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).