Fire in the hole!

Have I told you the story where I almost set my hut on fire? I don't think so, here we go. I do have a sort of stove in my hut. It is a gas tank with a little burner on top. I think I will mainly be using it to boil water in the morning for my tea and oatmeal, possibly to make hard-boiled eggs for dinner. I'd like to think that eventually I will get more ambitious; however, my first stove experience was slightly on the terrifying side. It may take several weeks (or months) for me to get over. 

The first day I got to site, one of my sisters helped me put my little stove together. All looked well and good and I was happy to think that when I needed my stove, it would be ready to suit all of my culinary needs. I believe it was day four when I gave cooking (I use the term loosely, I really was just trying to boil water) a try. So, I lit my match, set it on the burner (I am really not a fan of hot things, especially fire), and turned the knob on the tank to light the burner. The next thing I know, there are flames three feet high shooting up out of my stove. Did I mention that I live in a hut with a roof made out of dry grass? I had visions of my entire hut going up in flames, along with all of the belongings I lugged over from America, leaving me homeless and penniless. 

Needless to say, I screamed. Shrieked, really. I'm sure that my entire compound heard me and thank god, because about 10 seconds later there were five people on my doorstep ready to save me. I think we figured out the problem (gas leak, I didn't screw something into the tank enough), and the next morning I made the best tasting cup of tea I've had in a while. I hope Africa will help me get over my fear of fire. 

Asalaa maalekum,

Rachel

Med Hut

I am still here in the med hut in Dakar. I'm cleared to go back to site as of Wednesday, but I'm a little nervous about getting myself back to Tambacounda via public transportation. One of my friends is coming into med tomorrow and I think I'm going to hang around here until she is cleared to go back so we can undertake the journey together. Hopefully it won't be more then a few days. If it is, I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and brave the journey alone. 


I have gotten to know the area surrounding the Peace Corps office pretty well since I've been here. It's in a nice area of Dakar, with a nice bakery, a supermarket, a bank and some restaurants very near by. Even though I haven't been feeling that well, I've been trying to take a long walk everyday to get myself more comfortable with the city of Dakar. 


A funny thing happened to me on one of these walks. I stopped at a fruit/vegetable stand to buy some bananas to cut up and put in my daily morning cereal. I approached the vender, greeted him in Pulaar and proceed to ask him for 3 bananas. Or so I thought I was asking for bananas. I wasn't paying all that much attention to what he was doing, I was too busy watching my bag and the comings and goings of the Senegalese people on the street. I payed my 300 CFA and continued on my way back to the Peace Corps office. When I returned, I went into the kitchen to put my purchase away, all the while feeling very pleased with myself that I was able to take on this small errand all by myself. All of a sudden, as I went into my bag to get my bananas, I realized that what I actually had was a bag full of tomatoes! Apparently, we had a slight breakdown in communication. Oh language barriers and the fun stories and scenarios they create. It's a good thing I like tomatoes, otherwise i would have been really disappointed. It just gave me an excuse to take another walk later in the day, this time I made sure to check the bag for my fruit before I left. 


Being in the med hut has been interesting. There was a conference in Dakar for the Eco-T (Eco-Tourism) volunteers last week, so I got to meet some volunteers that I hadn't seen before. I've also gotten to know the Peace Corps office a lot better. I'm very happy to report that every Peace Corps staff member I've encountered thus far has been incredibly helpful. From what I hear, I should even have a bed upon my return to site. You all have no idea how much that thrills me. 


As I figure out how I will make the return journey to site, I will continue to enjoy the luxury of the med hut. Air conditioning and high speed internet, what more could a PCV ask for? Happy Memorial Day to all my American friends. I'm slightly bummed that I'm not home to celebrate with you, but I'll just have to make my own fun here. I feel a trip to the American club for some swimming and some good old fashioned BBQ is in order for today. 


Asalaa maalekum,
Rachel

Rocky

Install was...rocky and awkward. But I'm told that if it isn't awkward, something is wrong, so I'll take solace in that. I'm happy to report that I did not run after the Peace Corps car as it drove away; however, I may have had a teensy tiny panic attack in the backseat of the car as we were driving down the bush path to my village. No worries, nothing that breathing into a paper bag can't solve. And isn't that also why they invented big sunglasses? To hide all emotions and feelings in one's eyes? For now, I'm leaning towards yes. 


My family seems to be very nice, at least I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt until I understand more of the language. Speaking of language, my limited understanding of Pulaar has been by far the most frustrating part of my install. To say we're having communication issues would be an understatement. 


The best example of this would be my lack of a bed. I arrived in village hoping that my family would have built me a cement bed like I asked them to. I was slightly dissapointed to find that this was not the case. The first three nights I slept in my backyard, on a therma-rest, inside my tent. This may be explaining the obvious, but it was HOT! I should have realized that the name "therma-rest" implies warmth. After the third night, I just couldn't do it anymore and I slept just on the concrete floor of my hut. Not a perfect solution, but a slightly better scenario if you ask me. I was not sleeping with mosquito netting however, and although its not the season, wouldn't it be just my luck if I came down with a case of Malaria.


I'm currently in Dakar, in the med hut (again! stupid medical problems!) and I'm really hoping that when I get back to village, there will be a bed for me. Keep your fingers crossed for me please!


Also when I return, I'm hoping that an older, more experienced PCV will be able to do some translating for me. I need to figure out how much I should be paying to my family as a monthly contribution, as well as who specifically I should be paying it to. I'm also hoping that with this exchange of money (or kaalis in Pulaar) I might be able to get some help in return. I'd really like it if someone could help me out with water on a daily basis. The village well is pretty far from my family compound, and I'm not quite at a point where I can carry a full bucket of water on my head (I'm hoping I'll be able to work up to that). I'm also hoping that we can make some sort of arrangement for laundry. I've been trying to do it myself, but I'm not sure how clean my clothes are actually getting. I feel like I'm pretty much just letting them sit in soapy water for a while and then trying to rinse out as much soap as possible. I'm not sure if I'm really making any difference in the cleanliness of my clothes at all. 


I'm trying my best to integrate into my family life as much as possible. Right now that means a lot of sitting around and smiling and nodding at people. I'm making a concerted effort to spend as little time as possible alone in my hut. When I read, I make sure it's out in the open. When I nap, I make sure that I am also out in the open. I'm having a little trouble with the napping thing. I often wake up to find children staring at me. It's a little disconcerting, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. 


As I mentioned before, I am once again in the med hut in Dakar. That was a hard one to explain to my host family. Hey, I've only been here for 6 days, but I gotta jet now. Sorry. The conversation when something like this: 


Me: Hannde, mbido jogii Tamba sabu jango, mi yahat Dakar. Mbido sokli yiide cafoorowo o sabu mi sellani. (Translation: Today, I have to go to Tamba because Tomorrow I have to go to Dakar. I need to see a doctor because I am unwell.)
Moussa (my host brother): ?!?!?!?!?!
Me: I don't know what you're saying, but I have to get on my bike and ride to Tamba now. 


At this point in the conversation, my bike was physically taken from me and I was made to wait while one of my family members biked into Tamba (10k) to find my counterpart and bring him back to my village. I'm not totally sure what the whole point of that was, since I could only tell him the exact same thing I had told Moussa. They finally had to call Pape, our Tamba PCV support staff member, and ask him to translate. I did feel bad though, especially when my counterpart (Sadjo) asked when I would be back and I had to tell him that I didn't know. "One day, two days, three days?" He asked me. "Mi annda," (I don't know) I replied. 


I was lucky yesterday in that I did not have to face Senegal public transport by myself. Three PCVs from Kedougou were also headed into med and they stopped in Tamba to pick me up. Vonnie, one of our fantastic Peace Corps Medical Officers (PCMO) authorized us to rent out an entire sept-place just for the four of us (usually they hold 7 people). Unfortunately, that will probably be the most comfortable sept-place ride I experience in Senegal. 


Blood tests today, doctor tomorrow. I'll be here at least until Saturday so I'm told. 


Asaala maalekum,
Rachel

Taxicab Confessions and Supermarket Sweep

Taxicab Confessions: 

In the past several days, I have had two interesting experiences with public transportation in Senegal. To that end, I give you the following anecdotes. 

Saturday was my last full day in Thies at the Peace Corps Training Center. It was a day of laundry, packing and last minute errands. One such errand, which proved to be quite an adventure for me and 5 fellow PCVs was the procuring of trunks necessary for transporting and storage of our belongings from the training center to our regional capitals and finally on to our host villages. There were 6 of us that went on this particular errand, as we were told that if you bought trunks in groups, you would be more likely to get a better price. Anne, Emily B., Hilary, Jim, Emily M. and I did our best to get as good a deal as possible on our trunks. Forunately for us, Anne and Emily B. speak French. Unfortunately, we still didn't wind up getting such a good price on our trunks. We paid 16,500 CFA ($33) for each one. 

(Sidebar: once I get a better handle on Pulaar, I'm seriously going to work on my French language skills. I feel a little useless when I go out with people an can provide zero help in any given situation since I speak NONE of the language)

Now that we had our trunks, all 7 of them since we also picked up an extra for another PCV, it was time to figure out how to get them back to the training center. Emily B. still had some shopping to do in the market, so we only wound up needing to cram 5 people and 7 trunks into 1 taxi. I don't know how we did it, but we made it happen. We must have looked hysterical climbing out of the car at the training center. It must have looked like one of the clown cars in the circus, more and more people just kept getting out with stuff and no one could figure out where it was all coming from. 

Sunday morning, bright and early at 6am, was when we were supposed to leave for Tamba. I was totally ready and raring to go, despite the lack of sleep and early hour. However, the same couldn't be said for our driver, as he was fast asleep in the front seat of the car. It took no less then 4 tries before he would even lift his head up from the fully reclined seat. We finally got on the road at about 7am. 

It was then we realized that our cab driver either didn't speak French or didn't deign to speak to us, as he fully ignored anything that we tried saying to him. This included; "can we please stop for breakfast" and "pull over now, I have to go to the bathroom." It was not the most pleasant car trip in my recent memory, but at least we made it to Tamba in about 7 hours. 

Supermarket Sweep: 

As tomorrow I will be officially installed as a Peace Corps Volunteer in my village, yesterday was spent running around trying to buy everything that one might need to furnish an honest-to-god village hut. The experience we had at our first stop was right out of that old gameshow, "Supermarket Sweep." I was literally just grabbing things and putting them in a big pile on the floor. I'm not even going to give a final total, it would just horrify my mother (sorry mom!). It was A LOT of CFAs ($), that's all I'm going to say. 


In case you were wondering what one might need to furnish a hut in the middle of the bush, here are some of the things that I can now call my own; foam mattress, gas tank with stove attachment, lots of buckets, cooking supplies, candles, matches, soap, food (beans, peanut butter, bissap, sugar, honey, pasta) not to mention numerous other miscellaneous items. Worse case scenario and I get there and find out I forgot something, it's only about an hour bike ride back into Tamba (maybe even less once I get really fit and good at biking). 


Wish me luck as I'm dropped off, unceremoniously, into the wild. 


Asalaa maalekum,
Rachel

My oath

In case you were wondering about that really intense oath we had to do during our swear-in ceremony, please see below. On an unrelated note, I have made it to the Tamba regional house. This is really happening!


I, Rachel Lazar, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps. So help me God.


Asalaa maalekum,
Rachel

"Looks like we made it"

We made it! All 46 of us in the Health/EE Stage.

We were excited, what can I say?

It's official, I am no longer a Peace Corps trainee, but a Peace Corps Volunteer. Time for the real work to begin. The day started off early, I set my alarm for 5:30am took a shower and did my hair (the American way, I had just enough fancy hair products left for one day of controlled curls). The buses left for Dakar at 7am. Sadly, we did not get a police escort this year, as coincidentally, the President of Cote d'Ivoire was in Dakar the same day as our swear-in. I guess this means that I'm not as important as I thought. 


It took us about 2 hours to get to the Ambassador's house in Dakar, which is where the ceremony took place. Everyone looked fabulous in their Senegalese outfits (just look at the above photos if you need proof). The ceremony was very nice. Our country director, Chris Hendrik and the American Ambassador to Senegal gave very nice speeches and Etienne, our training manager looked like he was on the verge of tears for most of the occasion. After we stood up to take our swear-in oath (complete with the raising of our right hands) I felt like we should have had graduation caps to throw in the air, headwraps just don't give the same effect. To expand on that, I will say that swear-in felt like the most intense graduation ceremony I have ever taken part in. I wish I could remember the exact words of the oath that we had to repeat, just to give you a better idea. 


With the conclusion of the ceremony, we were invited to enjoy cocktails and hor d'oeuvres out on the Ambassador's patio in the backyard. After some lovely food (my first guacamole since being in country and possibly my last for the next 2 years) and many pictures, we were off to the American Club for the paperwork aspect of the day. We were given our bank cards (yay for no longer having to scrounge for CFA and being a poor PC trainee) and made to fill out some other miscellaneous paperwork, and with that, the process was complete. We had a few hours to enjoy ourselves around the pool at the American Club and at 4pm we were back on the buses and headed for Thies. (Sidenote: rush-hour traffic is not just an American thing. It took us a little over 3 hours to get back to Thies from Dakar. The ride was torturous.)


Today is a day for packing and last minute errands, not to mention other important things like laundry (although, I definitely think that I will be paying my homestay family to do mine for me. When I do it, I'm not really convinced that my clothes are really getting all that clean). I feel lucky that I have the whole day to get things in order. The people going to Kedougou left at 8:30 this morning, and those PC volunteers going to the regions of Kaolack, Linguere and St. Louis are leaving this afternoon at 2pm. Sunday looms bright and early for me, as I'm scheduled to leave at 6am! At least I'll have plenty of time to sleep during the 7-hour car ride. I just hope I don't forget any of my stuff here in Thies. I also hope that everything fits in the car. I'm sharing it with two other PCVs and between our bags, our bikes and other miscellaneous items, I think it might be a tight fit. Once I get to Tamba, I'll have until Wednesday afternoon to get all the stuff i will need for my hut (bed, mattress, buckets, etc.). Wednesday = Day Zero 


Asalaa maalekum,
Rachel

Me and Hailey

Me and Andrew

Kirsten, Me and Nic

Here's a throwback, "Independent Women" by Destiny's Child

Preface: this post was supposed to go up yesterday, but due to internet complications, I'm a day late. Please blame the world wide web and not me. Thank you!


One of the best things that we've done thus far was the homestay reception for our families yesterday. I was expecting my Neene, but instead was surprised with my younger sister, Binta. I love my Neene, but I was thrilled to see Binta. She was all decked out for the occasion too, it looked like she even had a new complet made (yellow with jewels on the top and gold embroidery). If so, I am honored that she dressed up for me. I was also really excited that she got to see numerous young adult women that are trying to make careers for themselves. Binta is so smart and talented. She speaks Pulaar, French and Wolof but hasn't been in school for the past two years or so. I hope that yesterday showed her a little bit that you can have a career if you want to. 


It was a day of music, dancing and laughter. When the time came to say goodbye and watch everyone drive off in the Peace Corps "magic" bus, I definitely got a little teary-eyed. I don't think I'll be able to see my training homestay family until mid-July when I come back to Thies for in-service training. I am so thankful that I was put with such a wonderful family. I only hope that my permanent homestay family will be just as patient and understanding. 

Binta and me
(the necklace I'm wearing was a present from my family)

Tomorrow I will post all about our swearing-in ceremony in Dakar, so get psyched. The outfits are fantastic. I doubt Peace Corps Senegal has ever had a group of better looking Peace Corps volunteers. 

Asalaa maalekum,

Rachel

"Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles"

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles-

God took up Daniel once again, 

Stood by his side - and miracle of miracles-

Walked him through the lions den!

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles-

I was afraid that God would frown,

But like he did so long ago, at Jericho,

God just made a wall fall down!

When Moses softened Pharaoh's heart, that was a miracle.

When God made the waters of the red sea part, 
That was a miracle too!

But all of God's miracles large and small,

The most miraculous one of all

Is hat out of a worthless lump of clay,

God has made a man today

                                                                                 ~Fiddler on the Roof

Or in my case, a woman today. What am I referring to you might ask? My language exam! I achieved a level of "intermediate-mid" which means that I passed and do not have to stay for an extra week of language training! WOOHOO! On the one hand, this is great news. I have worked really hard over the last week or so to bump up my Pulaar abilities. On the other hand, I am terrified. But I don't think having an extra week here would have helped with it, if anything, I would just be terrified for longer. This way I'll have the week that I'm not at the center for extra language help, to be in my village, getting over my all-encompassing, paralyzing fear (It's possible that I'm being just a smidgen on the dramatic side right now...). 

Another triumph today, the fabric that I dropped off at the tailor's on Monday has been successfully turned into clothing! What an amazing feat! I'm so impressed with people that can literally make something out of nothing. To me, it's mind-baffling that a piece of fabric can be turned into an A-line wrap skirt that even has pockets. It is truly remarkable. I am a little concerned that now that I have learned that it is indeed true that you can design your own clothes and have them made for you at approximately $6 an item that I'm not going to be able to stop. Only time will tell. And here's some incentive for everyone. If you come to visit, I will take you to get some awesome African clothes of your own. Just something to think about. 

Tomorrow is our reception for our host families. They will all come to the Thies Training Center where we will dance, eat good food, drink delicious bissap juice and just generally have a good time. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to invite one person from our families. I believe that my Neene is coming which will be great. I just wish that she had also been allowed to bring my 11 year-old sister, Ami. As a show of thanks and appreciation, I will be wearing the outfit that my family had made for me. I will be covered from head to toe in bright orange fabric with birds all over. Please feel free to scroll back through my posts if you would like a visual. I will try to get more pictures tomorrow during the festivities. 

On a note unrelated to Africa, Senegal, the Peace Corps or Health in any way, I am currently in the middle of Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five." Let me just say, Vonnegut was one strange dude. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm not enjoying the book, it's just not really what I was expecting. The one downside to a kindle is that you can't read the blurb on the back cover before you start. I am quite enjoying exploring the concept of "free will." Now there's something for me to sit and ponder in my hut in the middle of the bush. I will stare up at my ceiling, commune with the Tralfamadorians and possibly, even become unstuck in time myself. "So it goes" (Vonnegut; Slaughterhouse Five). 

Asalaa maaleku,

Rachel

The end...and the beginning

We have almost arrived at the end of PST; however, my service is really just beginning. In a little over a week, I will be dropped off by a Peace Corp car in my non-english speaking village of approximately 500 people. There is a rumor that some volunteers actually run after the car. I just hope that I'm not that volunteer. It will be exciting to have my own space and designate my schedule as I please, but I'm also worried about being productive and dealing with loneliness. I've gotten to know my 45 fellow PCVs very well over the past 9 weeks and not being around them all the time will be a little sad. 

Omar, Fatou, Me, Aggi and Fati

I'll apologize in advance for the scattered nature of this blog entry. It's been such a long time since I've been able to post anything, I just want to make sure that I don't leave anything out. 


Last Saturday, after the awkwardness of counterpart workshop, all 46 of us piled into 2 Alhums (large, falling apart vans that are used for public transportation) and headed to the beach. The house that we stayed in has affectionately been dubbed the "MTV house," and which good reason. I see no reason that the next season of "The Real World" shouldn't be filled in Popenguine. The house is there and waiting. We had a huge patio that overlooked the water and was right on the beach. All you had to do was walk down some stairs and you were on the sand. 

Popenguine, the view from our house

Sunset over the water in Popenguine

Still more Popenguine

We did some awesome dancing, watched a beautiful sunset over the water and feasted on pasta with tomato sauce. The weather was wonderful and the fataya (the Senegalese version of a fried dumpling stuffed with fish) were plentiful. We also kept the drinks flowing through most of the night.


The only downside was the number of beds, as there was definitely not room for 46 of us. I think I wound up sharing a twin size mattress with 2 other people. But that's fine. We're all very close here in PC Senegal. There were some older PCVs with us in Popenguine, I'm not totally sure why. But I do have to say that on Sunday morning when I climbed out of my sleeping bag to use the facilities, I came back to my room and found one of them sleeping in my sleeping bag. Not just on the mattress, but actually in my sleeping bag. The volunteer was even using my pile of clothes as a pillow. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Actually, I know exactly how I feel, not good. I wonder if this, "what's mine is yours" attitude just comes with time.  


We drove back to Thies from Popenguine and had exactly 45 minutes to pack our stuff for our homestay villages. I was happy to be back. I feel really comfortable with my family, it only took the whole of PST. A highlight from the week was when the power went out on Tuesday. I broke out my ipod and speakers and introduced everyone to Bon Jovi, New Jersey's finest. My Neene started dancing and we all got up and joined her. For the first time, I was actually able to understand a good amount of what my family was saying to me. Granted, everyone had to speak slowly, clearly and directly to me, but it was still nice to be understood and understand. 


I am back from my last stay with my homestay family. Parting was bittersweet. I love my homestay family and am sad to be leaving them; however, I am excited at the prospect of starting out on my own, in a new village as a real live Peace Corps Volunteer. Saturday night they made my favorite dinner for me (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, french fries and fish with a marinated onion sauce) and posed for pictures. I was very touched. My Neene is coming to our host family reception on Thursday so I will see her in the near future. As for everyone else, I'm not sure when our paths will next cross. We have In-Service Training in July so I'll see if I can coordinate a visit with them then. 


Today was filled with a lot of language training, our final language exam is tomorrow morning. My time-slot is bright and early at 8:15am. I'm the first of the Pulaars to go and honestly, I'm just happy that I'll be getting it over with. I actually switched with someone so that I could have the first slot. I really do feel like my language has improved drastically over the last week or so, I just hope it will be enough. 


I was able to get the to the tailor today to have some pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, clothes made. My swear-in "complet" (Senegalese dress attire) is finished (and beautiful if I so say so myself. Picture bright pink with silver embroidery. Pictures to follow), I picked it up at my homestay village on Saturday, but I did want some more everyday clothes. Hopefully on Thursday I will have 2 skirts, a shirt and a pair of pink elephant pants to my name. I want to make the pants my PC trademark. 


Wish me luck for my exam tomorrow, tonight, I will try to dream exclusively in Pulaar. Hannde jamma, mi ekkoto hoydude e pulaar tan. 

Emma, Me and Cady at the beach

Asalaa maalekum,
Rachel