Update & A Few Tales from the Field

The end of the rains in Senegal has brought the beginning of the cold season. At first I couldn't believe that any weather, day or night, could ever be considered cold. I burst out laughing each night someone walked by wearing a huge puffy jacket I would reserve for the harshest winters of Chicago, but, as embarrassing as it is, more recently I've found that the nights have gotten a bit chilly. Unfortunately most days are still as hot as they have always been

At site I continue to perfect my Pulaar which has been progressing quite well. I also continue to plan projects with people who approach me with an idea. Among the projects that I've planned include many live fences, where you plant trees at a narrow spacing instead of using dead wood. These live fences tend to require less care than a dead fence, and Senegal offers a number of species that not only grow quickly but grow quickly from cuttings - literally branches cut from an established tree and planted in the ground. I've also planned a few fruit tree orchards of varying size. These orchards often include just mango trees or cashew trees.


The beginning of December brought the West African All Volunteer Conference where every volunteer from Senegal and many volunteers from countries all over West Africa descended upon the Thies training center to share case studies, best practices and techniques with one another. The next two weeks of December at the training center was In-Service Training (IST). During IST I learned a number of skills that I plan to extend and teach to the people of Senegal. we also . The most interesting skill we learned as an Agroforestry group was grafting. With fruit tree species and, more popularly, mangoes you can think of the plant as two parts: the root stock and the fruit-producing branches. To improve yields and harvest desired types fruit one can take the specific root stock from the target environment and attach the terminal branch from a separate tree of a desired variety fruit, a scion. You attach this scion by cutting into the trunk of the desired rootstock and aligning the three layers of the branch. Afterward you wrap the attached branch in plastic wrap. After a few weeks you can tell if the new branch is starting to grow with the rest of the tree.

After IST I went back to Mbour to visit the Pulaar I had completed my training with. They of course welcomed me with open arms and were ecstatic to have me back. It was amazing how different of an experience it was to live there and actually be able to communicate with them at reasonably comfortable level. One evening I was back with the homestay family my two youngest siblings, Demba and Yazzi, were practicing reading and writing French letters under the supervision and instruction of Tijan, a late teen who has been living with the Mbalos and working in Mbour for many years now. Tijan clung fast to a stick as the two 6 year-olds wrote on their miniature chalkboards. If one of them made a mistake in reading or writing they would often have to answer to the crack of that stick either on the arm/hand or even head. As I watched and reflected on this style of teaching for two young children starting school for the first time I decided that I could continue to watch. For a moment I thought of just going to bed and avoiding the situation completely, but it was the fear that I saw in the face and tense shoulders of Yazzi, one of the cutest and happiest children I have ever met, that forced me to step in.

I knew I could not simply jump in and say "stop!" - though that is what I wanted to do. Instead I chose to be more tact. I knelt down next to Yazzi and her chalkboard and interjected my teaching style. I proceeded to coach her on how to complete each letter. When she made a mistake, I would remind her the technique she should use; sometimes even slowly moving her small hand across the chalkboard with my own. When she eventually started writing the letters correctly I praised her and reminded her that she "can do it." By the end of the lesson she was laughing and smiling with each correct letter, and Tijan wasn't going to beat a child who was completing the lesson correctly and laughing while doing it.

I then decided to go a step further and inquire to my host mother, Dianaba Kande, whether or not she thought the beatings made Demba and Yazzi like or dislike studying. After a few moments she admitted that it didn't seem like they were enjoying it at all, and she even agreed that it was likely interfering with their ability to learn. I asked "if I told you to come here but beat you every time you came, would you want to keep coming back?" Dianaba was quick to see the analogy and thought that the encouraging method of making learning fun was likely more effective.

One must understand how common beatings are in Senegal. Children as young as 2 are beaten for disobeying their parents. My host siblings just like their parents received beatings and their parents before them.

The next day the subject of beatings reared its head again at the house. Beatings are regularly used as jokes as well, but I actually wanted to get some discussion on this subject. I asked Dianaba if she would want Amanetta, the oldest daughter at 11, to beat her own children when she was old enough to have some? She quickly responded "No."

"Should you beat them, if you don't want them to beat theirs?"

Not more than 3 hours later into the afternoon was there hollering in the compound as Yazzi had hit another neighborhood child in the face and wounded her eye. Dianaba turned to me and voiced the fact that she "wanted to beat her a little bit, but you (Curtis) disagree." I dug deep and asked where Dianaba thought Yazzi learned to hit the other neighborhood child? A silence came over the group, and Dianaba eventually pointed a finger at Amanetta. Amanetta defended herself stating that no, it was in fact from their mother that Yazzi had learned to hit. I could not help but to grin at the ensuing silence.

"What do I do to punish them then?"

"I am not here to tell you what to do. These are your children. This is your family. It is not my family. You can do whatever you want. If you want to beat your children, I'm not going to tell you not to do it. I am here to simply give you something to think about. This is my job here in every facet. I am even teaching Agroforestry techniques that no one has to use, but it is about showing and teaching something new for people to think about."


I explained that in America parents will ground a child who has been bad, and that will be the end of their fun for the day, but that is not necessarily better. It is simply different.

Two days in Mbour with the homestay family and I was ready to head to Dakar. To get to Dakar one must brave the infamous Mbour garage, which is known for being especially tiring and annoying for foreigners trying to get somewhere. Luckily I was departing at a low-traffic time and didn't have any trouble that day. Whenever you want to travel in this country, and there isn't a Peace Corps car going that direction, you must brave the local garage. From the moment you get out of your taxi you have an onslaught of harassment. To begin with you usually have around five men yelling at you to see where you are going, most often trying to get you to take one of their more expensive taxis as opposed to the standard "7-place" (7 passenger station wagon) or "Alhum" (Mini-bus) that is already going to your destination as soon as it fills up. Next, from the moment you enter the garage until your car pulls out of the parking space you are a foreigner with a lot of money, and everyone who is selling anything wants you to buy their product. Cologne, fruit, nuts, sunglasses, hair-styling sets, caged parrots, mirrors, pre-paid phone cards, towels, hats, t-shirts, anything and everything is shoved in your face. The best strategy is to wear reflective sunglasses to keep them from noticing you looking at their product. If you don't have sunglasses, don't look anyone in the eye or show any interest in what is 6 inches from your nose. Otherwise you will make an unwanted friend and be pestered until you depart.

I always enter the garage on a mission to find my "7-place," pay might fare, and get out as soon as possible. I spend everyday making friends in Senegal; I don't need to make any more in a place notorious for pickpockets, hustlers, and people looking to pray on anyone looking like a tourist because they have a different skin color.

This attitude has also worked to my favor when I am faced with the task of negotiating baggage prices with someone that thinks I'm going to pay 2/3 the price of the ticket for my medium-sized bag to go in the trunk. I came into this country very uneasy about the prospect of bargaining for nearly (>70%) everything. In America almost everything has a set price, but here it tends to only be boutiques, travel fares, and established businesses that have set prices. I have since gotten quite skilled at negotiating for baggage. I not only have a better sense for what items should cost based upon their size, but I now speak a third language well enough to haggle in one of the Senegalese local languages: Pulaar.

I have done most of my distance traveling in the northern part of the country where Pulaars tend to be few and far between, and Wolof rules the land (I have been picking up a good amount of that as well though). This means that I enter a garage north of the Gambia speaking French, the language mostly of the educated Senegalese and the French tourists that pass through area. This means that it is often that a foreigner speaking French can expect to be asked to pay a higher price. A foreigner speaking a local language, however, gains a lot of credibility, and the Senegalese then assume you have been living here for a long time. This is reason why I get excited if I find a Pulaar-speaker north of The Gambia.

I always enter the garages of the north speaking Pulaar, but on a rare occasion I find myself starting to haggle in French, inquiring if he speaks Pulaar, confirming this ability, and "making it hail Pulaar." I have learned enough of this language to unserstand a good majority of what is said in a standard conversation, and I have the haggling expressions down well enough that I can rattle them off fluently. I proceed to make the man that wanted to charge me triple the reasonable baggage price wish that he didn't speak Pulaar and that he didn't stumble upon this foreigner who is very clearly no longer a tourist. I don't say anything mean or vulgar or threatening, but I use every idiomatic expression I know e.g. "You don't think my head has any water. My head has a lot of water. You think I'm a tourist. I am a Pula Futa (type of Pulaar) from Labe, Guinee-Conakry (city in Guinee where a lot of Pula Futas are from). You must be a kalabante (player, user, trickster), if you want that much money. How about $___ for the Senegal native that isn't a tourist." After a few minutes of insisting that I'm a Senegalese and not a tourist, I often get my price, and he'll think twice the next time he wants to cheat people out of money because they're American.

I spent Christmas in Dakar with a number of other PCVs where we executed some great festivities that included "Secret Santa" and "White Elephant." I put up a number of pictures from my time in Dakar on my Facebook account since the uploading time is much faster, but here is the link for non-facebook users to have a look:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046346&id=1146150057&l=188ff467b4

It was certainly an adjustment not to spend the holidays with the family, but I was glad to talk to some of you guys on speakerphone Christmas Eve. I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Next a number of volunteers traveled north to St. Louis for New Years where sandy beaches greeted us. Most PCVs stayed together in hostels on the islands, but we rarely spent much time in them other than to sleep. New Years Eve brought a free Akon (he's Senegalese) Concert to St. Louis, and I was incorrectly convinced that the event would not bring the issues I feared. The concert was entertaining, but unfortunately there were a number of issues brought by the crowds of people in attendance. Fortunately we were able to get past the issues and ended up having an otherwise great weekend traveling around the islands, swimming at the beach, and sampling the nightlife of the North.

My return home included a 5-hour car ride St. Louis to Dakar on Sunday evening followed nearly immediately by a 9-hour car ride overnight Sunday night from Dakar to Kolda. Tuesday brought a 2.5 hour car from Kolda to Kounkane to film our Donkey Ride promotional video, and then a 1.5 hour bike ride on Wednesday from Kounkane south to my site.

Since being back I have gone through some slump rough periods followed by comfortable enjoyable days. After being gone from site for so long I expected a bit of readjusting and face it one day at a time - leaning on other PCVs to help me iron out the cultural difficulties I had to re-surmount. I am excited to be moving into my new hut soon after a long wait period, so things are looking up for now.

I have recently purchased an internet USB key that paired with my recently-mailed laptop (Thanks Mom & Dad & PCV Jason Haack) in theory will give me internet at site. Cross your fingers with me that I'll now be able to give more regular updates and skype from out in the bush. Stay tuned for status reports.

Finally a few older PCVs along with myself and a number of Senegalese Health Educators will be completing a 100km tour across the region of Kolda in March, and we've put together this promotional video for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/user/KoldaDonkeyRally

Scroll through the text box below the video for more information, logistics, and how you can potentially help. Thanks.

Hope everyone is doing well back at home. I truly appreciate the care packages I've received. Sometimes it's as simple as protein bar or some dried fruit that keeps my sanity and taste buds intact here.

Miss you and hope to hear from you soon

Check Out These Links

Senegalese News Piece on PC Senegal Swear-In -- They interview me!

RTS Peace Corps Spotlight 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PezD-VV8iSo

Hilarious Video Summarizing Interesting oddities about being a PC Volunteer in Africa (They're true)

You know you're a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa when...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4swOWhsaQg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Also, more of my pictures available at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044542&id=1146150057&l=39cf88237f

New Site & Thanksgiving Dinner at the Regional House

Commencement

Wednesday October 20th I took a Peace Corps car from Kounkane, Senegal south to be officially installed into my site as a Peace Corps volunteer.

As we pulled into my city (which I can't disclose for security reasons) I assumed we had planned to just go straight to my new house, but as we passed the community center we realized something greater was planned. I stepped out of the vehicle to the reception of a few hundred people. Most everyone was sitting in a semi-circle facing the entrance while a small group of residents danced and drummed right near the front. My first thought was that there was no way that this was all for me...but it was. As I crossed the semi-circle I was met with stares of wonder and curiosity. Some of the admins of the city instructed me to enter the community center where official record of my arrival was taken. Afterword I was led outside for the festivities.

I stepped outside still bewildered and took a seat toward the middle of the semi-circle. From there the speeches began. My host counterpart, Suleyman Barry, my supervisor, Bajey, and Mossley, the head of the agriculture sector of Peace Corps Senegal, each gave speeches to the community. I could understand all of the speeches in French and a good portion of the speeches in Pulaar (Peace Corps Senegal has very good teachers). It was expected that Mossley would be sure to tell the people I was a volunteer for the whole town, but when my host counterpart stood up to speak, I was stunned at the gravity of my arrival. "He isn't my volunteer. He isn't Bajey's volunteer. He is the son of the city (biddo saare in Pulaar). We had Peace Corps in the area down here in [the early 90s] (he knew the year), but we messed it up (I'm not sure exactly what happened), and to get another volunteer we had to have the mayor, Bajey, myelf, etc. request one. If we work well with this one, Peace Corps will give us more volunteers in the future, but if we mess it up, they won't." I could feel the pressure, and I had only been there 10 minutes. I knew the town felt neglected after not getting a volunteer for quite some time despite its relative significant size of around 3000 people, but I hadn't realized the degree to which these people had worked to get me there.
The speeches finished - all with the same notion that the people were responsible for getting the most out of my time there, and if they did Peace Corps Senegal would rain more volunteers down from the heavens.

I stood up to leave and felt that I should shake a few of the admins' hands before I left. Little did I know that this would trigger the entire town to crowd around to greet me - the Kolda region really has the friendliest people in Senegal.

I walked from the community center down the main street to my new home surrounded by hundreds of my new "countrymen." It was so surreal. I seriously could not help but smile and eventually laugh out loud. Where was I? What was going on? Was all this really for me? The drummers came up close behind me in the sea of my new people, and I started dancing - dancing in the middle of the street while I made my way to my new home. Everyone started laughing and clapping in time with me.

We finally made it to my compound (I had visited in September, so I knew which one it was). Everyone poured in, and I started to unload my stuff and put it into my new hut. I then joined the crowd for what was sure to be a quite the party. Right off the bat I was called to the center of the circle to dance to the drums. I was still riding the high of the march to my compound, so I danced my heart out as the people screamed and laughed. Things eventually settled down, the Peace Corps car left, and I enjoyed a couple of cold drinks with the people.

The following couple of days I spent the afternoons walking the streets of my new city greeting the people and the admins. On my first day I was hailed over by a group of adolescent girls hailed me over to greet them in Pulaar. Shortly after realizing I could speak Pulaar one of them offered herself to me to be my wife. My response was quick to diffuse the situation by calling her crazy since I had just arrived the day before. You wouldn't believe how many times I've been offered daughters and wives to take back to America, and everytime I have to come up with something whitty to come back with to deny but also not to insult them. Once I was even offered to buy a middle-aged man's wife. My response was (in Pulaar): "She doesn't speak English. I'll come back in 20 years, and if she speaks English by then, I'll take her with me." They weren't too keen on waiting so long.

Well the first three weeks (yeah that's right I'm up to three weeks now) have been relatively low-key. My normal day consists of me waking up around 7/7:30 to go and greet the family and have breakfast. I'll then spend some time chatting with them to work on my Pulaar and discuss family matters. Afterword, I'll retire to my room to do some relaxing and reading (I've already read Robinson Crusoe, and I'm starting A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius). I then come out for lunch around 12:30/1pm and spend a good chunk of the afternoon hanging out and talking with family members or people from the town. In the evenings I usually visit someone's land to discuss a project they have in mind for me to help them with.

It sounds like I don't really do much, but for the first few months my job is to integrate into the community, work on my Pulaar, and discuss what the people want from me. I really haven't done much training in Agroforestry because most of Pre-Service Training was spent on Pulaar and Senegalese culture. I will be completing an In-Service Training Module over the course of about 2-3 weeks in December at the Training Center in Thies. Afterword I will have the knowledge to put into action the projects I have spent the last few weeks planning.

Most everyone either wants a fence (I would help with live fencing) or to start a plantation of Mango/Cashew trees. I then go to their land and take notes on the state of the soil fertility, the area of the land, what has grown there in the past, and what is growing there now.

I am currently completing a language seminar in a larger city north of my site, but I will be returning tomorrow morning. I then plan to go to the Kolda regional house for Thanksgiving before heading north to Thies for IST.

I truly am happy in my site. I have been going on evening bike rides where I just pick a direction and ride for an hour or so before turning back to town. You would not believe the absolute beauty of being surrounded by trees for miles and miles, especially at sunset. It is truly a bikers' paradise. I have not brought out my camera yet, but rest assured I will have plenty of pictures at Thanksgiving.

Miss all you guys back in the States, and I hope everyone is doing well.

Congratulations to the Grinnell Pioneers on securing a successful season!

Also, good luck to Tommy Rees as he takes on his true freshman starting role for the Irish when they take on Utah this Saturday. GO IRISH!

New Preferred Address!

Curtis McCoy
Corps de la Paix Americain
B.P. 86
Velingara, Senegal
West Africa

I would prefer this address because I will be able to check it more often than the other one, but either one really works

Beach House, End of Homestay, Swearing in

A New Chapter...

For starters the beach house was amazing - we were right on the water. The first night we had a big party, and most of us spent the entire evening in the water. The next morning a group us took a hike up to the top of the ridge overlooking the ocean.

On Tuesday we finished our time at our homestays. It is amazing how close you get to people after living with them for only a couple of months. I returned from the market after buying a final silafunda (gift) and sat down next to my host mother cooking lunch. I couldn't understand why she was turned away from me, and I had to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. As she turned, I realized what it was from the tears streaming down her face. She was so choked up that she could barely tell me that she was going to miss me, and she was worried I was going to be like the previous trainee they had hosted who hasn't called or visited in a year. I was quick to assure her I would visit in the future.

Friday, October 15th we headed out early in the morning for the Ambassador's house in Dakar for the swear-in ceremony. Whenever we go from Thies to Dakar we try to leave at 7am sharp, but of course this never works out and we tend to leave around 7:30/7:45. The problem is that the traffic can get especially difficult trying to get into the city at that time. We loaded up a 3 bus/3 landcruiser caravan complete with Gendarmerie (armed men basically equivalent to a more powerful sheriff in the US) escort. Anytime a car tried to cut into the caravan it was met with a barrage of honking until it moved out of the way. I mentioned that we left a little late, so by the time we got close to the city, the traffic was getting really bad, so what do we do? We travel on the opposite side of the road. Another Gendarm waved us on as we changed lanes and moved into oncoming traffic, but we were official, so we could do anything we wanted. We thought people were staring at us when we just had a few buses full of foreigners with a Gendarm escort, but now we were travelling on the wrong side of the road. We even passed a US army convoy that greeted as we passed them in their lane of traffic. It was all pretty entertaining and we really felt official at that point.

Much to my pleasure, the ceremony was even held inside, keeping us out of the heat while in our traditional Senegalese attire with its robe-like design to keep in a lot of heat. I was expecting a repeat of my college graduation where we sat out in the sun for 3 hours in black graduation robes, but I had some luck on my side. The ceremony consisted of a number of speeches in French given by admin in the Peace Corps Senegal cabinet including Country Director Chris Hedrick and the American Ambassador to Senegal. Then newly sworn in PCVs from our group gave speeches in their respective local language: Wolof, Sereer, Mandinka, and Pulaar. The entire ceremony was covered by RTS (Radio and Television Senegal) and might even be available online, if I get the chance to look it up. We all stood and took the oath, went up and received our visa, and then broke for a relaxing cocktail social (no alcohol though - come on now this is a 90% Muslim country and they are forbidden from it).

Shortly after stepping outside for the social, Bamba (our language coordinator) approached me and asked if I could give a short interview in French for RTS as they were looking for a male who spoke French. I was hesitant at first, but I finally agreed. I have studied French for a number of years, but for the last 2 months or so I have been cramming Pulaar 4-hours a day into my head, so I'm a bit rusty. The beginning of the interview was a little rough as I tried to switch to the language in the back of my head with the camera bearing down on me, but I do feel like I pulled it together alright in the end. It's funny because I've definitely used French a couple times, but it is usually after 5-10 mins of speaking it that it really comes back to me. This interview might also be available online...

After the ceremony we headed to the PC Senegal office to shore up some financial logisitics and change into something a little less like an oven. After that we headed to the Club Atlantique (or the American Club as we all refer to it). It's basically like a country club for American Nationals in Senegal, but more equivalent to a public pool/recreation center/YMCA in the US. We were very excited nonetheless to celebrate our transition to official volunteers with a little fun in the sun and swimming!

We then headed back to the Thies Training Center where the celebration continued. We all went out to dinner at the nicest place in the area (it was great food even by American Standards). Afterward we headed to a local bar to relax and soak in the fact that we were now official. I ended up staying up pretty late especially considering my next day (Saturday) departure for the Kolda regional house at 6am, but it was definitely worth it. I actually even woke up a bit early as I had a bit of packing to do and found a handful of people that had stayed up all night! I suddenly felt a little better about my 4 hours sleep.

We packed up the 3 "Sept-Places" (taxis with 7 seats) and headed out for Kolda. The journey was a bit more precarious this time, but we reached the house just the same. The past couple of days have been filled with logistics discussions, relaxing, buying supplies for our new sites (I swear it was like going to college again - we had to by so much stuff), and of course a little partying. This house is like a frat house (but only in the best way possible) where volunteers in the region can come to relax and get a break from their work for a few days a month.

Today I head out with 4 other new volunteers to Velingara to stay the night at a local hotel (should have internet!). Then tomorrow we will take a tour around Velingara to meet some of the officials in the area before heading South to install at our new sites!! I should be installing around 6:30pm my time. That's it then - I'm there for two years and can't leave the city...Just kidding, I'll be able to leave. But still this is my new home for two years. I'm very excited to finally be able to get to work, but I'm also very nervous about having to start over and meet a whole new family and village. Though the homestay was so different, I eventually got used to it - only to be yanked up and put somewhere else. Time is flying now. So quickly the tomorrow of yesterday becomes today...

I will be trying to complete the newly-created "5-week challenge" where you are encouraged to stay out of regional houses for the first 5 weeks to allow you to best practice your language and integrate into your community. If you complete the challenge Chris Hedrick, the Country Director, has you over to his house for dinner. During this time I will likely travel to a nearby city for internet once or twice otherwise I will be cut off from the western world.

Wish me luck!!

Landcruiser Pics Going to Kolda, Kolda Pics, Beach Days, Swimming in a Random Lake in Kolda, What do I Eat?

Internet is Difficult to Come By, But I'm Still Thinking of You Guys

So I haven't been able to update in a while due to several factors: 1) I only get internet at the training center, which I'm at for a days at a time every 10 days 2) When I am at the center I have to find someone not using his/her laptop to borrow 3) Even if 1) & 2) are fulfilled the internet isn't always working.

In the last month, as you might have guessed, a lot has happened.

For starters I received my official site. I will in fact be working in the Kolda region of Senegal for the next two years. Kolda is one of southernmost regions in Senegal and thus has the most fertile soil and steadiest rains - good for trees! Most volunteers are continuing work started by a previous volunteer, but for me individually I will actually be starting a new site in a city within 20km of Guinea-Bissau. It will be interesting because there is a cluster already established in the southern part of Kolda...about 25-30km from my site. It appears that I will be the first site in what will be a new cluster in that area of Kolda. Again, I can't blog about which city it actually is, but if you e-mail me I can tell you otherwise I have told a number of people.

I had my first Korite, which marks the end of Ramadan in Islam. During the entire month of Ramadan Muslims fast from sun up until sundown. The day is filled with feasting and visiting neighbors and feasting with neighbors - Lots of eating. People generally get especially dressed up for this occasion and will usually even have new clothes made. I hadn't had my Senegalese clothes made yet, so I just wore some nice American clothes. As a side note, I did go to the market with my host father the other day to buy fabric and have it tailored for a "Grand Boubou." I even opted for the special gold embroidering, and since I had my Senegalese host father with me, I was able to get the true Senegalese price instead of the "tourist" premium price that most any foreigner would expect. I plan on wearing it for the first time on October 15th for Volunteer Swear-in, but I might be able to offer an exclusive sneak peak on my blog...stay tuned for updates...

After Korite we were slated to have our "Volunteer Visits." 11 people plus the driver piled into a Peace Corps landcruiser and drove 10-11 hours south into the heart of the Kolda region. We were scheduled t0 leave at 5am, but we didn't end up departing until about 5:30am only to find that we had a flat tire less than 100yds from the training center. Apparently the guards even thought that we had a flat tire as we left - a great start. One advantage of leaving that early was being able to see the sunrise over the African savannah without the obstructing presence of buildings.

As we drove further South the surrounding environment got greener and greener. When we finally arrived in Kolda we were surrounded by trees - there is a reason why it is the most beautiful region in Senegal. During my stay in the Kolda region with current volunteer Darren I quickly learned that biking will be a staple for me during my two-year stay. The second day I was down there we biked about 20km from his site down to my site to meet my future family and see my future home, after which we biked back North and took a longer route to visit some other volunteers in the area - a total of over 50km on the day - I enjoyed every minute of it. Lining the latterite (clay & rock) road was either cropland or thick forest.

My future site is certainly not what I expected. As an Agroforestry volunteer going to the Kolda region I figured to be in a small village with around 100 people and to live in thatch huts. I will in fact be living in a city of around 2,500 people (quite sizable for Kolda). The compound I'm living in will have a cement hut for me by myself, but the main house on the property has, a TV, two satellite dishes (I wonder what Senegalese satellite TV is like), 2 DVD players, a motorcycle, and even a computer! I will have electricity for about 5 hours a day at night and on holidays. It's not that I'm defining my family by their possessions, but it gives you some perspective considering I wasn't even expecting cement buildings! All of this really ironic considering some of my fellow trainees were expecting to go to an urban area and ended up in villages with less than 100 people. I knew Senegal was rather developed for African standards, but I wasn't expecting to ever see it. So, like I said I am a bit further than I'd like from other volunteers, but somehow I have a number of amenities that I was prepared to have to give up.

In the mean time I've gone swimming at beach a few times with some of my friends here, and I couldn't believe how warm the water was after swimming in Lake Michigan my entire life. Otherwise I've been studying Fulukunda 4 hours a day still, and I've been learning about a number of Agroforestry technologies. Other than that, I do a lot of hanging around with my host family perfecting my ear for Pulaar.

The past couple of days have been devoted to "Counterpart Workshop," where my host father and main technical point person from my new site come to the training center to learn about what Peace Corps is all about. Overall it has been a rather successful couple of days. I noticed my counterparts, as new additions to Peace Corps, had a number of questions, but the way I look at it the more they want to know, the more they care about this program. It is important for them understand what they can expect from me and what I need to be able to expect from them. I was also able to have some discussion time with them 2 on 1, and we were able to hash a number of issues the people of my new city want to address. It seems that, despite being in the wettest region, they have an especially deep water table, during the dry season they all but run out of water. Additionally, they have a big problem with slash and burn agriculture where all the vegetation is cut down and burned for a fleeting supply of soil nutrients - the fact that my counterpart already understands that this is an unsustainable practice without me trying to explain it is very encouraging. Generally a practice like that has been going on for generations leaving barren lands in its wake (e.g. Brazil), but he already wants to change this. Finally there is an issue with having money to purchase more nutritional food, so they want help developing diverse gardens that can produce nutritional food at a lower cost than the regional market. It was great to really get an idea of what they want help with so I can start envisioning my potential there.

Tomorrow, as per tradition, our training group (aka stage) will be renting a beach house for the afternoon, night, and next afternoon. It should be a great time!

On Monday we head to Dakar for a few logistical workshops, but it does sound like we'll have some time to see some of the city. This will be my first time back in the capital since I flew in at 5am on August 11th! Then on Tuesday we head back to our homestays for our last week there before swearing in.

I can't believe I only have a few weeks left of training. This last month and a half has flown by! I am however humbled by the daunting reality of 2 more years in front of me. As a friend recently told me, all I can do is focus on living in the moment. I try not to think about what I'm going to do when I get back to the US, what I'm going to do in a year or even what I'm doing next month. I take a deep breathe and take each day as it comes - with an enormous sense of curiosity and an open mind.

Miss everyone back in the States and I'll write as often as I can

Ko Mutaaru Mbalo mbiete-mi (My name is Mutaaru Mbalo). Ko Galle Bocar Mbalo Kod-mi (I am staying that the home of Bocar Mbalo).

Where do I even start with my homestay description? I spent the last week with a Senegalese Pulaar family that speaks a language I started learning when I arrived at their house. I was literally dropped off by the Peace Corps bus and greeted in a language I barely understood any words of. I was immediately whole-heartedly welcomed and told to take a seat in front of the family compound next to the man of the house. I pulled out my family photos, and we went from there. Being an infant again was a frustrating but very rewarding experience. We used a lot of pointing and hand motions to communicate initially until I learned a few words and tried to remember them as I heard them a few more times. However I have been spending a great deal of time during homestay in language classes.

My typical day during homestay has consisted of:

7:30AM Wake up and take a bucket bath (Bucket of water + soap)

Breakfast of French bread and hot chocolate is brought to me in room by my sister (Muslims don't eat from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, so I keep to myself)

9:00AM Fulukunda class at my LCF (Language & Cultural Facilitator), Samba Kande's, Homestay

12:30PM My Senegalese mother makes us a lunch of white rice and leaf sauce (she hasn't been fasting on account of a recent illness)

4:00PM Either another language session at Samba's house or work in the garden we are setting up near the local school

7:00PM Time for another bucket bath after a long day in the Senegal heat

7:30PM Break fast with French bread, hot chocolate, tea, and juice at sundown with my Senegalese family while we watch TV including Indian Soap Operas dubbed in French, Wolof sitcoms, and American TV shows (like Law & Order) dubbed in French

9:15PM Have dinner by lamplight out of bowls distributed between the men, the boys, and the women respectively - Dinner always consists of rice and palm oil sauce with a few vegetables and fish - it's actually pretty tasty

11:00PM Sleep

My in between time is filled with a lot of hanging around with the family, especially my Senegalese father, and playing with my Senegalese siblings and kids from the neighborhood. I have 6 brothers - 2 are about my age or a bit older, 4 are definitely younger than me, and one that is much younger than me. I have two sisters - one is 10 and the other is 5.

It is amazing how patient everyone is. Here is a family I'm thrust into that, for the most part, I can't understand at all (some of them speak French, but they have only used it once or twice) and they continually are trying to teach me things, but their only hope is to use nonverbal communication. The integration I was worried might take some time has come quite easily.

One thing I might not ever get accustomed to is getting stared at and called "Toubab" (european) while walking down the street. Senegalese children treat a foreigner like you might expect an American child would treat a clown walking down the street. They yell out "Toubab" and call all of their friends to come see the "Touabab," and then each and every one of them wants to shake your hand - I have to leave 15 minutes early to get to class on time. On an encouraging note, however, there have been a few children from the area that, in only a week, have learned my Senegalese name (Mutaaru Mbalo) and call me that instead of Toubab.

Today is my second day back at the Thies training center, and tomorrow I head back to my homestay site. I'm not supposed to blog about exactly where I am, so if you are really interested in what city I'm located in, go ahead and e-mail me, and I can tell you real quick. Also, a few tips for contacting me: a normal American stamp won't work for sending letters, USPS flat-rate boxes are great for sending packages, and skype is great for cell phone calls.

I keep having to remind myself that I've only been here a couple of weeks and in my homestay one week, because it feels like months. I spend the next two weeks straight at my homestay site before coming back to the training center for more tech training. I might be able to get to an internet cafe, but this will likely be my last blog for a bit. Miss everyone. Hope you're doing well back in the states.

The view and opinions expressed on this site are my own and do not reflect the goals or intents of the US government, The Senegalese government or The Peace Corps. I alone am responsible for the content of this blog.

Friday we did a Cultural Fair for most of the day. We broke up into groups and went to stations to learn about different aspects of Senegalese culture. At one station where we discussed traditional clothing and greetings I learned that some men, out of respect for their wife, will not shake hands with any other woman. Also, during a greeting, a younger person is not supposed to look an older person in the eyes. The traditional garb is very colorful and loose-fitting. I'm actually looking forward to having my own grand boubou made.

Saturday my group, Agroforestry, learned how to double-dig and start a garden bed with materials found easily around the area. We were also fitted for the bikes we will be using during our service. I received one of the better equipped bikes, which likely means that I will be stationed somewhere far from a city...only speculation though.

Today we learned what local language we were to learn and what village we will live in the next 9 weeks in during our homestay period. I will be going to a village on the Atlantic where I will live with a Pulaar (Fulakunda)-speaking family. We also had two 1.5 hour language class sessions during which I learned the alphabet and some survival phrases. Everything was going pretty well until we got to phrases with words that my mouth just doesn't pronounce - seriously look it up. Fortunately I was able push through and end up pretty well. This evening we finally went into Thies and walked around. We stopped at a couple of stands to pick up a few things only to finally ended up at a bar in the heart of Thies. Walking around we clearly stood out to the locals as the only foreigners on the block. Many vendors called us over or stopped us to try to sell us something at a premium rate. Nobody really gave us any trouble, so all in all it was a good experience.

Tomorrow we head to our homestay village in the afternoon and spend the next week in an intensive language study and immersion experience. I'm excited, but nervous to be with a group of people I don't know and can't understand....wish me luck!

Last Meal in the U.S., Drum Circle, First Sunset in Senegal

Mailing Address (for a couple of months) and Cell Phone Number

Cell number (remember time difference): +221 776 730 093

Mailing Address (takes a while to arrive, so send soon):

Curtis J McCoy
BP299
Thies, Senegal

Je suis au Senegal!!

The view and opinions expressed on this site are my own and do not reflect the goals or intents of the US government, The Senegalese government or The Peace Corps. I alone am responsible for the content of this blog.

Yesterday we arrived in Dakar, Senegal at approximately 5am local time. Despite being unable to sleep at all during the entire flight across the Atlantic, I wasn't tired at all. I also wanted to keep my wits about me while being thrust into such a new environment - I could feel the tension in my neck as I filled out the customs form. We moved through the airport, and my stress was loosened a bit as I chuckled to find a stray cat cautiously creeping its way toward the exit while 60 Americans covered in luggage made their way out.

The sun started to rise as we piled into the officially-marked Peace Corps vans and buses to make our way to the Thies Training Center. During the ride my eyes were glued to the windows as I studied every person and building we passed. It was a marked contrast to America to find so many people walking alongside a highway often only a few feet from cars moving at 60-70mph.

Many buildings in Dakar seemed unfinished or abandoned while within a few hundred meters there were 3 others being built. As we moved closer to Thies the landscape became more and more rural with much more lush vegetation and fruit stands replacing the abandoned buildings, rubble, and sand. I was amazed at the size and prevalence of the baobab trees that first seemed to dot and eventually cover the landscape.

We pulled into the training center to a grand applause cheers from the staff who quickly broke out into a drum circle. We had a quick breakfast of French bread, fresh peanut butter, chocolate sauce, and Ovaltine - "More Ovaltine please." Afterward we were given time to sleep, but despite having 8 hours sleep in 3 nights I felt wired and went for an exploration of the compound with a couple other Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). Hawks also circle the skies while you can hear a multitude of birds in the many trees surrounding the compound.

After break time we settled down to a lunch of rice and beef with peanut oil--It was amazing. The people here are so friendly; you can feel the strength of community. Rarely will I pass a Senegalese without him/her saying hi and asking me how I'm doing. I finally have a use for the twelve years I spent studying French. The food is distributed in big metal bowls and we break off into groups of 4 or 5 to share - Senegalese Training Center workers joining us to make conversation learning about where they are from while practicing our French.

Other than eating great food we've been going through different interviews to assess our proficiency in French, our placement preferences, and our medical history. It looks like I will likely be placed in a Pulaar region as the government officials will likely be French-speaking. I also might even be directly working with another PCV since trees are more affectively grown and cultivated when multiple people can keep track of them.

For the first few days all new PCVs stay together at the training center where the bare bones lessons and skill are learned. Next week we head to our training homestays. I am so excited to see what else this beautiful country and its friendly people have to offer this great experience.

P.s. We did receive cell phones, but it will likely be very expensive to call unless Skype is used. Feel free to call, but please remember the 5 hour time difference. I will most likely be available to talk after 9pm.

Orientation Schedule

August 9th
9am-12pm O'hare to Washington-Dulles
12pm Registration
2pm-7pm Meetings

August 10th
10am Clinic Appointment
5:40pm Depart For Senegal

August 11th
5:50am (Senegal local time/Greenwich Mean Time) Arrive in Dakar

Yes, when I arrive in Senegal it will be 6am local time, but my body will feel like it is 1am

Jet lag, bring it on...