I was planning on writing a funny post regarding my ethnicity and how it has affected my service (actually, it's partially written), but recent issues have arisen within the Peace Corps Senegal community that compel me to write a more serious post. I may post the original idea at a later date, but this is a pressing issue.
Recently, a new PC Senegal trainee ET-ed (Early termination of service) after a month of being in country and brought up feelings of alienation and intolerance based on race. She begins the entry by saying that ET-ing is a taboo subject, which is changing among PC Senegal. People that I talk to agree that you have to do what's best for yourself and if that includes terminating your service, we will support you in that decision. Reading her blog and the subsequent comments, I felt that a lot of valid points were made on both sides of the debate. She doesn't say that PC Senegal is racist at any point, but she does write, "Peace Corps Senegal was completely inhospitable to Americans of color," in addition to various other blanket statements. The words she chose and the tone that emerged was one that was slightly accusatory and to me, implied that PC Senegal is racist.
I don't discount her experiences and her feelings because we are all entitled to our own opinions, but I would like to share my experience as a non-white (aka Chinese -American) Peace Corps volunteer. The first topic I would like to address is the use of "white person" while referring to ourselves. I understand that in training sessions, especially the volunteer led cross cultural sessions where they share their experiences, that the term "white person" may come up fairly often. In this culture, foreigners and wealthy and/or well educated Senegalese individuals are referred to as "Toubab". Our translation of that in our community is "white person", even though it encompasses all skin colors. In sharing our stories, we refer to ourselves as white or asian or black just as we refer to ourselves as female or male. Yes, we can be more careful in our language and refer to ourselves as Americans, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Many volunteers, especially those involved in trainings have been living in a village for one or two years, surrounded by little kids and adults alike calling them toubab- not exactly the most politically correct atmosphere. As a coping mechanism, many volunteers, myself included, joke about that fact and begin calling each other Toubab. It helps to laugh about it and to make fun of that fact in lieu of getting upset. If I were to get upset every time someone called me "toubab", "chinois", or "ching- chang- chong", I would have to be a masochist to stay here this long. To get back to my point, we share our own experience and ours alone. I can't relate to what a white or black volunteer feels, just like a male volunteer can't relate to my experiences. I do want to address the use of the N word in a joking manner. This trainee had an experience where this occurred and she writes "...justifying the use of the N word in a joking context because we are all 'liberal.'" I am shocked that this occurred because I have never heard the N word uttered in Senegal by a fellow volunteer.
The second topic I would like to discuss is the involvement of PC Staff. She writes that after having meetings with our country director and training director about various incidents that "response has been that although it is not technically excused, it is understandable and okay in this context, because my white peers are racial minorities for the first time." This makes it sound that our administration condones racism and dismissed her feelings and concerns. She mentions that she had contacted other PCVs of color and found that others also felt ostracized. Then she writes that she "found it appalling that the Peace Corps Senegal country director said he had no idea how pervasive these issues were." I honestly think that he didn't know. Unless multiple PCVs inform him that they feel alienated, how is he to know how they feel? He knows a lot, but he can't read minds. Personally, our country director has asked me if I had any specific issues within Senegal due to my ethnicity. This was back in May, and I told him that I get called Chinois and Ching- Chang- Chong in addition to Toubab, but I can usually laugh it off. I don't think I am any more vulnerable in Senegal because I am Chinese, than if I were white. He brought up the topic and I answered him honestly. She writes that she has heard of no changes being made. Change is a slow process and this is a fact that all volunteers are faced with. A large part of our work is to implement behavior change (for example, washing hands with soap and water). Look at our history, change is difficult and not instantaneous. I can say that change is beginning to occur. The country director and training director had a discussion with the third year volunteers addressing the issue of language. They then had a talk with volunteers interacting with the trainees, myself included, about being aware of our language and being considerate of other volunteers. Change is occurring. Slowly.
I think that she raised an important point and it needs to be addressed. However, it sounds like an attack on our character and although she doesn't say it, it seems as though she is calling our program racist. My initial reaction is defensiveness and I want to yell that my fellow volunteers aren't racists. With a little bit of reflection, our language is not the most politically correct and can be construed as non professional. However, this is the culture of peace corps- we have no separation of work and personal life. Our life is our work and our work is our life. I'm positive that when we are among friends that we aren't always politically correct, even in the states. Here, our friends are whom we work with and we lapse into that mode, specifically when we are out of village. I'm not trying to justify that behavior because we should be more conscience of what we say, but there is a reason behind it.
She has started a dialogue among PCVs and staff alike regarding issues of diversity. It is important and because of it, we are all more aware of our own behavior and language. It also forces us to examine why we may come off as insensitive to race. In my opinion it is the experiences we have in this country that forms our language and our approach to life. We joke and make fun because it is a way of preserving our mental health. I respect her decision, but I truly believe that she has not spent enough time in country to adequately understand volunteer culture.
Peace & Understanding
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
C.A.M.P. CAMP!!
I know I mentioned ages ago that I was working camp. I didn't only work one camp, I worked at 2 different camps that spanned a total of three weeks. I was in camp counselor mode for the month of September. The first camp was a USAID sponsored summer camp and the second was a US Embassy sponsored English camp. It was a whirlwind adventure to say the least...
USAID summer camp was held in various locations throughout Senegal. There were two in the region in Kolda- I accidentally signed on to be the point person for the one in Sare Bidji, a village located 6 kilometers west of Kolda. SO...what did it mean to be point person? I went to camp everyday for two weeks (actually, i didn't go one day, story to come) and pretended to know what I was doing. To summarize camp, I biked across an airport runway twice a day for two weeks, I fell off my bike twice in two days, I came home and cried once, I taught 75 kids how to make a paper crane, taught 150 kids about various health topics, and washed a lot of hands. I will elaborate....
Prior to camp, I had my partner in crime, Alex (who's fluent in french), touch base with the school director to find out our role in camp, All we got from that conversation was that he wanted at least one volunteer present and that camp started at 9, Obviously from that, I knew exactly what to expect from camp....HA! The first day of camp, we (Jonno, Lisa, and I) biked out to Sare Bidji bright and early, hoping that we wouldn't get lost. That morning, we ran into a herd of cows on the road (which terrifies me and is a blog post itself), and biked blindly to the village, periodically confirming with people that we were on the right path. Just as we get into the village, I hit a patch of deep sand (my biking nemesis) and/or a bump and fell off my bike. I had some very pretty bruises on my right side for about a month. We follow the music to the school and discover chaos. OK....it wasn't chaos, but it was children milling around and the teachers waiting for instruction. Apparently, the curriculum wasn't delivered til the night before and no one really knew what was going on. OY. So we sit around for an hour, then we went over rules and regulations with the students and camp commenced.
We still didn't know what our role would be at this point. The camp director (different from the school director) asked us what our role was.... ummm.... "Support? We're here to help with what you need." It came out that Jonno and I were health volunteers, so we were then given the health section to teach. We were to do an hour long session in 30 minutes without any prep other than several carte fiches (curriculum sheets) that didn't help. Thank goodness for Jonno (he came all the way from the North aka very far away just to help with camp) or I might have walked out of camp. He kept me sane and we came up with a lesson plan. We taught the kids about the importance of hand washing and we talked about malaria. We then assisted 75 children in washing their hands prior to lunch. After camp, we had a debriefing session among the teachers and other members of the camp team. This in theory is a great idea, a forum for the teachers to share ideas and to enlist the help of other staff. Instead, we spent 20 minutes discussing the oil to rice ration of Cheeb (oily rice). We left the meeting early stating that we had to bike back to Kolda. I came back to the house and was literally in tears because I was so frustrated with the day. I didn't expect it to run perfectly, but I didn't expect it to go so poorly. Lastly, a fellow volunteer's puppy chewed through my sandal strap- icing on the cake.
Jonno assists in Hand washing!
Camp did get better, although thanks to cows, I fell off my bike again on the second day. Given time to prepare lessons, Jonno and I were able to maximize our time. We still had to improvise a good part of it, but we brought in props, like pictures of food to place on the food pyramid. It was actually a lot of fun to teach kids. I usually work with women's groups and other adults, so it was a refreshing change to talk to kids! We taught them about microbes with the aid of glitter, how to prevent malaria, how to prepare ORS (oral re hydration solution), the importance of a diverse diet, the wonders of moringa, and how to make neem lotion. I also taught them how to make paper cranes. I DO NOT suggest teaching 75 children how to make paper cranes in Pulaar. Although one of my favorite moments from camp occurred during this activity. A quick side note... the educational system in Senegal is not perfect and there is a practice known as "rebirth", where a student's birth certificate is slightly altered to ensure that he or she is within the age limit. As a result, in the Senegalese equivalent of 3rd or 4th grade, you have an age range of 9-15. Story time... While teaching the kids how to make paper cranes, I noticed that the group of older boys were particularly engaged in the activity. They were excited to show me that they completed each step and when a friend didn't understand a step, they would jump in and explain. This surprised me....I expected this group of boys to be too cool for this activity, for camp in general. They were obviously older than most of the kids and heads taller than the younger ones. At the final step of crane making....where you pull on the wings to complete the bird, the smiles, on their faces were so precious. They were excited and proud that they had created this 3- dimensional object from a square of paper. This still brings a smile to my face. That was week one. Whew...
Kids Love Cranes
Volunteers Do too!!
Week two was more or less the same health topics, with the addition of sex-ed (they were older kids). Sadly, Jonno returned to the North, but thankfully Katie and Sharon jumped in to help. We weren't on the curriculum for week two of camp, but the school director liked us so much that he rearranged the schedule to fit us in. The one day that we didn't go to camp occurred during week two. The reason that we didn't go was that we had a column of fire shoot up from our stove one morning. We had a faulty burner which was slowly leaking gas. We thankfully turned off the gas line the night before or it could've been a lot worse. So, a fellow volunteer was boiling water on a separate burner when the gas caught and sent a column of fire shooting up (well, we think that's what happened). Quick thinking led Sharon to grab the fire extinguisher to put out the fire. And our two wonderful guards came running in with an additional fire extinguisher. So that really didn't prevent us from going to camp, but I needed a break, I was burnt out. Other than that, week two went well, and the school director tried to get me to come back for week three, but for my sanity, I needed to get back to village. Oh, I also got a certificate at the end =).
Katie & Sharon having fun at camp!
I went to village for a week before I had to leave to work English Camp in Thies. I had so much fun last year that I had to go back this year. It was SO MUCH FUN!! I worked with a fantastic group of counselors and we had a great time. We let the kids choose their own "English" names and had some gems including Malcom X, MLK, Hillary Clinton, and a personal favorite, Abby Bieber. We thought that it would be fun to give ourselves new identities also, so Cara and I became Salt & Pepa, while the other counselors were Marc Antony & Cleo, Sebastian, and Bradley. It was funny though, kids from last year remembered Mika and I, and would call us by our real names. The highlight of camp was the talent show and we decided that the counselors should also perform. We spent hours attempting to learn N*Sync's Bye Bye Bye dance, and eventually compromised-learning a part and improvising the rest. We had fun doing it, but it was so amazing seeing out kids take initiative and come up with their own performance. And done with my three weeks of camp.
Yay Camp!
Oh camp. So tiring, but so rewarding.
Peace & Creativity
USAID summer camp was held in various locations throughout Senegal. There were two in the region in Kolda- I accidentally signed on to be the point person for the one in Sare Bidji, a village located 6 kilometers west of Kolda. SO...what did it mean to be point person? I went to camp everyday for two weeks (actually, i didn't go one day, story to come) and pretended to know what I was doing. To summarize camp, I biked across an airport runway twice a day for two weeks, I fell off my bike twice in two days, I came home and cried once, I taught 75 kids how to make a paper crane, taught 150 kids about various health topics, and washed a lot of hands. I will elaborate....
Prior to camp, I had my partner in crime, Alex (who's fluent in french), touch base with the school director to find out our role in camp, All we got from that conversation was that he wanted at least one volunteer present and that camp started at 9, Obviously from that, I knew exactly what to expect from camp....HA! The first day of camp, we (Jonno, Lisa, and I) biked out to Sare Bidji bright and early, hoping that we wouldn't get lost. That morning, we ran into a herd of cows on the road (which terrifies me and is a blog post itself), and biked blindly to the village, periodically confirming with people that we were on the right path. Just as we get into the village, I hit a patch of deep sand (my biking nemesis) and/or a bump and fell off my bike. I had some very pretty bruises on my right side for about a month. We follow the music to the school and discover chaos. OK....it wasn't chaos, but it was children milling around and the teachers waiting for instruction. Apparently, the curriculum wasn't delivered til the night before and no one really knew what was going on. OY. So we sit around for an hour, then we went over rules and regulations with the students and camp commenced.
We still didn't know what our role would be at this point. The camp director (different from the school director) asked us what our role was.... ummm.... "Support? We're here to help with what you need." It came out that Jonno and I were health volunteers, so we were then given the health section to teach. We were to do an hour long session in 30 minutes without any prep other than several carte fiches (curriculum sheets) that didn't help. Thank goodness for Jonno (he came all the way from the North aka very far away just to help with camp) or I might have walked out of camp. He kept me sane and we came up with a lesson plan. We taught the kids about the importance of hand washing and we talked about malaria. We then assisted 75 children in washing their hands prior to lunch. After camp, we had a debriefing session among the teachers and other members of the camp team. This in theory is a great idea, a forum for the teachers to share ideas and to enlist the help of other staff. Instead, we spent 20 minutes discussing the oil to rice ration of Cheeb (oily rice). We left the meeting early stating that we had to bike back to Kolda. I came back to the house and was literally in tears because I was so frustrated with the day. I didn't expect it to run perfectly, but I didn't expect it to go so poorly. Lastly, a fellow volunteer's puppy chewed through my sandal strap- icing on the cake.
Jonno assists in Hand washing!Camp did get better, although thanks to cows, I fell off my bike again on the second day. Given time to prepare lessons, Jonno and I were able to maximize our time. We still had to improvise a good part of it, but we brought in props, like pictures of food to place on the food pyramid. It was actually a lot of fun to teach kids. I usually work with women's groups and other adults, so it was a refreshing change to talk to kids! We taught them about microbes with the aid of glitter, how to prevent malaria, how to prepare ORS (oral re hydration solution), the importance of a diverse diet, the wonders of moringa, and how to make neem lotion. I also taught them how to make paper cranes. I DO NOT suggest teaching 75 children how to make paper cranes in Pulaar. Although one of my favorite moments from camp occurred during this activity. A quick side note... the educational system in Senegal is not perfect and there is a practice known as "rebirth", where a student's birth certificate is slightly altered to ensure that he or she is within the age limit. As a result, in the Senegalese equivalent of 3rd or 4th grade, you have an age range of 9-15. Story time... While teaching the kids how to make paper cranes, I noticed that the group of older boys were particularly engaged in the activity. They were excited to show me that they completed each step and when a friend didn't understand a step, they would jump in and explain. This surprised me....I expected this group of boys to be too cool for this activity, for camp in general. They were obviously older than most of the kids and heads taller than the younger ones. At the final step of crane making....where you pull on the wings to complete the bird, the smiles, on their faces were so precious. They were excited and proud that they had created this 3- dimensional object from a square of paper. This still brings a smile to my face. That was week one. Whew...
Kids Love Cranes
Volunteers Do too!!Week two was more or less the same health topics, with the addition of sex-ed (they were older kids). Sadly, Jonno returned to the North, but thankfully Katie and Sharon jumped in to help. We weren't on the curriculum for week two of camp, but the school director liked us so much that he rearranged the schedule to fit us in. The one day that we didn't go to camp occurred during week two. The reason that we didn't go was that we had a column of fire shoot up from our stove one morning. We had a faulty burner which was slowly leaking gas. We thankfully turned off the gas line the night before or it could've been a lot worse. So, a fellow volunteer was boiling water on a separate burner when the gas caught and sent a column of fire shooting up (well, we think that's what happened). Quick thinking led Sharon to grab the fire extinguisher to put out the fire. And our two wonderful guards came running in with an additional fire extinguisher. So that really didn't prevent us from going to camp, but I needed a break, I was burnt out. Other than that, week two went well, and the school director tried to get me to come back for week three, but for my sanity, I needed to get back to village. Oh, I also got a certificate at the end =).
Katie & Sharon having fun at camp!I went to village for a week before I had to leave to work English Camp in Thies. I had so much fun last year that I had to go back this year. It was SO MUCH FUN!! I worked with a fantastic group of counselors and we had a great time. We let the kids choose their own "English" names and had some gems including Malcom X, MLK, Hillary Clinton, and a personal favorite, Abby Bieber. We thought that it would be fun to give ourselves new identities also, so Cara and I became Salt & Pepa, while the other counselors were Marc Antony & Cleo, Sebastian, and Bradley. It was funny though, kids from last year remembered Mika and I, and would call us by our real names. The highlight of camp was the talent show and we decided that the counselors should also perform. We spent hours attempting to learn N*Sync's Bye Bye Bye dance, and eventually compromised-learning a part and improvising the rest. We had fun doing it, but it was so amazing seeing out kids take initiative and come up with their own performance. And done with my three weeks of camp.
Yay Camp!Peace & Creativity
Sunday, September 11, 2011
18 Months!
As of yesterday, I've been in country for 18 months! I could've had 2 babies by now. Crazy how time flies. It's been a busy week with summer camps, but I'm too exhausted to blog about it, so here's a photo update!
Coloring Fun!
Doing what I do best- hold babies
Korite! Yes...He's wearing a McDonalds Shirt
I love him.
Korite Soccer
HAHAHA!
Hanging with the girls. We had a
Summer Camp! Paper Cranes
Camp week 1 Team
Peace & Photos
Coloring Fun!
Doing what I do best- hold babies
Korite! Yes...He's wearing a McDonalds Shirt
I love him.
Korite Soccer
HAHAHA!
Hanging with the girls. We had aChinese themed night.
Summer Camp! Paper Cranes
Camp week 1 TeamPeace & Photos
Friday, September 2, 2011
Rainy Season
Here's a Haiku I came up with last night as a storm rolled in...
Rumbling Overhead,
Lightning slashes through the night.
Freshness in the Air.
Peace & Rain!
Rumbling Overhead,
Lightning slashes through the night.
Freshness in the Air.
Peace & Rain!
Monday, August 22, 2011
ONE
***Note- This is a slightly depressing post. It's not as sad as "We are Family", but it's not a light entry either. You have been warned.
"Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely." "One is the loneliest, one is the loneliest. One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do." "Loneliness has always been a friend of mine." As much as I love the Backstreet Boys (yes, I'm acknowledging this on the internet), I have never felt that loneliness has been a present emotion in my life. I grew up with 3 sisters, shared a room for 15 years, and am consistently surrounded by loving family and friends. I admit, I went through a "teenage angst" phase, where I was convinced that my family didn't understand me (in retrospect, this is absolutely ridiculous), and I would feel isolated, but not alone...
I am lonely. I am alone. Not in the "No one in the world understands me" way (there is a good portion of volunteers that understand how I feel), but in a conscience I am actually alone way. You know how celebrities say that they feel alone when they're surrounded by people? I didn't understand that until I joined the Peace Corps. I'm not saying that I feel like a celebrity or anything, but the fact that there are people around me constantly, I can kinda relate. In addition, there is a language barrier. My Pulaar is decent, but there are often time that I cannot express the way I truly feel. Those are the times where I feel the loneliest. My family is amazing and one of my sister-in-laws can read my emotions like a book, but it's not the same as venting to a close friend.
I think I had this realization after WAIST. This was a whirlwind week where I was surrounded by friends and could articulate my thoughts and feelings. Upon returning to village, I found that I was confronted with numerous occasions where I just couldn't say what I wanted to say. After that, I was in and out of village working on projects with other volunteers and had visitors, and then I went home. Talk about homesickness. I was ready to return to village and work on my projects, but that small dose of home made it really difficult to readjust.
What I see everyday when I wake up =)
I miss you too...
Peace & Friendships
It's a Boy!
My woman aka my sister-in-law gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! On August 8, at 5am, she started having intense contractions and went to the hospital to give birth (YAY! Hospital!). It was day 6 of Ramadan, so I was told that they were taking her to the hospital when we were eating our pre-dawn meal. That afternoon, I visited her in the hospital, 30 minutes after she gave birth and was promptly handed the baby. He was so small and so young; it was an experience. I loved it!
This is the first time that my family has had a big event. All the other births and marriages occurred prior to my arrival. I get to be a part of the baptism! At baptisms, I usually give a little bit of money and a bar of soap, but since this was my sister, I went all out. I bought her 4 meters of fabric for her and 2 meters of fabric to wrap her baby in. It was so exciting and I told every person at lummo that this was for the new baby. The baptism occurs a week after the baby is born and it is at that point that they shave the baby's head and give it a name. They usually determine the name beforehand and that was the case in my family. They named the baby Sajo, after my brother who passed away in December (you may remember the depressing post). That name will now be associated with something happy, rather than the tragedy that occurred.
It was so much fun (but kinda boring) hanging out with my sister and her newborn. The newborn isn't allowed to be taken out of the hut until after the baptism. Since it's Ramadan, I'm super bored and spent everyday hanging out with baby and momma. The baptism happened on the 15th and my closest neighbor, Katie came to celebrate with my family. It was chill, but anticlimactic due to Ramadan- there was no dancing and fun drumming. But there is a new baby in the fam and I can't wait to watch him grow up.
I don't know what I'm going to do when I get back to the states and don't have a baby to play with. Seriously. Amadou is definitely my favorite person in village and I've watched him grow up and now there's Sajo. I love playing with babies, maybe I'll nanny again when I return home.
Peace & Babies
Thursday, August 4, 2011
GIRLS RULE!
Gender and Development (GAD) is a secondary project that is near and dear to many volunteers, myself included. The goal of GAD is to educate individuals (men, women, and children) on gender issues within the community and to empower individuals to strive towards gender equality. Many volunteers facilitate girls groups in village or at schools, where they create a space to discuss a variety of issues. In addition, Awa Traore (our homestay and cross-culture coordinator) conducts tourneys where she talks about gender issues. This past May, Awa presented at 8 different sites in Kolda and was an asset to the Kunkane Girl's Camp. As a strong Senegalese woman, Awa is a lot more qualified to talk about sensitive issues, such as early and forced marriage, gender roles, women in the work place, rape, incest, and unwanted pregnancy to name a few.
Every year, volunteers participate in the Michelle Sylvester Scholarship Program. What is this you may ask.... Well, the Michelle Sylvester Scholarship Program is named after a volunteer deeply invested in girls education and empowerment. Established in 1993, the scholarship provides money for school fees and supplies. Each school that works with a volunteer chooses 9 high performing girls to receive school fees. Once the school chooses those 9 girls, the teacher write a recommendation and provide PCVs with end of term grades. The girls then write an essay detailing why they should receive a scholarship. Lastly, the volunteer performs a home visit to interview the girls and to gain insight into their home life. From there, the volunteer chooses six finalists and the scholarship committee chooses three winners. YAY GIRLS!
This is where you come in!! We are currently raising money to fund these scholarships. This year, we worked with over 40 schools, which means we need to raise money to send over 360 girls to school! If you are interested in donating to this wonderful cause, click here!
Peace & Gender Equality
Every year, volunteers participate in the Michelle Sylvester Scholarship Program. What is this you may ask.... Well, the Michelle Sylvester Scholarship Program is named after a volunteer deeply invested in girls education and empowerment. Established in 1993, the scholarship provides money for school fees and supplies. Each school that works with a volunteer chooses 9 high performing girls to receive school fees. Once the school chooses those 9 girls, the teacher write a recommendation and provide PCVs with end of term grades. The girls then write an essay detailing why they should receive a scholarship. Lastly, the volunteer performs a home visit to interview the girls and to gain insight into their home life. From there, the volunteer chooses six finalists and the scholarship committee chooses three winners. YAY GIRLS!
This is where you come in!! We are currently raising money to fund these scholarships. This year, we worked with over 40 schools, which means we need to raise money to send over 360 girls to school! If you are interested in donating to this wonderful cause, click here!
Peace & Gender Equality
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Artsy
Those of you who know me, know that I'm not a very artistic person. I enjoy art and appreciate it, but creating it is not my forte. Going to museums and spending the day wandering around various galleries is one of my favorite pastimes. Since coming back to Senegal (and getting a new camera), I've decided that I will make a conscious effort to take more pictures. I've been fairly successful at accomplishing my goal and here are a series of semi- artistic photos to prove it! p.s. I have fallen in love with the macro feature on my camera.
I have also leaarned to draw. Here is an example of one of my visual aids. Before coming to Senegal, I thought that I couldn't draw to save my life. Here, my village thinks I'm a fantastic artist and tells me to draw things. LOVE it!
Peace & Art
I have also leaarned to draw. Here is an example of one of my visual aids. Before coming to Senegal, I thought that I couldn't draw to save my life. Here, my village thinks I'm a fantastic artist and tells me to draw things. LOVE it!
Peace & Art
Monday, July 18, 2011
Apologies
Dear Readers,
I know I promised you new blogs back in April, when I had high hopes and access to internet, but I failed you all. Since that point, I've been meaning to write a series of blogs, but the more I procrastinated, the more daunting the task became. I have hopes of catching you up on all my comings and goings, however, life keeps happening. SO, I'm writing a cliff notes version of the noteworthy events in my life since April and including pictures! Forgive me and enjoy =)
We left off with me getting funding for the well, so lets start from there.
The well commenced. I purchased 20 sacks of cement and lots of rebar thanks to Appropriate Projects and Six Senses Resort & Spas (who funded my project). There was singing and dancing when we began. It was completed before I left for America.
Baby Amadou turns 1!!! I can't believe I've been involved in almost every step of his life this year. I've never watched a child grow up (in an everyday capacity). I was there when he learned to sit, when he learned to crawl, when he learned to stand, and when he took his first steps. I don't know what's going to happen when I come home and don't have him as a constant companion (maybe I'll just take him home with me....).
Kolda Foire. The three volunteers in Kolda organized a fair in Kolda to bring together people from various sectors in the region of Kolda. It went really well and our country director Chris Hedrick came down for it.
Demyst. I had the pleasure of demysting one of Kolda's newest volunteers, Sharon. It seemed like yesterday that I was visiting my village for the first time. I didn't feel remotely qualified to talk to a new volunteer about life as a volunteer, but as time went on, I realized how much I've learned in this past year and what progress I've made.
Dakar. After Demyst, I went up to Dakar for my mid service medical examination and to catch my flight back home. It was a bittersweet time in Dakar because a lot of the older volunteers were COSing (Close of Service) and leaving Senegal. These were my mentors, the people who taught us about building mud stoves, wells, and latrines. It was at this point that I felt that I was an "older" volunteer.
HOME! Home was amazing! I'm just going to repeat my facebook status...778 hours, 2 weddings, 3 birthdays, a graduation, the glee concert, a baseball game, tons of great friends, a bunch of delicious drinks, lots of good food, and 7 pounds. So good!
I'm BACK. I return to the land of peanuts and mangoes at the end of May. I went to Malaria Boot Camp for a day to support my Amanda Wybolt in the first of many trainings. She is working on the new Stomping Out Malaria initiative which is working to eraticate Malaria in 25 countries in Africa. It was really inspiring to see volunteers from other countries involved and working towards the same goal.
Well #2. I returned to Senegal a millionaire. I wish this was actually true, but I did have a million CFA in my bank account due to the fact that my grant money came in for my garden project. I return to my village and frantically coordinate the beginning of my garden well. The well needed to be dug before the rains commenced, while the rest of the project didn't need to be completed urgently. The first week I was back, I held multiple meetings and bought all the supplies, and was a flurry of activity.
Wedding Season. It's wedding season in Senegal! One of my really good friends in village married another one of my friends in village in the middle of June. This was the first time that I was a part of the entire three day celebration. Usually, I see one day of it- either when the bride leaves the village or when the bride arrives in village. This was the best wedding I've been to in Senegal. There have been two other weddings in my village, including the wedding of my best friend. It's upsetting because my friends keep leaving me.
INDEPENDENCE! July 4th involves a trip to Kedougou. I wrote a post about this last year. This year, I went and saw a waterfall and had a fabulous outfit (I know...I look like wonder woman).
Sick. This past week in village has been miserable. I've had work to do, so I needed to stay in village, but I was sick with a 102 fever at one point. That day, I was laying in bed in the middle of the afternoon and my family would periodically check up on me. When I told them I had a fever, they told me I had Malaria. I didn't think I had Malaria until the third person said so, and then I became slightly worried. I consulted our "Staying Healthy in Senegal" Manual and it said that when on Prophylaxis, flu like symptoms could be a early sign of Malaria. I also had the symptomatic chills, fever, and sweating. That night, I seriously considered calling med claiming that I had Malaria, but thank goodness I waited because the next morning I realized that I had convinced myself that I had Malaria and that I probably didn't have the disease (I did send off a frantic text message to a friend though).
I've been doing a lot of neem lotion and malaria talks and will be helping out with a Malaria tournee next week. That's the extent of things in my life- Cliff Notes style.
Till next time (which hopefully won't be 3 months from now).
Peace & Health
I know I promised you new blogs back in April, when I had high hopes and access to internet, but I failed you all. Since that point, I've been meaning to write a series of blogs, but the more I procrastinated, the more daunting the task became. I have hopes of catching you up on all my comings and goings, however, life keeps happening. SO, I'm writing a cliff notes version of the noteworthy events in my life since April and including pictures! Forgive me and enjoy =)
We left off with me getting funding for the well, so lets start from there.
The well commenced. I purchased 20 sacks of cement and lots of rebar thanks to Appropriate Projects and Six Senses Resort & Spas (who funded my project). There was singing and dancing when we began. It was completed before I left for America.
Baby Amadou turns 1!!! I can't believe I've been involved in almost every step of his life this year. I've never watched a child grow up (in an everyday capacity). I was there when he learned to sit, when he learned to crawl, when he learned to stand, and when he took his first steps. I don't know what's going to happen when I come home and don't have him as a constant companion (maybe I'll just take him home with me....).
Kolda Foire. The three volunteers in Kolda organized a fair in Kolda to bring together people from various sectors in the region of Kolda. It went really well and our country director Chris Hedrick came down for it.
Demyst. I had the pleasure of demysting one of Kolda's newest volunteers, Sharon. It seemed like yesterday that I was visiting my village for the first time. I didn't feel remotely qualified to talk to a new volunteer about life as a volunteer, but as time went on, I realized how much I've learned in this past year and what progress I've made.
Dakar. After Demyst, I went up to Dakar for my mid service medical examination and to catch my flight back home. It was a bittersweet time in Dakar because a lot of the older volunteers were COSing (Close of Service) and leaving Senegal. These were my mentors, the people who taught us about building mud stoves, wells, and latrines. It was at this point that I felt that I was an "older" volunteer.
HOME! Home was amazing! I'm just going to repeat my facebook status...778 hours, 2 weddings, 3 birthdays, a graduation, the glee concert, a baseball game, tons of great friends, a bunch of delicious drinks, lots of good food, and 7 pounds. So good!
I'm BACK. I return to the land of peanuts and mangoes at the end of May. I went to Malaria Boot Camp for a day to support my Amanda Wybolt in the first of many trainings. She is working on the new Stomping Out Malaria initiative which is working to eraticate Malaria in 25 countries in Africa. It was really inspiring to see volunteers from other countries involved and working towards the same goal.
Well #2. I returned to Senegal a millionaire. I wish this was actually true, but I did have a million CFA in my bank account due to the fact that my grant money came in for my garden project. I return to my village and frantically coordinate the beginning of my garden well. The well needed to be dug before the rains commenced, while the rest of the project didn't need to be completed urgently. The first week I was back, I held multiple meetings and bought all the supplies, and was a flurry of activity.
Wedding Season. It's wedding season in Senegal! One of my really good friends in village married another one of my friends in village in the middle of June. This was the first time that I was a part of the entire three day celebration. Usually, I see one day of it- either when the bride leaves the village or when the bride arrives in village. This was the best wedding I've been to in Senegal. There have been two other weddings in my village, including the wedding of my best friend. It's upsetting because my friends keep leaving me.
INDEPENDENCE! July 4th involves a trip to Kedougou. I wrote a post about this last year. This year, I went and saw a waterfall and had a fabulous outfit (I know...I look like wonder woman).
Sick. This past week in village has been miserable. I've had work to do, so I needed to stay in village, but I was sick with a 102 fever at one point. That day, I was laying in bed in the middle of the afternoon and my family would periodically check up on me. When I told them I had a fever, they told me I had Malaria. I didn't think I had Malaria until the third person said so, and then I became slightly worried. I consulted our "Staying Healthy in Senegal" Manual and it said that when on Prophylaxis, flu like symptoms could be a early sign of Malaria. I also had the symptomatic chills, fever, and sweating. That night, I seriously considered calling med claiming that I had Malaria, but thank goodness I waited because the next morning I realized that I had convinced myself that I had Malaria and that I probably didn't have the disease (I did send off a frantic text message to a friend though).
I've been doing a lot of neem lotion and malaria talks and will be helping out with a Malaria tournee next week. That's the extent of things in my life- Cliff Notes style.
Till next time (which hopefully won't be 3 months from now).
Peace & Health
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Homeward Bound
I'm going home on April 24th for my sister's WEDDING!!! I will post when I have consistent internet access!
--PEACE & LOVE
--PEACE & LOVE
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Well, Well, Well
I got funding for my well! There is only one cement lined well in village, so it was a village priority to get a second cement lined well. You can read all about here- http://appropriateprojects.com/node/585 . And while you're there, you can donate to my project =)
Also, I'll be home in 25 days for my sister's wedding. SO EXCITED!
--Peace & Digging
OH MY DONKEY!
TV Announcer: 8 Toubabs, 4 donkeys, 100 kilometers, 6 days, 12 causeries, 100+ degree weather....The Kolda Donkey Rally to Fight Child Malnutrition. Stay tuned to see what adventures ensue.
No, the Kolda Donkey Rally is not the newest reality show on CBS, but a project dreamt up by two Kolda volunteers in Kunkande. What makes intelligent volunteers agree to ride donkeys for 100 kilometers right when hot season is scheduled to begin? Well, the project was thought up to raise money for the Gardens of Moringa Fund. The idea was to spend 6 days and travel the distance between Kunkande and Kolda, while conducting informational trainings on nutrition and the health benefits of Moringa. Here's the promotional video from the project.
http://www.youtube.com/user/KoldaDonkeyRally
The idea was fun and came at a point where I didn't have much going on in my village, so I agreed to help. Initially, I helped set up causerie sites near me, where I informed the relais of the project. I also agreed to be bike support for the donkey riders- helping carry peanut stalks and luggage. There was NO way I was going to attempt to ride a donkey for 6 days. OUCH. Before I knew it, we were home from WAIST and the donkey ride was a week away. OY. I went out to the Kunkande area the day before the ride was to start and had a sleepover in Cara's village. The next afternoon we biked into Kunkande and had our first causerie. It was hilarious! We had music playing and there was an adorable little boy who was dancing his butt off, SO CUTE! We worked with Geoff's counterpart, who's a relais, and another man who came along to care for the donkeys. Before I get too carried away, let me introduce the participants of the donkey ride. Unfortunately, one of the inventors of this project accidentally fell off the roof of the Kolda house in February and was sent home to America for surgery. Here's everyone else:
Geoff: The driving force behind thie project. He is an environmental education volunteer who is constantly working on a new project. He delegated tasks, but made sure that the logistics were taken care of. His donkey was Scarface.
Curtis: Curtis rode J Lo, who only had half a tail. He took some amazing pictures from the ride and taught kids how to sing in English.
Mike G: Mike rode Princess Sparkles for 4 days, until they sold her in my village. Princess was a diva who did her own thing. Mike entertained everyone with his stories, and became bearer of a megaphone.
Cara: Cara rode Shackleton for three days. She brought her tent along on the ride and kindly let me share it with her.
Charlene: She started out being bike support with me, but kindly took over Shackleton. Charlene never complained when she was hauling lots of stuff on the back of her bike (I did).
Me: I hung out, rode my bike, had fun, and got tan.
Kelly: Kelly did three days of the ride in the beginning. She had to go home because she had a training to do. We almost had to fight each other for a space in Cara's tent.
Mike T: He came out for two days of the ride. I don't get to see him ever, so it was great to catch up and talk with him. He also contributed to the discussions and brought up fantastic points.
Jake, Martin, Jason, Dan, Minnie, Sam, and Dave: They were all present for at least one causerie. Some of them (and their families) fed us and housed us.
Amanda: Amanda joined us for the last three days. She brought her speakers and boosted our energy as we were getting tired from the ride. BOOM!
Moustapha: Geoff's counterpart and relais who did the causeries with Geoff. He was hilarious!
Foday: Our donkey caretaker. He was quiet and a Kande (our joking cousin family). He didn't like salad and would constantly lose to Charlene at cards.
That's the cast for the ride. Whew! Ok....back to the ride itself. So we started with one causerie in Kunkande and we spent the night there. After a delicious dinner of fish salad, they separated us into the boys room and the girls room. The girls had a hilarious sleepover, where we just chatted for hours. The next morning, we left at 8am for our next two causeries. I biked ahead with Charlene and Kelly. Kelly's women's group makes a nutritional concoction called ceramine (it's made with beans, corn, millet, rice, moringa, and a little bit of sugar- then it's all ground up together into a powder). Kelly brought sachets along to sell and we were MOBBED in the first village. We sold all the sachets in 20 minutes. Awesome! The only thing is, this makes a highly nutritious meal, but are the people buying it because Toubabs are selling it or are they actually invested in improving the nutritional status of their children.
So, I tried to post a video of the skit, but it's not working. BUT, the story is that Cara is cooking dinner, while her son, Curtis plays nearby. Her friend, Faatumata (played by Geoff) enters with "her" son, Mike on her back. They talk and Cara invites them to stay for lunch. After some convincing they agree. The meal is filled with a variety of vegetables and fish, and very little oil is used. Faatumata reprimands her son for trying to eat the vegetables and fish, saying it's only for the adults. Cara says in her household, everyone eats and it's important for growing children to eat vegetables to get enough nutrients. The end. The women LOVED the skit. It gently pokes fun, while being informative.
The skit is followed by discussion and a series of visual aids. All the caueries had the same basic flow, except they stopped doing the skit day three (they were waaay to worn out). We finished at Kabendou, then went on to Diaobe. After our causerie, we saw a Moringa tree with ripe seed pods. It was IN someone's house, so we knocked, greeted and asked if we could take some seeds. No big deal. They kindly said yes, so Charlene climbed the tree to shake down the pods. I'm sure everyone was thinking what the hell are the Toubabs doing. It was also the anniversary of my stage landing in Senegal. We had hit the one year mark- YAY!
The next day exhausting for the donkey riders. They were sore and ended up walking their donkeys in the 115 degree heat. Oy. That evening, Mike G. and Cara were lounging around when a bee approached Mike. He kept swatting at it and made it so angry that it stung Cara in the forehead. EEK. It caused her eyes to swell and thank goodness for Charlene who kindly agreed to take over Shackleton for the remainder of the ride. It took two days for the swelling to go down.
The next day was Dabo, where we spent the night at Dave's. Then it was onto my village!!!!!!!! I couldn't stop talking about how great my village is during the first few days of the ride. I hyped it up so much, and I don't think that I disappointed anyone. A lot more people now know the magically place that is Mamadou Badeifa. It was so much fun to host everyone in my village and my family loved it too. The next day consisted of three causeries, then we were DONE with causeries! The last day was Kolda. Woot! By the end of it all, we were all exhausted and so slaphappy. We were giggling and laughing over every little thing and we may or may not have scared people. HA! We were so silly that we got Mustapha to join in.
**Note: I know I breezed through the last few days, but it was basically the same schedule. Hot and tiring treks during the day with 1-3 causeries, then a fun sleepover like atmosphere in the evenings.
So, the ride is now over, but the project continues. The Gardens of Moringa Fund will be used to support small-scale projects that pertain to Moringa. The stipulations are that project costs must be $150 or less and must include an intensive Moringa leaf bed and a causerie on the benefits of moringa. The fund currently has $1,700. If you're interested in donating, visit www.pcsenegal.org . Click Donate- Click the link to donate to the country fund- Enter an amount and designate "Gardens of Moringa Fund" in the comment box. DONE! Thank You in advanced!
That was our big adventure. So tiring and I wouldn't do it again, but it was worth it.
--Peace Out
No, the Kolda Donkey Rally is not the newest reality show on CBS, but a project dreamt up by two Kolda volunteers in Kunkande. What makes intelligent volunteers agree to ride donkeys for 100 kilometers right when hot season is scheduled to begin? Well, the project was thought up to raise money for the Gardens of Moringa Fund. The idea was to spend 6 days and travel the distance between Kunkande and Kolda, while conducting informational trainings on nutrition and the health benefits of Moringa. Here's the promotional video from the project.
http://www.youtube.com/user/KoldaDonkeyRally
The idea was fun and came at a point where I didn't have much going on in my village, so I agreed to help. Initially, I helped set up causerie sites near me, where I informed the relais of the project. I also agreed to be bike support for the donkey riders- helping carry peanut stalks and luggage. There was NO way I was going to attempt to ride a donkey for 6 days. OUCH. Before I knew it, we were home from WAIST and the donkey ride was a week away. OY. I went out to the Kunkande area the day before the ride was to start and had a sleepover in Cara's village. The next afternoon we biked into Kunkande and had our first causerie. It was hilarious! We had music playing and there was an adorable little boy who was dancing his butt off, SO CUTE! We worked with Geoff's counterpart, who's a relais, and another man who came along to care for the donkeys. Before I get too carried away, let me introduce the participants of the donkey ride. Unfortunately, one of the inventors of this project accidentally fell off the roof of the Kolda house in February and was sent home to America for surgery. Here's everyone else:
Geoff: The driving force behind thie project. He is an environmental education volunteer who is constantly working on a new project. He delegated tasks, but made sure that the logistics were taken care of. His donkey was Scarface.
Curtis: Curtis rode J Lo, who only had half a tail. He took some amazing pictures from the ride and taught kids how to sing in English.
Mike G: Mike rode Princess Sparkles for 4 days, until they sold her in my village. Princess was a diva who did her own thing. Mike entertained everyone with his stories, and became bearer of a megaphone.
Cara: Cara rode Shackleton for three days. She brought her tent along on the ride and kindly let me share it with her.
Charlene: She started out being bike support with me, but kindly took over Shackleton. Charlene never complained when she was hauling lots of stuff on the back of her bike (I did).
Me: I hung out, rode my bike, had fun, and got tan.
Kelly: Kelly did three days of the ride in the beginning. She had to go home because she had a training to do. We almost had to fight each other for a space in Cara's tent.
Mike T: He came out for two days of the ride. I don't get to see him ever, so it was great to catch up and talk with him. He also contributed to the discussions and brought up fantastic points.
Jake, Martin, Jason, Dan, Minnie, Sam, and Dave: They were all present for at least one causerie. Some of them (and their families) fed us and housed us.
Amanda: Amanda joined us for the last three days. She brought her speakers and boosted our energy as we were getting tired from the ride. BOOM!
Moustapha: Geoff's counterpart and relais who did the causeries with Geoff. He was hilarious!
Foday: Our donkey caretaker. He was quiet and a Kande (our joking cousin family). He didn't like salad and would constantly lose to Charlene at cards.
That's the cast for the ride. Whew! Ok....back to the ride itself. So we started with one causerie in Kunkande and we spent the night there. After a delicious dinner of fish salad, they separated us into the boys room and the girls room. The girls had a hilarious sleepover, where we just chatted for hours. The next morning, we left at 8am for our next two causeries. I biked ahead with Charlene and Kelly. Kelly's women's group makes a nutritional concoction called ceramine (it's made with beans, corn, millet, rice, moringa, and a little bit of sugar- then it's all ground up together into a powder). Kelly brought sachets along to sell and we were MOBBED in the first village. We sold all the sachets in 20 minutes. Awesome! The only thing is, this makes a highly nutritious meal, but are the people buying it because Toubabs are selling it or are they actually invested in improving the nutritional status of their children.
So, I tried to post a video of the skit, but it's not working. BUT, the story is that Cara is cooking dinner, while her son, Curtis plays nearby. Her friend, Faatumata (played by Geoff) enters with "her" son, Mike on her back. They talk and Cara invites them to stay for lunch. After some convincing they agree. The meal is filled with a variety of vegetables and fish, and very little oil is used. Faatumata reprimands her son for trying to eat the vegetables and fish, saying it's only for the adults. Cara says in her household, everyone eats and it's important for growing children to eat vegetables to get enough nutrients. The end. The women LOVED the skit. It gently pokes fun, while being informative.
The skit is followed by discussion and a series of visual aids. All the caueries had the same basic flow, except they stopped doing the skit day three (they were waaay to worn out). We finished at Kabendou, then went on to Diaobe. After our causerie, we saw a Moringa tree with ripe seed pods. It was IN someone's house, so we knocked, greeted and asked if we could take some seeds. No big deal. They kindly said yes, so Charlene climbed the tree to shake down the pods. I'm sure everyone was thinking what the hell are the Toubabs doing. It was also the anniversary of my stage landing in Senegal. We had hit the one year mark- YAY!
The next day exhausting for the donkey riders. They were sore and ended up walking their donkeys in the 115 degree heat. Oy. That evening, Mike G. and Cara were lounging around when a bee approached Mike. He kept swatting at it and made it so angry that it stung Cara in the forehead. EEK. It caused her eyes to swell and thank goodness for Charlene who kindly agreed to take over Shackleton for the remainder of the ride. It took two days for the swelling to go down.
The next day was Dabo, where we spent the night at Dave's. Then it was onto my village!!!!!!!! I couldn't stop talking about how great my village is during the first few days of the ride. I hyped it up so much, and I don't think that I disappointed anyone. A lot more people now know the magically place that is Mamadou Badeifa. It was so much fun to host everyone in my village and my family loved it too. The next day consisted of three causeries, then we were DONE with causeries! The last day was Kolda. Woot! By the end of it all, we were all exhausted and so slaphappy. We were giggling and laughing over every little thing and we may or may not have scared people. HA! We were so silly that we got Mustapha to join in.
**Note: I know I breezed through the last few days, but it was basically the same schedule. Hot and tiring treks during the day with 1-3 causeries, then a fun sleepover like atmosphere in the evenings.
So, the ride is now over, but the project continues. The Gardens of Moringa Fund will be used to support small-scale projects that pertain to Moringa. The stipulations are that project costs must be $150 or less and must include an intensive Moringa leaf bed and a causerie on the benefits of moringa. The fund currently has $1,700. If you're interested in donating, visit www.pcsenegal.org . Click Donate- Click the link to donate to the country fund- Enter an amount and designate "Gardens of Moringa Fund" in the comment box. DONE! Thank You in advanced!
That was our big adventure. So tiring and I wouldn't do it again, but it was worth it.
--Peace Out
Friday, March 18, 2011
YEAR ONE: CHECK!
At 5am on March 10, 2010, 41 strangers landed in Dakar, Senegal. It was the beginning of our Peace Corps adventure. At this point, I have been in country for a little over a year. Its crazy how quickly the time has gone by and how far we've all come. Here's a rewrite of the song "Seasons of Love" from RENT that gives you a glimpse into our lives. ENJOY!
Seasons of Sweat
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?
In malaria, amoebas, in giardia, and bouts of diarrhea.
In donkeys, in millet, in buckets, amd MAGGI.
In Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure a year in the Corps?
How about sweat? How about sweat?
How about sweat? Measure in sweat.
Seasons of sweat. Seasons of sweat.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes!
Five hundred twenty-five thousand experiences.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer?
In WAISTs that he played, in Fourth of Julys.
In Moringa he plants, and Ks that she biked.
You have to remember to Hibiclense your wounds,
Staph infections are no good!
Have fun in village!
Have fun in Kolda!
Seasons of sweat.
--PEACE
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