asalaam mallecum [peace be with you]
i moved into my homestay tuesday night and so far things are going really well. i live in a small village called keur issa which is about a mile out of thiès. this means i get to bike everyday to the training center and bike home. i was pretty pumped when we got bikes because they are nifty trek bikes...no 1920 schwinn. i also have a bell on it which i plan on using the whole time.
my family is amazing, very big and very lively. i live with one extended family and i think, but because people come and go like nobody's business i can't say for sure, that about 20 people live there. unlike most of the volunteers, my family speaks french as well as pulaar so i have been lucky to learn a lot of the language. my uncle is teaching me how to say my morning routine, my mother is teaching me my body parts, a few nephews are teaching me how to spell everything and how to say important phrases and my sisters just talk to me in pulaar and laugh. i'm starting to understand much more than i thought i would after four days and i hope that during this stay i can pick up as much language as i can. this weekend is our first time we spend the whole day with our family. i think i am going for a walk around the crop fields where my uncle works, if i translated the pulaar/french correctly. i may also have agreed to a marriage proposal. we'll see what the weekend brings.
it's been a crazy two weeks in sénégal. we've been so so so busy that it feels like i've been here for a month at least. my days consist of about ten hours at the training center plus about four hours spent with the family. by the end of the night i am just exhausted, but the training especially the language is absolutely necessary.
the days are getting a bit hotter...we're enterning the dry season and it will only get hotter until june/july. i've heard from current volunteers that it can get over 120 here. hard to believe there was still snow in wisconsin when i left.
i haven't heard anything else about where i will be assigned. word on the street is that most pulaar health volunteers will be near the mauritana and mali borders, about as far from dakar as you can be. i won't know anything more until later in training and then i will begin my post a few days after i swear in as a volunteer which will be may 9th. i'll keep you posted.
hope you all have a great easter. feel free to send me news clippsing or anything you may find entertaining...we feel kinda like we're in a bubble away from the world right now and are dying for news from outside the training center. miss you and love to you all.
peace,
jaime
ps i've taken a few pictures but have't quite figured out how i will post them online. once i do however, i will post a link on here for your viewing pleasure.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
i'm not burned yet
asalaam malaacum everyone i'm currently in thiés sénégal. we arrived here last monday night at about midnight following a 36 hour flight from new york to brussels to dakar. the city is prounouced chi-es kinda like the game chess. it's super hot here...probably around 85 degrees or so. the great news is that i am not burnt yet. i know, i'm surprised too. we've started our official peace corps training here, taking classes in safety, health, language, etc. so far i've learned a few phrases in wolof, the second official language. today i learned that i will be speaking pulaar and will most likely be put somewhere in the nord to eastern part of sénégal.
so far, i'm having a great time. the staff here is amazing and very helpful. we are in incredibly good hands here, so no need for excessive worry. the food has been great as well. i've even managed to eat fish whiwh was made with a lot of spices which in turn made it tasty. the days here are realy long and though we don't do a ton during the day, the heat really takes a lot out of you. we nap during the hottest hours of the day, which i think i can really get into.
tomorrow we head out to our homestay during the first two months of training. my family will be in the surrounding thiés area, but my address won't change. we'll live with the family until we're sworn in as peace corps volunteers and then begin our two years of service. during our homestay we still go to the training center for classes and everything too. from the schedule they gave us it sounds like we will be very busy for awhile.
dinner is about ready for us and so i've got to head back to the training center. miss you all, but i'm having a great time and know this is where i am meant to be.
peace,
jaime
so far, i'm having a great time. the staff here is amazing and very helpful. we are in incredibly good hands here, so no need for excessive worry. the food has been great as well. i've even managed to eat fish whiwh was made with a lot of spices which in turn made it tasty. the days here are realy long and though we don't do a ton during the day, the heat really takes a lot out of you. we nap during the hottest hours of the day, which i think i can really get into.
tomorrow we head out to our homestay during the first two months of training. my family will be in the surrounding thiés area, but my address won't change. we'll live with the family until we're sworn in as peace corps volunteers and then begin our two years of service. during our homestay we still go to the training center for classes and everything too. from the schedule they gave us it sounds like we will be very busy for awhile.
dinner is about ready for us and so i've got to head back to the training center. miss you all, but i'm having a great time and know this is where i am meant to be.
peace,
jaime
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
In Philly!
i've arrived in philly safe and sound. staging started almost immediately and has been really helpful and not as boring as i originally thought it would be. there are 39 new volunteers total from all over the country. it's been amazing getting to know each person. most are rural health volunteers like me although some others are urban agriculture and environmental education. it should be a great group of people.
today we went to the health clinic where i got my yellow fever vaccine as well as my malaria medicine. i'm on the pill that you take once a week instead of daily. i don't know if that's the one that makes you have trippy dreams or not, but i will let you all know if they happen. my roommate lauren said i talked in my sleep last night so maybe i won't be able to tell!
tomorrow we leave for senegal. we check out of the hotel at 9:30, take a bus to new york, fly over to brussells, have a seven hour lay-over there and arrive in dakar at 10pm thursday. it is going to be a long day(s) of traveling and should be interesting to see how it all goes.
well, that's all for now. our second staging session for the day is starting in a few minutes so i have to dash. next time i post i will be in africa!
peace,
jaime
today we went to the health clinic where i got my yellow fever vaccine as well as my malaria medicine. i'm on the pill that you take once a week instead of daily. i don't know if that's the one that makes you have trippy dreams or not, but i will let you all know if they happen. my roommate lauren said i talked in my sleep last night so maybe i won't be able to tell!
tomorrow we leave for senegal. we check out of the hotel at 9:30, take a bus to new york, fly over to brussells, have a seven hour lay-over there and arrive in dakar at 10pm thursday. it is going to be a long day(s) of traveling and should be interesting to see how it all goes.
well, that's all for now. our second staging session for the day is starting in a few minutes so i have to dash. next time i post i will be in africa!
peace,
jaime
Monday, March 10, 2008
Leaving soon...Africa bound!
so in a few hours i will be hopping on a plane in madison, flying to milwaukee, and ending up in philadephia where i will have staging for two days. i can't believe the time is already here for me to leave...it went by way to fast yet it seemed to take forever to actually happen.
to start at the very beginning...i first started applying to the peace corps in february of last year. i filled out an online application which took about two hours. i was then called for a one on one interview which was late march. after the interview i found out that i really didn't fit any of the programs the peace corps was involved in. i wanted to do a health extension program so i had to volunteer for at least thirty hours to qualify for the program i wanted. this proved much, much harder than it would appear as i struggled to find an agency in milwaukee that fit within my school schedule. turns out, it didn't work.
so graduation came and went, i moved back home to save money-not my sanity-(just kidding mom and dad) and got hooked up with the best group of volunteers ever. every tuesday and thursday i took the 25.8 minute drive to dodgeville (if going 73mph) and volunteered at the free clinic there. the experience was absolutely amazing and the other volunteers really made me believe that serving others was what i was meant to do with the next few years of my life. so i quickly got my hours needed for the peace corps but continued with the clinic....with such a amazing group of people who wouldn't?
after sending in my hours to the peace corps regional office i finally got my nomination into the corps. didn't mean i was in, just that i was a candidate for the program. it was now mid-august. then in october i got my letter of acceptance into the peace corps and a few days later got my assignment-senegal. i was pumped. not only because it was in africa and a health program, but because my friends and i kidded around that senegal is where i would be assigned and then i would marry one of marquette's star basketball players who happens to be from senegal and then we would raise a bunch of goats together. it could still happen. i'm really holding out for the goats.
after being invited into the program i formally accepted the invitation, and then proceeded to fill out a novel size book of medical forms, dental forms, and other paperwork that i guess has a point of existing. i also ended up getting my one wisdom tooth removed in the process. after being medically, legally, and dentally cleared nothing happened until february when i got to book my tickets to staging (which was supposed to be atlanta but got switched at the last minute), filled out more papers, and finished packing (which was done about three hours ago tonight). all in all, my experience seemed pretty par for the course in terms of taking as long as it did and having to deal with the process. i hope that my service will be worth the wait.
so that was the past year in a peace corps nut shell for me. thank you to all the friends and family who gave me such wonderful support through the whole ordeal and especially in the last few weeks in the states. i can't believe the number of people i am surrounded with who have given me so much love, inspiration and strength. i'm truly the luckiest person alive to have you all in my life. take care, stay in touch, and keep spreading the love around.
peace,
jaime
ps- hope you enjoy the blog, and the links i have. if you find any other sites, video, etc about senegal that you think others would enjoy let me know and i will post them here for everyone.
ok, now i'm off to my last shower for two years...au revoir mes amis!
to start at the very beginning...i first started applying to the peace corps in february of last year. i filled out an online application which took about two hours. i was then called for a one on one interview which was late march. after the interview i found out that i really didn't fit any of the programs the peace corps was involved in. i wanted to do a health extension program so i had to volunteer for at least thirty hours to qualify for the program i wanted. this proved much, much harder than it would appear as i struggled to find an agency in milwaukee that fit within my school schedule. turns out, it didn't work.
so graduation came and went, i moved back home to save money-not my sanity-(just kidding mom and dad) and got hooked up with the best group of volunteers ever. every tuesday and thursday i took the 25.8 minute drive to dodgeville (if going 73mph) and volunteered at the free clinic there. the experience was absolutely amazing and the other volunteers really made me believe that serving others was what i was meant to do with the next few years of my life. so i quickly got my hours needed for the peace corps but continued with the clinic....with such a amazing group of people who wouldn't?
after sending in my hours to the peace corps regional office i finally got my nomination into the corps. didn't mean i was in, just that i was a candidate for the program. it was now mid-august. then in october i got my letter of acceptance into the peace corps and a few days later got my assignment-senegal. i was pumped. not only because it was in africa and a health program, but because my friends and i kidded around that senegal is where i would be assigned and then i would marry one of marquette's star basketball players who happens to be from senegal and then we would raise a bunch of goats together. it could still happen. i'm really holding out for the goats.
after being invited into the program i formally accepted the invitation, and then proceeded to fill out a novel size book of medical forms, dental forms, and other paperwork that i guess has a point of existing. i also ended up getting my one wisdom tooth removed in the process. after being medically, legally, and dentally cleared nothing happened until february when i got to book my tickets to staging (which was supposed to be atlanta but got switched at the last minute), filled out more papers, and finished packing (which was done about three hours ago tonight). all in all, my experience seemed pretty par for the course in terms of taking as long as it did and having to deal with the process. i hope that my service will be worth the wait.
so that was the past year in a peace corps nut shell for me. thank you to all the friends and family who gave me such wonderful support through the whole ordeal and especially in the last few weeks in the states. i can't believe the number of people i am surrounded with who have given me so much love, inspiration and strength. i'm truly the luckiest person alive to have you all in my life. take care, stay in touch, and keep spreading the love around.
peace,
jaime
ps- hope you enjoy the blog, and the links i have. if you find any other sites, video, etc about senegal that you think others would enjoy let me know and i will post them here for everyone.
ok, now i'm off to my last shower for two years...au revoir mes amis!
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