during the hot season one has more free time than usual so you get a chance to do a lot of reading. i mean you can only nap for so long during the day...so to kill time i do a lot of reading in my spare time. so what's makes a good page turner while living in a village? a couple of pointers...
-do not read anything that involves vivid descriptions of food. the last thing you need is to read a paragraph on a summer picnic full of brats, burgers, corn on the cob, fruit, salad, cheesecake, etc etc etc when you know that you will have rice for lunch rice for dinner and rice again and again and again.
-avoid subjects such as isolation, lonliness, etc etc. epsecially when you're already having a bad day.
-anything magical is awesome and you will have multiple long discussions with other pcvs about the mythology of such magical topics and apply them to current life situations. my patronus, camel. i'm also a pub owning hobbit who entertains friends.
-period piece books are more entertaining when read in accent.
some of my favorite reads are; jane austen's (try the accent), harry potter (though explaining it in pulaar is kinda hard), angela's ashes...appeals to the irish catholic in me, the brother's k (to be read during baseball season), and a few others.
the first of many mosquito net distributions were this past week. this one was a national distribution sponsored by usaid for children under 5. it's goal was to provide complete coverage for senegal. and overall, it was very successful. i helped out at a few different villages distribute nets. the distributions that i'll be doing in a few months will be a great compliment to this distribution. it's pretty exciting to be able to make such a huge impact against malaria.
cheers!
jaime
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
what do you do when you having stopped sweating in two weeks? the hot season is back...and quite frankly it sucks. for a number of reasons. number one it's hot, like 120 degrees or more everyday. so everything that you normally do during the you still have to do but in the baking sun. number two, because it's so hot you only have about 4 or 5 hours of the day to actually do work (everyone rests between 12 and 5. and i mean rests. i tried getting up to go to work at 4 and my host mother sent me back to my room and wouldn't let me out until it got cooler. yea, i'm an eight year old.) it's hard to get any sort of work done because everyone is fitting in there work at that time. so if i want to do a causerie or a demonstration i have to compete with pounding rice, laundry, dishes, fieldwork, etc. number three, you have a constant battle of staying hydrated and cool. within three days of staying hydrated i upped my water intake from 3 liters to seven. and i'm swimming in the river or taking a bucket bath at least twice, usually three times a day.
there are a few tips i've gathered to help me cope and survive until the rainy season comes.
-dunking your clothes in water works as laundry and ac
-it's okay to have little siblings follow around you with a fan
-working yourself to the point of exhaustion helps you sleep at night
-perfect the ultimate 'hot season cleanse' so you can make a diet book deal when you get back.
-biking 10 k for ice is okay, you'll even become the village ice cream truck
-embrace the heat happies (uncontrollable giggles that occur between 2 and 8 pm)
despite the heat i have been pretty busy the last two months since being back. i've successfully completed building mud stoves in my village for each kitchen area. mud stoves are a more efficient way of cooking (faster, cleaner, safer) and uses less wood than the open camp fires that most people cook over. living in the sahel where there are less and less trees these are a great way to save firewood. i think the stoves were a good idea. as soon as i made them the women started cooking with them, despite the fact that they needed to dry out and sun bake for two weeks. however, i'm taking the fact that using them instead of just letting them sit there shows how much they wanted them. so, a success.
thanks to all who have donated money towards my mosquito nets. because of the overwhelming support of donors in the states peace corps and usaid are doing a massive net distribution throughout senegal. after this distribution children under five will be completely covered by nets with about 50,000 other nets going to peace corps villages. it's pretty exciting to think about how much this could possibly help fight malaria in senegal...it's by far one of the biggest distributions ever done...so thank you! with any luck we'll have the nets by august and distributed within the month. i'll be posting pictures and video of the distributions as soon as it happens. so be on the look out.
cheers!
jaime
there are a few tips i've gathered to help me cope and survive until the rainy season comes.
-dunking your clothes in water works as laundry and ac
-it's okay to have little siblings follow around you with a fan
-working yourself to the point of exhaustion helps you sleep at night
-perfect the ultimate 'hot season cleanse' so you can make a diet book deal when you get back.
-biking 10 k for ice is okay, you'll even become the village ice cream truck
-embrace the heat happies (uncontrollable giggles that occur between 2 and 8 pm)
despite the heat i have been pretty busy the last two months since being back. i've successfully completed building mud stoves in my village for each kitchen area. mud stoves are a more efficient way of cooking (faster, cleaner, safer) and uses less wood than the open camp fires that most people cook over. living in the sahel where there are less and less trees these are a great way to save firewood. i think the stoves were a good idea. as soon as i made them the women started cooking with them, despite the fact that they needed to dry out and sun bake for two weeks. however, i'm taking the fact that using them instead of just letting them sit there shows how much they wanted them. so, a success.
thanks to all who have donated money towards my mosquito nets. because of the overwhelming support of donors in the states peace corps and usaid are doing a massive net distribution throughout senegal. after this distribution children under five will be completely covered by nets with about 50,000 other nets going to peace corps villages. it's pretty exciting to think about how much this could possibly help fight malaria in senegal...it's by far one of the biggest distributions ever done...so thank you! with any luck we'll have the nets by august and distributed within the month. i'll be posting pictures and video of the distributions as soon as it happens. so be on the look out.
cheers!
jaime
Friday, April 24, 2009
Super Troopers
i'm back into the village life routine after a vacation to the dairyland and a trip around senegal with my parents. i can't tell you how proud i am of them. for two people who have never left the states to go to a third world country as their first abroad experience, they were amazing and handled every situation that arose like champs. we were able to spend two days in saint-louis before heading to my village for a few days. the village part of their visit was by far my favorite for a number of reasons. my folks got to meet the people i'm constantly talking about, see where i live, look at the work i'm doing that's making a difference. my village got to meet my family that's always calling me, learn some awesome campsongs, and meet my family.
when we arrived in diambo the whole village came out to greet my folks, the women danced and gave my mom her very own grand boubou which she was able to rock later. i felt a million of emotions the whole trip but in my village i felt how loved i really am. i was surrounded by people who truly cared about me and showed that by the way they welcomed my folks. i've said it before, but i'm saying it again and will keep on saying it; i am so lucky to have the village i do. like i told the villagers, i have one family in america and one in senegal and my parent's visit made that into one family.
after the village visit we spent the remaining days back in saint-louis where we relaxed on the beach, took in the sun shine, and hung out in the second coolest city in senegal (the first being diambo or course). we went on an excursion to the langue de barbarie where we saw hundreds of birds, got a boat ride, and a private lunch on an island which was fish caught moments before we ate them. it was the perfect trip for them- we got to see the senegal that i know and love as well as relax enough were we didn't feel rushed. i was sad to see my parents go but so proud of how they were able to handle the heat, hustlers, foreign languages, among a whole slew of other things. i'm sure they have plenty more stories to share with you, if you ask. (according to joeber that's all they talk about. sorry bro). dad's also put the pictures he took of the trip on my photo site. some shots of my village are incredible, especially the ones of things that are so unique and different that i've taken for granted. the bird park ones are also awesome. so check them out and enjoy!
on another note and soap box. during my vacation many of you asked what you could do to help me. well here it is: a group of about ten volunteers (me included) are doing a mosquito net distribution throughout senegal and are currently raising funds for nets (about 6500 total). malaria is one of the top killers in africa, and the number one killer of children under the age of five in senegal. i'm raising funds for my village as well as the other two diambos next to me. i hope to get enough funds to completely cover these villages aka have enough nets so that every man, woman, child, and donkey (not really donkeys) is able to sleep under a net. the costs of the nets is very inexpensive- each net is only $2 so any contribution goes a long way. the website is
www.AgainstMalaria.com/PCVs6500
from that site you can find my specific donation site or you can donate directly to the cause. either way you're still helping fight malaria in senegal.
my specific site is www.AgainstMalaria.com/jbodden
donating at this site will go for nets that my village will receive.
the rainy season aka mosqutio breeding time is quickly approaching (although it's hard to imagine it with the heat) so the quicker we raise funds the quicker we're able to distribute nets to the villages.
thanks so much!!! cheers!
peace,
jaime
when we arrived in diambo the whole village came out to greet my folks, the women danced and gave my mom her very own grand boubou which she was able to rock later. i felt a million of emotions the whole trip but in my village i felt how loved i really am. i was surrounded by people who truly cared about me and showed that by the way they welcomed my folks. i've said it before, but i'm saying it again and will keep on saying it; i am so lucky to have the village i do. like i told the villagers, i have one family in america and one in senegal and my parent's visit made that into one family.
after the village visit we spent the remaining days back in saint-louis where we relaxed on the beach, took in the sun shine, and hung out in the second coolest city in senegal (the first being diambo or course). we went on an excursion to the langue de barbarie where we saw hundreds of birds, got a boat ride, and a private lunch on an island which was fish caught moments before we ate them. it was the perfect trip for them- we got to see the senegal that i know and love as well as relax enough were we didn't feel rushed. i was sad to see my parents go but so proud of how they were able to handle the heat, hustlers, foreign languages, among a whole slew of other things. i'm sure they have plenty more stories to share with you, if you ask. (according to joeber that's all they talk about. sorry bro). dad's also put the pictures he took of the trip on my photo site. some shots of my village are incredible, especially the ones of things that are so unique and different that i've taken for granted. the bird park ones are also awesome. so check them out and enjoy!
on another note and soap box. during my vacation many of you asked what you could do to help me. well here it is: a group of about ten volunteers (me included) are doing a mosquito net distribution throughout senegal and are currently raising funds for nets (about 6500 total). malaria is one of the top killers in africa, and the number one killer of children under the age of five in senegal. i'm raising funds for my village as well as the other two diambos next to me. i hope to get enough funds to completely cover these villages aka have enough nets so that every man, woman, child, and donkey (not really donkeys) is able to sleep under a net. the costs of the nets is very inexpensive- each net is only $2 so any contribution goes a long way. the website is
www.AgainstMalaria.com/PCVs6500
from that site you can find my specific donation site or you can donate directly to the cause. either way you're still helping fight malaria in senegal.
my specific site is www.AgainstMalaria.com/jbodden
donating at this site will go for nets that my village will receive.
the rainy season aka mosqutio breeding time is quickly approaching (although it's hard to imagine it with the heat) so the quicker we raise funds the quicker we're able to distribute nets to the villages.
thanks so much!!! cheers!
peace,
jaime
Friday, January 9, 2009
the choices you make...
it's been a little over ten months since starting peace corps and i've learned many a life lesson in that time. but there is one that i've really taken to heart.
blog warning: it's gonna be a semi-sappy post. that's right, i'm about to get all hallmark on ya.
so life here is in a fragile balance. literally any little thing can make or break your day. i've had really really awesome days; language- no problem, work productivity- doing well, help making a difference- check, and then some random dude comes over to your family's compound and wants to marry you and your money. good day has just left you high and dry. on the opposite side i've also had super rotten days where nothing has gone right; stuck waiting for a car, no one understands you, no one came to your causerie, people keep asking for stuff...and then like a light beam a little kid who has been so afriad of you for the past ten months (so afraid they actually pee when they see you) runs up to you because they are so happy to see you. makes your heart melt.
so what i'm saying is that you have good days, bad days, great days, i want to go home days...and they can change at the drop of a hat. what's the lesson here? i'm getting to it.
the other day, a while ago...it was a long day. i had spent the morning in podor running a few errands. the market was especially crowded so i got hasseled by vendors more than usual, the post was full of people getting money wired so i had to wait for over an hour to send my letters, my cyber guy was out of town so i couldn't check my e-mail, then i had to wait for another hour and a half for a car to fill up so that i could leave to go home. it was a long day. i was tired, cranky, hungry and frustrated at life. finally after stopping maybe five thousand times (okay a slight exaggeration) i got dropped off at the herder village which i have to walk through to get to my village. i wanted to be home for lunch but it was now late afternoon. as i'm walking i can hear the herder kids yelling my name and then i can see then running toward me. they always come and greet me whenever i go home and usually i can deal with it. but today i was tired and having ten little kids hang on me was just not in the cards. they were getting closer and i was getting tenser. i could literally feel myself cringe with anticipation. and then....
clarity. it was my big ah-ha moment. i had a simple choice. i could either let myself get mad and get into a worse mood. or i could just let myself go and see what happened. i chose to let go. as the lids swarmed around me, one hugged my legs. i took her face in my hands and screamed, 'i missed you so much! i'm so happy to see you!' this was not the reaction i think she was prepared for. a look of terror crossed her face (the toubak finally cracked) then confusion then complete happiness. she started to laugh and then all the other kids started shouting, 'i missed you banel, i missed you more!' that got me going and for five minutes i faced off with the kids about who missed who the most. then we all walked hand in hand to my hut.
the weight of the world was gone. i was elated. for no reason at all besides the fact that i just went crazy on these kids. only ten minutes earlier i felt as if i was walking with lead in my shoes and a boulder on my back. i had simply acknowledged i was in a bad mood and chose to let it go and start fresh. everything changed. the rest of my night was aweseome. my tocara noticed i was tired so she gave me the first glass of the boisson i had brought from podor. my younger brothers and little husbands cuddled with me as everyone watched tv. we had haako for dinner. going to bad that night i thought to myself what a great day it had been. and despite the frustrations, it had been a good day.
so the lesson learned; life sometimes has bad days. but you can let the bad days just keep getting worse and worse and when a hoarde of village kids come running at you, you can either tense up and cringe or welcome them with open arms. you chose how you feel. dwell on the bad or let the good in. your choice.
warned you it was sappy. but i've seriously taken this to heart and have applied it everyday since and believe it or not, it's worked. i've chosen to be in a good mood and this past month has been the most rewarding in senegal. pulaar (though not even close to fluent) has gotten easier, i've gotten so much more work done, i've found new friends in the village (who aren't under the age of five) and the sun is shining. (it's also the beginning of the hot season where i will have no choice but to look on the bright side of life). it's been great and i feel great.
as for the herder kids...i'm in the process of teaching them the victory tunnel for me to run through when i come home. they love it and i love. it's not handwashing or malaria prevention but everyone is happy.
cheers and see y'all in three weeks!! (yea wisco vacation!!)
i cannot wait for the day i get to eat cheese and crackers and wash it down with a spotted cow. i haven't been counting the days or anything....
peace,
jaime
blog warning: it's gonna be a semi-sappy post. that's right, i'm about to get all hallmark on ya.
so life here is in a fragile balance. literally any little thing can make or break your day. i've had really really awesome days; language- no problem, work productivity- doing well, help making a difference- check, and then some random dude comes over to your family's compound and wants to marry you and your money. good day has just left you high and dry. on the opposite side i've also had super rotten days where nothing has gone right; stuck waiting for a car, no one understands you, no one came to your causerie, people keep asking for stuff...and then like a light beam a little kid who has been so afriad of you for the past ten months (so afraid they actually pee when they see you) runs up to you because they are so happy to see you. makes your heart melt.
so what i'm saying is that you have good days, bad days, great days, i want to go home days...and they can change at the drop of a hat. what's the lesson here? i'm getting to it.
the other day, a while ago...it was a long day. i had spent the morning in podor running a few errands. the market was especially crowded so i got hasseled by vendors more than usual, the post was full of people getting money wired so i had to wait for over an hour to send my letters, my cyber guy was out of town so i couldn't check my e-mail, then i had to wait for another hour and a half for a car to fill up so that i could leave to go home. it was a long day. i was tired, cranky, hungry and frustrated at life. finally after stopping maybe five thousand times (okay a slight exaggeration) i got dropped off at the herder village which i have to walk through to get to my village. i wanted to be home for lunch but it was now late afternoon. as i'm walking i can hear the herder kids yelling my name and then i can see then running toward me. they always come and greet me whenever i go home and usually i can deal with it. but today i was tired and having ten little kids hang on me was just not in the cards. they were getting closer and i was getting tenser. i could literally feel myself cringe with anticipation. and then....
clarity. it was my big ah-ha moment. i had a simple choice. i could either let myself get mad and get into a worse mood. or i could just let myself go and see what happened. i chose to let go. as the lids swarmed around me, one hugged my legs. i took her face in my hands and screamed, 'i missed you so much! i'm so happy to see you!' this was not the reaction i think she was prepared for. a look of terror crossed her face (the toubak finally cracked) then confusion then complete happiness. she started to laugh and then all the other kids started shouting, 'i missed you banel, i missed you more!' that got me going and for five minutes i faced off with the kids about who missed who the most. then we all walked hand in hand to my hut.
the weight of the world was gone. i was elated. for no reason at all besides the fact that i just went crazy on these kids. only ten minutes earlier i felt as if i was walking with lead in my shoes and a boulder on my back. i had simply acknowledged i was in a bad mood and chose to let it go and start fresh. everything changed. the rest of my night was aweseome. my tocara noticed i was tired so she gave me the first glass of the boisson i had brought from podor. my younger brothers and little husbands cuddled with me as everyone watched tv. we had haako for dinner. going to bad that night i thought to myself what a great day it had been. and despite the frustrations, it had been a good day.
so the lesson learned; life sometimes has bad days. but you can let the bad days just keep getting worse and worse and when a hoarde of village kids come running at you, you can either tense up and cringe or welcome them with open arms. you chose how you feel. dwell on the bad or let the good in. your choice.
warned you it was sappy. but i've seriously taken this to heart and have applied it everyday since and believe it or not, it's worked. i've chosen to be in a good mood and this past month has been the most rewarding in senegal. pulaar (though not even close to fluent) has gotten easier, i've gotten so much more work done, i've found new friends in the village (who aren't under the age of five) and the sun is shining. (it's also the beginning of the hot season where i will have no choice but to look on the bright side of life). it's been great and i feel great.
as for the herder kids...i'm in the process of teaching them the victory tunnel for me to run through when i come home. they love it and i love. it's not handwashing or malaria prevention but everyone is happy.
cheers and see y'all in three weeks!! (yea wisco vacation!!)
i cannot wait for the day i get to eat cheese and crackers and wash it down with a spotted cow. i haven't been counting the days or anything....
peace,
jaime
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
ladies and gentlemen...my goat!
a round of applause please, for the long and tedious journey of livestock purchasing in senegal has come to an end. that's right...the goat is bought, paid for, home safe and sound. i went to the weekly market this past sunday with my host father who decided that it was his tabaski good deed to help me out. so off we went, and once we got to the market he told me to go do my thing that he would come find me. so i bought my peanuts, beans, and bananas for the fam and myself some fatayas for breakfast (fried bread with onion sauce. sooo tasty. the lady also gives me a little one for free.) once i finished eating, there he was waiting for me. "okay, so there is a good goat. sixteen mille (about 35 bucks). let's go look and if you want, you buy it". done and done. so we go over to where all the herders are with their goats and sheep for sale, he points out a pretty little number and i hand a herder named ba sixteen mille. goat. check.
so my host father brings my goat home (apparently i own the goat but i don't have to do anything to actually care for the goat...that's what family is for...) once home my host father and uncle explain that their herd of goats is on the island including a nice big billy goat to you know...so they assure me that the next day they will take her to the island to go hang out with the other goats and in no time at all i'll have two goats. but first, i had to 'mark' my goat. thinking i could just whip-up a nifty necklace for it, but nope. mark means brand. so i got to come up with my own brand and take a hot iron to my goat. not exactly what i wanted to do my first day with my goat but hey...when in africa.
i'm pretty stoked about the goat. to be quite honest i didn't think i would actually get my goat at all...after attempt after attempt and attempt...discouragement was settling in. but things work out. i even found out that the little sheep i tried to take care of way back when is still alive and growing. during my second month in the village one of our family's sheep had a baby and then died. being the animal lover that i am i took the little lamb under my wing and fed it some milk as an attempt to keep it alive. however, one weekend i went away from the village and came back...the sheep was gone. my family told me that it went over to the island. i took that for the standard "it's gone to the sheep farm in the sky" routine. a little hurt, but nonetheless it happens all the time here. well, apparently i need to take things a little more literally. they actually meant they took it to the island (to go live with the other sheep. literally).
sometimes i think all i'm good for in the village is to humor everyone with how dumb and naive i can be.
but at least i got my goat.
cheers!
jaime
so my host father brings my goat home (apparently i own the goat but i don't have to do anything to actually care for the goat...that's what family is for...) once home my host father and uncle explain that their herd of goats is on the island including a nice big billy goat to you know...so they assure me that the next day they will take her to the island to go hang out with the other goats and in no time at all i'll have two goats. but first, i had to 'mark' my goat. thinking i could just whip-up a nifty necklace for it, but nope. mark means brand. so i got to come up with my own brand and take a hot iron to my goat. not exactly what i wanted to do my first day with my goat but hey...when in africa.
i'm pretty stoked about the goat. to be quite honest i didn't think i would actually get my goat at all...after attempt after attempt and attempt...discouragement was settling in. but things work out. i even found out that the little sheep i tried to take care of way back when is still alive and growing. during my second month in the village one of our family's sheep had a baby and then died. being the animal lover that i am i took the little lamb under my wing and fed it some milk as an attempt to keep it alive. however, one weekend i went away from the village and came back...the sheep was gone. my family told me that it went over to the island. i took that for the standard "it's gone to the sheep farm in the sky" routine. a little hurt, but nonetheless it happens all the time here. well, apparently i need to take things a little more literally. they actually meant they took it to the island (to go live with the other sheep. literally).
sometimes i think all i'm good for in the village is to humor everyone with how dumb and naive i can be.
but at least i got my goat.
cheers!
jaime
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)