Service Update...

One thing about the Peace Corps experience is that it provides you with the freedom to choose your own path. Some may look at this as a flaw, but if utilized correctly, it is very beneficial in branching away from your main assignment and giving back in ways that you find important throughout your service.

Over the course of the past month or so, I feel as if I’ve hit a new stride in my service. While my language skills are far from perfect, I am comfortable with it. Dakar has become my “temporary” home. Basically, I have reached a comfort level in my day-to-day life that makes things easier for me.


Because of this, I have been able to change up my routine in a manner I see fit. I used to just focus my time working at the garden at Fann, but slowly, I have been trying to branch out. First, in order to try and diversify the supplemental meals coming out of the garden and to get a better understanding of the kitchen, I have started cooking the patients’ supplemental meal once a week. Because the garden is only a piece in the puzzle, it is important to see another piece up-close as well. As of yet, the dishes I’ve prepared have been: coleslaw; garlic-buttered turnips; mashed turnips with garlic, onion, butter, and milk; sautéed kohl rabi and carrots; sautéed turnip, carrot, onion, and garlic with a lemon butter sauce. So far, the reviews have been good, with coleslaw topping the favorites list.

Another addition to my calendar is an English Class. Being here, you always get people who want to learn English. You never know who is serious or not. Also, early on, I tried not speak English, which proved to be difficult. Finally, a guy I work with convinced me to teach a class at his house.

Every Tuesday and Thursday night, from 8 to 10, I go over to his house, teach him and his wife English, in front of a few spectators, have dinner and tea, before walking home. It has been very interesting, not only because I know nothing about teaching English, but it is providing me with a different perspective on things. Also, Fatou, the lady I teach, is a mean cook. I figure that I will put on a few pounds as a result of her cooking.
While Tuesdays and Thursdays have turned into long days, they have been very rewarding. Ever since the first class in January, I have increasingly gained more respect for a couple of my past French teachers. I have been able to see myself in one of my students. I was never fond or even good at learning French from kindergarten all the way until college. Often times, the goal was just to pass. To do that, often times took a lot of work.

Some people just don’t have a grasp for foreign languages. For others, a poor teacher can hinder ones desire to grasp the language. Often times, the classroom setting is the worst place for an individual to learn.

While my French is still far from good and I rarely even use it in Francophone Africa, the dedication of my high school French teachers has provided me with the inspiration and a positive outlook in teaching this class. When the gentleman I work with brings his notebook to the garden to go over stuff, all I can think about are the hours of after school tutoring sessions I took part in and the dedication and care of my teachers at the time.

Finally, I am slowly easing myself into another gardening project at the C.T.A., a PLWHA outpatient center at Fann. The garden is being constructed by D.I.G., an N.G.O. started by Steve Bolinger. He was the Peace Corps Volunteer I replaced in Dakar. Their website can be found in the links section of this site.

Over the course of the next year, I am hoping to spend more time at this site. It is a site where individuals affected with HIV/AIDS work and maintain the garden, a scenario far different from my current site.

Well, here it is, the direction of things right now in a nutshell. Thanks for all of your support over the course of the past year.