feb 23

there isnt too much to report here. We had a good time together for the last night in Thies and I have made plans to meet up with a people pretty soon. I am going to head back to site tomorrow and stay there until who knows when. I guess there has been some violence from the election protests but only in Dakar so far. again all should be fine. It is kind of exciting to be here around this time to witness how an election works first hand. I am pretty sure that the current president Wade will win again. There are rumors of behind the scene transactions that have been made to secure the presidents future. I don't know I just stay away from all political things. Well i am going to run. hope all is well.

end of IST

Well that is it for me and agfo training. The past few days we have had a couple of good field trips to see some nice agroforestry technologies in use. Yesterday we went on a seed collecting trip so we have a base to start from when we do our tree nurseries. There are some mean thorny species here and my fingers got a bit chewed up.

After all this training they tell me that I am ready to serve. I dont know if I feel ready but I guess I just have to jump right in. I am sad to leave Thies and my friends but I now have a bunch of things to look forward to in the near future. tonight we are going out for a bit and then we are all staying at the training center. Some time in the morning I will head back to Kaolack and run errands in town before I head back to my site on friday.

I have submitted a proposal to go up to Richard Toll and work with Bryn on a garden and tree nursery. If that works out I could be up there for a week. The new training group comes into country the 15 of March so then I wont be a newbie anymore. That will be a really great feeling. Running out of time now but I should get back before I go to the village.

WAIST

Western Africa Invitational Softball Tournament- aka beer league softball tournament with peace corps volunteers and ex-patriots from all over west africa. It was the most white people I have seen in one place in a long time. I got to eat hot dogs and doritos and wear short shorts not to mention play a little softball and swim in a pool. all in all it was a good weekend. The Kaolack region had a team and we made it all the way to the semi finals but we lost so i think that put us in 4th place. Pretty good for not having practiced. I also played a little bit for the Dakar region B team because they didnt have enough people. I didnt have any spectacular plays and i didnt make any huge mistakes either so I was happy.

Friday night We went out in dakar for Thai food (which was a nice change) and then we went to a bar where most of the other Senegal volunteers were. Saturday night I went out to Indian food with a could other people that was really good too. It is really great that dakar has all these things to offer. Volunteers who came in from other countries were saying how they have nothing like we have in dakar. There was also a big party on saturday night at this club that is right on the beach. The party was for all Peace corps volunteers. as you can imagine some people got a little crazy. Mauritania is a dry country so those volunteers went all out. We danced and socalized until the early hours in the morning. last night just went out to a local cheap place in dakar and then went to a swanky expensive bar for a little bit. We got back to thies late last night. It was a fun, expensive and tiring weekend.

Today we went to Mboro on a field trip. it is a city that is on the Nyes. It is an ecological region in senegal that has a series of dunes and valleys. It has great soil and a lot of trees and nice looking gardens. We walked around for a bit and learned some stuff about fruit trees and pruning. It was a good thing we were out and about today because otherwise we would have all fallen asleep in the classroom.

So on the news front... there was a coup in Guinea and now the country is under martial law. all the peace corps volunteers there have been pulled out and are hanging out in Mali. It is a really strange reality to be here for this and since Senegal is a neighboring country I need to pay attention. Also it is a reality check that I do indeed live in West Africa and however stable things appear to be you never know. Right now I dont feel any effects from this but I imagine I will soon. Senegal will probably get some refugees who sneak across the boarder and some could make it up to Kaolack. Peace Corps Senegal will absorb a couple of volunteers.

More close to home... there is a presidential election here for the first time in 7 years. here is a news clip I got in my email today--
Many in Senegal are concerned that the country's largely peaceful history at the polls is about to be shattered. So far no one has been killed or suffered major injuries, but every day of this week has seen incidents such as stone throwing, street battles between mobs of campaign supporters, and the houses of politicians being burned and attacked. Observers fear politicians are setting the stage for real bloodshed, particularly in the weeks after the polls when the results are announced. "Each major candidate is firing up his supporters to believe that if they don't win then there was fraud," says Dominika Koter a Ph.D candidate at Yale University. To deal with the uncertainty, Senegal's security forces say they are on full alert to guard against all possible violent outcomes. "I think everyone knows that the police and gendarmie cannot do it properly alone," said military spokesman Colonel Antoine Wardini. "We'll deploy at least one or two soldiers at each voting booth and a light contingent in larger voting stations."

I am on stand fast the day of the election until the Peace Corps lifts this security level. What that means is we are not allowed to leave our village until we recieve notice that it is ok. (and in theory we are supposed to have a bag packed so that we could if need be begin the steps to evacuation) It starts the day of the election. sundy the 25 feb and goes until who knows. no violence is expected on voting day but some is expected the day the results are released which should be about 5 days after the election itself. Now with that said everything should be fine and the safest place for me to be is in my village where people know me. No need to worry.

ok thats all from me for now. I am headed back to the house for some dinner then to bed to catch up on my sleep.

Dakar

Hey all! I had a great weekend at the beach. We went to Popinguine and rented a house. There were about 40 of us there...it was pretty crazy. We got to lay on the beach and do little bit of swimming. the water was really cold and the waves were huge. they were probably 10 ft high at points and were crashing right on the beach. It was neat to see but not too fun to swim in. There were some french volunteers around too so Saturday night they all came up to our house and we had some beers and hung out. There was a camp fire on the beach too. It was a good time. Sunday at the before we went back to Thies I lost a filling. I was just trying to have good dental health and was flossing and the filling popped out.

Back in Thies... I went to classes yesterday morning (we took a field trip to a banana plantation that was not doing too well) and ate lunch at the center. The food there is so great. We had chicken and pasta with veggies. After lunch I went for a little walk and went to a boutique to gret some credit for my phone. (we pay for minutes here instead of having a monthly plan) On my way home I ran into a bunch of little kids. They had just gotten off of school and were going home for lunch. I said high as I passed and they seemed to be pretty normal you know calling me a toubob(white person) and asking me for money. All this happens probably once a day at least if I am in the city so I didnt think anything of it. well when I was about 30 feet away from them I heard and felt some sand and small rocks fall around/on me. I turned around and yelled at the kids to stop where they were and to come back and talk to me. Well they all started to run except for one little boy probably 8 who picked up a rock the size of a baseball and threw it at me. He would have hit me but I saw it coming and moved. He ran away and I ran after him but I couldnt get him. After the fact it was probably a good thing i couldnt catch him because i was real pissed and in all honestly would have hit him...which is no good. I also thought I should have followed him home and talked with his mother. That still would have lead to a beating. It really sucked. Especially since I was right outside the training center. The Peace Corps will hear about the incident this afternoon.

Right now I am in Dakar because I have a Dentist appointment this morning in a little bit. I got here all by myself through public transportation but since I made it to the center I have not left. I stayed in the Med Hut last night with a couple other people and we ordered delivery. Being in the city has other benefits like a hot shower. I took my first real hot shower in 5 months last night. It was quite nice. Now I must go I have to find my way to the dentist by myself because there are no Peace Corps cars avaliable to take me. Should be interesting. Hope all is well!

its a worm

yes thats right I have a worm in my tummy. His name is Ernie and he will be gone soon. I have a list of fairly classic symptoms which are not too pleasent so i will not describe them for you. Treatment is one pill which I will take tonite and that should be it. i cant wait to get rid of him.

As for everything else...Training is going well. we have spent the last two days grafting mangos and citrus trees. it was fun to be outside and doing some tree work finally. I managed to make it without any battle wounds while others were not so lucky. fortunately no fingers were lost. The agroforestry people are really great and we have been taking about collaborating a lot on projects which means I will be able to travel around the country. I started training with very little motivation but every day gets a little better. It is making me much happier. Plus we are in a go go go lifestyle right now which I thrive on so I (other than the worm) am happy.

We have also been out and about a lot to socalize. I did get to watch the superbowl but mostly I slept through it. This week I bought some fabric so I could get some shirts made. and yesterday I got the shirts back from the tailor. they are just simple tank tops but they are great and stylish for senegal. Each one total for fabric and the tailoring was less than 2 dollars. It is great. I think getting clotes made will be my new therapy here like going shopping in the states.

I think i am headed to the beach this weekend with a few people. tough life right? I know i am forgetting to tell you a story (which is really bugging me)so I will have to get back to you when i remember. for now my time is almost up. Hope all is well and i will talk to you soon!

first days of classes

there isnt really a whole lot to report. it has been really nice to see everyone but i havent really had time to talk with many people about their lives. I think for the most part everyone is adjusting as well as can be expected to life in the village. it has been hard for everyone. My wolof class is full of village volunteers all from the Kaolack region. We have all aquired this weird cow-cow (hillbilly) vocabulary and accent and our teacher thinks we are funny. Just like the states wolof has a variety of accents depending on where you live.

It is great to be in Thies except i have been really tired because of the change of schedule and some issues with my stomach. when i know more about that i will let you know. But Thies has everything, good food(the best burger I have had in Senegal), icecream, a swimming pool (that we are going to try to go to tomorrow). My family here eats so well, the kids are clean and going to be well educated. Thies is also growing like crazy and places that were clean 2 months ago are now large trash piles. there is just no place to get rid of trash here. oh well it is still a good city.

We have this afternoon and tomorrow off from classes. I took a nap and now i am doing stuff on the internet (even the internet here is faster--maybe i will try to load photos later). we are headed out to eat tonight and a fancyish french restaurant. then to the pool tomorrow inchallah(god willing). I think we are going to try to watch the superbowl too. there is a hotel here where all the US military stay when they are in town to train the senegalese military--we are thinking they might have the game via satellite.

ok well thats all for me. sorry if my english is terrible. I feel like i have lost all ability to speak/write in english. Bes bu nekk damay wax ci wolof rekk. (every day i speak in wolof only.) I hope all is well. Ba beneen yoon! (until the next time)

Thies

Well I am back in Thies for 3 weeks. I am very happy to be here. It has been nice so far to hang out with my family and see all my friends again. My thoughts about the city have changed dramatically since last time I was here. People here are educated and wear nice clothes and generally have a lot compared to the village. I ate rice and fish for dinner which has only happened one time in the village. It was a nice change from the millet and sauce I usually have. I am already looking forward to lunch today at the center, get some meat and veggies.

This morning I had a wolof test to see what progress we have made over the past 2 months. I think it went fine. For the rest of training I have to look forward to a few more language classes and a lot of training in agro-forestry. I hope we will get some motivational talks too. The volunteers who have been here for 1.5 years are coming in so it should be good to hear all their thoughts on volunteer life and development in Senegal.

Before I came here I spent 4 days in Kaolack. It was really nice to cook and watch movies and relax before the craziness of training. While I was there we had a regional meeting and I am now the newest regional representative to the Volunteer Advisory Council. It is a group of volunteers and administration that meets once a quarter in Dakar. It gives me an excuse to go to Dakar and get out of the village. Doesnt hurt that one of my good friends Bryn is also her regions representative. I am excited about this role.

I guess thats about all for now. I will have email access every day for the next couple of weeks so send me some updates about life in the states.