Hey everybody! Time has been flying by and I’ve gotten woefully behind in my blog updates. I think last time I wrote we were just about to find out the location of our permanent sites where we’ll be working for the next few years (I think that was around week 5). Now, four or so weeks later, we’ve found out those sites, visited them, come back for a few more weeks of pre-service homestay and language learning, and had a number of wonderful and ridiculous experiences along the way. Whew! In two days we’ll have a big ceremony hoopla in Dakaar to be sworn in as regular bonafide volunteers. Then the next morning we ship of to our new sites- I’m simultaneously really excited and a little terrified.
I don’t quite know where to start- the last few weeks have been crazy, busy, and truly joyful. But I suppose I’ll begin where I left off last time: site announcements. At the time I was all kinds of sick (I’m so sorry for leaving my blog at that and not writing a ‘I’ve gotten better and have been in great health since’ post. Xekatu!! (jaxanke sorry!)). Nevertheless, I headed out to the basketball court here at the training center and got blindfolded with all my fellow volunteers. We were then taken by the hand and silently led around the old map of Senegal that is painted on the court. Finally, after they led us in enough circles to be sure we were utterly disoriented and confused, they yelled for everyone to take off their blindfolds. I opened my eyes and looked at my feet and found myself standing in Kedougou, the farthest southeast region of Senegal… and in the absolute farthest corner of Kedougou for that matter! Next to me I found Ben, so far my best bud here in Senegal, along with Patrick, Marielle, Larocha, and Martin. We all burst out cheering and smiling, celebrating the creation of our great Kedougou crew!
Me and Ivy, blindfolded and smilin'!
Later on after another week or so of homestays we all came back to Thies and piled into Peace Corps cars at some terribly ungodly hour of the morning to ship out to Volunteer Visits. During Volunteer Visits trainees get to stay with a volunteer in the region. We shadow our hosts to see what their work and life is like and, Inshallah, visit our future villages. All this was accomplished during my VV with the addition of some ridiculous drama along the way!
To start with, Kedougou is beautiful and really far away! In utter contrast to the rest of deserty Senegal there are trees everywhere, big waterfalls in the southern mountains, and best of all no sand!! When we arrived, sweaty and exhausted after a day long, bumpy car ride we were greeted to the most wonderful welcome party hosted by all the current volunteers. We drank choice beverages (though in Senegal there is really not such a thing as ‘choice’!) and ate the most delicious Mexican meal. After a month straight of nothing but ceeb u jen (rice and fish), beans and salsa and tortillas were heaven. I can’t imagine after two years!
My new host siblings!
The next morning Marielle and I headed out with our volunteer host Kate to Marielle’s new village of Nafadji. Some kind of bad wind must have been blowin’ that day though, ‘cause the day was fraught with one weird disaster after another. It started with Kate’s bike tire popping in Kedougou and me losing a nice pocket knife I had just purchased in the market. Next I came back from my unsuccessful knife search to find my i-pod utterly drenched in peanut butter which had exploded in my bag. Of course paper towels weren’t to be found so, looking around to see if anyone was watching, I proceeded to lick the entire i-pod clean. And, alhamdiloulahi, it still works!! Marielle actually had a bottle of shampoo explode in her bag later in the day, but the real trouble was yet to come.
This trouble came in the form of a bottle of African Fun (a fanta-esque soda) and a sneaky thief. In Marielle’s beautiful, really stereotypically African looking village of Nafadji we headed out to get said soda. The store owner was trying to charge us 1000 cfa, so we spent maybe 20 minutes or so bargaining for it, offering 700 cfa as long as he threw in his cat in the deal. When we finally returned we walked into Marielle’s hut to find the back door open and Kate’s back pack gone. And this was no ordinary bag; it contained her camera, 20 or 30,000cfa, i-pod, passport, whole life. Aye!
After a healthy number of curses and a thorough search we went to Marielle’s dad (who just so happens to be the village chief) to explain the situation and insist that he call a village meeting. And a little while later the gigantic village drum was sounding and all of the old men (keebaalu) were coming to her compound. The meeting then commenced- all three of us toubabs sat next to the chief with all the elders sitting on mats in front of him. Despite the gravity of the situation it was fascinating to see the workings of a malinke meeting. One guy was the designated “uh-huh”er, and the old folks would take turns making long, very important sounding speeches while the uh-huh guy sounded out every 5 seconds or so.
After maybe an hour or so of this we took a brief break. We came back a few minutes later for more speeches and uh-huhing. Just a tiny bit in to round two of the meeting all of the sudden two guys come in to the compound and toss Kate’s bag and all of her stuff in a pile in front of it. Apparently the thief had ditched it in the bush somewhere, and everyone lunges forward to see if all the stuff is still there. Alhamdiloulahi most of her valuables (minus some mula) were there, but just as we’re searching her bag we hear this awful scream. The scream came from just past the fence of the compound where all of the women were gathered to watch the meeting. It’s then taken up by all the other women, who disappear down the street with this anguished, wailing chorus while all the men are yelling “Jon mu?” (who is it!?). Kate leans to Marielle and I (we were utterly confused and scared) and says, “that means someone has died”. What?!? It turns out that that is how people mourn and spread the news when they hear of a death, but we never figured out any more to the story.
Hoping the weirdness and drama of the night was done, Kate, Marielle and I retired to her compound. But alas, more was on its way! In the middle of the night we wake up to this terrifying banging on Marielle’s door. Kate goes out and Marielle and I stay inside, wondering what on Earth is going on. Maybe 20 minutes later Kate comes back. Apparently they had caught the thief, who turned out to be a 14 year old boy. Then they tried to tie him up with some sort of rubber (who knows what they were planning on doing with him) but he escaped into the night. Aye yay yay!
Me infront of my brand new, just finished hut!
Thank God the next morning was calmer. An incredibly friendly villager named Mamadi volunteered take Marielle 15 or 20 km down the road to my new village of Misirah Dantila so Kate could stay and sort out post-robbery details. The ride was beautiful and deep deep into the bush. We got to my village after maybe an hour and a half and then spent the next three hours making the grand tour. Without Kate there it was certainly trial by fire in Malinke (most of the folks there don’t speak French), but it was amazing! All the villagers were so welcoming, truly happy to have us there and treat us to tea and maafe tigo (rice with peanut sauce). All of the men in the village were just finishing the roof of my hut when we got there, and I almost ended up climbin’ up to put on the finishing touches. And they gave me my new name: Fode Made Tanjian!
Marielle petting a warthog on the way back from Kedougou
Whew- I’ll try to wrap this up ‘cause I know it’s getting long! The rest of training has flown by- we’ve been learning languages, getting really close to our families as we are better able to communicate. Too, I’ve been getting closer and closer to some of the volunteers, particularly my closest buds Ben and Chelsea (both amazing, amazing folks!).
And now ( I tried to post this just before swear in but failed) I’ve been sworn in as a new volunteer and am getting ready to install in my site the day after tomorrow. The swear in ceremony was at the American Ambassador’s house. The Peace Corps director, Senegalese ministers and various other big men were there, and I gave a speech in Jaxanke! Aye! Inshallah it will be put up on youtube, so if I find a link to it I’ll be sure to share it with everyone.
I hope to write again soon, and pray that all is well in your lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment