Rumors...

April 5, 2006

Amongst the Urban Ag program, there are rumors flying about placements. We are supposed to find out late next week where we are going to be going. While far from easy still, the likelihood of living in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere scenario is very slim. As I have stated in previous post, there are 7 Urban Ag trainees (including myself) in my stage. There are 2 guys and 5 girls. Five are learning wolof and the other 2 are learning other national languages. I say all this because it is important in placement. The two learning other national languages already know their sites due to the availability of sites and where their languages are spoke. Apparently the sites in Mbour and Dakar are going to guys. I don’t say this to be sexist, but due to safety concerns, they are apparently easier places for guys to work. I have also heard Thies being thrown out on the table too, which is where the training center is. Mbour is a beach resort town but apparently has some racial conflicts. Dakar is pretty much the capital of Western Africa and has its own challenges. Because I came into this not wanting to have expectations, I don’t care where I get placed, whether it is in a village 40 km from a town (this won’t happen since I’m urban ag) or in a large city, but living on the beach isn’t where I thought I’d have a chance to live this time last year. But once again, this is all speculation but with input from credible sources. Placements apparently can change at the last minute due to certain factors. I’ll let yall know when I find out for sure.