I had a totally productive day lined up yesterday with two classes and a meeting when Joey came into town and convinced me to leave site for the day to go to N'Ice Cream, an American style ice cream shop here in Dakar. Why would I cancel my appointments to go to Dakar for ice cream, you ask? Had you been on the outskirts of the sahara without any ice cream for the past nine months and you might understand. I had never been but everyone always talks about it and now I know why. I am in on the secret. It was wonderful!!! I had two scoops with whipped cream and sprinkles. For anyone who is thinking "but Mandi has been complaining about weight gain in Africa, why would she gorge herself on ice cream?"....fuck off. I am just trying to remain sane. And so, less than 24 hours later, my sanity restored, I am headed back to Pout to have a meeting with some potential work partners. One week left to kill until the 4th of July party down in Kedougou.
Two days ago I received a call from my first host family in Thiès, who I never really got on with, telling me that my younger host brother who was 14 drowned last weekend. I havent even seen the family in seven months out of my nine months here and now I feel horrible about it. Its so sad. I will go visit them this next week with another volunteer to give my condolences and some money to the family, which I understand is what is expected here. I also need to learn the expressions of sympathy I have scribbled somewhere in a Wolof notebook. I know that there are many Americans who think that Africans deal with so much death that surely its not the same as in America, but that's not true. When a Senegalese dies there is just as much hurt as anywhere else in the world. The only difference is the language that the mourning is done in. In nine months here this is the second person I know that has died (the first being a Peace Corps employee who died in a car accident while I was still in training). I find it horribly upsetting but am trying to deal with it in a culturally sensitive way and then move on. After all, that is what life is all about.
6.26.2008
6.18.2008
I'm Not Dead Yet
Sorry if its been awhile but I definately went through a two week stint where I wasn't online once. I do live in Senegal, after all. I can't be too connected. Things are going really well and I've been busy.
Had my consultation with Saër, the entrepeneur last Wednesday and it went well. He wants to submit a business plan to a local bank to finance a fruit and vegetable intermediary business to get financing and so my first meeting with him we just reformatted the business plan and I gave him a list of things to add to the business plan, such as a SWOT analysis and marketing study, and will check back up on him this week. Actually made the appointment for today, but am in Dakar at the moment, so will have to call and reschedule.
Other than that I have been spending most of my time at the youth library. We hit the halfway mark last week. 2500 books entered in the last two months. Have I really been working on this for two months? I hope to really focus on this work and get the next half done in by the end of July. It could be my birthday present to myself: the gift of a successfully completed project! We'll see how that goes.
Spent an entire day last week at the high school where they were putting on a Café Litéraire, or a coffee-shop forum on a piece of literature by a Senegalese author. The students made presentations about the piece, everyone got coffee (it was actually coffee Touba, which they make with tea and I think is vile) and doughnuts and there was a huge debate. It went really well and even the mayor showed up to participate. I think the students were all very pleased. I am supposed to speak with Mme. Diallo at the high school about working with her on her girls group there.
Had another meeting of my girls group on Friday where we played a game on saying no to sexual pressure and then talked about making good decisions using little scenarios that the girls had to make decisions for. This week will be my last meeting with them until the start of the next school year. After work on Friday I went to Popenguine for a party with some other Peace Corps volunteers on the beach. An excuse to bum around on the beach, get away from site and to get to know the new kids who have just sworn in as volunteers last month.
Monday morning had my first meeting with the womens groups to teach IT. We had a two hour lesson and I am going back on Friday. I will be in Thiès twice a week for the next who knows how long. Looking forward to it. They are very nice and super motivated to learn, which makes my job just a little bit easier.
And thats what I do for a living. In Dakar at the moment hanging out with one of my friends who is leaving for the states this weekend. I will miss her loads. Looking forward to getting back to site today, picking up some mangoes and getting back to work tomorrow. OK, Im looking forward to the mangoes more than my work, but still.
Had my consultation with Saër, the entrepeneur last Wednesday and it went well. He wants to submit a business plan to a local bank to finance a fruit and vegetable intermediary business to get financing and so my first meeting with him we just reformatted the business plan and I gave him a list of things to add to the business plan, such as a SWOT analysis and marketing study, and will check back up on him this week. Actually made the appointment for today, but am in Dakar at the moment, so will have to call and reschedule.
Other than that I have been spending most of my time at the youth library. We hit the halfway mark last week. 2500 books entered in the last two months. Have I really been working on this for two months? I hope to really focus on this work and get the next half done in by the end of July. It could be my birthday present to myself: the gift of a successfully completed project! We'll see how that goes.
Spent an entire day last week at the high school where they were putting on a Café Litéraire, or a coffee-shop forum on a piece of literature by a Senegalese author. The students made presentations about the piece, everyone got coffee (it was actually coffee Touba, which they make with tea and I think is vile) and doughnuts and there was a huge debate. It went really well and even the mayor showed up to participate. I think the students were all very pleased. I am supposed to speak with Mme. Diallo at the high school about working with her on her girls group there.
Had another meeting of my girls group on Friday where we played a game on saying no to sexual pressure and then talked about making good decisions using little scenarios that the girls had to make decisions for. This week will be my last meeting with them until the start of the next school year. After work on Friday I went to Popenguine for a party with some other Peace Corps volunteers on the beach. An excuse to bum around on the beach, get away from site and to get to know the new kids who have just sworn in as volunteers last month.
Monday morning had my first meeting with the womens groups to teach IT. We had a two hour lesson and I am going back on Friday. I will be in Thiès twice a week for the next who knows how long. Looking forward to it. They are very nice and super motivated to learn, which makes my job just a little bit easier.
And thats what I do for a living. In Dakar at the moment hanging out with one of my friends who is leaving for the states this weekend. I will miss her loads. Looking forward to getting back to site today, picking up some mangoes and getting back to work tomorrow. OK, Im looking forward to the mangoes more than my work, but still.
6.06.2008
Tostan Trainings
Today started off with the plan of coming into Thies to meet with the womens groups that I plan to work with here, pick up my two new dresses from the tailor and give a session on training Senegalese to work with IT at a training being put on for a local NGO. In true Senegalese fashion, one of those has worked out. My dresses arent ready yet, the woman I was supposed to meet with at the womens groups didnt show up, but luckily the NGO training went really well. There are 6 new volunteers in, one of whom was a pcv in Morocco recently, all of whom are really great, so Chris and I went over to their training and put on a two hour training session. We mostly discussed cultural differences that have to be taken into account when preparing training sessions here. It went really well. Afterwards had a nice lunch and then hung out before coming over to Chris's to use the internet and then planning on going home for some much needed rest.
Spent the day in Tivaoune yesterday with Daniel meeting with a womans group there who might be interested in doing some basic business trainings. One of the things the Senegalese have mastered is asking for things. Its mostly in jest, but if the Senegalese like something (say an article of clothing) they ask for it. I always tell them I will give them what they asked for as I keep on walking. Its really a kind of joke. So, thinking that I have this whole joke figured out, I comment on a womans earrings and ask for them. To my surprise, she takes them out of her ears and puts them in mine. To take them out would be a huge insult to her, but these are her earrings, I dont want to steal them!!! So now I have a brand new pair of pulaar earrings that are really cool, but I feel like I stole them from a woman who sells mangoes on the side of the road. I feel like such a jerk!! I was only kidding!! This speaks wonders about Senegalese generosity, as it should. People here truly will give you the shirt off their back if you ask for it. Or, as in this case, the earrings out of their ears.
Spent the day in Tivaoune yesterday with Daniel meeting with a womans group there who might be interested in doing some basic business trainings. One of the things the Senegalese have mastered is asking for things. Its mostly in jest, but if the Senegalese like something (say an article of clothing) they ask for it. I always tell them I will give them what they asked for as I keep on walking. Its really a kind of joke. So, thinking that I have this whole joke figured out, I comment on a womans earrings and ask for them. To my surprise, she takes them out of her ears and puts them in mine. To take them out would be a huge insult to her, but these are her earrings, I dont want to steal them!!! So now I have a brand new pair of pulaar earrings that are really cool, but I feel like I stole them from a woman who sells mangoes on the side of the road. I feel like such a jerk!! I was only kidding!! This speaks wonders about Senegalese generosity, as it should. People here truly will give you the shirt off their back if you ask for it. Or, as in this case, the earrings out of their ears.
6.03.2008
June is Off to a Good Start
First off, congratulations to Sarina for finding my blog. I was beginning to worry about you. My address here is:
PCV Mandi Kimberly
B.P. 360
Thies, Senegal
West Africa
Packages are always warmly accepted. :) I will tell you about everything if you send me an email at mandikimberly at yahoo.com. You didnt give me your email address, you know.
In other news, yesterday was really crazy involving a meeting with the principal of the high school to discuss a sexual health weekend to talk about aids and other STDS and promote awareness (something desperately needed in this country as the Senegalese are very squirmish about talking about sex at all. Its very taboo). Its not going to work out this school year, since the students are really busy planning for their exams, but hopefully towards the beginning of the next one. After that I went to the youth library where I seem to have sabotaged my own work by accidentally deleting one of the columns and am just now catching back up with where I left off. Damn.
After lunch I had a meeting with my girls group where we did skits on how to react to peer pressure to drink, smoke and have sex. It was of course after the meeting that someone pointed out that in Senegal it is taboo for women to either smoke or drink, therefore they will probably not be pressured to do so. Perhaps I should have made the lesson more culturally appropriate? At any rate the girls were silly and had fun and if nothing else the sex one was relevent. One out of three is good, right? I found out there are two more weeks in the school year here until summer vacation so I only have to plan out two more lessons. Im actually a little dissappointed, but I know there is no way these girls are having enough fun to sign up to come into school once a week over summer vacation. I am not that inspiring. Or intelligible when I speak. Spent the rest of the evening at the library trying to fix my mistake.
Today am in Thies working with one of my neighbors on a two hour presentation we are giving to American volunteers who have just gotten into Senegal to work with a local NGO on how to train Senegalese in IT. Should be fun. I will head home after lunch and have a consultation with an aspiring entrepeneur (not sure of what, havent heard his idea yet) and then more library fun. And thats my life these days.
PCV Mandi Kimberly
B.P. 360
Thies, Senegal
West Africa
Packages are always warmly accepted. :) I will tell you about everything if you send me an email at mandikimberly at yahoo.com. You didnt give me your email address, you know.
In other news, yesterday was really crazy involving a meeting with the principal of the high school to discuss a sexual health weekend to talk about aids and other STDS and promote awareness (something desperately needed in this country as the Senegalese are very squirmish about talking about sex at all. Its very taboo). Its not going to work out this school year, since the students are really busy planning for their exams, but hopefully towards the beginning of the next one. After that I went to the youth library where I seem to have sabotaged my own work by accidentally deleting one of the columns and am just now catching back up with where I left off. Damn.
After lunch I had a meeting with my girls group where we did skits on how to react to peer pressure to drink, smoke and have sex. It was of course after the meeting that someone pointed out that in Senegal it is taboo for women to either smoke or drink, therefore they will probably not be pressured to do so. Perhaps I should have made the lesson more culturally appropriate? At any rate the girls were silly and had fun and if nothing else the sex one was relevent. One out of three is good, right? I found out there are two more weeks in the school year here until summer vacation so I only have to plan out two more lessons. Im actually a little dissappointed, but I know there is no way these girls are having enough fun to sign up to come into school once a week over summer vacation. I am not that inspiring. Or intelligible when I speak. Spent the rest of the evening at the library trying to fix my mistake.
Today am in Thies working with one of my neighbors on a two hour presentation we are giving to American volunteers who have just gotten into Senegal to work with a local NGO on how to train Senegalese in IT. Should be fun. I will head home after lunch and have a consultation with an aspiring entrepeneur (not sure of what, havent heard his idea yet) and then more library fun. And thats my life these days.
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