Pic from Gambian Border

That is what I do.... Project Feed Yourself!

A Random Pic

Just a little picture of me and some of the kids in my village. It is much cooler in my village these days and thus much more hospitable to writing.

How far will Peace Corps Take You?!

Fears and Fretts

August 1^st 2008

12:55 AM

 

The ups and downs of this place still get me. It is only more amplified because now is the rainy season- or better know as my primary work season.

What is gets me is that people they want stuff and don't follow through with what they say they are going to do- constantly. I have to chase them down and reask them to do it. Then then still don't do it. Leaves me feeling like I have no one to work with. Especially with my demonstration plots. I realize that if I want something done I must do it myself- but that contradicts my role here as a facilitator- not as a prime mover.

 

Honestly my greatest fear is that my time and my efforts here are a waste of time. Coming here I was excited to do some work and a service to the Senegalese people. One of my fears is that this is only an aggrandized postcollegiate "live abroad" program.

The trial and error aspect of this job is just too much for me sometimes.

 

My Advice to Incoming Trainees

Friday July 11^th, 2008

3:28 Pm

 

To those of you reading my blog to get an idea of what Peace Corps service is like should be warned. Everyone has a completely different experience. Lots of my views and opinions should really be taken with a grain of salt.

The stresses and successes of immersion in a totally different culture with a completely different language in a hot subtropical environment definitely teint how I express myself. Namely the experiences of being a rich and privileged outsider in a rural cashpoor farming village without electricity or running water in itself comes with many frustrations.

The truth about joining the Peace Corps is that you don't know what you are getting yourself into. That is not a judgement call whatsoever. The best preparation for that choice is having lived in a developing country (outside of the expatriate community) and having been engaged in community development work. That would be a start.

As someone that studied international economics and development in university, did an incredible amount of research on the peace corps experience and had the privelge of knowing quite a few RPCVs- looking back- I didn't know what I was getting myself into- the numerous challenges and struggles- the heart break of it. But then… the tiny moment of triumph and victory.

  

The best advice I can give to those considering to join the Peace Corps… you don't know what you are getting yourself into until you get into it. The best mindset you can have coming in is to be very humble about who you are as a person and your abilities. In addition, be prepared to call your site your home for the next two years of your life.

A Constant Hassle

Friday July 11^th 2008

3:12 Pm

 

One of the constant hassles I encounter here is the idea that white people/ nonafricans can do nothing. They think you are physical incapable of anything until you do it. At first I couldn't pull my own water out of the well… until I did. I can't cook, rake, tie a knot or anything until I show them I can.

 

One of the worst things is they think that if I get a scratch from working, that I will die. The other day I was helping weed in one of the weeds (I definitely showed them I was capable of manuel labor.) I stepped on a piece of wood that got by my sandals and scratched me. As soon as one of the men saw that there was a trickle of blood from the scrape, he looked all worried and asked me if I was alright- plus that I should go and sit down and rest. I laughed respectfully and kept working.

 

Another anecdote is that I'm a sweater. I always sweat a lot, always have- not because I'm tired but because I'm hot. To the people in my village, as soon as I start to sweat alittle bit that means that I must be really tired and that I should stop doing what it is that I'm doing. During the peak of the hot, humid season, I was sweating ridicously sitting in the shade.

 

An interesting side not: On my little trip back to the States, I can't recall breaking a sweat- maybe once when I was salsa dancing. In fact I found the climate in California so agreeable that I even in the mid 80s I felt a slight chill. I'm not even kidding.

Busy Busy

July 11^th 2008

1:42PM

 

It has been raining cats and dogs almost every evening and night. During the day I have been running around super busy.

Part of my job is to extend seed to farmers. This seed is a local variety but improved. It is not a hybrid but nonetheless has much higher yields. I am extending rice, corn, millet, blackeyed beans and sorghum. Haven't had a chance to extend the rice seed to the women in this village yet. Each meeting I have tried to call for the last 3 days has been rained out. Plus working with one of the men in the village that already has ownership of the rice program, sometimes he is out of the village or in town for a day or two.

Extending corn and beans in the other villages hasn't been much of problem. For the most part, I think this is the first time that peace corps seed extension program has worked in them. Really more to the point, the first time nonrice seed has been extended there for at least some time.

 

My strategy is to go the chiefs compound and chat with him. I have met them all previously. First I explain to them what I do. That I live and work Sare Demba Mballo. I tell them that I loan seed out. Seed that is very productive. I tell them that I want to help there village too. I say that this year I would like to work with them because they are the village chiefs and if I can't trust them and cooperate with them for this program, then I couldn't trust the rest of the village. (etc etc)

 

I explain to them that what the program is. That I loan them say one kilogram of seed and after the harvest they give me two kilos of seed. The following year I keep distributing seed to other farmers. It is a give and take program.

I make them show me the fields where they are going to be planting the seed. I tell that I will come out to their fields once a week or so to check the development and progress of the crop and maybe give them alittle technical feedback. With a laugh and a smile, I add that usually I'll bring tea and sugar- because I like to chat.

 

At the moment I have extended seed to 5 different villages- usually just within one house compound the chiefs. Next year I plan to expand my work in each of these villages- distribute more seed to other farmers. Also particularly to do demonstration plots of agricultural techniques in each village. This year particularly I ham establishing relationships. After that I will be moving full swing.

General Thoughts

Thursday July 3^rd 2008

8:17 PM

 

Wow, what a day. A total work day. I have been working like crazy distributing seed to farmers. Giving away seed is the easy part. The difficult part is trying to get my demonstration plot farmers in gear. Two farmers that said they were game two monthes ago and confirmed again another month ago have completely changed their mind. They don't want to do it. It makes it so difficult.

 

A little back ground. A demonstration plot is a small piece of farm land that is used to demonstrate new agriculture technique. For example techniques such as intercropping (more than one crop type that are complentary (ie corn and beans), crop spacing (more plants in an area) and finally fertilizer concentrations (no fertilizer, half strength, full strength.)

 

The farmers that I thought I was working with have decided to plant the areas we discussed with something else. More to the point, they planted those areas with out telling me with something else. When I saw the land was planted- they feigned ignorance. That is my major frustration.

Besides that I have been busy planting my own projects. Today I planted corn in my backyard. I only had a spade shovel to work with. No donkey or plow. So I dug it all out, mounded the soil in rows. I did it without help primarly because I needed people to see that I know what I am doing. When you live in a farming village, if you can't farm you are not respected. So to me, it was showing people I can handle myself.

Though it was a hell of a hard work. I'll take a picture and post it when I can. I left my camera at the kolda house.

 

Also I have planted a bunch of beans in my backyard. Lima, black, bush and green beans. Also I planted some pan patty squash and some "massive" pumpkin seeds. Should be interesting to see what happens. I don't think I will see 200 – 300 pound pumpkins as the little packet advertised.

 

Also there was a snake in my hut two nights ago. I think it was a little black mamba. Probably about as thinkg as my pinky and about 18 inches long. At first I thought it was a centipede- a huge one. I backed up quickly and asked one of my village brothers what it was- it hadn't hit me yet. After a few stunned moments, we got a large stick and shoved it out of the hut. Minutes after that a large yellow scorpion appeared in the hut from the outside. Man…. I have been so careful at night after this. Kinda afraid to get out of bed in the middle of the night without carefully looking at the ground with my flashlight.  

Long time no post

July 1^st, 2008

7:50PM

 

Having returned from a much needed vacation from the States, I feel much better about life. I can't say for sure which I feel better about: the people & culture or the climate. My grasp of the language has made it so I can get along in the village without much of a problem. I understand most of the time what is being said to be at least- other conversations that I try to listen to fly by me. They talk a different way to each other- less well pronounced and much quicker. Also I feel like I have mostly set my boundaries with people (or at least I think I have). Everyone more or less has stopped asking me for gifts and presents all the time. I've learned to parlay it off a bit. This has been a gradual process. My counterpart (aka not my "really really" counterpart now) was the worst to begin with. He wouldn't even greet me and be polite by pulaar standards. He won't even talk to me in pulaar. He would have someone do it for him when he was sitting next to me. He would just barg into my room or into a conversation then start making demands. I'm made it know that I'm not a gift giving machine. Though it is hard to be generous here without people thinking you are a fool with too much money to burn. I am generous with people that help me and are respectful. People that barg into my room and start making demands don't get anything.

 

So that has been my general policy with people. If they act greedy with me or try to trick me, I become suspicious. It is sad to say but I know generally 30 seconds into a conversation what they are about. Everyone here is in poverty by American standards.

  Other than that, the second thing that is much easier is the climate. Don't get me wrong it is still warm here. It is humid. But it is not nearly as hot as it was a month ago. Man I was dying. I was grumpy, mean and probably a little nutty. I would consider that the number one reason that I didn't write to this blog. I couldn't bring myself to write anything. I was too miserable. It is better now.

World Wide Schools Presentation

Some pictures of a presentation I made to my World Wide Schools program in Downey, CA.

Pulaar Verbs List

Just published a list of 589 pulaar verbs in an excel file. I found this on the Volunteer Computer at the Kolda regional house.

I don't know who created it- I would love to give credit to them. I published it because I believe this type of information should be shared and not hidden.

Here is the URL:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pjKmGc-nHW0Kuf5--SBG_Qw&output=html

ICE

Saturday April 26th 2009
9:16 AM

I have probably mentioned before but the morning is my favorite time of the day. It is not hot. Generally there is a cool breeze that has a touch of coolness to it.

During the mid day from roughly 1PM to 4PM it is so hot. So hot that it totally saps any energy or desire for me to do anything. Sometimes I'll lay under the shade and sometimes I try to douse the heat with a combination of lots of water and Senegalese tea.

One of my biggest concerns is dehydration. It happens so quickly here. If I don't drink tons of water, I am dehydrated so easily. I will be laying down. All of a sudden I will be lethargic and not want to move or do anything at all- not even to get up to get water. Eventually I will get out of the daze by guzzling water. My secret is to add alittle tab of Airborne to the mix. The effervescence helps speed the dehydration.

Recently I have found myself having to drink unfiltered or untreated water. When I bike around and I am not close to my water source I have to drink something. Even if I treat the water with little droplets of chlorine that I carry around, I still have to wait an hour. So I cave in when the water is cool or they have ice- especially when they have ice! A modern american saying ice is a luxury- hell yes!

Christmas Pies

Pumpkin and Apple Pies that me and Danny made for Christmas. They were
super yummy.

All you need for pie crust is flour, salt, fat solids and a little cold
water.

A Great Article My Friend Wrote

[My friend Laura wrote this article for the Sabaar- which is the Official Peace Corps Senegal Newsletter. I included a few contextual notes for non residents of Senegal.]

"Bring back the Ooji!"
One PCV’s anti-Jumbo Radio Adventure…because development sometimes involves a return to tradition

It’s lunchtime during the rainy season, in one of the many small villages dotting the newly-green region of Kolda. Every family’s peanut crop has long since been eaten away or sold for cash. Lunch and dinner consist of foraged baobab leaves and bissap sauce…garnished, of course, with colonized West Africa’s dietary staple, the Maggie Cube. [The maggie cube is like a boullion cube with loads of MSG.] A health volunteer has to wonder, how did generations of Pulaars survive without protein during their work season? Actually, I discovered after several mat-sitting discussions with the elders, they used to get plenty.

“The older generations were stronger because they hunted meat every three days. Back then, the woods were thicker, the rains longer, and the cows had milk all year long,” explains Mommadou Sabaly, the chief of Foulamory Demba. “If a child was hungry between meals, his mom gave him butter and yogurt to drink, or nettatou powder mixed with honey.” What other dishes were consumed in the past, in the land that literally flowed with milk and honey? Every baobab leaf sauce contained dried meat and nettatou, the black seeds from the chalky yellow pea pod-like locust beans. Pulaars call the seeds ooji and the fruit nette. Does ooji waddat vitamins? “Ooji is very rich,” says Marie Therese Sambour, ICP at Saare Cole Sally. “If one puts just a little bit of dried fish, ooji, and palm oil in the bissap sauce, one gets the nutrients one needs for work during the rainy season.” Unfortunately, however, the modern villager wastes their precious 50 cfa a day on the hypertension-inducing, nutrient-empty Jumbo…instead of these traditional healthier options. Binta Mballo, young wife in Foulamory Demba explains, “We’re used to jumbo now. A sauce just doesn’t taste good without it, so it’s the first thing we buy, and then we buy ooji if we have the money.” They’re used to it, but no one knows its makers or if it’s nutritionally important. When I told an elderly woman in my village that Jumbo has “no vitamins,” she exclaimed “You should go on Radio Kolda to tell us not to throw away our tradition! People think that something from the outside is better, but our food really is!”

Well, speaking on Radio Kolda was a bit ambitious, but after three meetings with the Spanish NGO Medicos del Mundo (toting a little bag of ooji for them to try), they gave me a spot on their weekly radio show: February 28th, 8 pm, Radio Dunia, Velingara. Next came the meetings with my invited guest speakers: our village health relay Abdulai Sabaly, the ICP of Sarre Colle Sally Marie Therese Sambour, and an elderly grandma, Yoba Diao. The morning of February 28th, we bribed the community chauffer to take us to Velingara. Our ICP could not come, so she gave some hasty food group education to her last-minute stand-in. One power-outage later, we were finally on the air. The show bounced between these key speakers. Abdulai explained the three food groups and pointed out that Maggie is not among them….but boabob leaves, bissap, peanuts, and ooji are. The elderly grandmother, Yoba Diao, reminisced about abandoned food habits of old, such as the important mid-afternoon snack meal for young children, and gave recipes. “When we went to the fields in the morning, we would take nettattou powder and honey with us. Right about 10 am, when breakfast was long gone and lunch still far away in the future, we would mix the nettatou and honey and drink until we were full. We would give this to the children, and they might not even need lunch. But now all you mothers gather these fruits and sell them at the markets. All that we used to eat that is good for us, we sell to get money…and those who are smarter than us and know their importance buy them in the cities.” A caller stated that, despite a new prevalence of modern medicines, health has gone downhill since the introduction of Jumbo (which is certainly not the only factor causing the region’s new malnutrition problem, but we didn’t argue with him!) I got to lecture people on their propensity to ask hospitals for magic medicines to cure their medical problems. “Many people have asked me what pill they can take for fatigue. But you are tired during the rainy season because you don’t get enough protein! One must have some form of protein at dinner or lunch every day—eggs, meat, fish, milk, peanuts, ooji, or beans. Take that 25 cfa you spend on Maggie and buy food that will give you strength. The medicine for fatigue is good food.”

And how was the emission received? Who heard besides my loyal villagers (who were also listening for their shout-outs)? A vendor in the Velingara market recognized my name and pointed to the Jumbo for sale on her table. “This is bad,” she said, and then pointed to the vegetables and ooji piled next to it. “This is good. A Toubaco knows Fulado food!” And after a delicious and healthy couscous, baobab leaf, and dried fish dinner at a neighboring compound in my village, the old grandfather of the household apologized to me. “Today you ate with us, but the meal was not tasty—no meat and no Jumbo! The women around here have really cut down…A man no longer gets to eat anything good in his house!”

Evalina Nava, another health volunteer in Kolda, cautioned me before going on the air. “Just remember to remind people to eat Iodized salt. We don’t want villagers to get goiters if they stop eating Jumbo!” Don’t worry, Evalina. No one’s completely giving up Jumbo any time soon. Seeda, seeda.

Mulching Demo in the Garden & Bees

Here are a few pictures of some mulching demonstrations that I have been
doing in the garden. I took this awhile ago.

The mulch is crushed peanut shells that have sat in the sun for awhile.

Also some pictures of some bees that swarm around the well. It is so hot
and dry, it is the only place they can find water.

Bad Day

Wednesday April 16th 2008

10:22 AM


Some how I didn't expect this morning to be so hellish. It really was a great start.

I woke up early around 7:15 ish. Decided to go out and do some light gardening work before it got too hot. Light gardening means watering- carrying tons of water in big buckets around. I discovered that the well bucket that I let someone borrow wasn't there but instead it was in the bottom of the well. Apparently they were too lazy to fish it out. So I spent the next half half getting it out. I wasted for the next hour.

Next I felt a little hungry- usually breakfast is ready by about this time- 8:30am ish. I discovered yet again- there was no food or at least no food left. People are sneaky with it now. I saw my host father, the chief, and greeted him. He asked him if I've had breakfast yet. I told him honestly that the women said there wasn't any left. It took him literally 15 secs to get me a pittance of food from one of the women's stashes. I seriously buy them so much food and give them so much money they should be at least willing to give me a little when I'm hungry. They are always referring to me as a guest- I really don't think I should be going hungry. After this I was slightly annoyed.

Next I decide I need to get out of the village for a little bit. Take care of some business. I need to follow up with the school principal and some teachers about a few things: the scholarship program and the penpal program I am setting up with a high school french class in Downey, California. So I spend a few minutes preparing what I am going to say- looking a few words in the french dictionary. Writing down some instructions in french for them to follow and etc. Getting my papers in order and putting on some of my nicer and cleaner clothes. After all of this, what do I find? My bike has a flat tire. I realize that by the time that I fix the tire and everything- it will be really hot outside. I realize it will have to wait until tomorrow.

So the question is what am I going to do now? What can I really do? Just keep rolling with the punches. Hell drink some tea. Take a nap under the tree. Be a senegalese villager. Why bother right?


I'm still just acting like too much of an american.

Hungry Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa

Tuesday, April 15th 2008
10:49 PM


Did your mom ever tell you to eat all the food on your plate because there were hungry children in Africa that would love to eat what you are having.

Luckily my mom never seriously said that- it was too cliché by the time she would have said.

Maybe today they should say eat all your green beans because there are hungry Peace Corps volunteers in Africa. That is the truth! I might kill for some green beans, brussel sprouts or some brocolo right now.

“RE: What do you eat in the village?”

Monday April 14th 2008
5:14 PM

<i>I am responding to a question asked to me by a student in a high school french class in Downey, California. </i>

Right now I am enjoying some tasty food. I cooked up some black eyed peas and millet in my hut. I added a bouillon cube, a pinch of pepper and some oil plus I cut up a whole red onion. It tastes so good. The onion and the bouillon cube give it a sort of sweat tangy taste.

I just started doing this about two weeks ago because my nutrition was lacking. I already take a big horse pill multivitamin in the morning. The little extra protein and who else knows what in this mini meal keeps me going through the day.

The truth is the meals in my village are not much to look forward too. My two favorite meals are millet couscous with either peace sauce or peanut bouillon water. Generally my only green leafy vegetables in the village are hibiscus or bissap leaves. The women picks these. They pound and cook them until they have the consistency of snot. It is literally the snot green of your nightmares.

I buy beans, veggies and other things to give to my village family. But I since there are roughly 20ish people eating at my compound at any one meal- 2 kilos of beans don't go too far.

Also I must admit powdered milk is a life saver. I drink at least one glass of it a day.

The vast majority of the time these are my typical meals. When I occasionally come into town, I hit the vegetable market up. Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers and avocados at a minimum for my salad. Plus I eat an assortment of oranges, bananas and pawpaws. I always feel like I'm trying to make up for my village nutritional deficiencies when I am in town for a day or two days.

So my question for you is what do you generally eat everyday? Any suggestions on what I could do to improve my diet? Any suggestions for cooking in my hut? I have a simple gas single burner.

I am looking forward to your suggestions!

Educational Statistics via SeneGAD

Senegal Specific Educational Statistics (via SeneGAD site)

• Adult literacy rate: men 51%, females 29%
• Primary school enrollment ratio: male 78%, females 74%
• Primary school attendance ratio: male 71%; females 67%
• Secondary school enrollment ratio: male 22%, females 16%

- UNICEF

• Enrollment rates for boys were 84.4% versus 80.6% for girls. However, the dropout rate is higher for girls. The school dropout rate among 7-14 year olds is 7.2% for boys and 9.7% for girls

- 2005, IMF

• Only 28.2% of the female population is literate, although for female youth aged 15-24, it has increased to 41%

- 2005, World Bank Statistics

• Primary completion rates (for percentage of relevant age group) 49% for boys, 42% for girls

- 2004, WB

• 77% of Senegalese women are illiterate
• 55% of elementary school age girls are enrolled in school
• 23.8% of technical training school students are girl

- 1995, IMF

• 73.3% of adult women are illiterate (15+)
• 53.6% of adult men are illiterate (15+)
• 27% of women 15-24 are illiterate
• 18% of men 15-4 are illiterate
• 54% of elementary-age girls are enrolled in school
• 64% of elementary-age boys are enrolled in school
• 13% of secondary-age girls are enrolled in school
• 21% of secondary-age boys are enrolled in school
• 4: expected years of schooling for girls
• 6: expected years of schooling for boys

- 1999, World Bank

• 55% of school age girls attend school (national)
• 52.9% of school-age girls attend school (Kolda & Tambacounda)

- 2001, SCOFI

I found these statistics on the SeneGAD website. Here is a little blurb about them.

SeneGAD began in the early 1980s as a secondary project of Peace Corps volunteers, under the name WID (Women in Development). The original mission and philosophy have changed slightly. The current GAD approach focuses on the social, economic, political and cultural forces that determine how men and women participate in, benefit from and control project resources and activities differently.

Youtube: Gambian Woman Makes Purses from Trashbags

Very neat video. They do the same thing in a village a few Kilometers from me. I am roughly 30 miles form the Gambian Border.

There isn't much different between the people of Gambia and Senegal. The only big difference is how colonial history. The Gambia was an english colony and Senegal was a french colony. Thus Gambians use English as the language of administration while Senegalese use french. Otherwise pretty much the same.

Josh's Blog: Pics from Northern Senegal

A picture of Josh and some of his English Club Students. Josh is an urban based Small Enterprise Development PC Volunteer in the Northern Senegal. He and I took a wolof class together during IST (In Service Training). Josh is a great guy with a big heart for working with children and development work in general.

He maintains a blog as well as a photo gallery of some neat pics.

He has a

I Dream of Mangoes

Everyday in my village I go out and look at my mango tree. When I arrived in my village in November, the mango tree was starting to flower.

Over the last few months I keenly watch the tree, just waiting for them to ripen. Now they are getting close. But the only problem is the village kids can't wait. They eat the unripened mangoes. Green mangoes are very tart and tangy. Not bad but not nearly as good as ripe mangoes.

You see the kids climbing the tree and knocking the most ripen but still not ready mangoes out of the tree. Drives me crazy.

Welcome To Banana Paradise

I have planted 9 banana trees in my backyard. They are slowly coming back after the shock of being transplanted. I water them every other day. Each one gets 15 liters of water. The only problem is that grasshoppers attack the young leaves that are still light green and tender. As you can see, I made a little protective sleeve for one of them. I know it looks kinda silly but I couldn't think of how else to do it.

In roughly 6 months after the rainy season they should be about 10 to 14 feet tall. I am thinking of building a little tiki bar in my backyard. My plan is to establish the bananas and then distribute the suckers to qualified villagers. To me qualified means that they will water it and protect. Villagers here are very conditioned to gifts and hand outs from development workers. Most likely I will sell the little suckers for a small amount- just enough to make sure that people see them as valuable commodities- not free and easily replaceable "cadeaux"(gifts). Mostly likely I will sell them at about one third of the market rate- about 100 CFA. More importantly I'm thinking of all the little tiny bananas that I'm going to eat.

Youtube Video I found: Wrestling

This is such a funny video. A Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania in a wrestling match.This is totally what is it like- especially with the music.My villagers are trying to get me to wrestle too. I don't know about it yet.

Animals: Kitty

This is one of the many wild animals that from time to time roam the
Kolda regional house. This is the Kolda house cat.

I don't even remember the kat's name.

You see this kitty doing one of the things that it does best- attacking
random things around the house.

Otherwise the kitty is good at begging too. The Kolda regional house is
generally sparsely inhabited by volunteers who are irregularly in town
on business. The kitty knows that if it begs and cries with every
volunteer it will get spoiled. I will bet this cat eats better everyday
than I do in the village: Fish, milk and scraps while I am eating grains
and leaf sauce.

Otherwise the kitty is a joy around the house. Terrorizing scraps of
paper, purring and in general being cute and cuddly.

Cyber Cafe

At the Cyber cafe in Kolda- also know as -the internet- by the
volunteers. A common phrase is "I'm going to the internet, want me to pick up anything for the market?"

The name of this place is Cafe corps de la paix or in english Cafe Peace Corps.

A few years ago a Peace Corps Volunteer was based in town here. His name was Charlie. He encouraged and helped one of his friends set up a cyber cafe. The senegalais man "Moz" was so grateful that he named it after Peace Corps.

Internet here is roughly 300 CFA an hour or 60 cents an hour. The connection is generally not too slow. Plus the staff that runs it are very friendly.

Usually here you will hear lots of hip-hop and phat beats. The owner also is a DJ. Usually DJ Moz will invite you to one of his upcoming parties.

Moz isn't here at the moment, so I took a picture of one of the staff.

Animals: Poor Little Monkey

This poor little monkey. A few young American missionaries in town that
are doing "ethnographic research" decided to buy a monkey.

They bought it to amuse themselves. A bunch of roughly 18 year olds now can to say they owned a monkey.

They bought this little tiny baby monkey for about 5 mille CFA or
roughly 10 US dollars. They will be leaving in a few weeks. But what about the monkey? What will become of this monkey after it has been
eating human food and is no longer afraid of man?

Can it ever be a wild creature again? No much of a life for it if someone doesn't want it as a pet.

The little bugger is pretty cute though. It is tied up to a mango tree in the missionaries backyard. It jumps around and climbs on the mango
tree.

Animals: Buzzard!

This scary looking bird was hanging out by one of my friend's houses in
Kolda.

It became scared when I started taking pictures.

Clothing: You Can't Judge a Book by It's Cover but Sometimes the Cover is Story Enough

Here is a picture of Mariama. She is a friend of mine that I work with in Samba's Garden.

Mariama is one of my favorite people in the garden. She is very patient with my elementary level of pulaar. She always laughs and greets me every day.

[In my first draft of this post, I was just going to post some pictures about people in the garden that I work with. When I looked at the picture I took of Mariama I noticed just how much of a story there is in everything that she is wearing. I thought this would be a much better post.]

Looking at Mariama's clothing at first you wouldn't think much- but there is much to say about it.

Starting with her head covering it is one of the obvious signs that Mariama is a married woman. In the Pulaar ethnic group as well as the Diola, the Wolof and the Serer, married women cover their heads anytime they go in public to let the sai-sais / kalabantes AKA pickupartists to leave them alone. This is something that some Peace Corps Volunteer women have done in this region to varying degrees of success.

You may have noticed she is wearing a Tommy Hilfiger shirt. Ever wonder where the clothes you donate to charity go? If they aren't sold to people in the US, they are compressed into tiny little blocks and sent to lesser developed countries like those in West Africa.  As a result there is a booming second hand clothing market in Senegal- which I am a beneficiary as witnessed by most of the clothing I am wearing now.

Unfortunately the flood of cheap clothing or "dumping" of these goods severely curtails West Africa's domestic clothing market. Why buy local clothing if you can buy other clothing for a lot less?

If you look at her arm around the tricep you'll notice a little bracelet/string- it is know as a gree-gree. It is essentially a charm/amulet imbued with specific magic. Some examples are for good health, to never run out of money, to protect from injury or to ward off snakes. I have one that is supposed to protect me from being cut by sharp objects- unfortunately it doesn't protect me from sharp wit. Typically these gree-grees are little pieces of paper with Koranic writing that are sewn into little leather poaches.

Look at here necklace and bracelets. These are very typical pulaar jewelery. I'll write more about this in a future post.

Finally look at her shoes or more specifically her sandals. You might be able to find the same models in any dollar store in the US or perhaps in a Walmart or Target. Yes you might have guessed it... they were made in China. Senegal seems to import a lot of products that you might find in a big discount store. Why? Because they are soo inexpensive.

Getting Things Going

Thursday April 10th 2008
8:19 AM

In recent days I have been relatively productive. Getting products going, expanding my garden and getting out of the village a little to other surrounding villages.

I'm starting to work with one guy in my village that has been saying that he wants to open up a boutique or a little shop. He has the ability to build it, he is a mason. He already knows how to run it- apparently. It is apparent that he has totally thought it through but hasn't done it. Why?

I think it is that invisible fear that many of us have. That invisible barrier to doing something- a little bit of fear and that little bit of putting it off til tomorrow.

Myself, I've never started a business. I have done marketing, sales and etc but never the running of a business- even a one man operation. I know I have the anxiety- I know I could do it but do I really need to do it today? I'm sure I could do it tomorrow too.

That complacent and hint of fear is something that just isn't in developing countries- it is just human.

I Know I've Been Slacking on Writing

April 6th 2008
9:12 AM

It has been a little while since I've written in here. I have been spending alot of time in the garden.

I haven't felt the impulse to write lately. That being said- that lack of impulse to write meant that I needed to write.

At this point in my service, I'm settling in for the long haul. I am done with most of my trainings. It is the time that I settle in to truly be a villager- to live in the village, to accept the slow pace of life and to really acculturate. The hot season is truly coming into being.

It is slowly heating up- apparently you know it when the scorpions and all the big nasty bugs come out to play according to the villagers. I have only seen one scorpion so far. It was a small yellow-ish thing that ran by my foot while I was eating dinner the other night. A bunch of the peeps I was eating with screamed and ran off- one brave kid killed it with a stick.

That is what I have to look forward to- heat, humidity and tons of scary looking bugs- well until June when I'm planning a trip stateside.

Simply now, village life is very routine. Not boring yet. Lots of gardening in the cooler hours, sitting around chatting, drinking tea and dozing off during the hot hours. Plus lots of reading. Just finished "Master Harold and the boys" by Athol Fugard.

The setting is in a icecream shop in South Africa with three characters: young white boy and his two black employees/servants. This play is a critique of the apartheid regime in South Africa but ultimately speaks to sick desperation and superiority complex of racism.

On the other spectrum I am reading a book on International Trade and Agriculture: Theory and Practice published in 1974. A little outdated I know but I am able to glean understanding and theory out of it.

I'll keep writing in this....

Cashew Apples- Yum

Sunday March 16th 2008
9:02 AM

Yesterday was kinda hilarious. I had too many cashew apples. They tasted so good. I didn't realize that they ferment when they are still on the tree. I was working in the garden yesterday morning. Kids kept running
up to me and giving me these apples. I wanted them because I can plant the seeds and start a cashew orchard with someone.

I sucked the juice out of like 10 of them- at least. After finishing my work, I walked back to the village. I went to my hut to grab some water-this was at about 11:30AM. I lay down for a sec to decompress and read a little. I literally fell asleep for 3-4 hours. I woke up- I was like what the hell happened. I looked at the cashew apples I had left in my bag.

The villagers here say that they don't eat the cashew apples- they drink them. They are just all juiciness. Some of them really are sooo tasty.

Also in non muslim areas they make wine out of cashew apples. I don't plan on making any wine out here. I think they would frown on it in my village- you know them being muslim and all.

Random Pic in the South

Pulaar Dancing Video