So Peter left off at the start of our Popenguine
adventure. In short, it was a
glorious and much-needed reward for 9 weeks of rigorous, weekend-less training.
It really was paradise- beautiful
cliffs, lush vegetation, soft sand, over-the-ocean sunsets, and a more liberal
alcohol culture (meaning drinking wasn't expressly forbidden).
We swam, played Frisbee and football and soccer on the beach, walked, hiked, drank, spoke in English, ate, had some bonfires (we even cooked beach crabs on a bonfire late one night- delish!), napped, read, and ate some more. It was a long overdue break from the grind of training. Peter and I even got our own room, with a view I might add! The only slight glitch was that the big house/party house, where 40+ of us had to stay, had no running water. Yeah, that part was gross. But it was no match for our resilient crew. Everyone worked together, under the brave leadership of one of our fabulous stage-mates, Katherine, to create gourmet Western meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 2 days, for 60+ people. That included a proper Thanksgiving feast, with 20-something bbq’d chickens, vegetarian and sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin, apple, and chocolate meringue pies!
That is no small feat, especially considering the water and
general kitchen situation! All of the dishes, and showers for that matter, had to
be done either in the ocean or at the “quiet house,” as did much of the prep
work. It was all an exercise in improvisation. Anyone reading this would be shocked with what was
accomplished culinarily, considering we had one mini stove and range, 2 small
fridges, and a very small double sink to work with. Not surprisingly, the septic tank at the quiet house began
to overflow during the second night. Thankfully, nobody had set up a tent on
top of it…
Despite the oncoming bug, everyone who was able showered and donned their finest Senegalese party wear. It was by far the nicest any of us have looked since arriving here, despite the absurdity of the ruffles and embellishments. It was fun to see everyone dressed up. There were also some hilarious unintended matching male/female outfits, of which we had to take prom-esque photos. Oh, and yes, our matching was semi-intentional. The green that our CBT Yaay bought for Peter’s outfit was a very light mint green that would’ve been stained before he got out the door, so he went with my fabric to be safer.
Following the ceremony was a fabulous concert, and many of us are grateful our symptoms held off until after we returned to Thies. A bunch of us were delayed in leaving Thies for our permanent sites because of the bug, including Peter and me. It was pretty surreal, and pretty gross, as there was no soap or toilet paper in any of the bathrooms for days, and the bathrooms (that 60+ people were regularly using) weren’t cleaned for over a week. We never got an answer as to why- budget cuts, maybe? Where the bug came from remains a mystery- food origins were ruled out, as a group of PC Volunteer Leaders who came to the beach with us didn’t share our meals and still got sick. How it spread is less of a mystery given the circumstances… It was a memorable, and in hindsight, funny, way to wrap up such an intense experience. We sure went out with a bang…
In Kaolack, we had a few days to shop for the essentials- big benoirs for carrying water and doing laundry and dishes, a [nice] mattress, pots, pans, dishes, bowls, cups, cutlery, and metal trunks to keep mice out of our stored items. There were three volunteers who came into Kaolack to help us find what we needed and bargain for a fair price. They were saints! In addition to the essentials, we also managed to pick up some fun stuff, like fabric for our screen doors and windows and a small woven Ikea rug that I found at a second-hand linens stall amongst a stack of terry cloth toilet covers. We actually have the same one at home (the rug, I mean), in a different color. Small world! Kaolack has a massive covered market that spans many acres. A former volunteer told me during training that he thinks literally anything you could ever want exists in the Kaolack market, it’s just a matter of finding it. After spending a few days wandering through its myriad alleyways, I believe it! It’s a really cool shopping experience, although Peter is only slightly less miserable there than he is shopping in America. Ho-hum.
Our bed wasn’t yet ready and we didn’t have anything to hang our mosquito net from, so we slept in our tent, in our room, for the first 2 nights in Geo (unfortunately, we didn’t think to take a photo). We jumped right in and cooked lunch for our family during our fourth day in Geo, because our Yaay, our Mom, was sick and we wanted to do something nice for her. We had gotten a bunch of eggplant from my counterpart’s field the day before, so we made an improvised ratatouille. Once the meal was in motion, our father diplomatically informed us that the family doesn’t actually like eggplant, so we kept the sauce on the side. We made spaghetti with caramelized onion sauce (standard fare in Senegal), with “salat American” (chopped up carrots, cukes, and okra in a mustard lime dressing) around the outside. We were also diplomatically informed after the fact that bread should always be served with spaghetti meals, to scoop up the spaghetti and sauce. In Senegal there’s no such thing as too many carbs. Spaghetti sandwiches are a pretty common breakfast item. We’re pretty sure our family hated it (except for our high-school aged cousin, who ate a lot), but they couldn’t have been more sweet or complimentary about it all. They are still bragging to friends and neighbors about our cooking. We are so lucky to have such a demonstratively loving family!
Since those first few days, we have pieced together a cozy new home, and a solid kitchen corner setup. Friday marked the 2-week anniversary of our arrival in Guinguinéo! We have been slowly settling in, resting, getting to know our family and the people and places of Guinguinéo, cooking whatever we want every night (this is incredibly exciting after having no control over our diets for almost 3 months!), and studying Wolof. We’ve also both been a bit under the weather for the past en days or so, both of us with a suspected bout of giardia, me with a head cold, and Peter with allergies (we think largely due to our mouse neighbors, who live in our ceiling). But, we finally have the time and the space to take care of ourselves in the way we need, which feels good. Our primary responsibility for our first 2 months here at site is to improve our language skills, and integrate into our family and our community. I’m feeling like my language progress is suffering due to my foggy sick brain and lack of energy, but I’m trying to take a cue from the Senegalese and be patient and take it slow.
In terms of the layout of our new home, our apartment shares a wall with our family’s home, but we have a separate entrance. We have a spacious porch/bike storage area, which opens into our “big” room that serves as utility closet/kitchen/pantry/study/library/living room/guest bedroom. Our bedroom is beyond this room, and off of our bedroom is our EN SUITE BATHROOM, with a shower (with a water spigot AND shower head!) and a turkish toilet. Our bathroom also serves as our kitchen sink/bathroom sink/laundry room. It’s all multi-functional space! Oh, and it’s cushy! We commissioned a big metal kitchen table and a bench/couch/guest bed to complement the armoire, desk and side table that were here when we arrived.
And on to the new addition to our family that Peter mentioned in his previous post…we brought home a kitten from the market! His name is Happy Cat, a tongue-in-cheek nod to Fritsche family jargon (for handicapped). His front legs curl in at the wrist, in what appears to be a birth defect, so he walks on his wrists. He seems to be happy and healthy, but we’re trying not to get our hopes up too much this early on. He had horrible mango flies when we got him. Check out how swollen his toe was, and how big the hole from the fly was on his pinky toe in the photos below. What are mango flies, and how do they work, you ask? When the fur is wet, the mango fly lays eggs. The larvae that hatch burrow into the skin and feast on the flesh of the host until they grow and metamorphose into a fly and fly away, or until they are extracted by a human. Humans can and do get them too, especially from wearing wet clothing. Feel free to google for more info, but don’t do it while eating. Extracting the larvae was really unpleasant for all involved, but I’m sure our little guy feels a lot better now that he has fewer larvae feasting on his flesh. Hopefully he’ll have a long and healthy life. Our Senegalese family doesn’t really touch him, but they love to talk about him and watch his silly antics. They think he’s hilarious. He really likes to sleep in our shoes, which makes for great photo ops.
We’ve shared some about the Diop family before, but as a reminder, we live here with our Baay (our Dad), our Yaay (our Mom), 4 siblings (Oulimata, 9 f, Soda, 8 f, Falou, 5 m, and Papa Gorré, 3 m), our high school-aged male cousin Ndiaye, our 23 year old female cousin named Maimouna, and our paternal grandmother, Maam Yazin, lives with us part time. It’s a small family for Senegalese standards, and very tight knit. Our family has hosted 3 Peace Corps volunteers before us, and they are extremely open and loving. Every day our Yaay says “Sama xol dafa sed!” It means literally, my heart is cold, and figuratively, I’m really happy. Everyone in our family cycles through our apartment throughout the day to chat and see what we’re up to, and our Yaay and Baay are always up for sitting and chatting with us. Baay speaks fluent Wolof, French and English (to the detriment of our Wolof learning, but to the benefit of our immediate knowledge of him and the family) and while Yaay didn’t benefit from the same educational background (she speaks only Wolof), she is hilarious and witty, and a very strong woman. Our siblings provide constant entertainment (and noise). It’s a joy to be living amongst such an awesome family, and to be able to shut our door when we need some down time. We have the best of both worlds here.
We’re missing all of our family and friends today, on Christmas Eve, and wishing we could teleport to be with you for some holiday cheer! The Hammersley Christmas tradition includes opening all presents (except those from Santa, and stockings, of course) on Christmas Eve, while eating from a delicious spread of shrimp cocktail, filet, fresh-baked butter rolls, and an array of delicious cheeses and crackers. It’s making me drool (and cry a little) to think about it now.
Today, Peter and I improvised, as we are wont to do these days, and opened our presents (sent, with love, from my parents) this morning, while eating homemade egg sandwiches with real mayonnaise and la vache qui rit cheese. A delicious treat! This was all after sleeping in late, waking up slow, and chatting with our family while our father roasted coffee beans and I snuggled with my little sister Soda. It was a good alternative to Christmas in the U.S., although I would kill for some shrimp and filet… The most exciting part of our Christmas, though, is that we’re lucky enough to be able to see and speak with our families over Skype tonight. Having internet access (that is albeit expensive, and a bit unreliable) is a mixed blessing, but today we’re thrilled to have it.
We arrived back at the Thies Training Center mid-morning on
Friday, and had around 30 hours to recover and get organized before our big
swearing-in ceremony in Dakar. 2013 marks 50 years for the Peace Corps Senegal
program, so the swearing-in ceremony was planned to be a big to-do, with
speeches from the American Ambassador, and the Senegalese Prime Minister,
followed by a concert featuring Alibeta and the Nomads, Ngari Law,
and the well-known Baaba Maal. On Saturday morning, it became clear that
symptoms thought to be hangovers were instead signs of a gastrointestinal
illness beginning to sweep through the group. What happens when you have 60+ people who are totally
exhausted and run down after 9 weeks of intense training, new germs, new food, poor
sleep, and limited water (and thus hand washing) for a few days? They get sick!
Despite the oncoming bug, everyone who was able showered and donned their finest Senegalese party wear. It was by far the nicest any of us have looked since arriving here, despite the absurdity of the ruffles and embellishments. It was fun to see everyone dressed up. There were also some hilarious unintended matching male/female outfits, of which we had to take prom-esque photos. Oh, and yes, our matching was semi-intentional. The green that our CBT Yaay bought for Peter’s outfit was a very light mint green that would’ve been stained before he got out the door, so he went with my fabric to be safer.
Unfortunately, well over half of us ended up sick in the
coming 24 hours; a group of 8 were too sick to make it to Dakar to swear-in,
and another 10-15 had to leave swearing-in after the ceremony, before the
concert even began, because of intestinal distress. Peter was unfortunately in
that bunch, but I stayed on and carried the torch for us (he insisted…).
The swearing in ceremony was relatively quick, especially
for a government event. The American and Senegalese national anthems were
played, short speeches on the history and future of PC in Senegal were given
(in French and Wolof, so most of us were pretty lost), and then we took an oath
to serve as Federal Service Agents of the United States, the same oath that the
President swears to. In swearing in as Peace Corps Volunteers, we committed to
uphold the U.S. Constitution, and to serve both America and Senegal. It was
pretty powerful!
Following the ceremony was a fabulous concert, and many of us are grateful our symptoms held off until after we returned to Thies. A bunch of us were delayed in leaving Thies for our permanent sites because of the bug, including Peter and me. It was pretty surreal, and pretty gross, as there was no soap or toilet paper in any of the bathrooms for days, and the bathrooms (that 60+ people were regularly using) weren’t cleaned for over a week. We never got an answer as to why- budget cuts, maybe? Where the bug came from remains a mystery- food origins were ruled out, as a group of PC Volunteer Leaders who came to the beach with us didn’t share our meals and still got sick. How it spread is less of a mystery given the circumstances… It was a memorable, and in hindsight, funny, way to wrap up such an intense experience. We sure went out with a bang…
While the 9-week training was harrowing and intense, and
sometimes felt excessive, we feel very grateful for the fabulous training we
received. We had heard so many
great things about the Peace Corps/Senegal program before arriving- many say it
is the best Peace Corps program worldwide- and now we understand why. The
training staff were competent and engaging, and made sure we had the
information we needed to transition to life at our permanent sites. Thank you to all those who contributed
to the experience!
After being delayed by a day, Peter and I eventually made it
to Kaolack, our regional capital, where there is a PC apartment. Despite the
lack of soap or clean bathrooms, PC was very accommodating and rented a car to
bring us there so we didn’t have to brave public transportation with all of our
stuff as a result of the delay. We were very grateful.
In Kaolack, we had a few days to shop for the essentials- big benoirs for carrying water and doing laundry and dishes, a [nice] mattress, pots, pans, dishes, bowls, cups, cutlery, and metal trunks to keep mice out of our stored items. There were three volunteers who came into Kaolack to help us find what we needed and bargain for a fair price. They were saints! In addition to the essentials, we also managed to pick up some fun stuff, like fabric for our screen doors and windows and a small woven Ikea rug that I found at a second-hand linens stall amongst a stack of terry cloth toilet covers. We actually have the same one at home (the rug, I mean), in a different color. Small world! Kaolack has a massive covered market that spans many acres. A former volunteer told me during training that he thinks literally anything you could ever want exists in the Kaolack market, it’s just a matter of finding it. After spending a few days wandering through its myriad alleyways, I believe it! It’s a really cool shopping experience, although Peter is only slightly less miserable there than he is shopping in America. Ho-hum.
After a few days in Kaolack, we finally got to move to our
permanent site: Guinguinéo! Our
regional Volunteer Support Assistant (VSA) picked us up at the apartment, drove
us to our new home, helped us unload our stuff, and drove us, our father and my
counterpart to the police station and Prefect’s office, as well as the
Agricultural Office and Eaux et Foret (where Peter and I will be spending a
fair chunk of our respective time) to formally introduce us. It was a much-anticipated day and we
were so excited to finally be here. We had the whole day to hang out with our
family (except during Peter’s power nap below), as the water was out and we
couldn’t start cleaning the place without it. It came back on shortly after dark and we ended up staying
up and cleaning our new apartment until 2 AM! The ceiling had been replaced and
cement patched had been applied to the floor, which meant a lot of dust, and
some dead mice!
Our bed wasn’t yet ready and we didn’t have anything to hang our mosquito net from, so we slept in our tent, in our room, for the first 2 nights in Geo (unfortunately, we didn’t think to take a photo). We jumped right in and cooked lunch for our family during our fourth day in Geo, because our Yaay, our Mom, was sick and we wanted to do something nice for her. We had gotten a bunch of eggplant from my counterpart’s field the day before, so we made an improvised ratatouille. Once the meal was in motion, our father diplomatically informed us that the family doesn’t actually like eggplant, so we kept the sauce on the side. We made spaghetti with caramelized onion sauce (standard fare in Senegal), with “salat American” (chopped up carrots, cukes, and okra in a mustard lime dressing) around the outside. We were also diplomatically informed after the fact that bread should always be served with spaghetti meals, to scoop up the spaghetti and sauce. In Senegal there’s no such thing as too many carbs. Spaghetti sandwiches are a pretty common breakfast item. We’re pretty sure our family hated it (except for our high-school aged cousin, who ate a lot), but they couldn’t have been more sweet or complimentary about it all. They are still bragging to friends and neighbors about our cooking. We are so lucky to have such a demonstratively loving family!
Since those first few days, we have pieced together a cozy new home, and a solid kitchen corner setup. Friday marked the 2-week anniversary of our arrival in Guinguinéo! We have been slowly settling in, resting, getting to know our family and the people and places of Guinguinéo, cooking whatever we want every night (this is incredibly exciting after having no control over our diets for almost 3 months!), and studying Wolof. We’ve also both been a bit under the weather for the past en days or so, both of us with a suspected bout of giardia, me with a head cold, and Peter with allergies (we think largely due to our mouse neighbors, who live in our ceiling). But, we finally have the time and the space to take care of ourselves in the way we need, which feels good. Our primary responsibility for our first 2 months here at site is to improve our language skills, and integrate into our family and our community. I’m feeling like my language progress is suffering due to my foggy sick brain and lack of energy, but I’m trying to take a cue from the Senegalese and be patient and take it slow.
In terms of the layout of our new home, our apartment shares a wall with our family’s home, but we have a separate entrance. We have a spacious porch/bike storage area, which opens into our “big” room that serves as utility closet/kitchen/pantry/study/library/living room/guest bedroom. Our bedroom is beyond this room, and off of our bedroom is our EN SUITE BATHROOM, with a shower (with a water spigot AND shower head!) and a turkish toilet. Our bathroom also serves as our kitchen sink/bathroom sink/laundry room. It’s all multi-functional space! Oh, and it’s cushy! We commissioned a big metal kitchen table and a bench/couch/guest bed to complement the armoire, desk and side table that were here when we arrived.
Many of our fellow volunteers don’t have the luxury of
running water, let alone a water spigot and shower head inside their house! And
of course on the other end of the spectrum, there are certainly stage-mates of
ours with more glamorous homes than us, but we can’t imagine feeling more
comfortable. We feel that our home
accurately reflects a middle class home in Guinguinéo, which means we really
are living at a level comparable to the people we will be working with. It’s all good!
And on to the new addition to our family that Peter mentioned in his previous post…we brought home a kitten from the market! His name is Happy Cat, a tongue-in-cheek nod to Fritsche family jargon (for handicapped). His front legs curl in at the wrist, in what appears to be a birth defect, so he walks on his wrists. He seems to be happy and healthy, but we’re trying not to get our hopes up too much this early on. He had horrible mango flies when we got him. Check out how swollen his toe was, and how big the hole from the fly was on his pinky toe in the photos below. What are mango flies, and how do they work, you ask? When the fur is wet, the mango fly lays eggs. The larvae that hatch burrow into the skin and feast on the flesh of the host until they grow and metamorphose into a fly and fly away, or until they are extracted by a human. Humans can and do get them too, especially from wearing wet clothing. Feel free to google for more info, but don’t do it while eating. Extracting the larvae was really unpleasant for all involved, but I’m sure our little guy feels a lot better now that he has fewer larvae feasting on his flesh. Hopefully he’ll have a long and healthy life. Our Senegalese family doesn’t really touch him, but they love to talk about him and watch his silly antics. They think he’s hilarious. He really likes to sleep in our shoes, which makes for great photo ops.
We’ve shared some about the Diop family before, but as a reminder, we live here with our Baay (our Dad), our Yaay (our Mom), 4 siblings (Oulimata, 9 f, Soda, 8 f, Falou, 5 m, and Papa Gorré, 3 m), our high school-aged male cousin Ndiaye, our 23 year old female cousin named Maimouna, and our paternal grandmother, Maam Yazin, lives with us part time. It’s a small family for Senegalese standards, and very tight knit. Our family has hosted 3 Peace Corps volunteers before us, and they are extremely open and loving. Every day our Yaay says “Sama xol dafa sed!” It means literally, my heart is cold, and figuratively, I’m really happy. Everyone in our family cycles through our apartment throughout the day to chat and see what we’re up to, and our Yaay and Baay are always up for sitting and chatting with us. Baay speaks fluent Wolof, French and English (to the detriment of our Wolof learning, but to the benefit of our immediate knowledge of him and the family) and while Yaay didn’t benefit from the same educational background (she speaks only Wolof), she is hilarious and witty, and a very strong woman. Our siblings provide constant entertainment (and noise). It’s a joy to be living amongst such an awesome family, and to be able to shut our door when we need some down time. We have the best of both worlds here.
We’re missing all of our family and friends today, on Christmas Eve, and wishing we could teleport to be with you for some holiday cheer! The Hammersley Christmas tradition includes opening all presents (except those from Santa, and stockings, of course) on Christmas Eve, while eating from a delicious spread of shrimp cocktail, filet, fresh-baked butter rolls, and an array of delicious cheeses and crackers. It’s making me drool (and cry a little) to think about it now.
Today, Peter and I improvised, as we are wont to do these days, and opened our presents (sent, with love, from my parents) this morning, while eating homemade egg sandwiches with real mayonnaise and la vache qui rit cheese. A delicious treat! This was all after sleeping in late, waking up slow, and chatting with our family while our father roasted coffee beans and I snuggled with my little sister Soda. It was a good alternative to Christmas in the U.S., although I would kill for some shrimp and filet… The most exciting part of our Christmas, though, is that we’re lucky enough to be able to see and speak with our families over Skype tonight. Having internet access (that is albeit expensive, and a bit unreliable) is a mixed blessing, but today we’re thrilled to have it.
Jamm rekk and
Merry Christmas,
Kait
p.s. Speaking of holidays, we went on a religious
pilgrimage to Senegal’s most holy city with our father this past weekend. More
on that in our next post!
