies cereal (which tasted almost nothing like rice krispies) but I ate anyway. After disappearing into her office, she came back and said that it would be okay if I moved in with another family. This would be the same place that Rich was living in, and he had told me great things about it. I would have a room with a window, and I would be able to see the ocean which was close by. I was very happy to accept this proposal. The rest of my day was spent at CRESP, as Marian thought it wise for me to pass on the goat sacrificing ceremony that the rest of the group was attending. I had lunch with my new family and Rich, which was very pleasant, and I was shown my room. More details on that later. We then came back to CRESP where we had a short activity and were sent home once more. While the rest of the group went exploring, I had to achieve the difficult task of moving all of my luggage from one house to another, which included a lot of walking, lifting, and eventually another scary cab ride. The end result however was certainly worth it. Let me explain:

The family that I now live with is quite large. However, the house has two floors, and a roof. The roof, is a flat open space, but with one sunroom in the middle, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. The roof is where I live with Rich. The ocean is probably 100 yards from our front door, and our view is a little obstructed, but it’s really a huge upgrade. (see pictures). We have privacy, fresh air, a great view, plenty of space, electricity, plumbing, anything you could ask for, except maybe a TV with NESN (for all you non-fans, that’s the Red Sox channel). I’m already starting to feel a little more comfortable with calling this place home for the next few months. Even the dinner tasted good, and I didn’t have feelings of nausea that I had been previously experiencing. Beef has never tasted so good.

In closing to this very long entry, I would like to say that there are plenty of differences still to be explained in future entries. For example the difficulties of the language barrier, or the fact that I am not supposed to use my left hand when I eat (which tends to be quite a problem considering I’ve used my left hand for my entire eating life.)