Mid-Service Fun

Here in Peace Corps-land, after you've been in Senegal for one year, it's time to drop everything, come to Dakar and make sure you're healthy. Relatively so, at least. All volunteers are required to undergo a mid-service medical exam consisting of a complete physical and dental exam. It's about as much fun as it sounds, but it's a good excuse to come to Dakar and relax for a few days and also an example of how amazing our health coverage is here. I am getting very used to full medical coverage and going back to the states after Peace Corps is going to be an experience....

Peace Corps pays us once every three months and the end of November is the end of month number three (ie: I havent been paid since late August). My budgeting skills as they are, I am extremely close to broke and so can't actually afford to go out in Dakar with the other volunteers, but am cooking lots of yummy meals and catching up on my movie watching. I am very much looking forward to this next pay period.

Obama Mooy Sama Président

Wolof phrase of the day: Obama is my president (see above). I could not be happier to come home to America with Barak Obama as my president next year. The reaction to his victory has been amusing here in Senegal. Mainly because EVERYONE knows the result. Some people may have pretended not to be paying attention to the US race for the White House, but as soon as Obama won, EVERYONE and their mother came over to my house to discuss the news and get my feelings on a black man as president. One man yesterday actually told me I had to make sure to keep the Republicans out of power, so perhaps there was one person here who hasn't heard, but I think he's alone. Another thing that I found really interesting was the Senegaleses reaction. Every single person started off by congratulating me. My family and friends here know I voted for Obama, but everyone else is congratulating me without even asking who I voted for. I can't really explain it, I just find the whole congratulatory thing strange. I appreciate their enthusiasm and boy are the Senegalese excited about Barak Obama!! My host mom has completely forgotten about telling me that if he won he would certainly be assasinated by racists and encouraging me to vote for Clinton and is singing his praises and congratulating me all day long. Barak Obama has some high standards to live up to here in Africa. Even more so in the United States....

In other news, I mentioned last entry that I had two university students staying with me for a week as part of their program. It's called a "rural visit" and every student spends one week of the program outside of Dakar either with a Peace Corps Volunteer or an NGO worker depending on their interests after university. I ended up with a student from UC Boulder and another from Occidental College in LA. Both were amazing. We had a very good time together and I think they were pretty relieved to not be in a village for their rural visits. They sat in on my computer classes in Thiès, got to witness firsthand me showing up for meetings only to have the other party not show up (which is beginning to feel like the majority of my work here), hung out with some Senegalese friends here in town, taste some of Pout's lovely fruit (it is after all what we're known for) and make some nice American food to boot. After two months of cebb u jenn, everyone could use a good plate of pasta, regardless of how tasty cebb u jenn is.

So yeah, a good time was had by all. I came in with them to Dakar this morning for a medical appointment on Monday. Having been here 14 months already (but who's counting?) I am due for my mid-service physical and dentist appointment. I am interested to see what all of this sugar in the attaya I drink here has done to my teeth...

Election Madness

You would think that living in a small farming town in West Africa would make me pretty out of touch as far as the US election goes, but there has been a surprising amount of coverage. Senegal's national TV station, RTS 1, has been providing a lot of coverage and there's always the internet. Walking through the Dakar market, we saw loads of Obama t-shirts (no McCain t-shirts for some reason...). Everyone here is supporting Barak Obama, mostly because he's African. Some don't like Bush and see McCain as the same, but yet again mostly Obama is black and the Senegalese are really excited about the possibility of a black president. I have been asked multiple times today who I am voting for, and am always met with a grin when I say Barak Obama. I sent my absentee ballot in 5 weeks ago, so I'm hoping that it arrived safely in Murfreesboro. I'm pretty sure it won't be counted, but I can't complain about who wins if I didn't vote, right?

Right now I am sitting in a hotel conference room in the fanciest hotel in Thies where they have set up chairs and mattresses and most importantly a tv with sattelite connection so that we can watch the non-stop coverage on CNN International. There is a restaurant attached to the hotel so we're pretty much set. The entire new stage (40 volunteers) is here as well as those volunteers who live nearby and the two university students that are visiting me in Pout for the week to see what exactly Peace Corps volunteers do as they are both looking into Peace Corps after graduating. More about our adventures later.

Just wanted to post something on Election Day before I know who my next president will be to let you all know that I do have constant english language news coverage, so you can stop worrying. :)

Allez Obama!!!