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.