Last night I came face to face with the devil himself. I had gotten up during the night to use the bathroom when I came across a monstrous creature! Leaving my room, I grabbed my cell phone, as it has a built in flashlight, and I proceeded to the toilet. Everything was going as planned. I walked in, placed my cell phone on a ledge so I could use both hands and have light, when all of a sudden I hear this hissing sound. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a creature stir in the corner of my bathroom and then I realized what was making the hissing sound. All I saw was a lizard’s silhouette in the corner before I jumped back 10 feet to safety, or what I thought was safety. A few feet outside the bathroom door, I attempted to catch my breath when I started hearing the hissing sound again! And as if its life was at stake, this create came bolting out of the bathroom right at me hissing away with all its might! I jumped back another few feet and the creature scurried into a pile of rubble near my hut. All I could discern was it was it had the silhouette and walk of a lizard, was black, and hissed. In the morning, I spoke with my family and they told me it was some harmless animal that lived around my bathroom and it’s not to be feared. My counterpart on the other hand, told me it was some creature that does hiss and it SPITS urine that is toxic if consumed. This makes no sense! So I have done some research on the internet and this is what I have found.
In other news, it’s hot. My counterpart and I met up this morning to go meet some more officials, as we are doing this all week. On route to the only high school in a city of 19 thousand, the power to the city is cut, which means no fans! We make it to the school and proceed through the usually waste-of-time greeting and then head to the headmaster’s office which is hotter and more humid than a furnace. He offered very kind and philosophical words of encouragement but failed to see me dripping sweat. I finally said thank you and stirred enough in my chair to warrant an end to the conversation.
Today I decided to buy some chickens. My host brother is taking me to the market after lunch and I have decided I want two female chickens from which I will have eggs and raise chickens. Two chickens will cost me around $10-$12 dollars and food for a month is only $1. If I sell the chickens in the market, I can get around $5-$6 for each. I think it will be fun to try and if I fail miserably, I think ten bucks is worth the experience.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I Ate Pumba!
The past two weeks have been such a whirlwind of new events and experiences. This post will pick up from after our swearing in ceremony.
October 16th was the date of the ceremony and the following Sunday I left with several other volunteers for Kaolack, which is a large city in the south and also the location of our regional house. Unfortunately, it is three hours from my site, but such is life. The trek there was hell! The Peace Corps hired Sept Place drivers to take us, rather than drive us themselves. My driver was mean and thought he could take advantage of us. After loading up the cars, our caravan of white people took off and got as far as the first gas station before we struck problem. Our driver demanded money and was incapable of understanding that he would be paid for his services upon arrival. He wanted money for gas! One volunteer was given all the money for 5 drivers and was directed to hand out money only once we arrived. So we wound up arguing for a few minutes until the driver conceded defeat and paid for gas to be put in the car. Then, for the entire duration of a 4 hour trip, he played the same high-pitched-praise-Allah-give-me-a-headache song that made me want to scream. I thought about accidently spilling my drink on the radio. As if the radio wasn’t bad enough, every gendarmerie along the route tried to pull us over to check our papers. I guess the caravan of 5 cars of white people was just too much to resist. Oh and it was hot!
We arrived Sunday night and until Thursday morning, I acquainted myself with the city. Kaolack itself is not a pretty city. If Dakar is the “Paris” of West Africa, then Kaolack is certainly “Marseille.” What is nice about it is its size. It’s big enough so that we can buy anything we could need and then some –the ‘then some’ being western goods. I took a few days to buy what I thought I would need. By the time I was finished, I wound up with plates, dishes, a machete, buckets, silverware etc. What I figured I would need, I bought, as the Peace Corps gives us a generous amount for “settling in” expenses.
By Monday afternoon, with nearly 30 people in the regional house, there was no room left, but it was a blast and we all had fun. Feeding ourselves was getting expensive, so one of the volunteers who knew how to kill and clean a goat offered to collect money and make roast goat for dinner. His assistant, a volunteer of Greek decent (insert pun here) offered to help. I didn’t like it. The taste was excellent, but the texture and consistency of goat’s meat was not appealing to me.
Moving on to Thursday the 22nd. Charged with the responsibility of installing myself and another volunteer is will be very close to me was the security director and an assistant from the medical office. It took two hours in the Peace Corps car and we arrived in the afternoon. I was greeted by my host family warmly and they invited the PC staff and the other volunteer to stay for lunch. After lunch the PC staff took off to install the other volunteer and I was left with this family.
This family is interesting-I’ll leave it at that. I’ve been here five days and I know only one person’s name and have no idea how the family structure works. There is three women and many children. I know one woman is my host grandmother, and her daughter (my host mother) lives in Kaolack because she is in a technical school. There is a boy and a girl of high school age, though I don’t know how they are related. I do know the boy is the son of the woman in Kaolack and the boy told me his father is in the Ivory Coast working and can’t come back now because of money. I don’t know if he sends money every month or what. My counterpart later told me he is indeed working in the Ivory Coast, but he also has another family!
My room is nice and big. It has a thatched roof which is great with the heat. It’s spacious and I do like it. I’m having a dresser made and my counterpart has a fridge ready for me to buy. When it is all set up, I will send pictures.
The Peace Corps told us not to discuss money or our contribution for a few days because we needed to determine who runs the family and what an appropriate amount to give each month is. Unfortunately, before I was even here for 16 hours, my family had told me what they believed I should contribute each month. I thought it unfair and I am currently negotiating with the family. However, in order to cover my rear, I have already looked at a few other locations, though I am confident the family will be more reasonable. I wish I could divulge more, but it is unwise to do so on a blog.
The past few days have been spent meeting useless government officials who think too highly of themselves and becoming acquainted with the family and town. It’s not the prettiest site, but it’s livable and I am definitely not near central command, which may or may not have its advantages. On that, I will have to wait and see.
Sunday was the most interesting day here so far. My counterpart, who is catholic, picked me up to go to mass on Sunday. On this particular Sunday, the priest from the big cathedral in Dakar had come for a conference. He was a very interesting character, but I had to sit on a bench for 3 hours before we finally left! After mass, my counterpart asked me if I wanted to go with him to a nearby village to pick up some pork for a party later on. I thought why not and I jumped inside the car with my counterpart, some other guy, and a priest and off we went. We wound up heading north on some dirt roads that took us into the bush. After a while I asked what we were doing (I’ve really learned to just go with it here) and my counterpart said we were looking for a hunter who would be waiting for us by the side of the road. After a while, we came across the hunter who led us on a 20 minute walk though the bush to nowhere. When he finally stopped, (and we caught up) there, at his feet, was Pumba, dead as a can be. It turns out he meant wild pork. Back at home, my counterpart’s wife cooked up the meat and I did try it, and I loved it! It is some of the best meat I have ever had and it tastes just like domestic pork.
So far, those are my adventures. Please stay tuned.
October 16th was the date of the ceremony and the following Sunday I left with several other volunteers for Kaolack, which is a large city in the south and also the location of our regional house. Unfortunately, it is three hours from my site, but such is life. The trek there was hell! The Peace Corps hired Sept Place drivers to take us, rather than drive us themselves. My driver was mean and thought he could take advantage of us. After loading up the cars, our caravan of white people took off and got as far as the first gas station before we struck problem. Our driver demanded money and was incapable of understanding that he would be paid for his services upon arrival. He wanted money for gas! One volunteer was given all the money for 5 drivers and was directed to hand out money only once we arrived. So we wound up arguing for a few minutes until the driver conceded defeat and paid for gas to be put in the car. Then, for the entire duration of a 4 hour trip, he played the same high-pitched-praise-Allah-give-me-a-headache song that made me want to scream. I thought about accidently spilling my drink on the radio. As if the radio wasn’t bad enough, every gendarmerie along the route tried to pull us over to check our papers. I guess the caravan of 5 cars of white people was just too much to resist. Oh and it was hot!
We arrived Sunday night and until Thursday morning, I acquainted myself with the city. Kaolack itself is not a pretty city. If Dakar is the “Paris” of West Africa, then Kaolack is certainly “Marseille.” What is nice about it is its size. It’s big enough so that we can buy anything we could need and then some –the ‘then some’ being western goods. I took a few days to buy what I thought I would need. By the time I was finished, I wound up with plates, dishes, a machete, buckets, silverware etc. What I figured I would need, I bought, as the Peace Corps gives us a generous amount for “settling in” expenses.
By Monday afternoon, with nearly 30 people in the regional house, there was no room left, but it was a blast and we all had fun. Feeding ourselves was getting expensive, so one of the volunteers who knew how to kill and clean a goat offered to collect money and make roast goat for dinner. His assistant, a volunteer of Greek decent (insert pun here) offered to help. I didn’t like it. The taste was excellent, but the texture and consistency of goat’s meat was not appealing to me.
Moving on to Thursday the 22nd. Charged with the responsibility of installing myself and another volunteer is will be very close to me was the security director and an assistant from the medical office. It took two hours in the Peace Corps car and we arrived in the afternoon. I was greeted by my host family warmly and they invited the PC staff and the other volunteer to stay for lunch. After lunch the PC staff took off to install the other volunteer and I was left with this family.
This family is interesting-I’ll leave it at that. I’ve been here five days and I know only one person’s name and have no idea how the family structure works. There is three women and many children. I know one woman is my host grandmother, and her daughter (my host mother) lives in Kaolack because she is in a technical school. There is a boy and a girl of high school age, though I don’t know how they are related. I do know the boy is the son of the woman in Kaolack and the boy told me his father is in the Ivory Coast working and can’t come back now because of money. I don’t know if he sends money every month or what. My counterpart later told me he is indeed working in the Ivory Coast, but he also has another family!
My room is nice and big. It has a thatched roof which is great with the heat. It’s spacious and I do like it. I’m having a dresser made and my counterpart has a fridge ready for me to buy. When it is all set up, I will send pictures.
The Peace Corps told us not to discuss money or our contribution for a few days because we needed to determine who runs the family and what an appropriate amount to give each month is. Unfortunately, before I was even here for 16 hours, my family had told me what they believed I should contribute each month. I thought it unfair and I am currently negotiating with the family. However, in order to cover my rear, I have already looked at a few other locations, though I am confident the family will be more reasonable. I wish I could divulge more, but it is unwise to do so on a blog.
The past few days have been spent meeting useless government officials who think too highly of themselves and becoming acquainted with the family and town. It’s not the prettiest site, but it’s livable and I am definitely not near central command, which may or may not have its advantages. On that, I will have to wait and see.
Sunday was the most interesting day here so far. My counterpart, who is catholic, picked me up to go to mass on Sunday. On this particular Sunday, the priest from the big cathedral in Dakar had come for a conference. He was a very interesting character, but I had to sit on a bench for 3 hours before we finally left! After mass, my counterpart asked me if I wanted to go with him to a nearby village to pick up some pork for a party later on. I thought why not and I jumped inside the car with my counterpart, some other guy, and a priest and off we went. We wound up heading north on some dirt roads that took us into the bush. After a while I asked what we were doing (I’ve really learned to just go with it here) and my counterpart said we were looking for a hunter who would be waiting for us by the side of the road. After a while, we came across the hunter who led us on a 20 minute walk though the bush to nowhere. When he finally stopped, (and we caught up) there, at his feet, was Pumba, dead as a can be. It turns out he meant wild pork. Back at home, my counterpart’s wife cooked up the meat and I did try it, and I loved it! It is some of the best meat I have ever had and it tastes just like domestic pork.
So far, those are my adventures. Please stay tuned.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Graduation Day
Yesterday, I became an official Peace Corps volunteer!
The ceremony was held at the American Ambassador's residence,which comes equipped with a swimming pool, a cadilac, and enough space for over 100 people. Needless to say it is a nice place.
We were escorted from The training center in Thies by the Gendarmerie, and by "the Gendarmerie," I mean one dude in a uniform on a motor bike with a siren less potent than the one on my tricycle. Nonetheless, we arrived on time and had no trouble getting through traffic, which is perilous at best!
The ceremony started around 10:30 and we were presented to the Japanese and Korean Ambassadors to Senegal. Surprisingly, there is a Japanese Peace Corps, but we never cross paths and the only thing I know about them is that they have greater trouble pronouncing the languages. The highlight was the speaches given by the trainees in the local languages we are learning. There were many laughs, though I only understood the French, and Wolof speaches. I was at a loss with Mandinka and Pulaar. Finally, we took the Foreign Service Oath and became volunteers.
After the ceremony, we had a reception with tons of American food ranging from cheeseburgers to guacamole and I stuffed my face knowing I would have to face Ceebu Jeen (Fish & Rice)for a very long time.
Tomorrow I leave for the city of Kaolack, which is my regional capital. There, I will buy what I need to get set up in my residence. Pots, baskets, rugs, all these things. I feel bad for the drivers who have to take us.
The ceremony was held at the American Ambassador's residence,which comes equipped with a swimming pool, a cadilac, and enough space for over 100 people. Needless to say it is a nice place.
We were escorted from The training center in Thies by the Gendarmerie, and by "the Gendarmerie," I mean one dude in a uniform on a motor bike with a siren less potent than the one on my tricycle. Nonetheless, we arrived on time and had no trouble getting through traffic, which is perilous at best!
The ceremony started around 10:30 and we were presented to the Japanese and Korean Ambassadors to Senegal. Surprisingly, there is a Japanese Peace Corps, but we never cross paths and the only thing I know about them is that they have greater trouble pronouncing the languages. The highlight was the speaches given by the trainees in the local languages we are learning. There were many laughs, though I only understood the French, and Wolof speaches. I was at a loss with Mandinka and Pulaar. Finally, we took the Foreign Service Oath and became volunteers.
After the ceremony, we had a reception with tons of American food ranging from cheeseburgers to guacamole and I stuffed my face knowing I would have to face Ceebu Jeen (Fish & Rice)for a very long time.
Tomorrow I leave for the city of Kaolack, which is my regional capital. There, I will buy what I need to get set up in my residence. Pots, baskets, rugs, all these things. I feel bad for the drivers who have to take us.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Don't Get Booze On Your Boubou!
Today the center hosted a party for the trainees and their families. In all honesty, it turned out better than I, and many others, had hoped for. Only one member of every one's family was allowed to come and at some point in the mid morning, PC drivers sortied out to collect the family members that were to come to the center, and so this left the trainees with some time to do nothing. Finally! Somewhere around 11 I went to put on something nice and figured I could wear nice western clothes since Friday is the ceremony and I would be wearing my grand boubou. I threw on my polo, a pair of jeans, and my chucks (none of which I have worn since arriving) and sat around and waited for my host mother to straggle in. When she arrived, she was disappointed to see me not wearing my boubou, so I had to go change. I got many compliments on it and it was better than anyone else's. Unfortunately no one will be surprised tomorrow at our swearing-in ceremony.
My host mother and the other family members from Tivaouane were the first to arrive, so we ended up sitting around for a good hour and a half before we finally lethargically moved over to dinner. People just don't move fast here. Lunch was great. We actually had chicken, which is a real treat here. After lunch, the music start, and that was the highlight of the day! What fun is was watching all the musicians and people dance.
The style of dance here is much more chaotic and the influence in many western dances is evident, as in Samba. Someone who wants to join in on the dancing will run in, dance for a minute or two, then proceed to the sidelines for a rest. It's a bad idea to have many people dancing at once, because, well, someone will get a broken nose!
After the music, we had a small reception and each family received a certificate stating they had hosted a PC trainee. The Senegalese love certificates and the Peace Corps passes out one for every event. Following the reception, all the families went home.
Now, it's onto Dakar!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Incha'Allah Tense
My studies in Wolof are coming to an end and I feel more gyped than a fat kid at a Jenny Craig surprise party. This language does not have the conditional, subjunctive, or pluperfect tenses or any of their more compound variations. But it does have the Insha’Allah tense. Insha’Allah means simply “God willing” and this tense is used to express uncertainty as in “Insha’Allah it rains this afternoon.” It is also used to dispel laziness, such as “I can, Insha’Allah, finish building my house before I die.” There is also future Insha’Allah as in “I will, Insha’Allah marry an American and listen to Aye-kon all day on my cell phone.” Above all, though, there is the most important Conditional Insha’Allah found in such extraordinary expressions as “IF Insha’Allah it, I would have 5 wives and listen to Aye-Kon all day.“ This tense is very useful and seems only to appear where one finds a fire and brimstone concept of God.
A door-to-door salesman stopped by our house today selling household telephones and my host father bought one, though I fail to see why. I’ve yet to see a house phone in any other house and everyone has cell phones. I think it might use as a status symbol or as a conversational piece, though I would love to see all the cement block covered with plaster before we add decorations. But hey! We now have a phone. After the purchase, my host brother proceeded to build a shelf for it and it, for whatever reason, rests so high on shelf that I can’t see the buttons. I’m 5”10’’. Without seeming over patronizing, one of my favorite things to do here is observe how the population uses technology.
Yesterday was a bad day for me. I was really hot, tired and bored, and I started thinking about all that I had in the states what I didn’t have in Senegal. It transcribed into my wanting a cheeseburger and telling my host sister that we do more than play “musical shade” to amuse ourselves back in the States. The food here is so monotonous. Except for one plate, all means have either rice or couscous, and I rarely have couscous. The one exception is a fish sauce with salad and bread. It’s my favorite because it offers variety. I get so hungry hours before meals, but within a few spoon full’s, I’m no longer hungry. I guess that’s the way it goes with a diet based on empty carbs. I’ve never eaten so much fish before and it’s not uncommon to have it twice a day for both dinner and lunch. Breakfast is always sugar with a little bit of coffee and bread with chocolate or butter. A few times, I’ve had the previous night’s dinner on my breakfast bread and I hate that. I’ve decided that when I move in with my permanent family in my site, I will make breakfast and dinner on my own. That way, I can break up the monotony and it’s just WAY too hot to cook during the day!
Recall my oldest host brother and oldest host sister are actually my cousins and my host brother lives permanently with his aunt and uncle (my host parents) and his sister is here visiting. My host mother has left for Kaolack, which is a city in the south. Her brother is getting married and my host father gave her the money to travel there for a few days. Unfortunately for my host sister, she has to stay here until Tuesday the 20th because someone has to run the household. This is a problem because school starts on Monday the 19th and she lives in a city on the other side of the country. My host mother doesn’t see this as an issue. I don’t think she herself has an extensive education. At least my host sister won’t miss too many days.
In other news, I’m broke! I need to keep a spread sheet to find out where it all goes. The Peace Corps gives us CFA 29000 ($50) every two weeks, but I just can’t save it! I had a bunch saved up in my refrigerator fund, but it’s all depleted. I’m not sure what it all goes, but I can say that cold drinks are so much more appealing now and it’s so hard to refuse a trip to a restaurant with English speaking people. And I bought my grand boubou. It’s a piece of art that consists of a pair of pants, a shirt, and a large over shirt. All the pieces are white and the over shirt will be embroidered with silver. It cost a pretty penny, but it will be worth it for our swearing in ceremony. Also, Peace Corps gives up beaucoup money for “settling in” expenses, but I want to make sure I have enough for a fridge. I’m going to tap in to some American funds. Da Da Da Dummmmm!
A door-to-door salesman stopped by our house today selling household telephones and my host father bought one, though I fail to see why. I’ve yet to see a house phone in any other house and everyone has cell phones. I think it might use as a status symbol or as a conversational piece, though I would love to see all the cement block covered with plaster before we add decorations. But hey! We now have a phone. After the purchase, my host brother proceeded to build a shelf for it and it, for whatever reason, rests so high on shelf that I can’t see the buttons. I’m 5”10’’. Without seeming over patronizing, one of my favorite things to do here is observe how the population uses technology.
Yesterday was a bad day for me. I was really hot, tired and bored, and I started thinking about all that I had in the states what I didn’t have in Senegal. It transcribed into my wanting a cheeseburger and telling my host sister that we do more than play “musical shade” to amuse ourselves back in the States. The food here is so monotonous. Except for one plate, all means have either rice or couscous, and I rarely have couscous. The one exception is a fish sauce with salad and bread. It’s my favorite because it offers variety. I get so hungry hours before meals, but within a few spoon full’s, I’m no longer hungry. I guess that’s the way it goes with a diet based on empty carbs. I’ve never eaten so much fish before and it’s not uncommon to have it twice a day for both dinner and lunch. Breakfast is always sugar with a little bit of coffee and bread with chocolate or butter. A few times, I’ve had the previous night’s dinner on my breakfast bread and I hate that. I’ve decided that when I move in with my permanent family in my site, I will make breakfast and dinner on my own. That way, I can break up the monotony and it’s just WAY too hot to cook during the day!
Recall my oldest host brother and oldest host sister are actually my cousins and my host brother lives permanently with his aunt and uncle (my host parents) and his sister is here visiting. My host mother has left for Kaolack, which is a city in the south. Her brother is getting married and my host father gave her the money to travel there for a few days. Unfortunately for my host sister, she has to stay here until Tuesday the 20th because someone has to run the household. This is a problem because school starts on Monday the 19th and she lives in a city on the other side of the country. My host mother doesn’t see this as an issue. I don’t think she herself has an extensive education. At least my host sister won’t miss too many days.
In other news, I’m broke! I need to keep a spread sheet to find out where it all goes. The Peace Corps gives us CFA 29000 ($50) every two weeks, but I just can’t save it! I had a bunch saved up in my refrigerator fund, but it’s all depleted. I’m not sure what it all goes, but I can say that cold drinks are so much more appealing now and it’s so hard to refuse a trip to a restaurant with English speaking people. And I bought my grand boubou. It’s a piece of art that consists of a pair of pants, a shirt, and a large over shirt. All the pieces are white and the over shirt will be embroidered with silver. It cost a pretty penny, but it will be worth it for our swearing in ceremony. Also, Peace Corps gives up beaucoup money for “settling in” expenses, but I want to make sure I have enough for a fridge. I’m going to tap in to some American funds. Da Da Da Dummmmm!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Dakar Day
The trainees were cut loose on Saturday and so we finally had some time for relaxation... well, some us us. Since Monday was Dakar Day, half of the all the trainees decided to head up to Dakar for Saturday night and Sunday. I opted to stay in the compound and relax and do a whole lot of nothing. My fellow trainees who went up early had fun, but most dropped about $50-$60, which on our teeny tiny "salaries," that's a bank buster. Im going to use my money for a refrigerator. I'm starting a Fund.
Dakar Day was fun. It reminded me of Athens, just less white. White buildings, that is. We were taken on a tour of the city and shown all the nice places to go such as the American Expatraite Club, and the embassy, and even the stip of beach sidewalk on which people get mugged! I don't think I'm supposed to go there. We ate lunch at the French Culture Center and I had a Moroccan cheeseburger. It's basically a slab of beef with North African spices. And there were french fries.
It's still hot here and I don't forsee a change anytime soon. I think the rainy season is over, which explain why my room is always so hot. It never gets a chance to cool off.
Dakar Day was fun. It reminded me of Athens, just less white. White buildings, that is. We were taken on a tour of the city and shown all the nice places to go such as the American Expatraite Club, and the embassy, and even the stip of beach sidewalk on which people get mugged! I don't think I'm supposed to go there. We ate lunch at the French Culture Center and I had a Moroccan cheeseburger. It's basically a slab of beef with North African spices. And there were french fries.
It's still hot here and I don't forsee a change anytime soon. I think the rainy season is over, which explain why my room is always so hot. It never gets a chance to cool off.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Workshop
Our Counterpart Workshop was Thursday and Friday. Our counterparts and supervisors from all over the country came to the center for two days of workshops and meet-n-greets. For clarification, a counterpart is the individual with whom we will work on our various projects and who is is responsible for helping us acclimate into the community. Our supervisors are individuals on some governmental level to whom we report.
Overall, the conference was a success. My counterpart is very eager for me to get started on my projects. I finally see why I was placed in my site. I had said that I wanted to work cross-sector on projects, pulling in volunteers from Agriculture and Education. I just wish my site was half way to Nowheresville.
We discussed various topics and made a plan for my first three months at site. Well.... my counterpart and supervisor made it. I just sat there in awe as they listed out all the people who are necessary for me to visit. I have to go meet someone at the Post Office. Why not?
My predecessor left some big shoes to fill. My counterpart even named a son after him. I'm excited about all the projects that were left open and even some of the other potential projects in the area.
During one of the sessions, everyone was given the goals of his or her sector and told to discuss which goal would be the most important in his or her site. My supervisor and counterpart both agreed on technological education, particularly computers, so that the local producers of the on-gong agricultural projects can find buyers. I bit my tongue. I can teach someone how to use a computer, but I wonder if my counterpart and supervisor realize the buyers may not be technologically savvy. We'll have to see how it works out.
We're spending the weekend in the Center and then going to Dakar on Monday for just the day. We will be introduced to the city and shown around. It will be fun
Overall, the conference was a success. My counterpart is very eager for me to get started on my projects. I finally see why I was placed in my site. I had said that I wanted to work cross-sector on projects, pulling in volunteers from Agriculture and Education. I just wish my site was half way to Nowheresville.
We discussed various topics and made a plan for my first three months at site. Well.... my counterpart and supervisor made it. I just sat there in awe as they listed out all the people who are necessary for me to visit. I have to go meet someone at the Post Office. Why not?
My predecessor left some big shoes to fill. My counterpart even named a son after him. I'm excited about all the projects that were left open and even some of the other potential projects in the area.
During one of the sessions, everyone was given the goals of his or her sector and told to discuss which goal would be the most important in his or her site. My supervisor and counterpart both agreed on technological education, particularly computers, so that the local producers of the on-gong agricultural projects can find buyers. I bit my tongue. I can teach someone how to use a computer, but I wonder if my counterpart and supervisor realize the buyers may not be technologically savvy. We'll have to see how it works out.
We're spending the weekend in the Center and then going to Dakar on Monday for just the day. We will be introduced to the city and shown around. It will be fun
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