moving in with a family

I want to tell you a little more about my stay with a PCV. We had such a great time and I learned so much. We went to the beach and met up with some other volunteers. It was so nice to meet people who have gone through the same things that I am going through now. I feel more calm about being here and am again excited to stay. On my visit with the PCV, I also learned that Senegal is a very social country and it is very important to greet everyone and ask them how they are and how their family is, their goat etc. As you can imagine this makes it very hard to get anywhere in a hurry but I suppose this is just a reflection of life here, everything goes much slower. It is too hot to do anything at the height of the day so everyone takes a nap after lunch. Although right now it is a different situation.

It is Ramadan so most of the people are fasting. In the heat this is hard to do so it seems even slower to me right now. It has been very interesting to see this custom and their practices within the faith. I am allowed to eat and drink but it is disrespectful to do so in the presense of someone fasting. They still feed us in the training center but tomorrow I will be with my host family all day. I have some food that I will eat in my room. Around 7pm or when the sun goes down we break the fast. It is a big deal. They basically eat 3 meals after sunset. We have tea and bread, then yesterday we had peanuts, then dinner of rice, some kind of meat and sauce. The negatives to this system are that you eat a lot and you dont end up eating dinner until late because they space out the three courses. By dinner I am exausted. And they are ready to go all night long. Yay for ear plugs.

I have been a part of this tratition because I moved in with a host family. I have one Mom (some people have multiple moms) a dad, a couple of teenage boys who are on vacation so I havent met them, a couple of sisters(one is my age and has at least one kid), there are some little kids around too. It is confusing who belongs to who. I will figure it out soon. my mom speaks french and wolof so there is a bit of a communication barrier but not too bad. She is teaching me some wolof too. They gave me a Senegalese name; Mami Awa and my last name is Cissé. It is nice being with a family. I have my own room, but I can go into the living room and hang with the fam. they cook and do my laundry too. Last night they invited me into the kitchen and I saw them prepare our dinner. I imagine I will start to help out around the house more and more.

Aside from getting my host family yesterday we were also assigned a language to learn. I am going to learn Wolof. My french somehow was good enough to get to live with a family where no one speaks english. Some trainees are learning smaller native languages so I am happy that I am learning one national language. Ok well my time is up here so I am going to run. Send me some emails and let me know what you all are up to! talk to you soon!

demystification

This one is going to be short because I dont want to hog the computer. I just wanted to let you know that all is well and I am having a really good time. I have been trying to upload some photos but is is just too slow right now.

The past few days I have been out visiting a PCV. It was great to get into a village and see more of Senegal then the training center. I stayed in a hut and lived with no running water or electricity. We traveled around a bit and saw some towns and went to the beach today. I have met some amazing people and cant say enough about how excited i am about starting out in my own village in my own program. I go back to the training center tomorrow and meet my host family on Friday. I will write again soon!

Jai arrivé

I made it. The 2 days in philly went well. I got to meet all of the people I am now in Sénégal with. We had a lot of fun doing ice breakers and going out to eat our last american meals for a while. After going to the clinic for shots; we hopped on a bus to NY and then got on the plane. The flight over here wasnt bad. Of course I didnt sleep much so I arrived to a full day of activity exausted.

we all made it through immigration and coustoms and got on a bus to thies. we were greated with drums and singing which got my blood flowing and i woke me up a bit. I was honestly so tired that i dont really remember what we did yesterday... met our teachers; did some paper work. i did get a chance to take a little nap. we ate dinner and then went to bet under the mosquito net.

breakfast is from 7 to 8. We had bread and jam and tea: then we had a class called survival wolof. learned greetings. then we had a session on medical stuff and got our medical kits which have everything we could possibly need. We were joind by the ambassador for lunch. we ate millet and fish and had an apple for dessert. It wasnt bad. everything has a little bit of spice. I guess what we eat isnt as weird as how we eat. We take our shoes off sit on a mat and all eat out of a big bowl. for right now we use spoons but we are going to learn how to use our hands. ok well i have just been informed that it is time to eat again so i am off. i am just getting used to a new keyboard so bare with me. lots of love

off to Philly

I am going to Philly tomorrow! I have had a great send off weekend. I got to go to happy hour in Fredericksburg then to a little gathering just for me! We didn't let the rain stop us for hanging around the campfire. Thanks Eddie and Erin for being great hosts! I had a very nice time and it was hard to leave. Last night, I had a nice dinner with the fam and ate some great food including home made (thanks dad) pumpkin cheesecake...yum.

Today, I just packed up my stuff. I think tomorrow we will take some photos so you can see me and my luggage. I think I did pretty good. In no particular order here is the list:

pillow, double sheet set, pillow cases, sleeping bag, wash cloth, hand towel, towel, shortwave radio, journals, fleece, rain coat, French-English/English-French dictionary, French phrase book, pocket world atlas, pocket US atlas, guide to Africa, decks of playing cards, books, sudoku book, calculator, map of Senegal, map of West Africa, map of US, map of the world, Mp3 player, USB key, goggles, combination lock, address book, small photo album, folders, bandanas, scarves, socks, bathing suit, water bottles, short sleeve Ts, spandex shorts, running shorts, pj pants, pj capris, pj top, tank tops, long sleeve shirts, long skirts, linen pants, khakis, jeans, capri pants, zip from sweat shirt, sports bras, bras, panties, stuff sacks, space bags, sneakers, flip flops, Crocs, pens, colored pencils, markers, stickers, monthly planner, small notebook, plain drawing paper, envelopes, US stamps, legal pad, head lamp, money belt, hat, hair ties, tape, scissors, shampoo/conditioner, sunscreen, face wash, face cream, cream, bug spray, anti-itch gel, floss, toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, gum chapstick, ear plugs, eye drops, ear drops, pads, band-aids, carabiners, Uno, Skipbo, LCR, frisbee, nerf balls, flash light, measuring tape, pocket knife, sewing kit, kool-aid, gifts for host family, toilet paper, thermarest, solar powered battery charger, work gloves, 6 months of prescription meds, 18 passport photos, Peace Corps paperwork.

I am sure that I am missing a couple of things but the list is long enough. And it all fits within the guidelines that the PC gave me...yay! Thanks to everyone who helped me get all my lists together and purchase all the goods that will accompany me on my big adventure! I will miss you all terribly but look forward to your emails and letters. Lots of love - B

Photos

Just a quick note to let you know that I now have a link to my photos. (click My Photos under the Links heading)

4 days to go

Ok, I have been really bad with keeping this up-to-date but you will have to get used to it because I might not have the internet very often in Senegal. There has been a lot going on as you can imagine. Last weekend I went down to good old Fredericksburg for a party. Everyone at my former office came out and we BBQed, played pool (of course I won) and said our goodbyes. It was a very nice time and I want to thank Stacey, Dale and the pups for hosting it :)

The past week I have been getting the rest of my stuff together....Passing info off to my parents, and laying out the rest of my belongings that I am taking with me. I am good to go now. I weighed my bags yesterday and I have about 77 pounds which is right under my weight limit of 80 pounds. I am very excited, anxious, nervous and sad to be leaving for so long and soooo soon. Mostly I am excited; I can't wait to meet new people and have tons of new experiences.

I have a busy weekend before I am off to Philly. I am going down to Fredericksburg again for another party...Should be an excellent time. I cant wait to see everyone but I am sure it is going to be hard to say goodbye. Then I have a relaxing evening planned with the fam and friends on Saturday. I am also going to load some photos up on this thing. I want a practice run before I do it in Senegal. I am sure that there are lots of other last minute things that will come up too before Monday. I am going to run but I will surely be back before I take off!

12 days to go

Time is flying! I had a very nice time in Boston visiting with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I moved out of my apartment with very little hassle thanks to my parents willingness to help. We even managed to load the big red chair and it has now found a home in my parents basement. My bedroom here is definitely still a mess...most of my apartment ended up in my little bedroom here so I have some work to do.

Last weekend I went to Ohio...saw a few friends and yes their dogs :) I had a really great time both at the b'day party on Friday night and the football game on Saturday night.

I have been in touch with a couple people who have been or still are in Senegal with the Peace Corps. They have had some great advice for me. I have been taking their words of wisdom and working on my packing list. I almost have everything that I think I am going to need. Some of you have been asking me what to send me in care packages. Here is a short list...

dried fruit
beef jerky
candies (that won't melt)
books (I like history non-fiction usually but if you read something good then pass it on)
game books (sudoku, word finds)

I don't know really what else I am going to need/want until I get there but I will definitely keep you posted. I really appreciate everyone already interested in sending me packages. It would help if you had my address so here it is...

PCT Bridget Robinson
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 299
Thies, Senegal
West Africa

This is my address for training so only for the first two months. Remember to write "Air Mail" and "Par Avion" on the outside of the envelope. Also remember that it could take several weeks for me to receive your mail. (you can always start sending me mail now)
That's all for now! (I will write soon...my parents finally got DSL)