Life

Not much has happened since my last post, but I wanted to write something nonetheless, so at least, I still stay in the habit of updating it.

Since returning from the village I have been trying to complete my community resource assessment, which, is not easy. The CRA is an evaluation or report of what is available in a community. In the developed world, this would easier, but nonetheless, I am attempting to accomplish it. I have broken down the city into categories and have trying to systematically visit each category. Thus far, I have visited the Mayor's office, the Gendarmerie, and a few of the schools. I'm asking who works there, responsibilities, and challenges in an attempt to gain a better understand of what the community has and needs. I don't envy anyone living in a large city. My small town is difficult enough. The mayor's office couldn't tell me how many teachers and students there are in the city.

My visit to the Gendarmerie was the most interesting thus far. I walked in with my counterpart, introduced myself and then asked how many Gendarmes there are stationed in Koungheul. This was met by a nasty dismissal and a waive of the hand, informing us that we were in a military installation. Military installation my foot! It is as open as a public park, and was even accompanied with a kid on a tricycle, which inevitably turned out to be the Commandant's kid. And every single gendarme had an empty gun holster. Slightly offended at the lack of professionalism (forgetting where I live again), I quickly walked out. A few paces down the street the same Gendarme who dismissed us called us back and informed us that the Commandant would return shortly and we could speak with him. Then, this same Gendarme ask my counterpart for his ID card, which, without hesitation, he produced. And not surprisingly, the gendarme held it and my counterpart was too unwilling to ask for it back, much to my annoyance. This is another cultural observation I have noticed. The people are far more accepting of the law's methods and don't usually fight back. My counterpart was too accommodating and pacifistic for my taste. I would have demanded the card back. Respectfully, of course

Eventually, the Commandant came back and invited us into his office. He really is a nice guy and I have enjoyed crossing paths with him. He explained that I was not wrong for asking, but who I asked was wrong. I should have gone directly to him and he would have had no problem answering my questions because he knows who I am and why I am in Senegal. The example he used did reveal a cultural difference between us. He told me in America, someone who inquired about the number of officers and vehicles would be taken back and questioned. I set him strait and respectfully told him the number of officers is public knowledge and military installations are just that - military and civilian access is more scrutinized. He did answer my questions and told me about the challenges the Gendarme face, including playing firemen when needed. Needless to say, they have more roles than they can effectively manage.

In other news, my projects are coming along. Presently, projects and work are coming my way and after my three week training in February, I will be on the hut for bigger and more involved projects. This upcoming training is called In Service Training (IST) and is meant to be 3 months after becoming a volunteer. We are given more technical training, which I hope to use to help some of the groups in my site.

Currently I am working with the 10,000 Girls group to set up their tailoring business, which should open soon. The leader of the group was supposed to come out yesterday to check the room my counterpart found for the business. It met all the requirements, but the owner won't hold it for long. In fact, my counterpart lied and said the money is on the way so the owner would not give it away. Alas, the leader didn't come. Typical.

Another project is a reading room. The 10,000 Girls director has more books than the Library of Congress and needs to get rid of them so they have trying to establish rooms in various cities. These room will be for students to come and do research and study and will be operated by one of the girls in the organization. Luckily, or maybe not, there is a room in the house that my counterpart found, but if the money doesn't come, then the room will be given away and both projects will be put on hold.

Another project is finding wheelchairs for a few disabled girls. Some westerner donated some money for this purpose, but honestly I don't have clue as where to start.

Saturday, I am teaching English. My predecessor and my counterpart established weekly classes for young girls that had to drop out of school and now wish to further their education. Amazingly, this program is working and a few girls have even been accepted back into the state schools. My counterpart teaches English, and one of his friends teaches Math. I'm not sure if there are any other subjects, but I do believe there are. I watched my counterpart teach on Monday and he's pretty good, but I saw some issues. He moved quickly, many girls didn't take notes, only a few participate, and one girl couldn't write. He was reviewing the ABCs, greetings, and the verb "to be." No one new anything. The alphabet was mutilated. I'll be teaching objects in the classroom like "desk" and "chair".

All in all, I'm having fun and enjoying my work. I am however looking forward to the break that IST will afford me. Not to mention, the super bowl party and the multi nation Peace Corps softball tournament. More to come....