Update 3

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Well, I guess your going to get hit with a lot of posts to read. I didn't think I would have this much trouble posting stuff and checking my email, but it should get better with time. Actually, now that I have settled in with my host family and my Peace Corps training is more of a routine now, I should hopefully be able to check things more regularly. Also, I plan to get my phone tomorrow...but we will see.

I am living with my host family now. I moved in on Friday. I was given the name Abdou Aziz Dabakh Toure...I know half of it. My family is really cool though. My father is the french teacher at one of the local schools. I have some brothers, although I haven’t figured out how many I have yet or their names and two sisters (Bambi and Adam...I probably didn't spell either one correctly). Both sisters are fairly attractive...I'm not gonna lie. One is 19 and the other is 23. The older sister leaves for Dakar tomorrow for school where she is studying law.

The language I am learning is wolof. It is the primary language in Senegal. Other PCTs are learning other languages depending on their placement (which we don't know exactly where that is yet). So, wherever my site will be, they will know wolof and most likely french. My family knows french, Wolof, and a little English, but my father knows a lot of English.

They are a great family. Seems that they are laid back and not as conservative as the Senegalese families I have seen so far. My father works as I said, and everyone in the house (guys and girls) does chores and help out...which isn’t always the case here. It would be my guess that they would be middle class, which I'm sure is pretty small in Senegal. They also have a garden which I helped water yesterday. We loaded up a drum of water and took their donkey led chariot to the garden to water the vegetables. It really is good since my assignment with the Peace Corps is urban agriculture in which I will be dealing with similar things. Basically, the matching with my host family was perfectly done.

Sleeping here has been interesting. While I have my own bedroom, every noise wakes me. I think the first night I was here, I woke up 5 or 6 times to different things, including the call to prayer at the mosque and the awful sound of my families donkey. Also, my alarm clock has a temperature reader on it and I don't know if that was such a good purchase. It is kinda frightening...when I fell asleep on Friday; it was about 93 degrees in my room and 85 degrees when I woke up. Needless to say, I have woken up to a wet bed a few times.... actually every night I have slept here.... but I really can't complain.

Training is going well, too. It is going to be tough. We got some numbers on training and here it is. Pre Service Training (PST) lasts about 8 weeks. It is comprised of 307 hours of training. The breakdown is this: 122 hours of language training, 73 hours of technical training, 37 hours of cross cultural training, 30 hours of demystification (already did), 18 hours of medical, and 26 hours of other. More technical training will follow as well in future months. Fortunately, during PST, we only have class half of Saturday and have all of Sunday off. I will say it is tough because there is little down time. Whether you are at class or at home, you are always having to learn and immerse yourself in the language.

Yesterday, I introduced my family to the IPOD. My sisters didn’t know what to do with themselves. We played all 6 of my 50 Cent songs over and over. 50 Cent is popular in Senegal. Apparently, Akon or Acon is too. Unfortunately, in my sheltered life, I have never heard of him. Maybe I will try and have a Bon Jovi dance party tonight or something. I have learned how to say dance and ask someone if they want to dance in wolof, but more importantly, I know how to say ‘no’ if somebody asks if I want to dance.

Today, I went to the market with my father and one of my brothers for a homework assignment. It was pretty neat. We walked through the fish section and what an interesting sight. It definitely wouldn’t fly in the US. I don't I've seen more flies in my life. So much counterfeit merchandise can be found here. My father was trying to get me to buy my phone from one of the market stores, but I figured it would be better to wait till I get to the Alize store tomorrow. It is closed on Sundays. From what I've seen Thies is a decent place. While I haven't everywhere in Thies, I have felt safe and have only seen little begging. One of the best things are the prices, at least most of them. I have gotten a few cab rides with my family and other volunteers, and we haven’t paid more than $1 for the entire ride...what a deal.

By far, the highlight of the day has been shaving. I think it was the second time I’ve shaved since being here, but trust me, I needed it. The interesting tidbit is that I have never really done it without a large mirror and running water. Today was the first time of me shaving with a small handheld mirror, little light, and a bucket bath. I missed a few sports, but after several hours of feeling patches, I think I have a smooth face. My mom told me it looked good, so hopefully that is a good thing.

It is kinda weird that I have no clue what is happening in the outside world. I have heard nothing since I left New York. The entire country of Peru could disappear and I would not hear about it. And yes, Peru was just the country that came to mind. I figure once I get into a routine, I will be back into my current events reading.

I hope everyone is doing well and I plan to get to all your emails either today or as soon as I can make it back to the cyber cafe.