ahhh village life...

i feel like these past three weeks have been the busiest yet most fulfilling in senegal. when things happen they happen at all once. first off, we officially swore in as volunteers may 9th at the us ambassodor's house. it was a nice ceremony as far as ceremonies go and we got to meet other volunteers from korea and japan who are in similar programs as the peace corps. after the ceremony we were able to go to the american club and hang out by a pool for a few hours. next we rocketed back to thies for a party with our host-families. it was really really really great to see my family one last time before i moved out. they even gave me a going away present of mangoes and an african outfit. i can't wait to go back to thies to visit them.



the next day, dark and early we set off for our sites. we got to ndioum which is my area's regional house that afternoon and had a few days there to rest, get much needed supplies for our new homes and meet volunteers who are currently in the area. i think that the futa folks are such a great group of people. i'm very excited to work with them and spend the next few years with them. most are health volunteers like myself although there are also environmental education, urban agriculture, and small enterprise development. there are a few projects like a health oriented radio show that i'm excited to take over in the podor area...it's really really excited to be able to start on projects and get involved in the community.



the install at my village was great...they had a little party for me the night i arrived and there is was given my senegalese name, banel maal (bah-nelle). it's a little bit unfotunate that my hut wasn't/isn't done yet so i've been staying with a family. i have such a huge urge to nest and make a home that it's driving me mildly crazy i can't do that. but my village is great. they've never had a volunteer before and are really really really excited to have one. there are about 350 people in my village which is in the middle of two others. emily is in the largest village and is like than a kilometer from me. if we stand outside our huts we can see each other. there is about 1000 people total in the three villages. i personally think mine is the best (not biased at all). it's small, everyone is super friendly, it's shady which allows for a slightly coller breeze than the sun (all relative because it's still hoooootttt) and the door to my hut is only about 200 yards from the river! thankfully there are no crocodiles or hippos or anything bigger than a fish in the river so i've been swimming everyday with the village kids. it's quite a site; none of the adults swim and because it's culturally inappropriate to wear a swim suit i go swimming fully clothed but am surrounded by a bunch of little naked african children. they love the fact that i swim with them and have been able to form a lot of great bonds with the kids.



right now for the next three months or so we are just supposed to adjust to village life and focus on learning the language. however, emily and i are both antsy and we've started murals at the elementary school. we figured it was a good project to start out with because it will take a long time and it allows us to do something within our limited volcabulary. the village seems excited that we've started this and i think they will like the murals once they are done. other than that, for the most part everyday i just chill out with my family. i actually live with one great big extended family that is three different houses. there are about 30 people total in my family although i "live" with only about 10. however, we eat all our meals as one big unit and the children go from house to house. since family is more loosely translated here i just consider everyone in the area of my hut my family. it seems to work out fine. i've also been brainstorming other ideas for projects i want to do; nutrition is the biggest for me...there are a lot of malnourished children in the village and the food that is grown here is misused. i also think that i will be able to do a lot of work with the health post and women's groups in the village as well. the nurse in charge of the post is absolutely amazing and so excited that we're there i think we'll have a lot of freedom in the projects we choose to do.



it's been such an emotional three weeks. i'm so glad to finally be in my village and my reception has been so great. but the language barrier as well as cultural barriers have been tough. the lack of privacy and the american sense of "me time" has been hard getting used to. i think that is also in part to not having my own space to escape to. also, the language is much more difficult to understand locally than the formal classroom setting and i get easily frustrated. it's been an emotional rollercoaster from being really happy/enthusiastic/excited to frustrated/tired/overwhelmed. luckily emily and i are able to vent to each other and keep each other sane. she also comes over everyday to swim with me.



the other day we went to taredji which is a depot town 7 km from us to check out the lumo, a weekly market. it was a nice escape and we were also able to get cold beverages to drink as well as buy fruits/veggies/and EGGS! it was only our second time taking public transportation and we ended up hitching a ride with a truck that was meant to hold ten people and actually held about 20. we got two flat tires within two km of each other. such is the life of a volunteer. today we're in podor, enjoying the cyber cafe, electricity (phone charging), post office, and visiting lauren, the other volutneer who lives here. it's only 17 km from our village, about a twenty minute ride. i think that my site is in the perfect location; i've been able to get the village life (and an amazing village life) but i'm close enough to charge my phone and check mail every ten days or so. most volunteers don't have that luxury so i consider myself spoiled. plus podor is a fabulous city. there's sidewalks and streetlamps and has the feel of a wild west town. in fact the last time we were in podor we were walking down the middle of the street and we looked like we were headed for a shoot out. the good the bad and the ugly came to mind.


as of right now, i'm still struggling with posting photos. i've been online for about two hours right now and have been able to get a handful online....slow go but i think i will screen my pictues in my camera and post my favorites. i've created a collection of albums that i will hopefully be able to add more to. http://jaimeinsenegal.shutterfly.com is the link. i hope you all enjoy!

that's all for now...miss everyone and love to you all!

peace,
jaime