so i realize that a lot of time has passed since the last post. although it hardly seems like any at all...time moves surprisingly fast despite the fact that you only have about five hours a day to actually do any work within the community. what i mean is, by the time i get up in the morning and clean, pull water, etc it is nearly 9 in the morning...and there is only about two/three hours before it is super hot outside and then there is lunch. then after lunch there is the "foftere" or rest which lasts until 4 or 5 giving me another two or three hours before dark. these are the only times people are willing to go to meetings/causeries/or do any work. so that said there is a lot of time where i don't have much to do and that has been a much bigger challenge for me- filling time.
there are a few health posts within the area i live in; one in taredji (6k south), one in mbantou (3k southeast), one in diambo soubalou (1k south and where emily lives), one in ndiawara (2k north), and one in podor (16k north). emily and i are starting to paint at each post-specifically growth charts and health murals and colleen, another volunteer who lives near us (and puts my art skills to shame) has started a huge project in podor which she has graciously allowed me to help out with. the health center there just has some major expansion and is more like a mini-hospital than clinic. so when there isn't much to do in the village we've been painting at these places.
i've also successfully grew a few (fifteen out of forty seven seeds) been trees for the village and next week i will be handing them out to a few guys who will plant them so they can grow (inshallah-note previous post)...these trees are like the super tree here. they can grow anywhere and grow fast, their beans and leaves are edible (the leaves used in my favorite dish here), the roots are natural water filters...they are great. i really really really want to be able to do a few gardens of them and spread the bean tree love throughout the village.
there's also vaccinations days at the clinics, causeries that we are sometimes able to do, routine house calls, and in between at all that we got the potato study i'm helping out with which is very interesting and i'm glad to be a part of it. it will be exciting to see how each distribution and weighing goes. i could even blog about in the project in detail...
for another day perhaps.
so yea, it's been a busy time. i've even turned a year older in the midst of it. i even got birthday haako and it was goooood. best i've had in country yet. so october just flew on by and i can't believe that november is nearly half over too...with thanksgiving right around the corner-yikes!
well, that's all for the quick update. now that we got internet at the regional house i hope to be able to post more frequently and share a few of the more exciting stories.
cheers!
jaime
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
a few of my favorite things...
since coming to senegal nearly seven months ago i've come to appreciate a few things...
village kids. specifically MY village kids, not nessessarily all village kids. but i am so glad that i have the kids i do in my village. for the most part they are very well behaved (different standard of what a "well-behaved" kid is but still...) i am able to let the kids in my room and they know they aren't allowed to touch or pick up or play with anything of mine before asking (and they DO ask!) whenever i do any sort of chore they come help. i have my regular water helpers who help me pull water from the well and bringit back to my hut. they love playing any sort of games and are just so happy to be around me. this bugged me at first--do you have to constantly be touching me!--but i've come to really like that. the kids don't hide their emotions, you can tell when they are so happy because they literally jump for joy as well as when they are upset because they scream and wail. (at first i was alarmed at this and bothered by it until i noticed the different wailings; i'm really hurt vs. i want you to look at me because i didn't get my way. after a while even i ignore the latter). the other day for korite (more on that later) i went to go greet my village and the herder village. a bunch of my village kids decided to come with me and took me by the hands and led me around. we created a little mini-parade much to the delight of the adults. and although a lot of my frustration comes from the kids, they really are such a god-send to have. a few have started giving me random hugs throughout the day which always lift my spirits and they are up for whatever game i want to teach them. they have even started calling me "banel toubak amen" which is "OUR banel foreigner"
senegalese faith. this is different from the muslim religion that the majority practice here and in fact exclusively practice in the futa just to get that out there. there are three major sayings that some up their outlook on life which are actually arabic (because they are muslim phrases). forgive me of my spelling (never was good at it)...the first one is "alhamdililah" or "thanks be to god". you see this everywhere in senegal from the vehicles to buildings. one of the public transports is even referred to as "alhams" by pcvs because it is written everyone on these big passenger vans. i don't even know their real name. one can say alhamdililah after anythig and they do. when you greet someone the conversation probably goes something like this, "how are you" "i am fine thanks be to god" "thanks be to god" "how is your health" "peace only, and yours" "peace only, alhamdiliah" "alhamdililah"...and so on...now depending on how you say it the phrase can mean several things; thanks be to god!!, thanks be to god i am finally out of that vehicle, thanks be to god now go away, thanks be to god THAT'S over, etc. the second phrase is "inshallah" aka "god willing". you say this whenever you make plans for something or refer to something in the future so..."inshallah"..."god willing i will see you tomorrow, god willing i'll make it back home alive, god willing it will not rain tonight because it is sooo hot in my room, god willing i will never have to do that again... the final phrase, "so allah jebbii" is a mix of pulaar and arabic meaning "if god wills it". is it going to rain tonight? so allah jebbii...are we going to have rice for dinner? so allah jebbii...will you do well on your test today? so allah jebbii...you get the idea. the other night manne my aunt here asked why i don't eat with my hands. i told her that i make too big a mess and that i prefer a spoon (which is true). she said, tomorrow night you must try your hands. and my mother replied, yes yes, so allah jebbii. the next night rolls around and we sit donw to eat and my sister hands me my spoon (knowing full well that i don't want to eat with my hands) and it is a while before my aunt realizes that i'm not eating with my hands. (i should clarify HAND. right hand only). she asks me why i wasn't and without missing a beat i reply, allah jebbani "god didn't will it" to which everyone cracked up. with these three phrases even if you don't know pulaar well -like me- you can still crack jokes and let people know how you are feeling. that's what i like about these phrases. depending on how you're feeling they can mean so many different things...it's a great way to bond with people when you both after a six hour car ride arrive at your destination and utter a "alhamdiliah!!"
my roommates. yep, although we are supposed to live along i have a few squatters in my hut. they've been gradually moving into my hut so i didn't notice them at first but now they've made their prescence known and although they didn't ask, i'm more than happy they call my hut home. i'm referring to shermann, lilypad, and walter my three toads. at first it was just shermann and he kept pretty much to himself. then lilypad moved in and for some reason like to hide in my clothes. (which has sometimes scared the____ out of me. walter is the newest addition and i must admit the most friendly and outgoing of the three. i greet them each morning as i sweep out my room and find out where they are hiding. they each seem to have their own space which is kinda cool so i can tell them apart. we have breakfast together and then i let them have a nap while i go do my thing. (as i discovered the other night they are noturnal and don't do much during the day. i was sleeping outside and it started raining so i had to move inside and couldn't sleep because they were crawling over everything!) but i love having them in my room. my ant problem is gone and there are less annoying beetles around. as long as they keep eating they can stay. it's also a riot because for some reason my village is afraid of them. my brother nearly started crying when i chased him with one and my mom won't come into my hut anymore. i don't understand why toads are so scary to them...my brothers chased a small mamba around the other day trying to kill it, yet they run like hell away from a toad. hmm.
market day. i get to ride into taredji, buy some frozen milk, chat with the vendors, buy beans and bananas...it always puts me in a good mood. plus i love it when i come home and surprise the kids with a treat (usually the bananas).
the landscape. it is soooo different from wisconsin. at first i hated it-it is brown and dry and hardly anything grows- but after a while i have been able to find the beauty in it. everything is in a delicate balance here and when it rains everything comes to life. because it is such a harsh place the things that do live are the toughest of the tough...plus the birds are so cool to look at (yep, birdwatch even here)
star gazing. and you thought the high school roof was the best place to watch the night sky (or get arrested for tresspassing if you're too loud about it)...it's amazing how many stars you can see here...it even beats the wyoming sky of duck creek ranch! i literally sit at dusk and just watch the sky. the sunsets are so beautiful and then night emerges...a great way to wind down the usually stressful day.
podor. when i just need to get away for the day, drink a cold soda (anything cold!), eat a bean sandwich (soooo tasty) and watch a movie trailer i just go to the side of the road wait for and unspecified amount of time, hop on whatever car pulls over and in twenty minutes i there. i love this town. the market is always bustling, the people are friendly, the post man always has a present for me (it's imported from the states) and the cyber guys are the nicest people in country. businesses here usually close for the hot hours of the day and so when we come they let us stay at the cyber, turn on the ac, and watch tv or do whatever we want while they lock up. it's really really really nice of them and i don't know what i would do if i didn't get to do this every week or so.
okra. it can grow in nearly every soil condition which is important here because you can't grow much out of sand...plus it's loaded with vitmins and minerals and available all year round and it's cheap. and it's surprisingly tasty.
ramadan. i won't elaborate as i've taked enough about it, but i really enjoyed it and very glad i got to experience it. we just had korite which marks the end of it. my village killed a cow so we ate meat all day, drank atayaa, and vistited everyone. i got my feet hennaed, my hair braided, and an outfit made for the occasion which the village loved and are still complimenting me on. it was more low key than i thought it would be but fun to see everyone dressed up and visiting with each other.
ok, there's so much i want to talk about but i've been pretty long winded already...enough for this post. i'm off to go hit up the post office then get a cold beverage for the fam.
peace out y'all!!
village kids. specifically MY village kids, not nessessarily all village kids. but i am so glad that i have the kids i do in my village. for the most part they are very well behaved (different standard of what a "well-behaved" kid is but still...) i am able to let the kids in my room and they know they aren't allowed to touch or pick up or play with anything of mine before asking (and they DO ask!) whenever i do any sort of chore they come help. i have my regular water helpers who help me pull water from the well and bringit back to my hut. they love playing any sort of games and are just so happy to be around me. this bugged me at first--do you have to constantly be touching me!--but i've come to really like that. the kids don't hide their emotions, you can tell when they are so happy because they literally jump for joy as well as when they are upset because they scream and wail. (at first i was alarmed at this and bothered by it until i noticed the different wailings; i'm really hurt vs. i want you to look at me because i didn't get my way. after a while even i ignore the latter). the other day for korite (more on that later) i went to go greet my village and the herder village. a bunch of my village kids decided to come with me and took me by the hands and led me around. we created a little mini-parade much to the delight of the adults. and although a lot of my frustration comes from the kids, they really are such a god-send to have. a few have started giving me random hugs throughout the day which always lift my spirits and they are up for whatever game i want to teach them. they have even started calling me "banel toubak amen" which is "OUR banel foreigner"
senegalese faith. this is different from the muslim religion that the majority practice here and in fact exclusively practice in the futa just to get that out there. there are three major sayings that some up their outlook on life which are actually arabic (because they are muslim phrases). forgive me of my spelling (never was good at it)...the first one is "alhamdililah" or "thanks be to god". you see this everywhere in senegal from the vehicles to buildings. one of the public transports is even referred to as "alhams" by pcvs because it is written everyone on these big passenger vans. i don't even know their real name. one can say alhamdililah after anythig and they do. when you greet someone the conversation probably goes something like this, "how are you" "i am fine thanks be to god" "thanks be to god" "how is your health" "peace only, and yours" "peace only, alhamdiliah" "alhamdililah"...and so on...now depending on how you say it the phrase can mean several things; thanks be to god!!, thanks be to god i am finally out of that vehicle, thanks be to god now go away, thanks be to god THAT'S over, etc. the second phrase is "inshallah" aka "god willing". you say this whenever you make plans for something or refer to something in the future so..."inshallah"..."god willing i will see you tomorrow, god willing i'll make it back home alive, god willing it will not rain tonight because it is sooo hot in my room, god willing i will never have to do that again... the final phrase, "so allah jebbii" is a mix of pulaar and arabic meaning "if god wills it". is it going to rain tonight? so allah jebbii...are we going to have rice for dinner? so allah jebbii...will you do well on your test today? so allah jebbii...you get the idea. the other night manne my aunt here asked why i don't eat with my hands. i told her that i make too big a mess and that i prefer a spoon (which is true). she said, tomorrow night you must try your hands. and my mother replied, yes yes, so allah jebbii. the next night rolls around and we sit donw to eat and my sister hands me my spoon (knowing full well that i don't want to eat with my hands) and it is a while before my aunt realizes that i'm not eating with my hands. (i should clarify HAND. right hand only). she asks me why i wasn't and without missing a beat i reply, allah jebbani "god didn't will it" to which everyone cracked up. with these three phrases even if you don't know pulaar well -like me- you can still crack jokes and let people know how you are feeling. that's what i like about these phrases. depending on how you're feeling they can mean so many different things...it's a great way to bond with people when you both after a six hour car ride arrive at your destination and utter a "alhamdiliah!!"
my roommates. yep, although we are supposed to live along i have a few squatters in my hut. they've been gradually moving into my hut so i didn't notice them at first but now they've made their prescence known and although they didn't ask, i'm more than happy they call my hut home. i'm referring to shermann, lilypad, and walter my three toads. at first it was just shermann and he kept pretty much to himself. then lilypad moved in and for some reason like to hide in my clothes. (which has sometimes scared the____ out of me. walter is the newest addition and i must admit the most friendly and outgoing of the three. i greet them each morning as i sweep out my room and find out where they are hiding. they each seem to have their own space which is kinda cool so i can tell them apart. we have breakfast together and then i let them have a nap while i go do my thing. (as i discovered the other night they are noturnal and don't do much during the day. i was sleeping outside and it started raining so i had to move inside and couldn't sleep because they were crawling over everything!) but i love having them in my room. my ant problem is gone and there are less annoying beetles around. as long as they keep eating they can stay. it's also a riot because for some reason my village is afraid of them. my brother nearly started crying when i chased him with one and my mom won't come into my hut anymore. i don't understand why toads are so scary to them...my brothers chased a small mamba around the other day trying to kill it, yet they run like hell away from a toad. hmm.
market day. i get to ride into taredji, buy some frozen milk, chat with the vendors, buy beans and bananas...it always puts me in a good mood. plus i love it when i come home and surprise the kids with a treat (usually the bananas).
the landscape. it is soooo different from wisconsin. at first i hated it-it is brown and dry and hardly anything grows- but after a while i have been able to find the beauty in it. everything is in a delicate balance here and when it rains everything comes to life. because it is such a harsh place the things that do live are the toughest of the tough...plus the birds are so cool to look at (yep, birdwatch even here)
star gazing. and you thought the high school roof was the best place to watch the night sky (or get arrested for tresspassing if you're too loud about it)...it's amazing how many stars you can see here...it even beats the wyoming sky of duck creek ranch! i literally sit at dusk and just watch the sky. the sunsets are so beautiful and then night emerges...a great way to wind down the usually stressful day.
podor. when i just need to get away for the day, drink a cold soda (anything cold!), eat a bean sandwich (soooo tasty) and watch a movie trailer i just go to the side of the road wait for and unspecified amount of time, hop on whatever car pulls over and in twenty minutes i there. i love this town. the market is always bustling, the people are friendly, the post man always has a present for me (it's imported from the states) and the cyber guys are the nicest people in country. businesses here usually close for the hot hours of the day and so when we come they let us stay at the cyber, turn on the ac, and watch tv or do whatever we want while they lock up. it's really really really nice of them and i don't know what i would do if i didn't get to do this every week or so.
okra. it can grow in nearly every soil condition which is important here because you can't grow much out of sand...plus it's loaded with vitmins and minerals and available all year round and it's cheap. and it's surprisingly tasty.
ramadan. i won't elaborate as i've taked enough about it, but i really enjoyed it and very glad i got to experience it. we just had korite which marks the end of it. my village killed a cow so we ate meat all day, drank atayaa, and vistited everyone. i got my feet hennaed, my hair braided, and an outfit made for the occasion which the village loved and are still complimenting me on. it was more low key than i thought it would be but fun to see everyone dressed up and visiting with each other.
ok, there's so much i want to talk about but i've been pretty long winded already...enough for this post. i'm off to go hit up the post office then get a cold beverage for the fam.
peace out y'all!!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
some good-home cookin'
food in senegal. many of you have asked what kind of food i eat here and if it's any good. that's what i'm going to talk about today; food habits in senegal and those as a pcv.
the senegalese diet is based on three major starches; rice (by far the most common), millet and corn. these are used in every meal of every day some way or another. a typical breakfast is bread and cafe touba (nescafe and eight+ cubes of sugar). it's pretty sugary but sugar and sweet tasting things are very very popular here. for lunch it's marro e liddi (rice and fish). this is cooked in a number of different sauces usually tomato based with onion or some form of bouillion. veggies such as eggplant, potato, cabbage, or okra as well as bissap leaves are cooked and put in the bowl as well. occasionally there will also be beans. for supper we typically have lacirii (couscous made from millet or rice) with sauce, beans, or fish. my favorite dish in senegal is lacirii and haako which is couscous and a leaf/fish/spinach sauce. the closest i can describe it would be couscous with fish, spinach and pinenuts made into a sauce. it's really really really good and i love it when we eat it which isn't very often because it is a pricier dish to make. some nights we have goci which is rice with sugar and water and occasionally milk. my family usually makes it with milk which makes it taste better. they also make this with corn. goci is not my favorite and we eat it a lot.
those are typically my meals everyday. compared to most meals in the states it's really repetitive and yea, it gets really old eating the same thing everyday. however, my family has some amazing cooks and because we share three different bowls at lunch and dinner we get plenty of variety. my only complaint is that my family tries to stuff me full of food each meal. (it's considered a sign of good hospitality if a guest is well fed and gains weight during their stay). since there is a food crisis going on and many of my siblings are malnourished you can see why i have a slight problem with it.
traditionally when you eat men eat with men and women and children eat together. i eat with the women. we all gather around the bowl and sit down. it's common practice to eat with your hands (only your right hand-left hand is used for the bathroom). for the life of me i cannot get this down without making a big mess and getting a lot of food on the floor so i eat with a spoon as well as other guests or highly regarded people. you eat what is in front of you and are able to to take pieces of what you want from the middle communal section. never reach across and take from someone else's food and never take a whole item (like a carrot or fish). when we eat we eat one bowl first and then proceed through the rest. usually it's about 8 people eating around one bowl.
for ceremonies or special events we may have chicken or meat (usually sheep, rarely cow, never prime rib). sometimes this is eaten with fries, onion sauce and bread, other times rice and veggies. meat is very very expensive here so it is a big deal to be able to eat meat. my family had a sheep die suddenly and we cut up the meat and distributed it to every single house in my village. no one got a lot of meat but being able to share the little that we had is a sign of respect and love.
many pcvs cook for themselves for a number of reasons: they miss american food, they don't get enough vitamins and minerals, they like controlling when and what they eat. i eat breakfast in my hut alone but eat lunch and dinner with my family. i really enjoy it because i eat very well compared to many other volunteers and it's also a great time to spend with the family. (this is something i love to do in america as well-ginny's making scalloped potatoes and ham at gramps? be right over). i love the sense of family i get when eating with everyone. it's comforting and having lunch always helps relieve some stress that i gathered during the day.
i do enjoy cooking here in country though and i get to do plenty of it. i tried making a few "american" things for the family which they didn't really like which means i do all of my cooking at the regional house. i'm close enough that i'm able to go for a weekend and get a fix of american food whenever i need to, luckily. and believe me i do. pizza, spaghetti, stew, breadsticks, pasta, egg salad, i could go on and on. and i never thought i'd say this but mac n cheese is a god-send. (after i vowed never to eat it again thanks to a little brother and a childhood filled with mac n cheese. love ya joeber). it's been fun figuring out what i can make with the few ingredients we have here (most veggies are out of season and there isn't much variety) and there has been a few mistakes, but i think i'm a much much much better cook in senegal than the states. at least i haven't melted any plated here. yet.
well, all this talk of food has got me hungry and it's about five hours till break of fast. enough for now. love to you all!
cheers!
jaime
the senegalese diet is based on three major starches; rice (by far the most common), millet and corn. these are used in every meal of every day some way or another. a typical breakfast is bread and cafe touba (nescafe and eight+ cubes of sugar). it's pretty sugary but sugar and sweet tasting things are very very popular here. for lunch it's marro e liddi (rice and fish). this is cooked in a number of different sauces usually tomato based with onion or some form of bouillion. veggies such as eggplant, potato, cabbage, or okra as well as bissap leaves are cooked and put in the bowl as well. occasionally there will also be beans. for supper we typically have lacirii (couscous made from millet or rice) with sauce, beans, or fish. my favorite dish in senegal is lacirii and haako which is couscous and a leaf/fish/spinach sauce. the closest i can describe it would be couscous with fish, spinach and pinenuts made into a sauce. it's really really really good and i love it when we eat it which isn't very often because it is a pricier dish to make. some nights we have goci which is rice with sugar and water and occasionally milk. my family usually makes it with milk which makes it taste better. they also make this with corn. goci is not my favorite and we eat it a lot.
those are typically my meals everyday. compared to most meals in the states it's really repetitive and yea, it gets really old eating the same thing everyday. however, my family has some amazing cooks and because we share three different bowls at lunch and dinner we get plenty of variety. my only complaint is that my family tries to stuff me full of food each meal. (it's considered a sign of good hospitality if a guest is well fed and gains weight during their stay). since there is a food crisis going on and many of my siblings are malnourished you can see why i have a slight problem with it.
traditionally when you eat men eat with men and women and children eat together. i eat with the women. we all gather around the bowl and sit down. it's common practice to eat with your hands (only your right hand-left hand is used for the bathroom). for the life of me i cannot get this down without making a big mess and getting a lot of food on the floor so i eat with a spoon as well as other guests or highly regarded people. you eat what is in front of you and are able to to take pieces of what you want from the middle communal section. never reach across and take from someone else's food and never take a whole item (like a carrot or fish). when we eat we eat one bowl first and then proceed through the rest. usually it's about 8 people eating around one bowl.
for ceremonies or special events we may have chicken or meat (usually sheep, rarely cow, never prime rib). sometimes this is eaten with fries, onion sauce and bread, other times rice and veggies. meat is very very expensive here so it is a big deal to be able to eat meat. my family had a sheep die suddenly and we cut up the meat and distributed it to every single house in my village. no one got a lot of meat but being able to share the little that we had is a sign of respect and love.
many pcvs cook for themselves for a number of reasons: they miss american food, they don't get enough vitamins and minerals, they like controlling when and what they eat. i eat breakfast in my hut alone but eat lunch and dinner with my family. i really enjoy it because i eat very well compared to many other volunteers and it's also a great time to spend with the family. (this is something i love to do in america as well-ginny's making scalloped potatoes and ham at gramps? be right over). i love the sense of family i get when eating with everyone. it's comforting and having lunch always helps relieve some stress that i gathered during the day.
i do enjoy cooking here in country though and i get to do plenty of it. i tried making a few "american" things for the family which they didn't really like which means i do all of my cooking at the regional house. i'm close enough that i'm able to go for a weekend and get a fix of american food whenever i need to, luckily. and believe me i do. pizza, spaghetti, stew, breadsticks, pasta, egg salad, i could go on and on. and i never thought i'd say this but mac n cheese is a god-send. (after i vowed never to eat it again thanks to a little brother and a childhood filled with mac n cheese. love ya joeber). it's been fun figuring out what i can make with the few ingredients we have here (most veggies are out of season and there isn't much variety) and there has been a few mistakes, but i think i'm a much much much better cook in senegal than the states. at least i haven't melted any plated here. yet.
well, all this talk of food has got me hungry and it's about five hours till break of fast. enough for now. love to you all!
cheers!
jaime
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
rama-on!
like i said in the previous blog, ramadan is going on right now where muslims the world over abstain from food, drink, tobacco, alcohol and sex for 30 days. i've spent the past week fasting with the family and i've come to a number of surprising conclusions. the first being that not eating between the hours of five(morning) and seven (night) is relatively easy after two days. granted those first two days were a little brutal. the culver's butter burger dream i had one night probably didn't help at all either. i get up around 5 and make myself some breakfast/startfast to be technical which is usually oatmeal, pb, dried fruit or bread and nutella (thanks ruff!) then i do my darndest to chug two liters of water. i can usually polish them off in about 20 minutes...but it's hard. you try it. you'll be peeing like crazy. after that i go to bed for another two hours and get up for good. the day consists of me visiting other compounds, laying around with everyone and trying to fill my time before break of fast.
another thing i find quite enjoyable about ramadan-it's completely normal to fall asleep at someone's house. they'll even consider it a sign you're comfortable and take pride in it if you are a toubab like me. i've successfully fallen asleep at four different compounds one day. i'm hoping to get the whole village done by the end.
kids never get tired.
although by the end of the day they are all really really annoying and i want to scream somedays, my family's kids have been extremely entertaining. we draw and color, they play soccer, the boys see what they can catch...it goes on. i can tell they are often bored and looking for something to do so i do my best to keep them entertained...which somehow turns it around so that i am entertained. i think my favorite night was the bubble night. half were scared and ran away from them, others ran around popping them and the rest just stood there amazed that i could make bubbles out of soap and a plastic ring. i wasn't the only one entertained; my family got a kick out of it as well and gave us all a half hour we weren't watching the clock.
did i mention the street/village cred i'm getting? not to be selfish (ok maybe a little) the village thinks it's awesome that i'm fasting with them. they can't believe i was willing to not eat just because they were fasting. some said i was crazy, others laughed at me, but most think it's pretty cool. as i told my cousin moussa the imam, "you guys are all fasting and i'm not going to eat in front of you so i'm fasting too". he shook his head as if saying "stupid, you have no idea what you're doing" but he told me that i'm 'senegalese' for doing it. i'll take the compliment.
my favorite thing about ramadan is breaking fast. by seven my whole family is sitting around together, my sister's have started to prepare dinner, and everyone is holding a cup of coffee and a piece of bread. suddenly the call to break fast is heard from the mosque and everyone dives in. i usually do a little cheer and booty shake to celebrate. after coffee, we drink juice and cooled water as well as have peanuts. then we eat dinner and hang out until i go to bed. i know this doesn't sound exciting-at least nothing to give up eating all day for-but as soon as we break fast an invisible wave of happiness falls over the village and it's a totally new place. everyone is calmer, joyful, and much much much less irritable. i was a little skeptical about ramadan but it's a great time to be in the village and bond with everyone. i say, rama-on people rama-on!
i want to finish this post with a HUGE thank you to all the family members who were part of the dvd home video that jason and leslie sent. it was so amazing to get (a really big surprise- thanks leslie) and such a great thing to watch. i watched it my first day of ramadan in the village and it was the perfect timing. i then played it for my family and needless to say it was beyond a hit. they are convinced that i live among famous people. (who could argue with that?) i was glad i got to share it with them-you guys have been the talk of the village for the past week. i'll definitely watch it over again and again. the muscians rocked -er- accoustically pleased, the singers sang lovely, the groupies were great to look at. thanks again fam-love you all and miss you all A LOT!!
lotsa love,
jaime
another thing i find quite enjoyable about ramadan-it's completely normal to fall asleep at someone's house. they'll even consider it a sign you're comfortable and take pride in it if you are a toubab like me. i've successfully fallen asleep at four different compounds one day. i'm hoping to get the whole village done by the end.
kids never get tired.
although by the end of the day they are all really really annoying and i want to scream somedays, my family's kids have been extremely entertaining. we draw and color, they play soccer, the boys see what they can catch...it goes on. i can tell they are often bored and looking for something to do so i do my best to keep them entertained...which somehow turns it around so that i am entertained. i think my favorite night was the bubble night. half were scared and ran away from them, others ran around popping them and the rest just stood there amazed that i could make bubbles out of soap and a plastic ring. i wasn't the only one entertained; my family got a kick out of it as well and gave us all a half hour we weren't watching the clock.
did i mention the street/village cred i'm getting? not to be selfish (ok maybe a little) the village thinks it's awesome that i'm fasting with them. they can't believe i was willing to not eat just because they were fasting. some said i was crazy, others laughed at me, but most think it's pretty cool. as i told my cousin moussa the imam, "you guys are all fasting and i'm not going to eat in front of you so i'm fasting too". he shook his head as if saying "stupid, you have no idea what you're doing" but he told me that i'm 'senegalese' for doing it. i'll take the compliment.
my favorite thing about ramadan is breaking fast. by seven my whole family is sitting around together, my sister's have started to prepare dinner, and everyone is holding a cup of coffee and a piece of bread. suddenly the call to break fast is heard from the mosque and everyone dives in. i usually do a little cheer and booty shake to celebrate. after coffee, we drink juice and cooled water as well as have peanuts. then we eat dinner and hang out until i go to bed. i know this doesn't sound exciting-at least nothing to give up eating all day for-but as soon as we break fast an invisible wave of happiness falls over the village and it's a totally new place. everyone is calmer, joyful, and much much much less irritable. i was a little skeptical about ramadan but it's a great time to be in the village and bond with everyone. i say, rama-on people rama-on!
i want to finish this post with a HUGE thank you to all the family members who were part of the dvd home video that jason and leslie sent. it was so amazing to get (a really big surprise- thanks leslie) and such a great thing to watch. i watched it my first day of ramadan in the village and it was the perfect timing. i then played it for my family and needless to say it was beyond a hit. they are convinced that i live among famous people. (who could argue with that?) i was glad i got to share it with them-you guys have been the talk of the village for the past week. i'll definitely watch it over again and again. the muscians rocked -er- accoustically pleased, the singers sang lovely, the groupies were great to look at. thanks again fam-love you all and miss you all A LOT!!
lotsa love,
jaime
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
back in the village again
it's a great feeling knowing that you've been missed and when you get back to your village you get swarmed by people who just want to tell you how glad they are that you're back. it felt so good to get such a warm reception when i finally got back to site. as soon as i got my bags off me my family made me sit and rest and had i not insisted on cleaning out my room myself (termites make a lot of mess) they would have kept me there all day long. i myself was glad to be bake in the village, i missed the laid-back pace of life as well as the routine of things. i spent my first day back greeting everyone and catching up on the village gossip. i found out that one of my good village friends had a baby while i was gone. (I didn't even know she was pregnant- it's taboo to talk about it here and they hide it under baggy clothes)so i was surprised needless to say when i went to visit hre and walked in on the baby's baptism. he looks healthy and was a good weight, 3 kilos so i am excited to see him grow.
yesterday i went to mbantou, a village about 3km from mine on the river with a couple of guys to watch a soccer match. not only was the playing incredible but the fans themselves kept me very entertained.
ramadan started today. i got up early...5am and chugged a liter and a half of water, went back to sleep and got up at 7 to start the day. when i told the village i wanted to try fasting they were really excite although some were a little worried i'd get sick. so far so good-only one day in though and 29 to go...
tonight i'm going to podor to celebrate lauren's birthday with emily and colleen. my guess is that we are going to hide in her bedroom and overeat on chocolate and other goodies. i can't wait!
cheers!
yesterday i went to mbantou, a village about 3km from mine on the river with a couple of guys to watch a soccer match. not only was the playing incredible but the fans themselves kept me very entertained.
ramadan started today. i got up early...5am and chugged a liter and a half of water, went back to sleep and got up at 7 to start the day. when i told the village i wanted to try fasting they were really excite although some were a little worried i'd get sick. so far so good-only one day in though and 29 to go...
tonight i'm going to podor to celebrate lauren's birthday with emily and colleen. my guess is that we are going to hide in her bedroom and overeat on chocolate and other goodies. i can't wait!
cheers!
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