Erin’s Sojourn in Senegal

Two weeks have gone by since my last post, and I feel much better about being here.  I love looking at a sky full of stars at night, I enjoy riding my bike everywhere instead of sitting in traffic, and I actually like waking up to a freezing cold bucket bath (it is really effective).  It is hard to believe all that has been accomplished in under a month.  Since four of us trainees moved into our home stays in Mboro, we have turned a barren sand pit into a four-bed garden (and plants are growing!), we have learned enough Pulaar to be able to tell you what we did over the weekend and about our work and family (I received a ‘Novice High’ rating on my first oral exam two days ago), and we have made a mural and a mud stove for the elementary school.

Now that we are settled in with our host families and know the area pretty well, it is almost time to leave.  Yes, the home stays are only temporary.  Two days ago, we found out where our real sites would be in Senegal.  It was an exciting time for everyone.  We all knew the general area we would be living in, based on the language we are learning, but each site is very different.  We were taken to the basketball court in the Training Center, where a huge map of Senegal was painted on the ground.   We all had to close our eyes, and one by one we were led to the location of our site-to-be on the map.  Then we all opened our eyes and tried to figure out if we liked where we were standing (in the end, it doesn’t matter if you like your site or not, you are stuck with it).

I will be going to Thilogne! The site is in Northern Senegal, about 150 kilometers East of Podor, on the Senegal River, and I will be the first volunteer there – a pioneer!  I heard from another volunteer in that region that it takes about fourteen hours to get to Dakar, so if something happens to me I’m in big trouble, basically (don’t worry, Mom, I will be careful).  Thilogne is a village with a population of 15,000, which is huge compared to the typical 500-person village.  I originally thought I would be living in a hut within a family’s compound, but since my village is fairly big, it turns out I will have my own apartment.  I am very happy about my site because I will have my own bathroom, I will be able to cook my own food, and I will also have a family nearby who I can eat meals with.  Before coming to Senegal, I told the Peace Corps that I didn’t mind where I was, if I had electricity or not.  However, after having a taste of minimal electricity for a month, I am incredibly relieved to have electricity at my new site.

This Monday, we trainees will be getting on a bus and traveling to a site close to our future site and staying there for six days in order to get a feel for where we will be spending the next two years.  I heard it’s much hotter up there in the Fouta desert than it is here by the coast, and I was told to bring snacks because the ‘starving season’ has begun.  Needless to say, I am excited but a bit nervous about the trip.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 11:40 am and is filed under Pre-service training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.