Chimps, Cholera, & Christmas

I suppose it is notable that I saw chimpanzees at my site the last week. It was the last day of harvesting peanuts at the fields and the children saw a dozen or more chimps running across the field and playing in a tree just to our left. It’s great that I saw them (it’s not everyone who can see chimps at their site), although I am not ecstatic about it, since I have seen “wild” monkeys before. Nevertheless, very cool I suppose! Below is the direction we were looking when I saw them (along with the kids I was with, three of which are my siblings; Mama Saliou (Bulla), Diby, Binta & Adama Hawa)

The other day I was listening to the BBC and a story has come on that is particularly upsetting. There is a cholera outbreak in Haiti, thought to be brought by Nepalese United Nations workers due to improper waste disposal. I find this rather upsetting because the nation eradicated the disease over a hundred years ago and I think it is devastating that thousands are dying and there is yet another pandemic for the country to have to deal with as another result of the earthquake.

For the first time, I traveled on Christmas eve. It turned out to be a borderline disastrous experience and validified that I never will plan to travel on that day again. On the 23rd while biking in the 75km from site, I called the bus company to reserve a ticket for the following morning to Tambacounda. However, when I got into Kedougou, the company was closed since it was prayer time on a Friday (the Sunday, if you will, of Christianity). They told me to come back to pay at 6 that evening. When I got there, they had sold my ticket. Fortunately, I had more options. The following morning I went to the garage to wait for a sept place which left relatively promptly (in just over an hour). I arrived in Tamba four hours later and was told that there were no sept places running to Kolda and was directed towards the Alhum. I knew it was going to take longer, although I didn’t realize that it would more than DOUBLE the time it should take to get to Kolda since it makes so many stops. Nine hours later, and after dark, I arrived. Uckh. However, the house was full of volunteers, there were decorations and stockings, and it immediately cheered me up. In the morning we woke up to Christmas cookies and people made a spectacular breakfast of potatoes, egg casseroles, chocolate pancakes, and banana pancakes. Christmas movies (It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, Love Actually, National Lampoons Christmas, etc) ran on the projector screen all day with Christmas music in between. For dinner, a pig was cooked and there was mashed potatoes, biscuits, carrots and hummus, and apple pie for dessert. I also had the opportunity to skype with the family which was wonderful. Christmas was certainly not the same, although it was pleasant nevertheless.

Things that are surpringly acceptable

I find that when I am abroad things, I would like to think, that I would never do in America become acceptable, if not routine. For instance, while trekking in Nepal, I discovered how well ketchup went with fried rice or even chow mein (I did not come up with this on my own).

Here in Senegal are a few things that I somehow deem acceptable as well… Not cooking for myself (the majority of the time e.g. only cooking for myself when “away” from home); instant coffee (although this isn’t a new phenomenon, it is something I only subject myself to when it is the only coffee available at boutiques); excessive sugar (in tea, coffee, or by consuming soda or snacking on sugarcane); massive amounts of carbs and fried things; fried spaghetti with onions and potato; bean sandwich (beans with varying/unknown spices) on a baguette, occasionally with spaghetti and onion (if I’m feeling adventurous; fried canned meat (which I tried for the first time in country) with onion on a baguette; riding a bike that treacherous terrain without fully functioning gears or brakes; waiting for a shopowner to be done praying to buy something

Also it is the lifestyle nuances such as: finding frogs, unknown insects, mice, or bats in one’s hut; going at minimum 3km to get cell phone service, and even farther for electricity to charge one’s phone; on that note, going 75km for internet; being woken by chickens at who knows what hours of the night; having goats, chickens, sheep, and cats wander around the common living area, and consequently doing their business everywhere; doing laundry by hand/in the river by slamming clothes against rocks; having to wait unknown amounts of time to get a car somewhere; needing to sweep one’s room everyday to clear it of feathers, dust, dirt, unknown defecation, etc;

Things that are great though are: the weekly market near my village; visiting other volunteers; the sunset over the grass roofs of huts; listening to the BBC focus on Africa and world headlines at the end of the day; an amazing night sky; having a time during the day when you are not expected to do anything (after lunch during the hottest part of the day… I typically read or study since I am not a “napper”); the simplicity of living; having meals prepared for you so you can go on a run in the morning and come back to a hot breakfast; feeling deeply appreciated; having opportunities to collaborate work in nearby villages; being recognized and known throughout a few village radius; finding new bush paths that lead to somewhere useful; making my hut a home; tailors (I wish I had better accessibility/an excuse to use them!); setting up my hammock next to the river to read; studying or listening to the BBC by candlelight in my hut to be joined by my host mom and little sisters for dinner; bonfires in the "cold" (65 degree) evenings.

Travel Woes

Traveling within Senegal is a particular kind of experience. It is reminiscent of frustrations I have encountered before, although, to a new extreme.

During preservice training, I did not have to deal often with arranging transport myself. We were frequently taken around in Peace Corps cars, and when we did go places at our training sites, our language and cultural facilitator (Pape) would negotiate a ride. While at the training center in Thies, we would frequently take cabs that were commonly found on a road just a block away, and if not, it wasn’t really that far to walk. Again, we are talking distances within a 5km radius. However, once I moved into the Kedougou region, things are much more spread out, and the first experiences on public transport were quite frustrating (although biking the 3km or 5km—depending if I am in my village or at the regional house--to the market is typically carefree and successful)!

Let me elaborate: I was trying to get back to my village before Thanksgiving since I had been away for a few days exploring the surrounding villages of Kedougou. I tried the privatized bus company (that is more like unreliable public transport in the States; e.g. a schedule(that isn’t posted anywhere) doesn’t necessarily mean that it comes when it should, and by schedule, I mean a couple times a week) , Niokolo, but it wasn’t running for some particular reason. I decided I would go to the garage, a hectic place where cars, sept places (seven passenger cars, although I have been in one seating ten), and Alhums (bigger busses that typically have a minimum of twenty five people on the four rows of bench seats and two sideways facing benches in the back) gather and people wait until cars fill up to go places. Time is not incentivized at all here. I missed a sept place although I arrived early, and decided to bike. However, my bike broke and I ended up flipping over the handlebars. I got picked up on the side of the road after waiting for five hours to go back to Kedougou. In order to get back to village after Thanksgiving, I bought a seat on the Alhum (since the night before we arranged for seats on a smaller car, but it decided not to go) and it didn’t leave for seven hours. For Christmas I was traveling to Kolda, after biking the 75km into Kedougou (getting a flat tire), when I went into the private bus company office to pay for my ticket that I called in to reserve and was told to come in at 6 to pay, was sold. The bus was full. Result, going to the garage in hopes of catching a sept place in the morning.

However, when I did take the overnight bus to Dakar, it was more or less pleasant although I was completely covered in red dust by the time I reached the city.

I have accepted that whenever I travel in this country, if it is not a headache, it is an exception.

First Impressions, Adventures, and Thanksgiving!

The first couple weeks in Kedougou have been great! I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I had a really productive first few days in that: I unpacked [!] and organized myself in my new living space; met the women’s group, saw their garden and introduced the idea of composting and the importance of finishing the fence so the animals will not eat everything; worked a lot on my language, had a some successful conversations; went to the peanut fields and was introduced to many of the men of the village by my counterpart; repaired the gaps in my fence around my backyard/shower area; double dug a garden bed in my back yard; had my hair braided by my sister; found the BBC station on my radio and at what angle it least cuts out; successfully started training for a marathon; explored the village a bit and started to get a grasp on where all the footpaths go; finished a book; carried a bucket of clean laundry on my head from the river; figured out the best way to transport water from the water pump to my hut; and went to the weekly market (where I got to buy things for my host family, have lunch with other volunteers, talked about potential [local] work partners in addition to meeting one, and use my phone!). Thanks to the cell phone service I enjoyed while in Salemata at the market, I found out about an overnight excursion to a waterfall that Robert and Alan were planning on doing in the upcoming days.

Wednesday night, I biked out to Ilana’s village, Matecossi (about 40km away), making it there just before dark. I enjoyed seeing another volunteer in their village and interacting with her family. In the morning, I helped her organize her room and showed her an efficient way to get water from the forage (hand water pump) as her family had been pulling her water for her. Then, Ilana and I biked about 8km to her market town, Thiokoye, where Alan and Robert were planning on meeting me. Unfortunately Ilana got a flat tire, and it was a slow go to Thiokoye, although when we arrived we had service to receive a text message that the boys were running late. We enjoyed bread and chocolate sauce and water while waiting for their arrival. Ilana walked back to her bike with a new tire in hand, and the three of us stopped at a forage to replenish water before heading toward Ingeli Waterfall. It took us nearly three hours to cover the 15km to the waterfall due to a bit of confusion about where the path was, taking an incorrect path that was only used by people who make palm wine, bushwhacking, and walking through tall grasses, to meet up with Cameron and Eric. Ingeli is gorgeous, and big! We swam in each of the three layers of pools and enjoyed feeling “cold.” We set up camp in the woods, and started a fire to make dinner. It was a really enjoyable night! Surprisingly, there was occasional cell phone service and I was able to catch up with a few other volunteers.

In the morning, Eric suggested going to another waterfall near Pellel and I couldn’t refuse. Alan headed back as the remaining four of us hiked up to try to get to the top of the waterfall, however, we ended up at a great vantage point looking towards the waterfall and the mountains that create a border with Guinea, and the consequent valleys that enter Senegal. After hiking down, we biked off towards Eric’s village because he needed to meet up with his work partner after Friday afternoon prayer. After eating leftover lunch from his family, and making leftover spaghetti from the night before, we biked to the path where the waterfall is. We parked our bikes and walked for about an hour until we discovered that the waterfall would be dried up. It was a pleasant walk and I am excited to go back in the future! Eric headed back to his village, and Cameron, Rob, and I biked to Dindefello. It was getting dark and Cameron went home since he only had 10km to bike. Rather than accompanying him (since we would just be backtracking in the morning), Rob and I decided to go to Badji’s house, a former resident of Chris Hedrick’s village when he volunteered. He is the wealthiest man in the village and loves having Peace Corps volunteers stay with him and has a hut for whenever it happens. It was also a saving grace since there was not a car until morning, we were about 40km from Kedougou, and the Lily, a woman who works for the Jane Goodall Institute and lives in Dindefello, had recently left for vacation. After a stop at the sandwich lady to replenish our energy, we, along with what felt like the whole town, watched television in the outdoor hut before eating dinner and going to bed. We woke up, were offered breakfast, and decided to bike up to Kedougou rather than dealing with waiting for a car. It took us about an hour and forty five minutes. After running errands in town, I found out that a car to Salemata, the direction towards my town, had recently left and I wouldn’t be able to get one until the morning. I was satisfied with that considering I had biked nearly 60 MILES over the past few days, mind you, on a mountain bike, on corresponding terrain.

Sunday morning I woke up early, went to the garage, and just barely missed a car. It was still early so I decided that I would bike the 75km to my village rather than waiting for an unknown amount of time. About 12km into my ride, my bike locks up (I don’t know what happens, but the pedals will not turn). A man on a moto stops to help, although he ends up only pointing me in the direction of the closest town, Bandafassi, where there is normally a volunteer, although I knew he was still in Kedougou having seen him the night before. However, I was told that there was a bike mechanic so I walked that direction to find him. I locate him and seemingly my bike is fixed. I am on and off the phone with the safety and securities man from Peace Corps, Mbouille, and volunteers in Kedougou, and inform them that I am going to continue on. Within minutes, the bike locks up again and I fly over my handlebars, conveniently as I was going downhill. I walk myself and belongings up to the campement Mbouille suggested earlier and wait to coordinate how I am going to get to either Kedougou or Diarra Pont. I ended up waiting on the side of the road for nearly four hours waiting to flag down a car that is coming from Salemata. However, somehow that doesn’t work and Rob’s work partner comes to get me. Talk about a frustrating experience. The following Morning is Monday, and I was planning on biking back Tuesday morning with the Salemata crew for Thanksgiving, so I end up staying in Kedougou again. It was good though because I was finally able to get the final report the former volunteer at my site, and download and look at a bunch of applicable Peace Corps documents. I also got to cook and bake a lot which was surprisingly relaxing. However, so much for fulfilling the five week challenge.

Thanksgiving: where to start! Well, I am very fortunate that I was with Americans to celebrate this particular holiday. Furthermore, it was really great because I had a visitor, Brent, come down to see me! He got a mini tour of Kedougou too! We went to a hotel for lunch, swam in the pool, went into the market several times, went for a swim in the river, and went to Segou and camped by a waterfall. As for Thanksgiving, we made a pig-tur-duck-en, (chicken stuffed instide of a duck, inside of a turkey, inside of a pig) that we put in the ground for 20hours. I contributed apple pie and stuffing, although there were also mashed potatoes, cheesecake, carrot cake, and peas. Quite successful considering our resources I must say! There were probably about 20 people at the house.

The following day Kyle, Brent, and I waited all morning (five hours) for a car to Segou. However, once we got there, we saw Kyle’s village, cleared brush from in front of the campement (lodge) sign, and then hiked out to the waterfall. It was a slow go since Brent and I were not feeling well. However, there was a wonderful swimming hole beforehand where, again, the water was so cold and refreshing! Once we got there, it was getting dark so we found places to camp, on uneven rocky surfaces so we could say that we woke up next to the waterfall. It was an interesting camping experience (as in, it was the least prepared I have ever been since we didn’t completely decided beforehand if we were going to camp or stay at the campement). The following morning we hiked back to the campement and passed a few French tourists on the way. One of the men actually lives in Tambacounda and Brent and I a ride to Kedougou after stopping in the market in Dindefello. Brent and I graciously accepted as we were not looking forward to waiting for a car on the side of the road, even if supposedly there would be many since it was market day. The next morning Brent started his transport adventure back to Koalack and I waited until 2:30pm for a car back to my village. It was so good to be back!

Marathon Training

The night before I installed at site in Kedougou, I received an email about a marathon that is being put on by the Peace Corps in March in Tamabacounda (hot season, yikes!) to raise money and awareness for girls education in Senegal. Apparently Oprah is coming? Details to be announced.

Ben was really excited about it an immediately found a training schedule. A few people committed to participating relay style (running ~5mile sections), but I was sitting with the people who were looking to train for the full... sooo, as of tomorrow, I will be starting a week behind on an 18 week training schedule for a marathon. Should be interesting! Hopefully my body accepts village life and marathon training simultaneously.

Tabaski and off to Kedougou

So the night before Tabaski, I went back to my CBT village, Darou, for a mere twenty four hours. I socialized with my family in the evening and went to bed relatively soon after our 9 o'clock dinner. The sheep showed up sometime right before dinner and had a minor freak out while we were eating. In the morning, the men of the household put on their grande boubous and went to the mosque to pray. The women completed their morning chores and then started preparing food for the day (cutting up potatoes, onions, garlic, etc). When the men got back, another man came to our compound, said a prayer and then a sheep was "sacrificed." I missed the throat cutting since I was finally allowed to help cook! However, I did see them holding the sheep down in a hole that was dug while it bled out. I did peek over to see them skinning and cutting it up though. However, Robert showed up and then we went over to say hello to Kyle's family. After spending enough time there for a plate of food, we went to Robert's where, again, we were offered food. Nearly four hours later, I returned to my compound just in time for the main course- sheep in a pea and onion sauce accompanied by bread. I don't totally understand the holiday, but it was good to experience! We took a ton of pictures and then waited around to be picked up to go back to Thies. My neene (mother of the household) broke down crying when I left, it was so sad! My little sister, Binta, has been telling me how much she is going to miss me for the last month too... Our group was the last to get back and then Sarah, Caitlin, Brent and myself went to Les Delices for dinner (tradition). When we got back, I helped Brent pack and then socialized all evening and stayed up watching movies.

Our transport to Kedougou was there at 6am although we didn't leave until 7:30. Kyle packed in the morning and didn't feel well for the first three hours down to Koalack and ended up going to the regional house to go up to Dakar. It was really silly to have three sept places for now only six people. I can't complain because I slept pretty much the whole time so it didn't make a difference for me. Including a lunch stop we made it to Kedougou in just over 12hours. The following day we tried to go shopping, but most things were closed (because of Tabaski) so I just stopped by a tailor and got a wrap skirt copied that I had originally gotten in Nepal out of extra fabric from my swearing in outfit. I also discovered a frozen baobob juice that is served in a small plastic bag that I am obsessed with. I hope they have it in Salemata (the town that is 5km away from me with the weekly market)! Today, Chris Hedrick, the country director, came down and we did some shopping (I got a bed, bunch of buckets, etc) and then he left with Cameron and Kyle (who took an overnight bus to Kedougou from Dakar) to Dindafello to install them into their sites. Tomorrow I install so I am getting in my last bits of internet time and errands in the city (large village). I do not have electricity, cell service, boutiques, or running water at my site, sooo yah. Regardless, I cannot express how nice it is to be down here! Supposedly it is the most beautiful part of the country, and I think I will find it hard to disagree: the Guinean mountains to the south, a national park right to the north (Niokolo Koba), and it is lush and green everywhere (at least now since the rainy season just ended). Our bikes were delivered as well and even the simple act of having money and running errands is so nice. I am looking forward to settling in at site! I am going to be rather out of contact until Thanksgiving since I am going to participate in the "5week challenge." The idea of the 5 week challenge is to not stay at the regional house for the first five weeks after install in order to better integrate into your community. However, since Thanksgiving is within the five week period, our challenge has been extended to six, but with two days off for Thanksgiving. I am really excited because Caitlin and Brent are going to come down to Kedougou! There is talk about having a pigturducken for the main course... we'll see what happens. Then just a few weeks later a group of us are going to go up to Dakar for Brent's 25th birthday!

Officially a PCV!

A police escort led our three buses from Thies to Dakar this morning to the ambassador's house where our swearing in ceremony was held. Everyone was in their traditional African dress, and I must say, it was quite colorful! We had a short two hour program with speeches from the country director, the ambassador, and short translations into local languages by four volunteers. It was very reminiscent of a graduation in that we were called up one by one, given a letter (new ID card), shook hands with our program director, and were congratulated for the completion of our last nine weeks of training. Apparently is was televised here in Senegal as well. Afterwards, there was a short reception with juices and appetizers to socialize and take pictures. Today is also the day that I received my work permit and bank card too! I am a real person again (at least by Senegalese standards)! After that we went to the American club to gather up a bit more paperwork and celebrate our transition from trainees to volunteers! It feels so good to be done! There is still so much learning to be done once I get to site, but it is a relief to know that I made it through what is said to be the most difficult part of one's Peace Corps service. Another day in Thies, off to Darou to celebrate Tabaski with my host family, and then off to Kedougou!

A few more days as a PCT

Wow, what has happened since I last posted.... We had a day in Dakar where we went to the Peace Corps office, met a bunch of administrative people, signed a few papers, met a few volunteers that were in town, had an hour and went to a volunteer's house who lives in the city, some people got ice cream, went to the American Club (a private school with a pool that is open to expats), got briefed by a foreign service officer, signed a few more papers, and then headed back to Thies.

We had a night off where we rented a couple of "Alhums" (big, rickety buses) that we took to Popeguine, where we rented a huge house right on the beach about an hour away from Thies. It was soo nice! A great getaway and break from training. A group of us made salsa and guacamole too! SO GREAT. Later, a number of us also decided that it will be the first stop (obviously after Dakar) for people who come visit Senegal because it is a good introduction to some of the realities of the country without being thrown into village life right away (i.e. western toilets, a kitchen, a restaurant, but a town with a boutique, bean sandwiches, etc near by).

After Popeguine, we went back to Thies only to go to our CBT sites again for another week, where our garden got eaten by a sheep, I got a cold, went back and forth from Mboru a lot (the town 5km away with a few other volunteers training), got my outfit for Tabaski made and a great wallet, and (of course) we had language classes in preparation for our last language evaluation.

Coming back to Thies was really nice, particularly to see everyone, but also because we are so close to swearing in (which apparently is televised and then afterwards we go to the ambassadors house, etc)! I am so ready to be done with training and get down to Kedougou. We had our last language and technical exam yesterday, were assigned our bikes, and given a lot of free time to sort and organize ourselves. I went into town and bought accessories for my swearing in outfit! Following swearing in, we will go back to our CBT sites again for one more night to celebrate Tabaski (the Islamic holiday where goats are slaughtered and eaten commemorate Abraham for sacrificing his son Ishmael as an act of obedience for God) then come back to pack up and head to site!

Back to CBT

Going back to community based training (CBT) after seeing my site was a bit weird. However, everyone was so welcoming. It is amazing how much people miss you after being gone for a week! It was SO great to go to my actual site that coming back to CBT was anticlimactic. First of all, Kedougou is so much more beautiful than Darou Khoudoss! Secondly, I liked the language exposure, even though it was overwhelming at times. Nevertheless, it was nice to come back in the sense that I am going to completely appreciate the the amenities of my CBT site: the electricity, the water that is within my compound, the option of going to a boutique or market within walking distance, and the cell phone service. Below is my family with a few other volunteers who are learning Wolof in the next town, Mboru.

Ohh yes! We had our second language proficiency exam earlier this week, and I placed intermediate mid! That's the level that I need to be at by the end of training :) I'm really proud of myself too because I was the only person in my group who "advanced" a level from the last test!

This upcoming week is counterpart workshop (CPW); CPW is a time for our host country national work partners from our worksites to come to Thies, get updates about the Peace Corps, and an opportunity for us as volunteers to meet them, if we didn't already. Since I had already met my counterpart, Amadou Diallo, in Diarra Pont, when he arrived, it was kind of awkward- mostly because he arrived before everyone else, while we still had sessions going on in the morning, and then, I still have rudimentary language skills so there isn't much to talk about! We will see how it goes in the upcoming days. I have to introduce a speaker in Pulaar. YIKES. I don't like public speaking... particularly in foreign languages!

Updated Contact Information

My mailing address is as follows:

Jackie Allen
BP 37
Kedougou
Senegal, West Africa

Also, the word on the street for care packages is that the flat rate box is the best deal at about $40. Things I will always welcome: bars, dried fruit, beef jerky, treats!

Also, I got my old cell phone number back! (+221) 77 360 58 50

Volunteer Visit

Formerly called demystification, although still commonly referred to as "demyst," (ohh the politics of vocabulary) I just got back from my volunteer visit today. Here is a quick low down, with more in depth details below.

In short...
I visited Kedougou in the southeastern corner of the country, an area known for its greenery as a foothill region to the Guinean "mountains," met a number of current volunteers at the regional house (who are great and I am really looking forward to getting to know them better!), went to my site in Diarra Pont, met my new family and person I will be working closely with while in village (counterpart), saw the school and women's groups' gardens, met the chef du village, was introduced to the women's group, almost was given a new name (likely Adama Jan Diallo, where I will go by Jan so I will not be confused with the mother, Adama), biked to the nearby town (Salemata) for the Tuesday market, saw the family fields, and got a ton of information about what Ian (the person I will be replacing) worked on as the first volunteer at site.

As for my future living conditions: I will be living in a concrete hut with a straw thatched roof without water or electricity, but a water pump run is about 10 minutes round trip away, and I have my solar charger for my ipod and speakers. I have a personal shower area and toilet behind by hut. There currently is not cell service, although at my family's fields I can get some (3k away). Supposedly additional towers are being put in, sometime soon (so who knows what that means in Senegalese time). The former volunteer is leaving me a machete and sharpening stone, an extra mosquito net and bike helment, a cannery (to keep water cool in the hot season), a nifty rope system suspended from the ceiling to hang things from and a blackboard that is painted on the wall! I have plans for a new bed, table, chair, stool, and hanging bookshelf! I'm really excited to move in :) There is a shade structure in the compound too that I can hang my hammock from!

More details:
So Diarra Pont is 70km west of the city of Kedougou, which is supposed to be a 12hour drive from Thies, although our driver was a speed demon and got us there (in the 4x4 with luggage strapped to the top, fixed a flat, with a lunch stop) in only 8hours. When we arrived, the current volunteers gave us a tour of the regional house, which was formerly a training center and is set up much like the one I am currently staying at in Thies, but on a much smaller scale. They threw us a party and made us Mexican food! It was delicious! The following morning, a volunteer went to the store and bought baguettes (which are so much better than in the north) so we could have bean sandwiches with the left over beans from dinner. I had an easy going morning due to the car situation (bring some people to their site in the opposite direction of mine) and I left for my site with a few others who are 5km and 10km away from me after lunch. It was about an hour and a half drive or so on an unpaved, bumpy red rock road. I was really excited to see rock cliffs in the distance, although they are in themselves probably 30-40km away from my site. When I arrived, Ian (the volunteer I will be replacing who initially started his service in Guinea, served a year, then came to Senegal for two, and has AMAZING language skills; I am thoroughly jealous), greeted me, introduced me to the family I will be living with, showed me my hut, and then we went to meet the village chief. Ian chatted it up in Pulaar and apparently when I come back, a goat is going to be killed for my "naming ceremony," (since I need a Pullo name, as "jacki" means to "chomp down" on food in Pulaar). We came back to the hut, had dinner, corn, sauce, and chicken (that Ian bought since he knew I was coming). Afterwards, the village women's group came and I was introduced. The whole lack of having a Pullo name ended up being a conversation starter and everyone wanted to name me. It sounds like the runner up as of yet is Adama Jan Diallo, although I would go by Jan Diallo, not to be confused with the mother of the household, Adama. They went home, we listened to the radio, and went to bed relatively early.

The following morning, we woke up to have a rice porridge for breakfast and we went to the other quartier of the village to meet more people and see some of the cotton, peanut, and corn fields. I met the health advisor for the community, who will also likely be my language tutor when I install. We meandered to the women's group garden, the non-women's group garden, the school, the unfinished well, the new and old water pumps, and came back to the house for lunch. Afterwards, we biked the 5km along the "highway" (unpaved road we took in from Kedougou) to Salemata. Every Tuesday is the weekly market, and after buying seasoning, vegetables, sugar, tea, and soap for the family, we walked around the town, met the local officer for Eaux et Forets (essentially the dept. of land management in Senegal). We biked home, went to the river, I did a bit of yoga, had another corn variation with sauce for dinner (having to decline a second dinner from a neighbor) and went to bed after listening to the BBC on the battery powered short wave radio (I am looking forward to the nightly news!).

The following day we knew I was going to be picked up sometime, although it was unclear. So, after breakfast, a corn type porridge, we biked 3km to the family's fields (which is the most intense biking I have ever done. Hills, sticks, mud puddles, dodging trees... I think I will be able to hit up Whistler in the summer after my time here in Senegal). It is also the closest place with cell phone reception and we were trying to find out a better timeline of when the car was coming, although Ian's phone died before we could figure that out. So, after looking at a live fencing project, we dropped the bikes off at the house, and walked down to the river. We came back for lunch, a corn based thing with sauce, and laid under the shade hut in the family courtyard until the car came. A couple hours brought us back to the regional house (also referred to as the CTC, a throwback term for when it was a community training center). A few of us went to the market to buy fabric for our swear in outfits (I got a great indigo fabric from Guinea- reason being that my village's inhabitants are exclusively Guinean immigrants, and the dialect of Pulaar I am learning is essentially Guienean), and then met up with everyone else at a restaurant. After dinner, we took a cab back to the CTC, I watched GLEE for the first time on someone's computer and went to bed. I was woken up sometime in the middle of the night when the people next to me had a wasp attack since they forgot to close their mosquito net.

The following morning, a number of people walked down the street to get bean sandwiches, but a current volunteer and I went to boutique instead. We decided to get a baguette, onion, and the equivalent of SPAM. We biked back to the CTC, fried it up, and put on mustard. Interesting breakfast, surprisingly filling, and I can't say I'm opposed to it. There is a first for everything right?! We were on the road by 8:30am and made it in spectacular timing again to Thies. I unpacked, got a brief lowdown on others' visits, made a huge laundry pile that I will hopefully do tomorrow, and went out to dinner at a notoriously good chicken place since dinner was not provided at the center for the evening.

Now I have been wasting away on the internet for far too long into the night... but there is so much to catch up on that I literally haven't had the opportunity to! There are a few new photos on facebook too! 2am. Goodnight. My day starts in 6hours.

Placement! New Cell Phone!

Quickly: I got a new cell phone number: +221 672 03 68

Now for the exciting stuff: where I will be going for the next two years! (and to visit in just a few days). DIARRA PONT near Salemata, 75km outside of the city of Kedougou in southeastern Senegal. It is rather close to the Guinea border (about 25km), and it looks like 150km from the Malian border. I didn't get a lot of preliminary information, but it small! A community with about 275 people.

It was kind of childish the way we found out, but fun nevertheless. Near the back of the training center is a half sized basketball court with a map of Senegal painted on it. We were all blind folded and moved to the area where we will be and given a manila envelope. On a countdown of three, we unblindfolded ourselves to see nearby volunteers and look at our envelope with our site placement. Inside was a map and paperwork from the previous volunteer with information. Some people got a lot, others, not so much. Me, I didn't get a ton of information, but I will be visiting soon, so I'm not too worried! I am really interested to see the ecology! The nearest volunteer will be 6km away, and it sounds like I have evening electricity the same distance away... crazyyy! Good thing I followed through on getting the solar charger!

Darou Khoudoss: Homestay #2

I just arrived back at the training center in Thies after a two week homestay in Darou Khoudoss. My sitemates, Robert and Kyle (although in Senegal known as Lirouane and Ibrahima) and I decided that our immersion during this “community based training” is equivalent to being a Chinese person being sent to Texas to learn Spanish. We have language classes every morning (at my house in the shade of a mango and orange tree) with a native speaker, Pape our Peace Corps language teacher, have workbooks to look into, but are expected to practice speaking outside of class. However, there isn’t really a lot of opportunity. Our families we are staying with speak Pulaar, although not everyone, and frequently speak Wolof or French amongst themselves, and our community is scattered with the random Pulaar speaker. If we go to the market to buy anything (the boys need supplemental calories most often in the form of donuts, cafee tuba-hot , highly sugared, caffeinated beverage- bean or beef skewer sandwiches, fried fish stuff, or mangoes) we speak Wolof of French, unless we visit Kyle’s mother who sells peanuts. The last day of our homestay we had our first language proficiency test where I was able to introduce myself, talk about my family back home and in Senegal, and ask questions. At this time Pape also shared with us that we are learning the most difficult language in training. Although the verbs are regular (three different kinds –ugol, -agol, -egol), we have already been introduced to six tenses, and we haven’t even started to learn the 24 different noun classes (rather than 2 I have previously been exposed to because of French; masculine and feminine). Joy. I am hoping the upcoming volunteer visit where we will be visiting the current volunteer we are replacing will be a necessary opportunity for learning.

During this homestay we had a really productive time in the garden (and it is coming along really well considering the immensely sandy “soil” we are dealing with. We visited a nearby groups’ garden, and ours is actually coming up!). Our compost looks like soil, we transplanted eggplants, jaxtu, hot pepper, and onion which all have taken; we planted our pepinier with lettuce, onion, tomato, cabbage, eggplant; we also planted our field crop beds with cowpeas, corn, millet, peanut, and sorgum; we also planted a bed with carrot, radish, bissap, cucumber, and pepper. We also planted a live fence and mango trench (yay for agfo technologies!) I have been put in charge of watering in the morning, which makes it easier to get out of bed, and an excuse to do yoga if I have energy and time before class. The hardest thing for me about the Senegalese diet is the timing. I do not do great with seven hours between meals. Further, the lack of variety.

Ohh typical Jackie, I lost my phone. It wasn’t totally my fault. It fell out of my pocket in the bathroom- no opportunity for retrieval. I’m getting a new one within days!

Yesterday, the last day of our homestay, was great! After the language test, we spent the day at the beach, the nearby group met up with us, we came back to village, and went to a party the community was having. We ended up unexpectedly speaking on behalf of the Peace Corps (thanking the village for the opportunity to learn Pulla Futa there), talk about nerve-wracking! I do not like public speaking. Random people went up and rapped, there was a skit, and lots of greetings and long introductions. Great immersion although everything was in Wolof and French.

I find out tonight where I will be going for the duration of my service as a volunteer!!! I think it will be Kedougou in the southeast, bordering Mali (CLIMBING!) and Guinea. Fingers crossed!

Mi innetee Aminatou Diallo!

Ajaaraama (the aloha of Pullo Fuuta) after the first homestay experience! Goodness, where to start. Well, I just got back to Thies to the PC center after our introductory one week immersion where we had intensive language and basic garden prep activities (making compost, double digging garden beds and a vegetable pepinier). In short, my family is wonderful and I have it pretty well! I feel a bit sheltered though and am going to make a point of going out more next time (which will be a two week homestay). It’s easy to not go far though because my house is the meeting point for our group, where we conduct language classes, and is across the field from the school where our garden is. I literally have only walked around the town once to see where Robert (Lirouane), Kyle (Ibrahim), and Pape (our language teacher from Ziguinchor) live on the second day, and on Sunday we went to the beach to meet up with the group staying in Mdoube. The ocean felt so wonderful!! I’m looking forward to it being a weekly tradition during training! It felt funny to be in a swimsuit (e.g uncovering my shoulders and knees! Scandalous!) Anyway, back to Darou: I always hear interesting stories from Kyle and Robert about their walks to and from my house (i.e. greetings, town regulars, marriage proposals, lunch invites, etc) so when we go back they have made it a point to make me walk around. At the Diallo house, I have my own room, an 8” foam mattress, and there is running water (a faucet that is not locked), electricity most of the time, and vegetables at every bowl (e.g. lunch and dinner). A bowl is typically rice or couscous with some sort of sauce, occasionally fish or beef. For me, it is followed by an apple or mango. My family is really, so good to me! I have four younger siblings, a baby boy (Mamadou), a one year old (I share the name Aminatou with her), a two year old boy (Jodi), and an eleven year old sister (Binda)- who I spend a lot of time with! She speaks French and is really helpful with learning Pullo Fuuta. The family (there is the grandmother, Mere, mother, Malado, father, Ibrahim, another Aminatou, and another woman who I am not sure of her relationship or name…) is really great about giving me space when I am studying, but are also just really generous and helpful. However, the grandmother has made it a habit it to give me a second dinner, which is certainly do not need, but can’t really refuse either… A typical day would be as such: wake up at 730, have an 8” baguette with butter for breakfast with a cup of Nescafe with sugar.

Then Pape, Robert, and Kyle come to my house between 9-10 and we have language class for about three hours. Then Pape will leave, the boys will stay and study, they will go home for lunch, then come back to study and have ataaya (tea). My mom typically prepares ataaya while Robert and my father converse in French and he helps us with vocabulary and clarifies things. At 1700, it cools down and we go across the sandy soccer field to the school to the garden. We work for an hour or so, but then it is prayer time and we take a break. We work until sunset and I am walked home.

Then, I will either play with the kids or study and then have dinner number one at 2030 followed by a bowl with the family 2130 or so. Then the tv is on in the family room or Binta and I stay up chatting or playing hand/rhythm games in French/Puula until I decide I am too tired and go to bed typically around 2330. It’s a nice little routine. I feel so dependent I am going to make a point of going to the market or helping in the kitchen next time! I do go with Binta to get ice sometimes in the evening so we have cold water after dinner.

Contact Information

I got a cell phone! Although, if you text my US number, I will still be able to see it thanks to googlevoice. My number (dialed from the US) is: 011 221 77 360 58 50.

I will be able to receive mail at the training center until November 4th, with things taking on average a couple weeks. The address is:

PCT Jackie Allen
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 299
Thiès, Senegal
West Africa

Initial Training Days

Assalaa Maallekum! (Common greeting, which is quite important in Senegalese culture. The response is Maallekum salaam).

The first few days have been relatively similar in the sense of a routine. Wake up, have breakfast at 815, have some sort of session, have a tea break, have another session, have lunch around 13, have a session, have some down time, have dinner around 1930. I have been really good about doing yoga everyday too! Our sessions are either language, cultural, medical, or technical trainings. For instance, the first language sessions were to learn introductory Wolof, whereas this morning, we found out what language we will actually be learning in full (finally! Everyone was anxiously awaiting since it is also an indicator to where we will be in the country for our projects). I will be learning Pullo Fuuta which is spoken in the Kolda, Kedouga and Guinee regions (southern, inland Senegal)! Our technical trainings have been a mix of powerpoints explaining the "big picture" (how can agroforestry help with food security? what are our roles to accomplish this, the Peace Corps?) and actual application. Things remain quite general because of importance of context and the wide variability of where we will be. Yesterday, we made vegetable gardens and planted seeds (tomato, onion, pepper, etc), started a compost pile, and learned how to "double dig." We are still in the basics for pretty much everything. We had a "cultural fair" where we got the lowdown on different sorts of food and juices here, how to eat, sorts of fabric and clothing, types of religion, etc. I'm looking forward to getting fabric for more skirts!

This afternoon we are going to go on a tour of Thies and get things we need for our homestays from the market. We have only been outside of the training compound once so far, yesterday, to see where we are not allowed to go (e.g. the red zone).

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be going to my homestay in Darou Khoudoss with my language teacher, Pape, and two other volunteers for a week. We will each be staying with a different family with our own room, share meals with them, and meet during the day to have language lessons. I am certainly nervous because of how little I know, but that is the whole point. They have changed the training from center based to community based because of the higher success rate as a result of immersion. I can only hope I catch on sooner than later!

As of now, the biggest challenge (besides not understanding the language going on around me amongst the staff) has been eating with my right hand, staying organized (we get so much paperwork!), drinking enough water, and occasionally the heat. It has not been below, probably 70, even at night, with the days in the mid 80s or more. We are supposed to cover our shoulders and knees. I'm fine on bottoms, but for tops, it sucks not being able to wear a tank top! I am looking forward to going to my project area (in 3 months after "pre service training"), and since I will be stationed in the south, supposedly it is less conservative on dress code (e.g. tank tops are ok, although covering your legs is still important since "thighs" are highly sexualized here).

Arriving in Thies

After watching “According to Barney,” and part of “Paul,” with little sleep on my behalf, we arrived in Dakar at 5:40am after an eight hour flight. We were met by the safety and security officer and the country director as well as some current PCVs. I was surprised at the ease of customs, more specifically the lack of inspection, although the last time I travelled internationally was to NZ and Australia where their inspections are intense! After watching our checked luggage be loaded into a large, white truck, we were given a liter and a half of water and crammed into two busses for an hour and a half drive. It was the Islamic holiday of korite, the end of Ramadan, and the first day people eat during daylight hours so we were going to have an “off day” mostly when we arrived. We saw numerous goats being skinned, baguettes and biscuits for sale by individual vendors, as well as women with bananas on their head on the side of the street. It is the end of the rainy season, and we watched parts of the streets flood as we drove due to the light rain that was occurring. There were also goats and horses seen on the side of the road. We unfortunately missed the African Renaissance statue recently created by current President Wade. Since I did not sleep as much as I wanted to on the plane, I dozed off a bit on the ride over.

Once we arrived at the Thies Training Center, one of the few permanent buildings Peace Corps has in a country; we were informed that we must stay within the compound for the next four days, as a safety precaution. We had breakfast (baguettes with a nutella like spread) and I took a much needed nap! After eating lunch, a large shared bowl of seasoned rice with beef in the middle for 4-6 people (which we ate with spoons or our right hand the portion that is right in front of us), on mats in a hut on the ground, we split up into the three groups (AgFo, Sust, Urban) and took turns: filling out paperwork (getting paperwork regarding the upcoming training) and turning in our passports, getting a tour of the grounds, and getting a lesson on “Turkish toilets,” (e.g. squat toilets). Then, the day was ours. I did some reading we were given and then did yoga with a couple others. It was hot! I constantly found myself navigating towards the shade or a building with a fan. Not unbearable, but I am certainly not used to it yet. A few people played basketball on the half court, and killed time until dinner. For dinner, we ate in the same room we had breakfast and it was spaghetti with a spicy meat sauce. We tried to do a movie night, but it didn’t really work. I left after the start of movie number three.

Staging

I was woken up by my roommate Kathleen at 11:30; our staging event started at noon. I didn’t even think to set an alarm because I figured I’d wake up at 10 at the latest. However, I clearly underestimated how tired I was! I quickly got ready and made it down to the lobby to wait in line, turn in paperwork, and then go into a conference room to sit for a couple hours while the other 55 people did the same thing. This took nearly two hours. The schedule was until 7pm. Since I woke up late, I also did not have time to submit the Wolof and AgroForestry tests online, so I did that during this time. Once everyone made it through, we were officially welcomed by our staging directors Amy, Abdul, and Jeff as trainees rather than just invitees. We were constantly welcomed by guests throughout the day as "part of the family."

We were also very fortunate because we had the deputy director, Carrie Hessler-Radelet, as well as the director of the Peace Corps, Aaron Williams, come to speak! Apparently, staging groups are lucky if they have just a single of those two to attend. Carrie is a RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) who served in Somoa during the 80s and went on to have a long career in international development before her current position. Two memorable quotes that she shared was that the Peace Corps is "the toughest job you'll love," and it is the most "intense and transformative experience outside of marriage and childbearing." Aaron was also a volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 60s. He discussed how now is a good time for the PC because of the current supportive administration (particularly with Obama having grown up in a developing country, and Clinton having visited every country that the PC is now active in), the bipartisan support in congress, and the fifty year anniversary this year and how it is an opportunity to implement the new vision and key strategies for the PC (while maintaining the original mission statement). Each were very inspiring and made me excited for my service.

I was particularly happy to hear that "new vision and key strategies" seem to hold true to critiques I had in my undergrad about the problems with developmental organizations, particularly exceptionally bureaucratic ones. For instance, an evaluation of the PC showed that countries with the most resources were not ones with the most "need" (using the human development index [HDI] as a means to determine need). For instance, Ukraine had over 200 volunteers whereas Ethiopia had only 60. Therefore, a major change is that as an organization, they were going to rationalize the number of volunteers in a country according to a country in need. Further, they were going to minimize the sorts of projects in order to maximize the impact of volunteers, although this is by maintaining six key sectors (Education, Environment, Health, Small Business Development, Youth Development, and Community Development), with a total of 40 different specific projects (i.e. I am in the Environment sector working on an AgroForestry project).

We also split up into groups several times to talk about safety, anxieties, aspirations. Tomorrow we meet in the morning to head to the health clinic for the DAY before going to the airport to fly out at 5:40PM on a direct eight hour flight!

All in all, staging was exhilarating despite the necessary logistics! I believe that it achieved its purpose is give us as trainees the "opportunity to reflect on one's commitment to service while orienting to the Peace Corps and general demands of being healthy, safe, and effective."

Washington DC- Early Arrival

From the airport, Katie, another Washingtonian, and I caught a taxi to the Holiday Inn Georgetown. We put our luggage in our respective rooms and then took to the city. We walked to the area where the Memorials are before the sunset. It was really interesting to see a US city with such beautiful, large, and ornate buildings. Coming from the west coast, I am certainly not used to the architecture, although I love it! We saw the Lincoln memorial, Washington Monument, the Reflecting Pool under construction, several war memorials (Vietnam, WWII), Constitution Gardens, the White House. Afterwards, we went and grabbed Indian food and then walked back to the hotel. We met a few more volunteers and I went to bed with the intention of sleeping in since I am a bit “behind” on sleep.

Leaving Seattle

On Saturday, I was conscientious of the news regarding hurricane Irene since flights were cancelled in DC that day due to the airport closure. After running errands in the morning with my mom to gather last minute items (i.e. bug tent that comes highly recommended by current volunteers, recent pictures, bed sheets, etc), I finally actually packed (my apologies to people if I intended to see you and didn’t!). The piles around my room have been slowly growing over the past month, particularly in the last week since I’ve (finally) been home! It was interesting because for once, I was packing with more of a weight restriction rather than a size restriction. I wasn’t going to be backpacking so larger bags than I would normally travel with would be acceptable; it’s weird that I am temporarily moving rather than just travelling. Therefore, much of my packing are “living” sorts of things, rather than clothes and toiletries (although I do have quite a stockpile of sunscreen, toothpaste, and shampoo). That evening my parents and younger brother went out to dinner (Mexican since it tends to be a food I miss and is pretty irreplaceable abroad) and drove around, chatted. It was wonderful! Fortunately the following morning, getting to the airport was a breeze thanks to my parents. I did have to reorganize a bit at the counter for my checked bags, but it was quick since I only packed the day before. I ended up bringing my: 90L duffle bag, a large rolling duffle (checked) and a backpack and purse (carry-ons). I feel almost “over packed,” but I won’t know until I get there since I am not quite sure how I will be living and working on a day to day basis, and consequently, what I will be using-- I’ll find out! After a tearful goodbye, I went through security and immediately found Katie, another PCV flying out of Seattle. We chatted before boarding and I am really looking forward to meeting everyone else! On the plane, I finally had time to read the mandatory agroforestry articles. Further, I finally looked over my Wolof language learning materials. I am going to be consumed with this language soon! The flight had a bit of turbulence halfway through but overall was quite easy.

Conference Call

This morning I participated in a half an hour conference call with other soon to be Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). The director gave us a briefing about what our first few months (i.e. training, host communities, etc) will be like as well as general expectations (hard work, dedication, high level of language (Wolof) competence, cultural sensitivity, immersion, etc). There are 55 of us arriving in Thies (pronounced Chasse) on Wednesday, and it was nice to hear that our initial host community we will be with 2-3 other PCVs. I knew the Peace Corps had long standing roots in Senegal, but I did not realize that the agriculture sector in Senegal is the largest Peace Corps program (it is technically split into three sectors: Sustainable Agriculture, Agroforestry, and Urban Agriculture). In addition to our project area, we are also expected to help other volunteers with their projects in: malaria prevention, environmental education, small enterprise development, and healthcare.

The most pertinent concern was about backup plans for hurricane which is supposed to hit DC on Sunday, the day I fly in, although most people are travelling on Monday. We were given a phone number to contact so lets just hope that we can stick to the initial plan!

A few days to go

Two weeks before arrival in Senegal, I received an hugely resourceful email from the director. However, I wish I received it earlier! Relatively simple questions people asked me (i.e. what is agroforestry, what will you be doing, etc), I now have a better ability to answer. I feel like I am in school again with a bunch of literature to read and a language to learn. I would love to leave it all for the plane, but we have a conference call and a language test before our departure to Senegal. On top of packing (which I absolutely have not done), I feel a little behind. Nevertheless, I am doing what I feel is important, and prioritizing friends and family before I leave! Packing has to, and will, get done, even if it done through the night before I fly out. I just hope I've purchased everything I need...

Aspiration Statement

So here is a document that I submitted to the Peace Corps for the people in Senegal when I was invited for service. I figured it may be interesting to someone!

A. There are a number of professional attributes I plan to use during my service in the Peace Corps the first of which is good communication skills. I believe being able to listen and ask questions is essential to a better understanding by both parties. Although this will be difficult due to the language difference at first, I will strive to become immerse myself as proficiently as possible. I also strongly believe in the importance of patience and flexibility and consistently make an effort to practice these traits. Most importantly, I aspire to make a difference, however wideranging, in the lives of particular individuals, although hopefully a community. I studied development throughout college and understand, to a certain extent, the, often, idealistic aspirations of economic development and its subsequent shortcomings; therefore, I hope to create a realistic and attainable goal for the time while I am in Senegal.

B. In order to effectively work with host country partners to meet expressed needs, I intend to do a lot of listening in the beginning stages. I am an outsider coming in to see what the needs of the people are and do not believe I am in a position to tell people what they want or need, although I am in one to help once I know where help is needed.

C. Adapting to a new culture will differ for everyone depending on one’s own previous exposure and experiences. For me, I am fortunate to have immersed myself in a culture before in rural India, and found that dressing similarly is a great first step. I know that I will be conspicuous regardless, but at least it is beginning to breaking down barriers and differences.

D. I expect pre-service training to be an intensive but absolutely necessary component of volunteer service in order to gain specific skills and knowledge about what I am expected to do in the upcoming years. In particular, I look forward to the technical knowledge and skills that I am expected to teach in the future as well as strategies that will be introduced.

E. When my service ends, I know that it will be an incredibly impactful experience. I have never done anything quite like this and cannot anticipate how it will change me so I am hesitant to make aspirations as I am a person committed to following through on things. Nevertheless, I am interested in going to graduate school, possibly in public policy, although this academic study area may change. I also love the idea of working for a philanthropic organization such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or a smaller one as well. After spending so much time away from friends and family I expect to spend the first few months with people I kept in touch with although likely were not able to see during my service.

Natural Disasters

As I am preparing this week to depart for Washington DC followed by Senegal, Hurricane Irene is expected to hit the east coast Sunday, the afternoon I am anticipating to land; this is after the exceptionally unusual earthquake that just hit that area as well... we will see how these natural phenomenons impact, if at all, my departure!

Staging flight booked!

I just booked my flight to Washington D.C. for my staging event where final logistics are introductions are done. I'm thoroughly excited... I've never been to the capital before, let alone the east coast of the US! Additionally, it is a nonstop on Alaska so that will be nice :) I am an "early arrival" since I cannot leave on the 29th and be ready for a meeting by noon, so I arrive on the 28th at 4:40pm. It's so great to start getting precise (essential) details! A facebook group was created for new volunteers as a forum for questions and a means of communication. There is someone else coming from the west coast so we are planning to hang out in the airport already! I know I have a lot going on, but it is crazy to think about how many individuals are preparing for a similar fate. Granted the Peace Corps is competitive to be accepted, but there are still loads of volunteers.

One month to go

I just realized that I am in the country for just over a month more (35 days to be exact). Crazy. It's going to be a busy time before that! I have (in chronological order): a housewarming party, a few scheduled dinners, a few more shifts at work, Jennifer's birthday, a weekend in Portland, a two week roadtrip in the SW, a music festival in San Fran, Kris and Meghan's wedding, seeing Nathan while he is stateside, Jacob's birthday, and ohh yah, packing! I keep hearing about all of these amazing things my friends are doing, getting actual jobs, travelling, etc that I feel like I'm in a stagnant lull although I know I will be doing something exciting soon. It doesn't seem like it's happening yet. I'm not quite sure when it'll "hit" me. I guess all in all, I'm excited to go, but I have to much to look forward to in the meantime, I don't want to overshadow my upcoming experiences with something that I know relatively little about (and something I anticipate having information overload soon).

Optimistic

So I submitted my visa application and applied for a special passport within days of receiving my official invitation but have not heard anything from the Peace Corps. I am slightly concerned due to the fact that my departure date is three weeks AFTER the day that the federal budget will be surpassed if Congress does not pass legislation to increase level of federal debt. I don't know if that would impact me necessarily... Nevertheless, I called the office in D.C. last week, spoke with the person in charge of my program, and apparently, there is nothing else I should do until my "staging" on the 29th of August. At this time, final logistics will be figured out and I will be leaving either that day or the following. I wonder when I should pack... shortly after returning from a roadtrip with my brother to ID, UT, AZ, CA and the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco I suppose! In the meantime, I'm printing pictures and deciding on things I'd like to accompany me in the upcoming YEARS (yikes!). That's so crazy to think about, although, I'm sure it'll go by faster than I am willing to anticipate. All I know is that I will be nearly 26 when I'm back in the States again... hmm. Just in time for Christmas though! I'm good at arranging that :)

Placement!

So I have not been updating this, but, I figured that since I was officially invited in late May, I ought to! I was getting nervous that my departure date was going to be pushed back-- I attended a Peace Corps send off party at UW where returned Peace Corps volunteers and future ones got together in mid-May, and I met a number of people who were waiting to hear exactly when they were leaving, some who's dates already passed.

I am anticipating leaving on August 29 to begin a three month training in Senegal before starting on my project as an agroforestry extension agent (where the big picture idea is "food security" and I am expected to educate farmers as well as teach them new agricultural technical skills, all en francais). As of now, I am just working at Patagonia as a sales associate and Urban City Coffee as a barista and spending time with friends and family before I leave!