Five week challenge accomplished! Its been a whirlwind since swear-in back in May. When I arrived in my village for install I was greeted by a large group of villagers in front of my family's compound drumming and dancing. It was a bit overwhelming at first to be thrust into a new village and new family, especially with my lack of Wolof skills. I am happy to say my new family is great and I really like them. After the first couple of weeks with them I felt comfortable and at home. I have a Dad and two Moms with siblings ranging from ages 30- 13, 2 nephews and 1 niece. There are 12 people living in my family compound with five huts people live in, one storage hut, one kitchen hut, and one new hut. We have a lot of sheep (including two new-borns), goats, chickens, ducks, pigeons, a cat, and a parrot. My hut is pretty large compared to the other huts and consists of concrete floor and walls with a thatched roof. I have my own private backyard with latrine where I have my tree nursery and eventually my garden. I have been doing home improvement projects to my hut: cement work, installing screen doors, painting, and decorating. My hut now feels like a home!
Most of my days are pretty uneventful and usually consist of me sitting just outside the family compound under the huge Neem tree. I either chat with my family, read, study Wolof, or just sit. The worst part of the five weeks have been lack of activities. The combination of boredom and unbearable heat have been killer. For meals I eat breakfast on my own which usually consists of bread with peanut butter or a bean sandwich. Lunch and dinner I eat with my family. Sometimes I go to the field with my brother or moms and do some gardening, which is nice. I have visited a few other villages nearby as well. I spend most of my time reading, which is really nice. My favorite time of day is in the evening when its breezy and cool. There's no electricity in my village so the stars are very bright and clear, very peaceful.
One day as I was sitting under the tree outside the compound my Dad comes over and hands me a chewed up corner of a paper and says that the sheep got into my hut. Apparently they just strolled right in scavenging for food and decided my Peace Corps security form looked tasty. They devoured all six pages! For once the excuse became a reality. The animals just seem to love me here in Senegal, first a hedge hog, now sheep and lizards, mice and assortment of bugs make daily visits.
This past week I traveled to my friend CJ's village to meet up with her and two other volunteers in my language group for a four day language seminar. It was nice to get away and hang out with some Americans. We worked on our Wolof, milked some cows, and pulled water from the well, all in all a good week. On Friday we headed to Kaolack to spend the weekend at the regional house to celebrate the end of the five week challenge. It is so nice to have electricity, internet, showers, and regular food! I have been stuffing myself with cheese and salami sandwiches, banana bread, and amazing calzones! I head back to village tomorrow after a relaxing weekend with my fellow volunteers.
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| Carrying water from the well |
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| Milking my first cow |
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| Not easy to milk a cow! |
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| CJ with a day old calf |
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| First storm of the rainy season in Kaolack |
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| Calzones! |
