What a say say

Yes I have discovered the name for joker in Wolof (say say), the funny thing is its a common expression here. So of course I use it on a daily basis!
I am back at the training center after my first week at our homestay sites. My village is called Bayakh, it's relatively small, one main road with little stands and shops lining the sides. I am living with a Senegalese family and they are awesome! I feel so lucky to have been placed with them. I have a mother, father and nine siblings. My two older sisters no longer live at home, they are married with their own families. I have three older brothers around my age and then two sisters and a brother ranging from around twelve to sixteen. The youngest is a boy who is about five and so adorable even if he is a little bit naughty. The family was very welcoming when I arrived last Monday. I have my own room with a bed and desk. I even feel spoiled because we have electricity most of the time and running water, plus a shower head! No bucket baths for me (yet)! The "toilet" is a bit interesting to get used to, but so far it has been fine.
I have five other girls living in my village. We spend most of the day in class learning language, cultural customs, and working on our garden at the primary school. In Senegal people speak a number of local languages including Wolof, and those that go to school are taught only in French. Some people know a little bit of english, but it is usually just a few phrases or what they have heard through American music. The funniest thing is how much TV everyone watches, whether it be Indian soap operas, futbol, or Senegalese wrestling matches!
The biggest challenge by far is communication. I have retained little french and have barely began Wolof, so it is very interesting trying to talk to my family and convey what I need. Overall though, the experience has been positive. I learn more everyday and say a few phrases and words in Wolof to my family's delight. A lot of time I just hang out and listen to their conversations and try to pick up a word here or there. They laugh a lot and encourage me to learn more words. My main form of communication is a lot of thumbs up, nodding, smiling, laughing or shrugging my shoulders. It is hard, but definitely not unbearable. Our next trip back to the village on Wednesday will be the real test as we will spend 12 nights there before we come back to the Training Center. It will be a lot of back and forth from the center to village over the next 8 weeks.
Overall everything is going well and I will be happy to really learn the language and be able to communicate more effectively.

Officially a Toubab

I am officially in Senegal! My training group is Health/Environmental Education and there are 48 trainees. I am doing EE, but there is a lot of overlap with health. So far it feels like a weird mixture between kindergarten and college. Staging in DC was pretty quick with a crash course on PC policies, safety and what not. The flight over to Dakar was not bad, only about 7 hours. We are currently in the Thies training center, a large compound of different buildings within the city. Our first day we had different informational sessions about our three months of pre-service training (PST) which includes components in language, technical, health, and culture. We also had three interviews in tech, language, and health to help the staff decide where to place us for our permanent sites. The first couple of days we were not allowed to leave the training center and it was kind of like vacation. The weather is so nice, cool in the mornings and evenings (borderline cold) and warm during the days. Most down time is spent in the open-air "Disco Hut" enjoying the weather and hanging out. The food is awesome, but we are totally being spoiled, as the food will not be as good once we leave the training center. In the morningg it is a baguette and tea, lunch is usually some kind of rice with vegetables and a protein with the most amazing sauces. Lunch is served in a giant bowl on a mat on the floor where everyone crowds around and eats with a spoon. There are so many rules that go along with eating, I hope I don't offend anyone! Dinners are usually more americanized, but good. The dishes all have a little spice to them, making them extra tasty! Tomorrow we go to our homestay sites for about 2 1/2 months. We all found out today what language we will be learning and what village we will be in near Thies. I will be learning Wolof, the most popular language in Senegal and I will be in a village of about 700 people with 5 other volunteers. Our site is near the beach and a lake, so I am super excited about that! It will be very intersting being thrown in with a Senegalese family, with little French and hardly any Wolof. I know some of the many greetings necessary everyday, but that's about it! Wish me luck, hopefully I will survive the week!