Ramadan-A-Ding-Dong

Abdoulaye was travelling down a path when he saw a large group of people outside a house.

It was in the middle of the day during Ramadan, so he stopped and asked Babacar why such a large crowd of men was gathered there at this time.

Babacar replied, 'Saleem's camel kicked his mother-in-law and she died.'

'Well,' replied the man, 'She must have had a lot of friends.'

'Nope,' said Babacar.' We all just want to buy his camel.'

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Currently, it is the holy month of Ramadan.

What is Ramadan?

A time for Muslims to fast, ask forgiveness, pray for guidance, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.

It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, in which Muslims refrain from (1) eating, (2) drinking, and (3)sexual activities from dawn until sunset - Not to mention (4) work and (5) pleasantness, both due to one and two. But I'm sorry, who the heck is doing number three during the day? Shouldn't they be doing number four?

What's not to love? I'm pretty jealous their religion has a built-in weight loss program. And think of all the lunch dates you can get out of!

Anyways, it's not easy. I've noticed a certain level of agitation in everyone's demeanor and I dare not attempt to do anything in the afternoon, lest I loose my head to a hungry and aggressive banana vendor.

Although I have chosen not to fast, I still am faced with a certain level of added difficulty. I am still on my own for breakfast, and lunch now is usually leftovers from dinner when the family remembers the pasty white kid who has only been living here for a year. We break the fast at 7:30 (which they didn't invite me to for the first three days) with bread and coffee and dinner comes around 11:30pm. Then the fasters get up at 5:30 am and gorge themselves.

Also, I am constantly approached by people asking me if I am fasting. This I do not understand. Why, when I have a piece of food in my hand, would you ask me if I am fasting? This usually leads into a mild philosophical discussion. I inform I am not fasting, then the other person points out the Catholic Lent and how that is our Ramadan. Then I inform him that is every Friday for 40 days in which my family went out for fish - not the same. It's become a routine.

I'm hungry...

The Universal Nut Sheller

Senegal likes peanuts. So much so that last year's peanut harvest yielded 625,000 tons. That's a lot of nuts.

Peanuts are such an integral part of Senegalese society. They provide 75% of the national agricultural production and employ 50% of the population.

So buy Jiffy Pop! Support Senegal... Not really, nearly all of Senegal's peanuts go to the UK. Hmmm...Cadbury must be up to something.

Much of the peanut crop is exported to various countries, but what is kept in Senegal is used for replanting and consumption. Peanuts are found in numerous Senegalese dishes and many women roast and bag peanuts to sell as snacks.

Shelling peanuts by hand takes hours. It's extremely laborious and often requires most of the women in the family to complete. Families will often buy several kilos and shell them over the course of a few days and then resell them for a small profit or keep them for consumption.

Where does this sheller come in? As a way to add value to crops for women. And since raising the value of a product corresponds directly to increased income, there is more money to go around.

This sheller is equal to 41 women shelling peanuts by hand. This suggests cooperatives would be able to increase output or use the freed up time to produce another product. For example, turning the peanuts in peanut butter. Furthermore, as domestic responsibilities are freed up, young girls have a great chance to attend school and finish school.

A Peace Corps volunteer found the designs for this sheller and contacted the manufactures. After introducing it to his site, he determined it was worthy of spreading across Senegal. And now we are in the phase of gaining interest and finding buyers.

Using locally sourced materials, it can be built for around $65, which is well with in the reach of most cooperatives

Last week, this sheller went on tour and stopped at my site. I invited several women's groups to come and and test out the machine. And they loved it! They couldn't stop clucking about it. By the end of my expo, I had 9 potential orders and I do hope most of them actually buy one

The Sands of Egypt

Salam Alekum traveler!

My name is Ali-Houdini Balam'ak Da Mohammed. But call me Din. Today, I'll be your guide. And I tell you esomething especial... we take adventure into one of oldest country on Earth. Very Cheap!

So my friend, where from? Oh America! OBAMA!! Where in America you from? New York? No, Not New York? Ah, I see, is near California? OK California! Laguna Beach! So Tell me, what you see in Egypt. I show you all. Very cheep.
OK we go! Very cheap.

You come right now! Come! Come! Here, you take this taxi OK we go!

Isn’t this taxi very beautiful? Oh, you want a seat belt. Don’t worry, it’s very safe. Just don’t lean on doors ok? Now, my friend. I teach you 5 words most important in Egypt. You repeat…

1. Allah alim - God knows best
2. Insha' Allah (God willing) – You’re excuse for doing nothing
3. Bakeesh - coins for tips and toilets.
4. Masha'allah - God's will
5. Salata – Salad

Remember these words….

So you want to go see Luxor. Ok we go there. But First we take bus. Go over there to bus station. I wait here. I don’t know which line. You choose and hope it is right. You buy tickets and get on the bus when it come. Ok you got tickets? Good.

We take bus and go to Luxor– Ancient capital of the Pharaohs. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the next 16 hours. Oh and there are movies on the bus. But all in Arabic. You speak Arabic right?

Ok here is bus. We get on. And yes, we always sit in seat assigned. See you have ticket with number. Which seat is yours? I don’t know. Start counting… Ok you two sit here. I sit in front of you. Sit down and try to relax. No! Don’t lean your seat back. That is not acceptable. Why do I get to lean my seat back? Because I Egyptian.

Ok, here we go. In 9 hours we arrive.

Ok, my friends, while we travel, I give you lesson on price in Egypt. Here you read this, my brother’s wife’s cousin’s aunt’s sister wrote this….

Welcome In Egypt! You’re Gide To Prise.
Prise 1: (EGYPTIAN) You don’t ask price, you take the item and as you walk away you give them the right amount that you know already from last purchase. 1 Egyptian Pound.
Prise 2: you’re a local, but you are “white” and you ask the price. 2 Egyptian Pound
Prise 3: You’re a foreigner, and you don’t speak no Arabic, but at least you’re not wearing your digital camera around your neck 3.50 Egyptian Pound
Prise 4: You a tourist. Everybody see it.
-5 E Pound if you Canadian
- 7 E Pound if you German or English or Russian
-10 E Pound if you Japanese. (You suckers!)

Now wasn’t that helpful? How about a bakeesh? That was number 3. I can make change…

Welcome to Luxor, my friends. Now read description sign while I go smoke.

Luxor is a magical place. On the East Bank of the River Nile is the modern city of Luxor which sits on the site of the ancient city of Thebes. You see in movie “The Mummy.” We built new city on top of the old one because it was too much hassle to movw those massive stones to the other side. It’s not, how you say, “a stone’s throw”. At the south end of Luxor is the massive Temple of Karnak, which is where Liz Taylor lived and covers an area similar in size to a major camel ranch. The crown jewel of the temple is the central area with its 134 (we think) standing columns the size of redwood trees. At the north end of Luxor, near the heart of the modern city, is the Temple of Luxor. The ATM is next to it. The two temples are about two miles (three kilometers) apart. In ancient times the road between the two was flanked by hundreds of sphinxes.

Now we go to bus station and take long ride to Sinai…

Hey my friends, wake up. Now we are in Sinai. We go snorkeling. Very beautiful. Ok my friends, I give Egyptian price for mask and flippers. Very Cheap! See, Sea of Aqaba very beautiful. You put on the flippers and walk out backwards to the ocean. Don't fall on anything! Ok have fun. I wait here and smoke Sheesha.

How was it? Very beautiful yes? Did you see all the fish and coral. Just like movie.
So now you want to visit Mount Sinai. I take you to mountain and we walk. It's very beautiful. We start at midnight. You take 3 hours to walk up and then 3 hours to walk down. And if you want you can take camel for very cheap. Come along! Just mind the camels. They spit and kick! See this place here. This St. Catherine's Monestary. It sits at the bottom of mountain. We come here later. Ok up we go.

Don't worry it's not far..... Ok how are you doing? It's only another 2 hours to the top! Let's move quickly, I want to pass this group of deaf Asians. You're right, they do honk a lot. Not very beautiful.

Congratulations! You reached the top. Very beautiful. Now you sit here until the sunrise then we walk back down. What do you mean you are cold? Didn't your guide tell you to bring a jacket? Oh that was me. No worries my friend. Just relax and enjoy the very beautiful sunrise. And don't go over there... there's group of Mexican Jews singing in Spanish. Come sit here. I go smoke.

Ok now wasn't sunrise very beautiful? We walk now. We take steps. 3700 steps of repentance. We go.... Ok how are you my friend? Tired? Yes, you're feet will be sore for 4 days after this. Come don't worry, this will only take three hours. Just watch your step the rocks are loose and uneven. Don't fall on the person in front of you. Hahaha! What do you mean you didn't realize how many steps 3700 really is. Come on we go smoke at the bottom.

So this is Saint Catherine's. It's very old and beautiful. Inside you see the burning bush and the body part of some saint. You Christians do that. Haha! You make me laugh. Very true that bush is not on fire! Yes, Moses didn't have that far to walk!

So, now you leave. I hope you liked Egypt. One of most beautiful countries on Earth.

Oh, you did?

…

Bakeesh?

You know you live in Africa when...

1. “Now now” can mean anything from a minute to a month.
2. The employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are.
3. The national network advertises and shows highlights of the program you just finished watching.
4. You get cold easily. Anything below 85 Fahrenheit is Arctic weather.
5. You can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them.
6. You produce a 2000 CFA note instead of your driver’s license when stopped by a traffic officer.
7. You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement.
8. The gas in your tank may be worth more than your car.
9. A bullet train is being introduced, but we can’t fix potholes.
10. You have to prove that you don’t need a loan to get one.
11. It rains for less than an hour and everywhere is flooded. But the people are over-joyed.
12. A game of hop-scotch attracts half the village.
13. Every toothpaste is Colgate.
14. Every soft drink is coca cola or Fanta.
15. You call everyone older then you uncle or aunt.
16. No running water for a day is just another ordinary thing.
17. Being an hour late equals being “on time”.
18. You have an over whelming urge to wash all your salad in bleach and add a bit of charcoal to your milk just to get the taste your used to.
19. You know never to question what you’re eating (even if it does taste good), cuz sometimes you just don’t want to know.
20. Football is played with some sort of ROUND ball and WITHOUT hands.
21. You make friends with the local Sheppard and know the goats by name
22. You watch the minibus driver's assistant try to climb through the front window onto the roof in order to fit another passenger in.
23. After your bus has blown a tire, the one it's replaced with looks just as bad and old.
24. You can sing Akon’s “Smack That” without knowing what it really means.
25. There are more goats on top of the car than passengers in it.
26. You could make your own weave from discarded pieces.
27. Most of your aunts and uncles are younger than you
28. You ask you mother to ask your brother to ask your sister to ask your cousin to ask you Dad if you can have money for something.
29. You know it only becomes stealing when the other person notices its disappearance.
30. You're cell phone has a flashlight
31. For safety, you make your donkey wear a reflector.
32. The entire village has seen your boobs.
33. You don't understand the value of the money in your hand, but you know what that colored coin can buy.
34. Kids think exchanging an mp3 player for a bracelet is a fair deal.

CSI: Candyland

One of my fondest memories growing up was hearing Bill Cosby's take on family and children. The best, by far, was his section on children and brain damage.

It's true. Children have brain damage. I had it. And childhood is one long recovery plan. You can sit something in front of them, tell them not to touch, and while you stare at them, they touch it. And when you ask them, "why did you touch it" they respond, "I don't know".

But in my case, I get to put up with "I don't know" in three languages. "Xamuma", "Je ne sais pas" and "I don't know" all have the derivative of from Phoenician to Greek to Latin meaning "I thought you weren't serious."

(Mom, this is my formal apology, I'm sorry)

Last night I noticed a line of ants in my room. After a several minute hunt (remember these are African ants) I found their source - a blow pop wrapper from a month ago that I never threw out. Feeling very Senegalese at the moment, I opted for the easiest method. I took the remaining suckers, crammed them into a clear bag, then left them on the table.

Therein lies my mistake. The next day the kids kept saying, "offer me candy," which is how we ask for things in Wolof. I kept saying I didn't have any and as the day progressed I started wondering why they kept asking.

Later on I decided to take a nap to recover from the carb coma I enter after lunch everyday. At the time of my repose there were several children in my room playing cards on my floor. Shortly after, all of the children except for one left.

Now, this child who remained, as cute and funny as he is, has his solar panel aimed at the moon, if ya catch my drift.

So I am laying in bed and I start to hear a crinkling noise. I wake up and see him slowly lift a blow pop out of the bag. We make eye contact and he stares at me like a deer in head lights and I yell, in Wolof "theif." Well the family comes running and makes a huge stink of it, which they should have.

I later called him into my room to explain why his actions were bad and I banished him from my room for a week. He's been sulking out of sight all afternoon.

I just don't get it. I don't know if this is goes back to the cultural point of the Senegalese having no boundaries with personal effect or if this boy's brain dun fell out. I have lived with him for a year now and he pulls this. Brain Damage!

Girl's Camp

Wow! It has been a long time since my last post. I left my site on 20 June for a Girl's Summer Camp and then I immediately left for a much needed three week vacation in Egypt. So this post will cover the Girl's Camp.

Development agents (isn't that a nice term) in developing countries have learned that in order to modernize or advance a country, women must be included and even focused on. In developed countries, the dispariaty between women and men is less and gender rolls are less absolute. Whatever your opinion is on the matter, this point is true. In places such as Africa, gender rolls are all but law. Focusing on women is a chance to make a difference.

Several of us volunteers in the Kaolack/Kaffrine regions of Senegal worked together to offer 27 young girls from 15-19 years of age a chance to learn, grow and have fun. The week long camp was organized and operated Peace Corps volunteers. Outside donors provided the funds necessary to supply the camp.

We held the summer camp in the city of Sokone, where we had found a camp ground with amazing facilities. Also, the campground was positioned in the delta and surrounded by brackish water and the Mangroves. The mangrove are an incredible ecosystem, but unfortunatley, they are being destroyed.

The camp was run like any other vacation camp seen in the US. After all, aren't the volunteers American? Each day we had leadership and team building activities, information sessions, health, arts and crafts, games and sports. We had some great activities and games and I am proud to say that my ideas definitely were a big success. (I have to give props to my mom for being a good example over the years)

The girls were given a journal and pen and everyday there was a journal topic to go with the theme of the day. Surprising the girls, were very willing to write and never needed to be encouraged. Some of the girls would spend all their free time journaling. I suppose it's a nice retreat from a world where one is never alone.

We also invited local teacher to come and play a role. The objective is that each year the Senegalese will play larger and larger roles until the point were the volunteers aren't needed anymore. Since this is the first year, they mostly watched how we interacted with the girls. They were, however, responsible for the daily 'debrief' sessions in which they discussed the day's going ons with the girls and basically made a summary of what went on

For the first two days I was in charge of the Leadership and team building activities. For day one, we played helium stick, a game designed to foster cooperation and communication. It was a blast! On day two we played tug-o-war and wow those girl got rough and competitive! We also did a water balloon fight which was a hit! We played several communication related game and quickly realized the soaking wet girls were the one's who don't listen.

For arts and craft we tried to give them activities which would allow them to be creative, think on their own, and act unhindered. Lack of creativity and initiative is a problem here in Senegal. And to prove it, I could line up volunteers, NGO employees, and other more educated Senegalese. Children here have so few opportunities to be creative. There are no junk drawers, no VBS, and Arts & Crafts don't follow snack time. And no one, I mean no one, thinks out of the box or let alone, is allowed too.

Our first craft involved cutting out pictures from magazines and using one side of a paper plate to describe who the girls are, and on the other, who the girls want to be. We provided pens, paper, scissors, markers, stickers etc. In the US, this would have been simple. Not here. They actually asked where to put stickers, what to draw, and where to glue pictures. I was floored. And one girl, who couldn't find a picture of a doctor for her collage, asked me what to do. I said, "figure it out" and she looked stunned. I also had to stop the teachers from telling the girls how to make their collages. This is typical, as creativity is copied here. UGH!

The most popular physical activity was swimming. The camp ground is on the bank of the mainland leading into the mangroves. They loved swimming. They played their own version of Marco Polo: Ceebu jen (fish and rice) HAHAHA!

The most popular health session was the one of sexual health. We recruited a health volunteer who speaks BEAUTIFUL Wolof and for two hours, they were glued to every word she said. Only the female volunteers were apart of this session, but every time I walked by, the girls had inched their chairs closer. By the end, they practically resting on the volunteer.

The best part of the camp was watching the girls come out of their shells. On day 1 everyone was timid and shy. By the end of the week they were loud, laughing, and all but uncontrollable. Today, I am visiting the four girls that I brought to see what they thought about the camp and to get their feedback. But I think it will all be positive, as I have run into their families and I've heard nothing but praises.

Success!

Can't Stop The Rain

Last night the rains came.

Remember the programs on the Discover Channel about the God-forsaken antelope scratching at dirt to find water and food, and then, *shazam* the next scene is wide angle view of rolling clouds.

Well it's actually like that.

I went over to my counterpart's house last night for warthog and on the way home I noticed lightening way off in the distance. I thought nothing of it and continued on my way.

Back at home, I went though my usual routine. I dragged the mattress outside onto my porch, locked up my room and went to bed. At 1 am, the wind picked up a little and soon after a drizzle started and quickly stopped.

At 2:30, again the wind picked up, and kept picking up. Half asleep, I pulled the blanket over my head and rolled over. A few minutes later, the cyclone hit! I swear, if it had been light out, I could have told you which mummy's face was in the storm cloud. With in seconds, the family was up and inside the house closing windows and securing loose doors. I jumped up, wrapped my blanked around my face and half blinded, dragged my mattress inside. Soon after the heavens opened.

The next morning, I looked at my floor and I could barely make out the design on the linoleum. It took the kids nearly an hour to get the sand out of my hut....

Welcome to the rainy season.