Tuesday, May 30, 2006

As I sit here writing this, my hand hurts far more than when I actually broke it or at any point between now and then. I’m hoping the cocktail of drugs that I just began to take, will aid in this little problem.

Well, the BIG day started without the alarm clock going off at 6:00 as it were supposed to. Apparently, I forgot to finish setting it last night. Fortunately, the inability to have a good, sound night of sleep paid off, and I was wide awake and ready to go.

I figured that since I was going to be bed ridden for most of the day, I would forgo taking a shower this morning, in anticipation of getting a sponge bath from a cute French nurse. Needless to say, I am still dirty at day’s end.

After stopping off at the Peace Corps/Senegal Office, one of the wonderful PCMOs and I headed to the clinic. We had to wait a few minutes before I was called back. I had to strip down and get into a gown, which was an experience, especially because the arm of my broken hand didn’t go through, so I was trying to keep the gown from falling down at times with my chin. For about 30 minutes or so, I laid on a bed in what I guess was a prep/recovery room. I got hooked up with an IV. I don’t know what they were pumping into me, but even if I had asked, I probably wouldn’t have understood them. Looking back at it now, being my first true surgical experience, it kinda makes it more interesting when you don’t know half the things that were going on…and still don’t.

At this point, and not any point before this, did it kinda hit me that I was having surgery, and having it in Africa. I still don’t truly know what to think. The past few months have bee such a whirlwind that not a whole lot has had a chance to register.

Finally, I was walked down to the operating room by the anesthesiologist and laid down on the operating table. They fixed the bed a little, hooked up heart rate monitors, put some stuff in my IV, and…

Well, for the next several hours, I couldn’t tell you what happened, but I had a great nap. I still don’t know what they did to my hand. I woke up in the recovery room, dozing in and out of consciousness for probably the next hour or two. Nurse came by and turned the air conditioning unit on that was above my bed, which I’m thankful for, because despite not really having many clothes on, actually none at all, unless you consider a loose, unclasped gown, I was getting a little sweaty. I guess I was really hoping the body odor would sweep the room and a sponge bath would be ordered. I really need my left arm cleaned because I’m having a hard time figuring out how to do it. As I was starting to cool off, the air conditioner starting dripping water on my bed. I didn’t really know what to do or say. I never learned how to say “my AC is leaking” in French or Wolof, so, I let it continue to drip and soak a portion of my bed until a nurse walked by. I think she thought that I was just cold so she turned it off. The dripping stopped and I moved to the dry portion of my hospital bed.

Nothing else real interesting happened in the recovery room. I laid there for a few more hours starring at the ceiling and counting the beeps from the heart monitor of the lady on the other side of the curtain.

Around 6:00, I was finally allowed to leave. My PCMO and I headed back to the PC office to pick up some of the prescriptions and stopped by a pharmacy for the rest. I am on three drugs; a anti-inflammatory, pain relief, and a penicillin type. Over the course of the day, I have to take about 12 pills. Fortunately, right now, the drugs seem to be kicking in because my hand feels much better than when I started typing.

I arrived home, starving because I hadn’t eatin since the night before. I think I missed lunch at the hospital because I was knocked out, but they did give me tea to drink. I ended up fixing some leftovers from lunch…maffay. It is plan white rice with a peanut sauce. It’s really good. I ate that, talked on the phone for a bit, and then it was time to eat dinner.

Here I am now…still dirty, drugged up, and full…it has been a complete day. Thanks to everyone yet again who has conveyed their concern over my hand.

Here are some pictures once i got back to the house after surgery. I was hoping to get pictures with the doctor and some action shots of the surgery, but i failed miserably
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&conn_speed=1&collid=16017922709.24429187809.1149103330385&mode=fromsite

Fingers Intact = Success

Tuesday, May 30th 2006

In order to clear up any confusion, Justin has made me his proxy for the Blogspot -- at least for this post. Justin has gotten in touch with me and has let me know that he indeed has all of his fingers on his right hand. And, as I have been told, he has no clue whether or not they inserted a rod in order to stabilize his finger, or used screws instead. Apparently they used a cheap form of Senegalese whisky as the "local anesthesia." He'll be visiting the doctors again on Thursday to see how the bone is setting. As I understand it, J is also getting some pretty sweet "pain killers" from the local apothecary.

As for the hand itself, it is wrapped in a gauze, and is less protected then before the surgery. The doctors told him that he'll need a special soft cast, but there is not one for him in Dakar. Either the hospital/peace corps/someone else is having one shipped in and it should be available for him to use on Thursday when he goes back to the doctor. He has also been told by the doctor that he should not engage in any work until this coming Monday, at the earliest. In typical Justin fashion, he'll be at the garden on Thursday or Friday, in order to help out in any way he can.


Needless to say with only one good hand, J won't be able to ride on any lions for the next few months. Everyone knows that you need to get a good two-handed grip on that suckers' mane in order to use him for transportation. Poor J. I guess he'll just have to stick to crazy taxis.

Well, that's all I have Ladies and Gentleman -- I'm out. Give J a call on Thursday to see how the new cast is working out.

Best,

Roger Wespe

Hand Update

Sunday, May 28, 2006

I just wanted to let everyone know that the decision was made on Friday that I will be having surgery on my hand Tuesday morning at a clinic here in Dakar. According to the x-ray, my finger wasn’t setting right. The surgery, which I will be placed under general anesthesia, should last a little under an hour. This complicated things a little because the use of general anesthesia requires Peace Corps/Washington approval, but everything is a go at this moment. I will be spending all day at the clinic and then can come home Tuesday evening sometime…inchallah.

Today, I met with the anesthesiologist to answer medical history questions. Also, I had to have blood work done to ensure I can handle the anesthesia. Hopefully I can, because this isn’t something I want to be waking up during. I kinda want my first surgery experience to be somewhat pleasant. Don’t worry, I intend to bring the camera.

As for what they are going to be doing…I’m really not quite sure. There are two different things I have heard. One is that they are going to put two rods on my hand. It is my understanding that these rods would stay in my hand. This is what I hope happens. The other thing I have heard is that they are going to but screws in my hand. It is my understanding that they would take them out in a couple months through a local anesthesia operation. I’m not too fond of this because it seems that the “recovery” time would be longer.

Thanks to everyone who has sent messages to check up on things. Hopefully the surgery goes well on Tuesday and the recovery is quick.

Here are some pictures of my hand so far.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.mf6wpj5&Uy=-6z6vhz&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Hollywood...Senegelese Style

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Television is far different here, than in the States. Unless you have a satellite dish (which apparently has the NBA package), the channels that you pick up are very very limited. It almost makes the few channels we get on a clear night at the mountain house seem like a lot. Here, you are bound to get RTS (It is the national channel). After that, it might be it, depending on where you are in the country.

Last night on RTS Journal (National News), there was a feature on the Hopital Fann Project I am taking over. It was about 6 or 7 minutes long. While neither Steve (Volunteer I’m replacing) spoke on camera due to PC policy, we were in a few shots and Corps de la Paix’s partnership with the project was mentioned. It was pretty cool to see it. After the showing, I got several texts from people here saying they saw me on TV, which was pretty fun.

The highlight of my moment of fame came today just after my doctor’s appointment. I was dropped off at the gas station down the street from my house so I could pick up a snack. I go there at least once a day to pick something up, so they are starting to be my new best friends in Senegal…if only it had a Bojangles there…the #1 date spot …I might take a girl there on a date, but since it doesn’t (and the only thing you can get in Senegal is a lot of rice ), well, I suppose it will have to be a long year and 11.5 months in that department.

Back to my original story, instead of ranting…So, I was talking to the cashier who was ringing me up and we were having a pleasant conversation. She then asked me if I was on the news last night. I felt like a star. I wanted to tell her that I used to wear sweat suits everyday to elementary school and had a bowl cut, so there was always a chance for future staredom, but I held back on the details of Before They Were Stars. I suppose she was star struck because she forgot to put my croissant in my bag.

Hopefully I will have a copy of the episode soon. While it is in French, it is very insightful regarding the purpose and ideas surrounding it.

Surreallness

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

It is strange, after being in country for 10 weeks, all the thoughts that can go through your head. You see and endure so much here that it is difficult to comprehend. It hasn’t really been till now that I’ve in a sense had time to ingest it.

Tonight, I was coming home from a reception at the Ambassador’s Residence (hopefully I’ll write a post about that too) in a car rapid, and the surrealness of my experience so far hit me. The more that I thought about it, none of the 182,000 individuals that are and have been Peace Corps Volunteers have had the same experience. Even amongst my stage, everyone is having different encounters from what I’ve heard. Some have had good experiences, others have had bad ones, but a lot of it depends on what and how you make it out to be. This aspect is no different than any other job out there it seems.

While the Peace Corps definitely isn’t for everyone, so far, I highly recommend it. It is an experience like no other. It is one that not enough people take advantage of. There aren’t many opportunities that allow you to live and work amongst host country nationals in an environment that you are unaccustomed to. Even living in Dakar, where there are US government officials and lots of ex-pats, their experiences abroad are far different from that of a PCV. It has been good to see this though, because I have been able cross off jobs that I don’t want to pursue in a few years.

There aren’t many times in your life that you can legitimately take a leap, but I’m glad I followed through with this. The consequences/drawbacks of coming to Senegal suck, and I still get flustered because of them, but the reward is that each day is better than the one before (not necessarily because you are one day closer to coming home). I will say though, during the course of typing this, I got a call from Caitlin and Jeff, which put a nice end to the day. Calls from the States give the days a nice touch and put you back into reality. Also, in my situation, I fortunately have an awesome project I am working on too, which makes things more enticing.

I don’t know what sort of stuff I just spat out of my mouth, but it seemed important when it hit me to write it on the car rapid ride home…it might be what an open bar does to you. But in conclusion, my experience so far can’t be quantified with words. Everything has been amazing (doesn’t mean easy). I really wish everyone could experience this.

Hopefully, through this site or the emails/letters/calls many of you make, you are able to experience some of the stuff I’m going through. There have been a few questions and general topics that I hope to write about soon, including the types of animals I see over the course of the day in the streets of Dakar, my project (and pictures), cost of things, and more pictures (alittle difficult in this culture, but will try). If there is anything else you want to know, let me know. Keep the emails and calls coming. Hopefully, once my hand is better, I’ll be able to respond to everyone more adequately, but I apologize in the meantime.

Ambassadors Reception

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

This week has been a very busy week for the Peace Corps as a whole and Peace Corps/Senegal. First, the Director of the Peace Corps, Gaddie Vasquez was appointed just recently to be the US Ambassador to the FAO. The FAO is the food aid division of the UN. While I am unsure of the results, he was due to have his Senate confirmation hearings today. Second, the annual Peace Corps African Country Directors’ Conference is being held in Dakar this week. I believe 20 or son Peace Corps Country Directors from all over Africa have come. Director Vasquez was supposed to attend, but due to his appointment, he had to cancel, but others from Peace Corps/Washington have come.

On Friday, all the directors will be visiting Steve and my site at Hopital Fann. While the garden is in great shape, we have been busy all week getting it ready for the visit. Also, it has been a good time to understand the garden a lot better. Hopefully Friday goes well. Also on Friday, the garden is being featured on national news. RTS was there on Monday or Tuesday filming. So it’s been a pretty intense week. Not many Volunteers’ sites receive this much attention. There is nothing like a little pressure on the shoulders. Hope I don’t kill the garden in a few months when I’m on my own.

Due to the Country Directors visiting the site on Friday, I was one of a few volunteers who was invited to attend a reception at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence this evening. It was alittle weird being there since I just got in country two and a half months ago and haven’t had my time to shine. To show my newness to Dakar, it even took two over priced cab rides to get to the house, but nothing like making mistakes in order to learn. The first cab dropped me off several blocks away at a house that had a guard. Turns out there is more than one house in Dakar with guards. I even showed the cab driver a map to the house but he couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t want to deal with it and just got out of that cab, talked to the guard, and then jumped into another cab without even haggling.
Finally, I made it to the house. There were a lot of people from the embassy that everyone in my stage had been introduced too previously, all the Country Directors, several Peace Corps/Senegal staff, a few Peace Corps/Washington staff, and only a handful of volunteers. There was an open bar and some good cocktail style food. Being very new here, I didn’t know too many people, but I still got asked about the hand a lot. I ended up talking to the Senegal Country Desk Officer who works in Washington. She was one of the people in Philadelphia during staging and I had talked to her several time in preparation for the Peace Corps, so it was cool to talk to her.

The party didn’t last to late, but the volunteers were the last to leave. I think the Ambassador was about ready to kick us out. Overall, it was neat to see what life in Senegal is like for other Americans. It is far different from that of Peace Corps Volunteers. While I don’t know how many times I will be hanging out at the Ambassador’s house during my stay here, there is apparently a town meeting there for Americans in June, which I’m thinking about going to. Maybe I’ll bring my bathing suit then.

Caught

Well, I caught a little suprise. I couldnt do it in Thies, but I did in Dakar. While far smaller than the rodents we catch at the garden, I no longer have to fear my Pringles getting eatin by this little mouse. As for what I did with it, I put it outside in the trash can. As I was walking over to the can, a cat was going through it. I can only imagine where Stuart Little is now

Hand Update

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Still no new news regarding the hand. My Doctor,s appointment got pushed back to Friday morning. Thanks everyone who wrote or called, Im trying to get back to everyone before my time is up, but typing with one finger is difficult. J

Wheres Waldo

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

I’ve come to the conclusion that if my life here in Dakar were a book, it would be Where’s Waldo (Difficulty: VERY EASY). As everyday passes, it seems I stand out more and more. Currently, there are three major visual factors that make me stand out. First, I am a tall, lanky, white guy. From a visual standpoint, this is the most obvious difference. It is a really weird sensation when I walk to jump on a bus in the morning and see nearly 1,000 people from close and afar during my walk, and I’m the only white person. Once in the city, seeing other toubabs isn’t out of the ordinary.

Being a toubab, you are in a sense, a target, and a times, it gets old. Not only do you have to fight for prices when haggling but you get pestered frequently. For example, this morning, as I was walking to the bus, a guy started talking to me…not a big deal. We were having a good conversation until he started talking about all his problems, lack of money, need for a passport, and etc. As I got to my bus, he wanted my phone number so he could have an American contact. I said I didn’t have a phone, so I couldn’t help him there. I think the next time that happens, I’m just gonna give them one of my State side friend’s numbers. You might say that getting asked this isn’t that bad, and in a sense it isn’t, but it definitely is an annoyance. It makes it difficult in determining people’s intentions. On a positive note, I was at the gas station today (most American places in Dakar) getting pizza for lunch, and the cashier was surprised I was speaking Wolof, and so we had a little conversation, which was cool. Its neat too when people have heard of Corps de la Paix

The second factor that is affecting my integration is the cast on my hand. I haven’t seen anybody else in Senegal with a cast. I don’t know if that makes them tough or me a trendsetter. It doesn’t matter where I go or who I am talking to, but I always get asked about my hand. I need to start making up good stories because saying I broke it during a game of basketball is more embarrassing than anything. If you have any good ideas, let me know. Every time I tell them they are amazed that I am still working. My dad (Senegelese) even asked if I was on vacation now. It would be nice to stroll over to Club Med for a few days, but I think that’ll have to wait for another injury.

The third and final factor is a new one. I finally got my haircut. I was invited to attend the Peace Corps Directors’ Reception at the Ambassadors House tomorrow night and felt that I needed to clean myself up. I was recommended to go to the barber just down the street.

With my brother and our baby nephew, we walked around the corner to the barber (The nice thing about Senegal is that you can pretty much walk to get things you may typically need). I sat down in the chair and tried to explain what I wanted done. My brother was there to back me up. Well, apparently neither one of us did a very good job.

With each clip of the scissors and motion of the electric razor, I was amazed at the barber’s technique. It was really the exact opposite of what I had experienced before. Instead of going forward and back with the clippers, he only went forward. The area around the sideburns, ear, neck, and bangs/forehead are another story. But, he was the barber, so I sat there very uncomfortably (a tear possibly rolled down my cheek). I think the only other time I’ve come close to being frightened getting my haircut was my first and last Wal-mart haircut experience in Scranton, PA one summer, but fortunately, the end result wasn’t bad.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky this time around. As soon as he was close to being done and before he could find the razor and try to give me a shave, I was fumbling through my pocket for my money, so I could be out the door and quickly put my hat on. It turned out to be the cheapest haircut I’ve ever had, but then again, anyone could tell just by looking. Because things typically don’t have a set price here, it is good to know the range for things. I ended up paying the guy 700 CFA, which according to his facial expression was a little high, but in the States, that equates to $1.40. I probably should have paid him less, but I felt bad because I doubt he was used to cutting hair like mine. I left and quickly put the hat on.

The minute I got home, the laughter started. I took a close look in the mirror and it looked horrendous…no sideburns, slightly crooked neckline, hair at various lengths, and the list could go on. I was gonna take a picture, but I smartened up.

Over the course of dinner and in between writing this post, I discovered my brother had a pair of electric clippers…problem solved. While I’m not the biggest fan of buzzing my hair, unless I am bored in the mountains by myself, I felt that I had to go ahead and save alittle dignity, and buzz it aliitle.

So, I guess the moral of this story is that it is not easy for me to play hide n seek in Dakar.

Car Ride

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Today, my older brother flew in from Paris, to spend a week back here in Senegal. Two of my brothers and sister, took the family Benz (has the wear and tear that face most cars here) to pick him up. The airport is only a couple of miles from the house and pretty much on the same road, so one would think, the trip would go off without any problems.

As we were driving there, we hit a large bump (not uncommon) and heard a clank. I’ve never known a whole lot about cars, other than the things you probably shouldn’t do with them , but this sound did sound good.

Apparently, the transmission dropped and we were stuck in just one gear. For the next couple of miles to the airport, we were going about 20 mph as everyone else was going about 60 mph. On top of that, I thought the car was gonna just fall apart every time the accelerator was pressed.

Once we got to the airport, we ran into another problem. Since the car was stuck in gears, we would not be able to back out of a spot. This made for an interesting and heated, yet humorously funny confrontation with the parking attendants. If my hand weren’t in a cast at the moment, id probably would say more about it, but typing with one finger isn’t fun.

As it turned out, after waiting at the airport for about an hour, my brother had taken a cab home. Also, I saw one of my PC doctors (the one I saw the night I broke my hand), so I felt alittle jinxed about getting another injury tonight.

Fortunately, the ride home only provided laughter amongst us, as exhaust poured out from the tailpipe as the engine roared.

Pictures and Updated Contact Info

Pictures of my house
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.7wnovkh&Uy=6okni0&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

-------------------------------------------
New Address:
PCV Justin Land (Dakar)
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 2534
Dakar R.P., Senegal
West Africa

Eventually, I plan on switching my address to a mailbox close to my house, but for the next few months, I’m going to use the address for PC/Senegal. Please keep in mind that packages sent to Dakar are apparently taxed a lot more than the typical and acceptable flat rate of 1,000 CFA as seen in Thies. Fortunately, I live in Dakar and am somewhat surrounded by western conveniences. Letters are not typically taxed.

Email:
Justin.matson.land@gmail.com

Phone:
2214589731

That is the full number, including Senegal’s country code (221)

Hand Update

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Typing with one hand isn’t that easy, so I don’t know how much you can expect out of my literary work while I am enduring this hand saga. Sorry if some of the past posts have been boring…they didn’t seem to have the typical zing to them. Hopefully I’ll get a new phone card this week so I can give a few of you a call, but at this rate, I’m not too sure.

I just got back from an all morning trip to the health clinic. The longest part of the morning was the car ride. It really wasn’t that bad though. I had a PC driver and I got to see a lot of Dakar. I was able to see most of the Embassies in Dakar which was cool and we had nice drive along the Dakar coast, so I don’t really have anything to complain about…my finger wasn’t even hurting that bad. Traffic here is crazy though, even on a Saturday.

At the clinic, I was seen almost immediately. Unfortunately, the fun kinda ended there. The doctor looked at my x-rays (taken yesterday) and felt my hand. He said I needed a cast but would also need to come back on Wednesday for another x-ray. If the bones don’t set right, they are going to have to put a rod in my hand. I’m not really looking forward to this, so hopefully my finger and hand will set correctly. The smile on my face turned when I heard that news. Fortunately, I am fairly upbeat about the situation and it is just another story I can tell. Kevin Bacon even wore a knee brace in “The Air Up There,” so I’m not going to let a cast stop me.

That is the current news on my hand

Hand Injury

Saturday, May 20, 2006

As you can read from an earlier post, I had a little injury occur to my hand in a game of basketball. I didn’t think much about it after it had happened. I continued to play. While it felt sore and my shot was off (it typically always is), I figured it was only jammed.

By nights end, my hand had swollen up a bit, but I still didn’t think much of it. It was very sore and didn’t feel entirely right, but I still thought it was a jammed finger. Over the course of the night, I woke up a few times because my hand was bothering me.

When I woke up, it was still swollen. I decided to continue my work plans, so I took a taxi to Hopital Fann, where my main project is, and stayed for about 2 hours. I decided that because the weekend was approaching, I needed to make a decision about my hand; whether to cut it off or not.

I called the Peace Corps/Senegal Med Office and went there after the Hospital. They looked at the hand and put ice on it. There wasn’t much consensus, but it was decided that I have an x-ray done. The radiology office which I suppose the PC typically uses, was closed for lunch, so I waited around the PC/Senegal headquarters for a few hours with ice on my hand, before taking a taxi with one of the PCMOs (Peace Corps Medical Officer) to the radiologist.

At the radiologist, I was seen almost right away…much quicker than a doctor’s office in the States. They took the x-ray and within minutes, I saw it. I didn’t get a great look at it, but there was a noticeable break on one of my right hand fingers.

I found it kinda funny. It probably isn’t something to laugh at, but fortunately, it hasn’t been too painful…atleast yet. Humor in my injuries has kinda been a norm. I still laugh about the night I got stitches in my head freshman year. I’m sure my parents’ still remember me calling home around 10:30 one night laughing and telling them I was going to the hospital because I had a gash in my head due to jumping up and hitting an exit sign, but that we had to wait till our food was delivered. What a great night it was.

After the radiologist, I headed home. With it being Fiday afternoon, little could be done. My PCMO was going to try and have an appointment made at an orthopedist of Saturday.

Currently, it is Saturday at 10:30. My hand is still swollen and hurts a bit. I don’t know how I can type, but I can. Every once in awhile, my finger makes a clicking noise, which may mean it is broken. My PCMO just called me 5 minutes ago to tell me that I have an appointment this morning and I am waiting on a PC driver to come get me. Hopefully the Orthopedist puts me in a full body cast and I can have people sign it…it might be pretty cool.

Overall, the Peace Corps/Senegal Medical and Support staff has been amazing. Numerous times I have been amazed by their dedication. It is nice being in Dakar to have them close by.

First Day on the Job

Thursday, May 18, 2006

My work life in Dakar started today. It can be a scary place for someone not accustomed to its pace and style. Fortunately, I made it through my first day alive, yet slightly injured.

Steve, the volunteer I’m replacing, stopped by the house around 8:45 to get me. Over the next few weeks he is going to show me the ropes of Dakar, including the various ways to get around. We left the house and got on a car rapide to CDH (Horticulture Center). These car rapides are quite interesting and intense just themselves. They are “buses” that are often times packed with people and passengers literally jump on and off. The benefit of this mode of transportation is that they are cheap. A trip on one could cost 100 CFA (about 20 cents) versus a taxi costing 1000 CFA ($2).

At CDH, I did a lot greeting. Greeting here can take up a good portion of the day. There were a few people that I shook their hand more times in a span of 5 minutes, than I have shaken everyone over the course of a day in the States…different place, different, rules, different norms. I met up with my counterpart, and the three of us continued on our journey.

We headed to another one of my potential sites, the Sauve Garden. To get there, we took another mode of transportation called a clando. Like the car rapides, there are trade-offs to taking them. They are much cheaper than taxis because they are unmarked and might possibly be illegal (yet not enforced) yet aren’t typically as safe. Just based off the modes of transportation, if you aren’t a risk taker to some extent and don’t want the rush of feeling like you might have a brush with death sometime throughout the day, you might not survive here.

We got to the Sauve Garden and did a tour of it. It was on the grounds of a “technical school.” I met some some of the nicest people who were working on their portions of the garden. We talked to them a bit and stayed for about 45 minutes so I could get a feel for the place. I don’t know how much I will be at this garden in the future, but it was nice to see and know how to get there.

Following the Sauve Garden, we jumped onto a Car Rapide and rode for about 20 minutes or 3 or 4 miles down the road to the Citi Des National Unies Jarden. Apparently, it was one of the first gardens of its type in Dakar. From an aesthetic and marketable point of view, it has a lot of potential, but the method for development doesn’t always come easy here. Most of the women who work the garden were at CDH, so there was very little greeting.

Well, that was my day and it wasn’t even 1:30. I got back to my house and picked up a book to read a bit before we at lunch around 2:30. Following lunch, I got a nice 3 hour nap in…I don’t know if I needed it but it is what happened. I should have studied my Wolof and Ag stuff, but didn’t.

I woke up to the sound of my brother banging on my door asking if I wanted to play some basketball. While I have played basketball a few times here in Senegal, each time brought some sort of negative outcome (During my first days in country, I played in my Chacos and developed some bad blisters which took a month and a half to heal; then another time, I was playing with my brothers in Thies with some other folks and popped my air bubble in my shoes), I was not hesitant in playing.

As we were walking to the neighborhood court, we passed one of my Peace Corps doctors. It was kinda strange seeing someone I knew. We made it to the court and I was the only white guy in sight, actually, that is how most of my days are…it is an interesting feeling (I’m not saying this from a racial standpoint at all, but from the obvious observation of differing colors).

At the court, there were a decent number of people. There were some pretty tall folks as well as people playing barefooted or in flip-flops (I still haven’t mastered this popular technique). My brothers and I got involved in a half court game. I played alright. My team won, se we got to play again.

In the next game, I was playing defense, went for the ball, and I think I hit the other guy’s hand. I heard a pop and felt a rush of pain to my hand. I figured I had just jammed it, but the rest of the night, it just didn’t feel right.

We ended up playing a full-court game for about the next hour or so, into the darkness of night. The game got kinda confusing because in a sense it turned from a regular game of basketball into nothing…it just kinda fizzled out.

We headed home for dinner and called it a night. Friday is going to be another new day in the big city.

Pictures

Here are pictures from our last night in Thies. I hope to have pictures up of my place in Dakar soon.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.ojgmh29&Uy=n25iaj&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Injury

Friday, May 19, 2006

Well, I was playing basketball last night and broke one of my fingers. I had x-rays taken today and waiting on a call to meet with an orthopedic specialist tomorrow. More will come later but it kinda hurts to type. Also, I hope to have some posts up about my first day of work on Thursday. Im hoping to get pictures up too but only have 5 minutes left. Hope all is well. J

The Holy Grail

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

When writing about my installation and house, I forgot to mention one thing. I forgot to talk about my bathroom. I suppose that isn’t the proper word to give it…it truly is a shitter. Sorry for the potty mouth on that one. It is a nice 3-foot by 3-foot room with a top of the line porcelain hole in the ground. Also, it’s features boast a shower head directly above the hole. My goal is to avoid dropping the soap the next two years, or anytime after that.

My sink is outside. Fortunatly, it all works out. I have to take about 8 steps (on a long day) out my door to the bathroom, then hit the sink on the way back. The round trip is close to 16 steps if I feel like taking my time.

Installation

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

What a day. It has been an intense one. Today, I got installed at my site. While I have been in Dakar for a few days, I was pretty much in a holding pattern. Yesterday, to pass time and support, I went and helped another volunteer get installed about an hour and a half away. I won’t go into details about his install, because it was so different (he lives in a village), yet, the course of events were very similar.

Today, started around 7:15 with me taking my still damp clothes off the laundry line and putting them into my luggage as well as getting dressed. Malcolm, the Peace Corps/Senegal Director came and picked Steve (the guy I’m replacing) and I up around 8:10 and we headed to one of the governmental agricultural offices to meet the director. It went well, but I am looking forward to being able to understand the language in a few months. I wish Christmas were tomorrow because that is what I would ask for.

We headed back to the Libertie VI (Peace Corps Regional House in Dakar) to pick up my bike before heading to the Center for Microgardening (CDH). This is who I will be working under. My counterpart was there as well. The grounds were absolutely amazing and a formation (class) was going on, which was awesome to see. We did a quick tour of the grounds and came across some students from Quebec doing some study abroad work. I don’t know what they were entirely doing, but they were doing something.

After CDH, it was time to head to my new home. The compound is amazing. The landscaping is like nothing I have really seen in Senegal yet, primarily because there is grass. My family is great too. They know English very well, which I hope I won’t rely on too much…I really need to learn the language.

Finally, it was time to move my stuff into my house. It is far from a hut. It is also far from the imaginative views many of you have told me about, of me living in a small hut with no electricity or running water, and running around in only a loin cloth, speaking in clicks. While I plan to wear a loin cloth everyday, I am very fortunate in my living arrangements. I won’t go into too many details, only because there are pictures of it.

I cleaned the room alittle bit before unpacking. The first thing I wanted to get out of my back was my G Flag. I knew I’d be home once it were up on the wall. I’m hoping on game days to fly it above my house, blasting Glory Glory.

The former volunteer who lived here preferred the mattress on the floor as well as to sit on the floor. I am a little different, so my first big purchases here in Dakar, were a bed frame and two plastic chairs. I think I got a little ripped off on the chairs, but not much I can do about it now. One of my brothers went with me to help with the haggling. He said plastic chairs were expensive. Be very fortunate you have Wal-mart…its not easy to roll-back the prices here.

We got the bed put together and I rearranged part of my room to give it more of a homey feel for me. This was the moment I had been waiting for since the minute I graduated. When I was moving around so much this past fall traveling and such, I started a list of how many places I had slept since Graduation. I just looked over the list and updated it, and since graduation, I have stayed at 36 different places, yet the number goes up if you consider the different places slept at each of them. I gave up in figuring it out. Well, its nice to have a place I can call my own now, at least for the next year and 364 days.

Also, just before an amazing dinner, I worked out with my brothers. Two of them are playing in a tennis tournament in two weeks, so they started exercising today. I probably would have waited another week to start training, but what can you do. They asked if I wanted to train with them and I told them that we weren’t going to train for two weeks but for the entire two years that I was here. I’m pretty excited about this, because I would like to get into shape while over here. Now that I am a legal resident of Africa (at least Senegal), I have to be able to hang with them on any future race I run. As for the workout, we did a lot of pushups, ab stuff, jump rope, and stretching. I’m not the best at jump roping (it is about as good as my dancing skills). We made a schedule for the future days and added a few things. My room has a pull up bar (installed by previous volunteer), so we put that on the list. Today, we are going to the stadium to put suicides into the mix as well. There is a good chance I will be throwing up, at least 4 times this evening.

Dinner was amazing. It was a combination of Western and Senegelese style, which was good We had fish, French fries, bread with an onion and pepper sauce, and salad. Afterwards, we had mango. They laughed at me for eating the skin. Apparently that is a no-no, because it can make you sick. We did it in Thies at my house so I wasn’t too concerned and I have enough shots in my body to get me through just about anything. That really isn’t the attitude to have I suppose, but I really don’t know enough about the skin of Mangos and its connection to giving you a stomachache. Overall, dinner was great and I’m looking forward to every future meal I have here.

As for the upcoming week, I have a few things on the agenda. I start work tomorrow. I am going to in a sense shadow Steve and get a feel for things before he leaves in June. Also, I plan to call a Wolof tutor by weeks end. I have the number for the guy, but I’m trying not to overwhelm myself all at once. Finally, I hope to meet of with my sisters from my host family in Thies. They go to school in Dakar which is cool.

Other than that, I don’t have anything else to say. My brain is kinda mush right now from the past two days. I should probably go out and explore, but I think I’m going to take a nap. I think it might be the last opportunity I have for awhile.

Hope all is well with everyone. Please keep me updated about yourself. I don’t want this site to just be your daily ritual to avoid boredom at work, but as my correspondence to you. Thanks for everyone who has written or called, whether it be by phone, letter, text, email, or all. There are three of you who have sent text-messages or called from Europe. I am able to receive the messages, but I just can’t send them. I know I can call Europe, although, I’m still trying to figure out why I’m not getting through to Spain, my calls aren’t going through...I apologize. I don’t know what is wrong but will try to figure it out eventually.

Last Night in Thies

Saturday, May 13, 2006
Tonight, it was the last night in Thies for everyone. Everyone slept at the Center due to the fact that mostly everyone was leaving by 6 am for their sites. Fortunatly, I was far more lucky and didn’t have to leave till alittle later in the morning. But, I really don’t have much to say about the evening other than we had a good time. Everyone will be together again in 3 months at In-Service Training in Thies. Pictures should be in a later post.

Pictures...

These are pictures from the last day or so of class along with the Swearing-In ceremony in Dakar. Also included is a couple pictures of the Stage t-shirt.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.iobnc3d&Uy=-doqcam&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Swearing in...

Friday, May 12, 2006

To start things off, I didn’t shave or get a hair cut like I had planned. Why??? I don’t know. I am pretty disgusted with myself. I only have 5 Mach 3 razor’s and 1 can of shaving cream left for the next two years, I suppose that I could make the argument that I wanted to conserve, but that is completely ludicrous.

The day started off bright and early, with the alarm clock going off at 5:45, a little earlier than normal. I took my shower and then got dressed. This may sound normal, but it isn’t. Getting dressed required much attention. As you can see from the pictures, I wore something called a grand booboo.

Instead of buying one, I decided to borrow one of my dad’s booboos. I plan to buy one eventually, but just not quite yet. Earlier in the week, my mom gave me a bag with the booboo in it. It was a very nice, conservative, purple booboo. I only hoped I could pull it off. I was shocked, on the eve of swearing in (Thursday) and my mom told me she had a booboo for me. I looked at her awkwardly (which isn’t rare) and told her I already had one. She then told me that little Aziz was going to be dressed like a king by wearing a grand booboo.

The grand booboo consists of two booboo’s basically. The first one, which was the first layer included pants and a long “shirt”. It isn’t really a shirt, more like a dress, or a booboo in and of itself. On top of that, I put on another large and heavier booboo. Since my mother knows best here and I’m afraid to tell her differently, I decided to go along with her plan. After seeing myself in the mirror, I am a bit disappointed that the formal wear stores in the States don’t carry booboos. If they had, I pretty much guarantee that any formal or wedding I went to, I would have been dressed in one. Tuxedos are over-rated anyways. Just kidding.



Each trainee was allowed to invite one guest. I didn’t want to show favoritism between my parents, so I let them figure it out. It was decided that my mom would go. She looked stunning. A gorgeous woman, who just had her 50th birthday last week, carries herself with much dignity and pride. So at 6:30, the two of us, decked out in Sunday’s finest, left the house in search of a taxi to the training center. The time at the training center was short. We had a quick bite to eat. Also, I had a package waiting from Mama Land, which contained some pictures and yes, you guessed it, some mouse traps, which I have already tactfully placed. The trainees and their guests split. The trainees traveled together while the guests traveled together.

We reached the US Embassy’s Baseball Field, which overlooks the Atlantic, at around 9:15. Also there were Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) volunteers, who were also getting sworn in.

The ceremony got off to a late start, but went well once it started. The ceremony included the national anthem of all four nations represented, which was cool. It also included speeches by US Ambassador Janice Jacobs, Japanese Charge d’Affaires Hisanobu Hasama, Korean Ambassador Dongh-Wan Choi, Senegelese Minister Lamine Ba, and Peace Corps/Senegal Director Malcolm Versel. Finally, it was time to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, which gave me the shivers. Also, we each new Volunteer was provided with official documentation stating their work pupose.

After the ceremony, there was time for pictures or the eating of snack food. They had mini hamburgers, not as good as Krystal, but when you’ve been here for awhile, American food in any form tastes really good. The dignitaries left fairly quickly, so I didn’t get any pictures with them…sorry. The families headed back to Thies fairly quickly, while all the Volunteers stayed.

Now, it was in a sense, time for business. Being a new volunteer, we all got our moving in allowance, transportation allowance, bank account opening allowance, and our first pay check. Also, we also had to formally sign documentation stating that we were now volunteers. It didn’t provide the same rush as saying the oath, but it was now in ink.

Finally, we were able to leave. Most of us went to the Atlantic Club. Many people also refer to it as the American Club. Peace Corps volunteers get in free and there are tennis courts, basketball court, volleyball, nice pool, and more. It will be a nice place to go, seeing that I conveniently will be living in Dakar. I stayed for about an hour, but then had to catch the bus back to Thies. Some volunteers stayed in Dakar, others went to the beach, and the rest of us came back to Thies.

You may say, what a loser for going home. Well, the way I figured it, I will be living in Dakar for the next two years, I’ve already been to the beach a decent amount, I wanted to hang out with my family some more, and I’m definitely going out to celebrate tonight anyways with those who are here in Thies.

The bus ride back to Thies was an absolute riot. It pretty much turned into a moving dance party. The “no standing” rule definitely did not pertain to this bus ride. We had the music piped up, IPODs plugged up through the cassette drive and got down. I don’t know how to explain it anymore than that, but that is what happened. There are a few pictures I believe from the bus ride.

Finally, we made it back to Thies. It is around 8:15 on Friday right now, so I can’t tell you about the night of celebrating…yet.

Thanks to those of you who called or sent me a text message today congratulating me. It has bee a long road of hard work, so it really means a lot.

Last Day of Class

Thursday, May 11, 2006

I remember the days when the last day of school was filled with watching Mighty Ducks and Goonies. In a sense, my last day of school/training was the same. Language testing ended on Wednesday, and we had gotten our results later that afternoon. Out of I believe 36 of us, 4 didn’t meet the criteria to officially swear in. While one may think of this as a negative thing, it isn’t. Learning a language is very difficult, especially when training is so intense and we have only been here for two months. For those who didn’t qualify, they have to stay in Thies for another week and endure more training. Once again, this is not a negative thing at all. The training staff is excellent and all they want is for everyone to succeed and be ready for what lies ahead.

The day started out like any other at the training center, with language class…my favorite. For every language class I went to in the States, all 14 years of them, I hated going to class and was scared entering the door each time. Being the last day of Wolof class, I really am going to miss it. It truly has been great.

Well, we got halfway through language class and took our typical five minute break. This five minute break turned into the rest of the class. After Wolof class and the thirty minute break between classes, I had tech class. Once again, being the last day of class, it was fairly relaxed. We had a class picture taken in our garden and then decided to go get ice cream. So the next hour and a half was spent in a taxi and get dessert with my urban ag group. It was a nice touch to the last day of class.

Lunch ended up being really good, but it did remind me of Chinese food. By the end of the meal, the two other guys I was eating with were throwing food at each others spot in the bowl. We got a good kick out of it. Typically, after lunch we get an apple, bananas, pineapple, or orange right after lunch, not this day. We were surprised with yogurt. While it wasn’t Yoplait, it was pretty good.

After lunch, we had the rest of the day off, which doesn’t typically happen, but it was the last day of school. Because of this, I decided to go to Pamanda’s. I wanted to beat the crowd and sit outside and read the Newsweek my mom had sent. I am pretty intrigued about the Duke lacrosse scandal. Thinking that people would soon follow, I set off on my own.

Two hours later and baking in the sun, the first volunteer showed up. By that point, I had read the Newsweek twice, cleaned out my book bag, sent a text message or two to the States, and acquired a nice sweat mark along my butt. But, it was nice to relax by myself for a bit. Having time to yourself is something that all of us have had very little of.

A few other volunteers showed, but around 6 pm, it was time for me to bike home.

Expectations...

Thursday, May 11, 2006

I tried to come to Senegal with no expectations. As much as I may have wanted that to happen, that hope was full of crap. Typically, I have pretty high expectations for things and I’m not a fan of that at times. It is so easy to have those expectations not met and be disappointed. It happens all the time, which is why I didn’t want to come here we any preconceived notions.

I must say, my experience here has blown away any expectations I may have had prior to getting on the airplane. As I have said over and over, my host family is amazing. I could not be happier with that situation. The attention provided at the training center is not like anything I have ever seen. All the staff, whether it is the guy at the top or at the bottom, they want you to succeed and be the best.

Bob Marley's Birthday

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Apparently, today is Bob Marley’s birthday. You may wonder how I know that because it definitely is not on my calendar. If it weren’t for the large speakers placed atop cars while they are moving, playing his music as loud as the speakers will blast it, and the occasional “Happy Birthday Bob Marley” amongst the music, I would not have know. It sure was an interesting sight. If anyone of you had been in Senegal, you would have known that it was his birthday. So Mr. Marley….Happy Birthday and the people of Senegal love you!!!

Good News

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

More will come later, but I wanted everyone to know I passed my final language assessment today and reached the needed competency level. I think it may be the first language test i have actually ever passed. I am now clared to swear in on friday in Dakar.

Address Information

I thought I would have some information for yall about my new address in Dakar by this point, but I don’t. The mail system is alittle different here, in which in order to receive mail, you have to have a post office box, which you have to pay for. Obviously, I don’t have one yet, since I haven’t moved to Dakar yet.

Being in Dakar, I have two options. First, I can forgo paying for a post office box and receive my mail at the Peace Corps Senegal Headquarters in Dakar. This isn’t the same address as the Thies Training Center, which was my past address. I’m not sure if I will go with this option because I don’t want to get into a habit of going to the Headquarters and I’m unsure of how close it is to where I will live and work…but we will see. My second option is to purchase a box at a post office close to my house. I am unsure on the proximity of one to my house, but I believe it is fairly close. Hopefully I can figure this stuff out next week and let yall know.

Finally, I plan to write something on the end of my first phase here in Senegal soon, but I want to go ahead and thank everyone who has written a letter or email, prayed/thought about me, or called me...I encourage you to keep doing it. I had an great call the other day from Ingraham and Lilun. They figured out how to do a three-way call in which only one person needed to enter the international calling card info, so it was pretty cool talking to Mike who was at the beach, Lilun who was in his car, and me. It was a nice twist to the typical phone call.

Where is the Supercuts...

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

While I don’t know why I haven’t learned my lesson, I have never been a big fan of going to some fancy salon to get my hair cut. Fortunately, I think this philosophy is a good one here in Senegal, since I really haven’t seen too many fancy salons, or atleast ones that some of you may be accustomed to in the States.

I have been here for right at 8 weeks and haven’t had a hair cut for about 3 months. Needless to say, it is getting close to that time when I need a haircut. The hair going over the ears and down the neck can only continue so much longer. I’ve always preferred being clean-cut.

My dilemma arises in the fact that I am scared to go to the barber (aka butcher) here. I can barely explain to the lady at Supercuts or Great Clips (depends on which one has the $9.99 haircut advertised) how I want my hair cut, so I can only imagine telling a barber here in broken French and Wolof that I want a two blade on the side, as short as you can get it up top with scissors, and boxed in the back. Also, the things they use here to cut hair rival the weapons used by a small army.

I’m hoping to get my haircut on Thursday using some clippers somebody brought with them, but if not, I refuse to get it cut in town. I might be coming back to the States looking like Tom Hanks in Castaway. With Swearing In on Friday in Dakar, I am hoping to have some of the hair chopped. I wouldn’t mind being able to have that clean cut look, maybe alittle gel in the hair, like I’m going to my Senior Prom, giving my oath to the United States of America. I don’t think I want anything more, than just that.

Where is the Supercuts...

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

While I don’t know why I haven’t learned my lesson, I have never been a big fan of going to some fancy salon to get my hair cut. Fortunately, I think this philosophy is a good one here in Senegal, since I really haven’t seen too many fancy salons, or atleast ones that some of you may be accustomed to in the States.

I have been here for right at 8 weeks and haven’t had a hair cut for about 3 months. Needless to say, it is getting close to that time when I need a haircut. The hair going over the ears and down the neck can only continue so much longer. I’ve always preferred being clean-cut.

My dilemma arises in the fact that I am scared to go to the barber (aka butcher) here. I can barely explain to the lady at Supercuts or Great Clips (depends on which one has the $9.99 haircut advertised) how I want my hair cut, so I can only imagine telling a barber here in broken French and Wolof that I want a two blade on the side, as short as you can get it up top with scissors, and boxed in the back. Also, the things they use here to cut hair rival the weapons used by a small army.

I’m hoping to get my haircut on Thursday using some clippers somebody brought with them, but if not, I refuse to get it cut in town. I might be coming back to the States looking like Tom Hanks in Castaway. With Swearing In on Friday in Dakar, I am hoping to have some of the hair chopped. I wouldn’t mind being able to have that clean cut look, maybe alittle gel in the hair, like I’m going to my Senior Prom, giving my oath to the United States of America. I don’t think I want anything more, than just that.

Calls to the States...

Monday, May 8, 2006

Well, something interesting happened this morning in my Wolof class. There are three of us in the class right now. It is typically very laid back accompanied with a lot of laughter. Well, because my teacher’s cell phone had been blowing up all morning, I decided that I would covertly call a buddy of mine who was sitting three seats over. Its pretty much the game we used to play in high school or maybe a few months ago

I undid the keypad lock and pressed the talk button. Well, his phone ended up having a dead battery and being off, so the joke didn’t work. Unfortunately, the joke was on me though. I put my phone back into my pocket (I’m sitting here typing in my room, its 8 pm and I just saw the f’n mouse just run into my room so I really wish I had a baseball bat right now) and focused my attention on an endless flow of Wolof.

Thirty minutes later (I’m still in class), my phone rings, and I notice it is a non-Senegal number, but I just didn’t know who it was. It was around 10:00 am, so I was fairly perplexed on who it could be. Since my voice mail hasn’t been set up yet (not an easy process) and I wasn’t going to answer in class, I was curious. It is a rarity for the phone to ring, so I wanted to find out who was actually calling 1-900-HOT-LAND. So, a few minutes later, during a short class break, I called the number back.

Well, it turned out it was one of my dad’s office numbers that called. I only have his cell phone number in my phone book, so that is why the number didn’t show up on my caller id.. Fortunately, I recognized his voice when he answered. While I had one question answered, I still didn’t know why he called, especially so early (Texas is 4 hours back right now, 5 hours back sometimes due to DST)…so I asked.

As it turns out, my dad got a phone call from me when I was in class. Apparently, he got a nice two minute session of wolof class as a message. I don’t know what anyone would want more than that. I couldn’t figure out why this happened, so I did a little investigating.

During this investigation process, I realized I should have majored in criminal justice and become a detective instead of coming to Africa. As it turns out, my pockets where somehow setting off my speed dial on my phone and conveniently calling the states. My dad wasn’t the only one who got called either…a total of two calls where placed during my class…both to the states. I don’t know a better way to use cell phone minutes then making long distance calls to the states and not even knowing it.
The thing that I learned from this experience is that the first ten numbers I entered into my phone, which apparently are assigned as speed dial numbers (I don’t even know how to use speed dial on a good day) shouldn’t have been numbers of people in the states. Because I’m not going to change this, maybe you will get lucky and get a call at 6 am from Senegal, only to hear the muffled sounds of a mysterious language being spoken.

Language Barrier...

Sunday, May 7, 2006

Things here are much different than in the States. Back home, if you are hungry, you go to Weaver D’s; if you need to relax, you take a nap in peace and quiet; if you need to pick up some deodorant, you head to Wal-mart, if something breaks, you call the handyman. Here, if you are hungry, you have to kill the chicken and fix up some rice; if you need to relax…goodluck, or be prepared to hear several animal sounds; if you need to pick up some deodorant, you go to the Toubab Grocery Store, pay a fortune, and get called names as you go and come home; and if something breaks in my household, you apparently call Justin “Aziz Toure” Land.

I thought, after watching Macgyver for the past 10 years, being able to recall nearly every episode, and owning several of the seasons’ DVDs, I would be able to fix just about anything. The amount of tools that I brought with me (Leatherman, glasses repair kit, and few knives) would make one think that I was in the repair business here, atleast, my family thought so….boy were they wrong.

So, tonight, my mom brought me her glasses and they were a bit loose. The reason why was because sticks had been placed in both hinges to keep the glasses together. This is a common practice utilized here. My mom, speaking in Wolof and using some hand gestures, I thought that she wanted me to remove the small pieces of wood so they could be replaced.

Not a problem. I went through my tool inventory and pulled out my little screw driver from my glasses repair kit. Within a few seconds, I turned those little pieces of wood into history. I brought the glasses to my mom with a big smile on my face, full of accomplishment.

As my mom inspected her glasses, my entire family burst into laughter. I couldn’t figure out why…stupid American me. Well, as it turned out, apparently, my mom wanted screws put into the glasses, which unfortunately I didn’t come to Africa with an endless supply of, or any for that matter.

Fortunately, my entire family has a great sense of humor, so it was not a big deal. We laughed about it for most of the evening, even though I felt pretty bad. But, the moral of the story is that the language barrier is tough. While I have been here for two months, learning the language, there is so much to learn, even in basic things. It is nice to be in a family here in Thies that is understanding, but also difficult when the language barrier back fires on you.

Pictures

Beach (April 29 - 30, 2006)
Finally, here are the pictures from the second bike trip to the beach
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.o9elknd&Uy=jb1prn&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Cookout (May 6, 2006)
Here are the pictures from the night I cooked cheeseburgers for my family. The fish pictures are from the next day.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.tpmm2u9&Uy=gssnh5&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Random
Pictures taken by another volunteer. Range from our time in Philly to now.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.sr59ajl&Uy=-6s51b9&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Cookout...

Saturday, May 6, 2006

Today was the BIG day…my family and I had been looking forward to it all week. It was the day that I made hamburgers. Being Saturday, we only had a half day at the training center, so after lunch, I hurried home to get my brothers, so we could get everything I needed. It was definitely an adventure…its not like going to Kroger to pick up dinner.

Once at the market, we hunted down salaat – small bushel (lettuce), tomaate (tomato), kerine (coal), hal – 1 (melon), pommes - 3 (apples), and ananas - 5 (bananas). I don’t know if I paid a good price for all of that but it came to 2,600 CFA. That comes out to be around $5 in the States if you want to look at it that way, but living here, you can’t really do that.

After the market, I was in search of the more luxurious items. I was hesitant in going to a local butcher, so I decided to get the viande hache (ground beef) from the Bon Marche (Toubab Grocery Store). You definetly don’t pay the same prices in the store as you do out in the market. At the Bon Marche, I ended up getting 1.5 Kg of ground beef, mangos – 2 (couldn’t find any good ones in the market), American cheese, and ketchup. It was an expensive trip at the grocery, coming to a total of around $12.

After the Bon Marche, we were in search for buns. The grocery store was out, so we had to brainstorm. First, we went to Pamanda (PC hangout) and I asked if I could buy buns from them, but they didn’t do that. So after asking around and traveling to a few bakeries, we found some fresh buns, which had just come out of the oven. They were amazing. Twelve buns ended up costing 1,200 CFA.

Finally, after about 2 hours in the afternoon heat and some wilted lettuce, we headed back to the house. It was about 4 when we returned, so there was no hurry on dinner (we eat around 8:30 – 9:30 every night). I decided to take a short nap before putting the apron on.

Around 5:00, I started on dinner. I don’t know if the kitchen set up would have passed a health inspection, but I had to utilize what I had. Emeril would have been proud. I started with the fruit, since the meat had to thaw. The preparing of the fruit took a good while, but in the end, I had a huge bowl.

After the fruit, I ground some dried pepper and mixed it with salt. Finally, the meat had thawed and I was able to mix in the pepper and salt. I formed the patties and placed them in the freezer section of the refrigerator. I say freezer very loosely.

At that point, another volunteer came over to use my computer and my mom started making fries. I have no clue how to make them, so I asked if she would. I still had work to do, so I started cutting the tomatoes and shredded the lettuce. I was pretty amazed.

Around 7:30, the grill was started up. Once again, I say grill very loosely. I brought my IPOD and ITrip outside and listened to some tunes like at a good ol’ fashioned cook out. My mom and dad came out and watched my cooking techniques that they were unaccustomed to.

I threw the patties on and had to see what would happen. I really had no clue if the grill that I was working with would work, especially since I didn’t have a spatula or anything. The patties shrank tremendously in size, but the first batch turned out fairly well. I put the second batch on, and another volunteer stopped by my house and was amazed at the guy from Georgia. Tunes going, grilling out, and being in Africa…it just has a certain ring to it.

We set up the stools outside and I got everything together. I had one of my brothers secretly go and pick up a litre bottle of Fanta and a litre bottle of Coke as well. There were I believe 10 or 11 of us…my family, two volunteers, and myself. The meal turned out amazing. My family eats really well here, but it sure was good to eat American food. Also, they enjoyed it tremendously, as did I. It definetly was worth it. It was nice to get the vote of confidence. I was nominated to cook dinner every night, but I had to decline. After dinner, we sat around drinking Fanta and Coke.

Finally, after socializing most of the night away, I headed out with some other volunteers to Pamanadas and to a concert…another night of fun it was.

Counterpart Workshop

Thursday/Friday, May 4/5, 2006

The counterpart workshop is finally over. It was a great two days of sessions, but very exhausting. My counterpart, Ababacar Sy Diallo, who works for the Department of Horticulture, came up from Dakar. During the two day workshop, the three programs met individually.

The workshop started at 8:00 on Thursday morning. I ended up getting to the center around 6:30 (about an hour earlier than normal) to take a quick shower, and go over some notes regarding a speech and skit I was supposed to do later in the day. The first session was “General Introduction and Logistics” followed by “Seminar Goals and Objectives & Peace Corps Goals”. The second of these sessions really got me to believe in what I am going to be doing for the next two years. It definitely provided me with a better insight in the Peace Corps’ views and approaches on development.

On that first day, I had to give the opening introduction for the first session requiring it. It was done in French. I was alittle nervous, being the first urban ag trainee to open up a session, especially because it was French. It wasn’t easy, but I definitely had to start practicing it a few days in advance.

Later in the day, I was in a skit with some of the trainers, showing the counterparts how difficult it is to come into a different culture. We definitely had a good time doing it and got some laughs. I spoke mostly in wolof during the skit which was cool. It was interesting being put on the spot in front of an audience having to speak wolof…I can barely do it to myself, yet alone an audience. Just kidding.

The rest of the workshop went really well. At times, it was tough to follow, because it was all in French. Most of the urban aggies don’t know French too well, so we zoned out alittle, or maybe a lot. Fortunately, I had a translator for most of it, and was able to get the important lines.

In the end, we met with our counterparts one on one and discussed our plan of action for the next 3 months at site. After three months, we come back to the training center for more intensive technical training. While I am still working on my personal plan of action (what I need to focus on – language, culture, safety/health, technical, etc), which has to be presented next week, my counterpart and my plan is for me to learn by experience. Doing Red Cross work during Katrina and the whole immersion process here in Senegal, getting thrown into the fire is definitely is the best way to learn for me, but very stressful and nerve-racking at times too, especially when you aren’t familiar with the language. Also, during the first three months, the plan is for me to focus on my main site, Hopital Fann. The project is a garden of the AIDS patients, which I’m excited to work on. In the future, the plan is to try and undertake another project. The one I want to work on is starting a large-scale gardening project at one of Dakar’s high schools to aid in the feeding of the students. This is something that won’t happen for several months, but it is definitely something to look forward too.

Other than that, I don’t have much else to say about the workshop, other than I’m really excited about the potential and possibilities of the next two years.

Crazy Nights...

Friday, May 5, 2006

This one night, early into my senior year of college, I woke up in the middle of the night, wondering who was in my bed. I was very perplexed and in a daze. I tried to recall the nights events, which for that night, only included me studying and watching tv. I was at a stump of who it could be, and alittle scared. I tried moving my feet to see if I could get any movement. I didn’t want to say anything, especially since I didn’t know who it was…I didn’t want to be that guy. I really had no clue what was going on, but I decided the best thing to do was just try and fall back asleep. It took awhile, but finally, I went back to bed. I woke up a few more times during the night, each time, my problem going unsolved.

Well, morning soon came and I was very eager to see who was in my bed. Well, my eagerness turned to disappointment when I realized that girl, atleast that is what I was hoping for, turned out to be a pile of clothes on my bed. I suppose the point of the story is that my senses aren’t always at their best during the middle of the night…that has carried over to Senegal as well.

Twice in the past week, I have woke up in the middle of the night during a dream and did some talking. Being on larium, having a mosquito net over you, dripping with sweat, and being on a bed that could swallow you, really makes these experiences interesting. Because I only remember one of the accounts, Ill try and describe it the best I can, but, its alittle hazy. For some reason, I thought that some friends from home where in my room and so I was talking to them out loud (I don’t think I woke anybody up) and then I started swatting at my mosquito net trying to get out of it because I thought the mouse was going crazy in my room. In reality, I suppose I was the only lunatic. Finally, after about 5 or 10 minutes of talking in my sleep to my friends, which is much cheaper than calls to the states, so I might try to do it more often, I realized that my friends weren’t there and I was in a pitch black room in Africa talking to myself. I am hoping that I can recreate that magical night in Georgia and just think a girl is in my bed because it is much better than knowing mice are starring down at me every breath I take.

Pictures and Loose Ends...

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

I don’t have my new address yet for Dakar. All I need to do is call the guy I am replacing, but with this week’s schedule, I don’t know if I will get around to it. If you were planning to mail anything to me, please wait till I post my new address. Thanks and keep writing.

Also, I was planning to make/receive a few phone calls this past weekend. I just want to apologize for doing neither. While the beach was awesome, it didn’t have cell phone coverage. Sorry.

Here are a bunch of pictures. Apparently, the link to the last set of pictures didn’t work so I will post it again…sorry about that.

Bike Trip to the Beach (April 23, 2006):
Sorry, you can’t really see the monkeys in the pictures that I took.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.jgc9xf5&Uy=dwlemk&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Urban Ag Field Trip (April 26, 2006):
Includes a picture of my Urban Ag trainer Youssapha
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.90r39eh&Uy=ad6vf2&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Talent Show and Trip to Dakar (April 27, 2006 / April 28, 2006):
Includes a picture of my Wolof tutor Regina and me. I ended up deleting some pictures because it was taking too long to upload:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.kcaw9w9&Uy=-bbmwmo&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Beach Trip (April 29, 2006 - April 30, 2006):
Includes a picture of my family. Sorry...these are the best pictures, but I didnt have time to upload them. Ill try and do it on my next visit to the internet.

Crunch Time...

Monday, May 1, 2006

Happy May Day…the Labor Day to the rest of the world, unless you are in Peace Corps Training. Today was just another day of learning, except that in one of my Wolof classes, we went to the market, and there was a May Day Parade going on. We didn’t go to see the parade, but to learn about the workings of the market and how to negotiate prices in Wolof. I ended up buying some warga (Senegelese tea leaves) for my family

It’s been seven weeks since I left Houston. We have less than two weeks of Pre-Service Training (PST) and then, we become Volunteers. It is pretty crazy how fast things have gone. With training concluding in Dakar on May 12 with Swearing In, the next several days are going to be busy and very hectic.

First, we have our counterpart workshop this Thursday and Friday. This is when our counterparts, Senegelese nationals, come to Thies and we get to know each other. Also, they are better prepared on what it is like to be a Volunteer, such as learning the language and adjusting to a new culture. While I am looking forward to meeting my counterpart, there is a lot of preparation for it. I am on the welcome committee and I have to give an introduction (in French) and do a skit with my trainers (in French). Needless to say, my Wolof is much better than my French, so hopefully the counterparts have a good sense of humor, especially mine.

Also this week, my mom is having her birthday on Thursday. I found out nearly a month ago about this and how we are having chicken. The more I think about it, I can’t recall having chicken at my house here, so I’m looking forward to it.

With this kinda being the last real weekend during training, I am planning to stay in Thies and for the most part hangout with my family. They are awesome…I can’t say that enough. Today, my mom asked me if I knew how to make hamburgers. Growing up, learning how to use the grill was engrained deep into my blood. So, I told her I did, but that I didn’t like putting French fries on them. For some reason, they do that here, and I’m just not the fan. So, Saturday after class, I’m gonna go to the market with my mom and one of my brothers and get the things I need to make burgers for my family. I really am excited about this, cooking is one thing I really have wanted to do for my family. I want to make Swedish Pancakes (anybody who knows my mom, knows all about them) sometime, but I think I’m gonna have to wait for IST. I want to be able to practice making them so I don’t give them and my family a bad rap.

The last thing on the agenda is the final language assessment. It is sometime next week and it is something I must do well on…actually everyone. The best way to prepare is to talk/think wolof as much as I can till then. It is one of those things that is very stressful to think about, yet stress only makes you perform and get nervous during language assessments. I’m sure, in the end, everything will pay off.

Pretty soon, I will be off to Dakar…

Bike Beach Trip #2

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Well, I got back from another trip to the beach. Since being in Senegal, I have gotten the chance to see the beach on many occasions, but have actually only gotten to enjoy it on two. I must say that I thought I would miss my days hanging out by the pool swimming and taunting my dog with splashes of water during this past Houston winter, but I haven’t really missed the pool. Although, I do miss Millie, my parents, and the good restaurants they frequent every night. But here, it isn’t all work and no play. My tan is coming along pretty well. In a few weeks, I hope that I won’t look like a toubab, but that of a local.

So, this weekend, about 13 trainees, including myself, biked to Popenguine after class on Saturday. It is the same beach I biked to last week. The weekend, unlike last, we spent the night and were able to unwind and relax, which we did.

Because I live kinda on the outskirts of Thies but on the road to Popenguine, another trainee and I pedaled together. It was nice to get away from the stresses of groups and just zone in on the ride and clear my head. The ride went well though. We didn’t have any mishaps or anything.

Around 4:45, Mandy and I reached Thies. The rest of the trainees were scattered behind us. Because we didn’t know where the house was, we decided to go to the restaurant I went to last weekend and started the weekend off with a Senegelese beer. After a long week of class and 22 miles of biking, it tasted pretty good. The rest of the trainees came in 20 and 40 minutes later.

Around 5:30, we met the guy who we were renting the house from and got settled it. It was absolutely amazing. I’m not going to say a word about it because I couldn’t give it justice. Ok, I’ll say a bit. It was really two houses kinda connected with a total of 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and two kitchens overlooking the ocean. It didn’t have a TV, which is the norm here, but it did have refrigerators (which we eventually fully stocked) and electricity. The view, which I have pictures of, was absolutely amazing.

We had gotten some vegetables prior to leaving Thies at the market, so some of us started cooking up dinner, while the rest of us went to the store to get some $3 bottles of Whiskey, Vodka, Beer, Wine, and mixers. You have to cater to all tastes.

Dinner ended up being amazing. It was a mixture of rice and vegetables. I wish there had been some meat, but I have learned not to be greedy. Also, we had bread. The night carried on. Nothing interesting happened other than all of us having a good time. Some people went to bed early, others stayed up till around 4:30. I was kinda in both groups. I’m not going to go into the details of this one or two hour “nap” time, primarily because according to the number of comments my mom makes on this site, I figure she reads it, but I did rebound and make it through the rest of the evening. I kinda felt like I let myself down and surprised I didn’t have marker all over my face, but I guess something good can be said about those who can pick themselves back up after. In the end, the night was a blast.

On Sunday morning, everyone woke up at different times and some feeling good, others feeling like crap. I felt great, partially due to the knowledge I gained from living at Apt 45 for a few years. I definitely learned and possibly invented a few tricks of the trade there. For breakfast, we fixed eggs, vegetables, and fruit to go along with bread. Once again, it was great.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. It was amazing. I went out to the beach to relax. The water had a strong undertow, so I didn’t spend too much time in it, but did manage to read and listen to some tunes. Along the way, I got a few shades darker.

Around 2:00, we started to clean up everything in order to leave the house by 3:00. Another trainee and I, took the bottles back to the store to get the deposits back. In Senegal, if you take a bottle from the store, you have to pay a deposit. After getting everything straightened up, a few trainees started back to Thies, while the rest of us, caught a late lunch. This lunch took a lot longer than we were expecting. With a two and a half hour ride back to Thies, we got a little antsy. Fortunately, the food came out, but in waves.

I ended up hitting the road around 4:30 or so with another trainee. Like the previous weekend, the conditions weren’t great…a 22 mile uphill ride in the wind. With the exception of getting annoyed by some of the Allhums, in which the passengers yelled at us and the drivers didn’t give us much space on the road, I made it home around 7:30.

Overall, it was a great weekend. It was nice to hang out with a lot of other trainees, but not in a huge group. This beach trip was much more relaxing than the first. Hopefully you enjoy the pictures and maybe you will be even more convinced to come visit Africa.

Trip to Dakar...

Friday, April 28, 2006

As I’m sitting here a few days later writing this, my contacts are alittle dry, so I’m having a hard time seeing the screen, so, hopefully I can crank this post out with no problems.

So today, I went to my future hometown. All the trainees went to the big city of Dakar for a full day of meetings and such. The day started for me half way through the night to the sound of mosquitoes. I really couldn’t fall back asleep. If its not the larium messing with you during your sleep, its those crazy insects and bugs.

There were three vehicles taking everyone to Dakar: the PC bus, a PC land cruiser, and a sept-place. A sept-place is a station wagon taxi and seats 7/sept passengers. I decided to take the sept place. It was a good group in it which was good.

The first place we went to in Dakar was the US Embassy. We met with the Consular General and the Security Officer. It was a brief visit, but it was cool to see the embassy. After the Embassy, we went to the Peace Corps Compound. The Peace Corps offices are not on the Embassy grounds and aren’t really even close to it. We learned more about getting installed at our sites as well as met the remaining Peace Corps/Senegal support staff. Finally, well, kinda, we went to the Police Station. Living in Senegal, we are legally responsible to have Senegelese identification. We were at the police station to sign the paperwork to have the ID cards made. Afterwards, we went and got ice cream. Ice cream is a luxury here, so it was nice. Well, I say it is a luxury, but fortunately for me, I will be living in Dakar, so all the luxuries that many volunteers in Senegal won’t have, I will….ice cream being one of them. So I got asked a lot if I was going to go their everyday….my answer was yes.

Finally, we were on the road back to Thies. We passed by the area that I know I will be living, so that was pretty cool. We returned to Thies close to 7 pm. It was a long day and by the end of it, the lungs were ready for some fresh air. There is a lot of exhaust in Dakar, so it can be tough sometimes. I might have a smoker’s cough or something by the end of two years, without ever picking up a cigarette, hopefully not.

Talent Show

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Tonight is the eve before leaving for a day in Dakar. Because we are to leave at 6:30 from the training center in Thies, some of the trainees convinced the training center staff to let us sleep at the center. They agreed, but we had some rules to follow.

After class ended at 6:30, I played some boules with some other trainees prior to dinner. Normally we don’t eat dinner at the center, but because we were spending the night, tonight was an exception. We had a pretty good meal of salad, chicken, potato wedges, oranges, and bread.

After dinner, we had a talent shoe. Normally I’m not a big fan of these things unless I’m involved in it some sort of way. I mean, this past summer up at Westmont, a few of us got pretty crazy during a few of them. Well, because I figured I couldn’t be one of the masters of the ceremony, I decided to do a comedy act. My original plan was to do a talk about nothing, almost like a Seinfeld episode or anything I’ve written on this site. That was my plan. I was gonna have everyone write a topic they wanted talked about and then draw from the hat. In the past when giving presentations, I have worked my public speaking abilities and dazzled the audience by turning uninteresting topics into entertaining ones.

Unfortunately, my plan didn’t pan through. It wasn’t because the topics were probably gonna be to scandalous but I ended up doing an improv act with another trainee. It was set up kinda like an episode of Whose Line Is It Anyways. Earlier in the day, we had everyone write a one line sentence. During our performance, we were told who we had to be and where we were. For example, during one of the scenarios, I played the role of a drug dealer working at a candy factory. At random moments, we would pull out the sentences written by the trainees and read it. It sounds more complicated and unhumorous than I’m giving it justice, but it went somewhat well. It could have gone a lot better in certain areas.

The show produced some really good performances. One of the acts involved two trainees playing the guitar and violin. They played some bluegrassish type music which was absolutely incredible. Another trainees did standup, making a parody about being a female Peace Corps volunteer here in Africa. She wasn’t afraid to show her leg and arm pit hair during the act. It was quite funny. Some of the girl trainees did a fashion show of Senegalese clothing, which was interesting.

In the end, it was a good evening. It was nice to hang out and relax at the training center with other trainees and our trainers.