SLEEP!

Who needs it? Well, I am finding out that I for one do not need it… or as much of it as I thought. Lets just say, this was very much forced learning as I am still alive and thriving on little sleep. First of all, it is hot. I mean, heat like we don’t even know in America. Air so warm that turning on a fan just pushes more of the heat onto you. And, the rains have started. On the few days it does rain here in the Northern part of the country, a desert, it cools off. But for the days following the rain, we get lots of unwanted gifts the rains bear. The sand doesn’t know what to do with so much water, thus the road floods. In fact, the lake flooded and fishermen were casting their nets in the middle of the road!

Also, the rains bless us with bugs. Well, they are annoying buggers. See, the types of bugs change. The first ones that came are called “wonk.” These are the most dangerous, you could say. I would rather bask in the heat of my sauna-like room than sit outside, where it is much cooler, and risk having one of these land on me. What is so bad about them you ask? Well, let me tell you! Their pee has a type of acid in it. When it touches your skin, you get a blister. If you touch the blister, you risk spreading its acid/pus filled contents and thus spreading this huge blister on your skin that is painful and very ugly! I want to have things to remember from my time here in Senegal but an acid scar is not something I welcome.

Then came the beetles. Annoying but they don’t bite, bring acid blisters, or do much of anything. And, my mosquito net protects me from them getting on me while I’m sleeping.

But geessh these little suckers that are here now, let me tell you they keep me up like a crying baby would if I had a child. They are small enough to get through the holes in the mosquito net. (These holes I mention are intended to be in the mosquito net!) Then all night I feel, or have phantom feelings of, bugs on me. Mixed with the heat and humidity, sleep is not pleasant to say the least.

It doesn’t help that lights attract these bugs, and it gets dark here pretty early. The doors and windows don’t fit very well into their spaces in my concrete room. Thus, the screens don’t do their job very well when there are huge gaps between where the screens start and the concrete walls of my room end.

This gap in the frame and door is how I believe I got my first mouse visitor. I attribute my first mouse to karma. Both the volunteer I replaced and myself have bragged countless times that unlike other volunteer rooms, ours has never been infested with mice. Well, I came back from a few days away from my village and when I turned on the light in my room saw it scurrying along the wall. To be honest, I had to reach out to another volunteer to see if she knew the vocabulary word in local language mouse- I’d never needed it. Immediately I went to the boutique looking for a sticky trap- the boutique didn’t have any. Well, turns out I didn’t need one.

The day after spotting the mouse, I was visited by a group of teenage boys. They wanted to play Jenga; I happily obliged having ulterior motives. After a few games of Jenga, I announced we were going to play another game called “catch the mouse.” Perks of having a small room and few things, we could easily find the mouse. It was quite the show. Too many teenage boys in a small room, my bed and everything being moved around, me standing on a chair refusing to get bit by a mouse. (To be honest I don’t even know if mice bite but I wasn’t chancing it.) We were successful, eventually it was caught in my laundry hamper and taken outside. I’m quite proud. This whole affair went unnoticed by the huge group of people sitting outside my room for a party my family was having. I certainly have matured from the new volunteer at site that screamed when a big bug flew near her or when the lizard fell from the bag she moved.

LOOK MA I’M FAMOUS!

A project I did in the past, and highlighted on my blog posted in March was recently highlighted by an organization among volunteers in Peace Corps Senegal. Find the link below:

https://senegad.wordpress.com/2018/09/04/water-storage-sanitation-project-in-saint-louis/

 

GEM SA BOPP= BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

I’ve kept quite busy the past several months co-planning and then co-directing a young women’s empowerment camp. The name of the camp, Gem Sa Bopp, translates to Believe in Yourself. This weeklong camp was started to educate young women on the importance of an education; specifically, the importance of continuing their education. Since the camp was started 8 years ago it has expanded to cover a breadth of topics that might never be discussed in the small villages the campers come from.

Held at one of the largest universities in Senegal, the campers get the added bonus of seeing a college campus and hopefully this allows them to envision themselves as college students in the future.

Each day has a theme that all of the activities correspond to.  The themes for the days are education and career goals, environmental responsibility, activism, health and nutrition.

CONCOURAN

Well I’m still far from knowing everything about this culture. I recently was introduced to the Concouran. Let me tell you, depending on where you are in Senegal, there can be lots and lots of differences in topography, language, and culture.

Most boys are not circumcised at birth and thus the circumcision is a culturally symbolic transition of a boy to manhood. During the weeks following the circumcision procedure, there are protectors meant to ward off evil spirits and guide the newly circumcised. In my region of the country, these protectors can be anyone who has already been circumcised. The Casamance region is south of the Gambia. In this region, during the circumcision season, which coincides with rainy season, the concouran comes out. What is this concouran? Well, it was first described to me as a person in a mop-like costume carrying machetes. It is the protector of the newly circumcised in this region.

When you see one, you are expected to run. If you don’t run, you are considered stubborn and the concouran has authority to attack you.  Over time, this cultural practice has become less serious and more of a game in some areas; similar to a game of tag- except with machetes. In villages, the concouran is still very much feared and not to be messed with. In cities, there are different colored outfits. The red outfit, which I was bold enough to photograph, is more playful generally. But people shouldn’t assume this and should still take precautions. The offwhite/brown costume is worn by more old-school concouran and is more dangerous. I saw both in my weeklong visit to this region.

The first time I crossed paths with one, I did not know anything about this creature. The teacher who’s house I was staying at insisted on going with me on my evening run. At one point, when we were almost back to his house, he quickly detoured and articulated for me to do the same with urgency in his voice. Of course I questioned what was happening. After we turned off the main street he stopped and explained. There was a group of people, far enough in the distance I hadn’t yet seen them, running towards us. Thus, they would precede the concouran which they were running from. A white tourist would easily attract the attention of the concouran. Thus, this is how I learned of the creature and the its cultural significance.

Another time when I saw one, I was walking by myself. A man on the street calmly told me to go inside the door to his house and stand with the other women until the concouran passed. Just another example of hospitality in Senegal. This person did not know me but wanted to make sure I was safe and wanted to mitigate any risk.

The photo I have with this concouran was pre-planned. After I saw this particular concouran on the street, I quick ran inside and told the teacher it was outside. He approached it, because it was dressed in red, and asked if we would be able to get a photo. For a price, this concouran allowed me a photo, without attacking me with the machete.

Here is a link to a video I took of the concouran in action. Notice all the kids running. Then, when catches a kid, listen how everyone is laughing- even the boy.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i1tl9diiudq07qg/Concouran.mp4?dl=0

 

ACCESS ENGLISH

I was able to go to the Casamance, mentioned above, for a week to help the USA Embassy with a program they sponsor, Access English. This program selects students who excel in their middle school English classes to participate for two years. During the school year, the students regularly meet as an afterschool club. During the summer there is an English club for one week. Peace Corps Volunteers in Senegal help the embassy with this particular camp every year. The program is held in larger cities throughout most of the regions of Senegal. I chose to go to this particular region, one of the farthest from where my village is located, to see another part of the country. Also, because the transportation fees to get to Ziguinchor are very expensive as we are only permitted to travel to this city by plane or boat. The program pays for our transportation fees so the opportunity seemed prime.

Well the 14-16 hour boat ride was great on the way to Ziguinchor. The cabin was spacious- much more so than the cruises I’ve been on in the past. But, it certainly was rocky. Much rockier on the way back and the cabin much worse for wear-complete with cockroaches in my bed. And, my nerves weren’t eased when I learned of the boat making this journey in the past that sunk and became the second biggest maritime disaster after the Titanic. (Since then, many new rules and regulations have come about and despite the rocking and my thoughts that death was imminent, the boat is much safer now.)

It was fun to talk in English for an entire week. And man is it easy to have programs spoken in my first language!

 

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

One week before school started, I had a mini summer school program. I used high school and college students as my teachers. The goal was to encourage the younger students to use their French which they hadn’t spoken all summer. (French is the national language so school is taught in French but outside of school the country’s local languages are spoken.) Also, it was to talk about the importance of reading, evaluate and hopefully increase French comprehension through teaching reading techniques. I talked about the importance of reading out loud, listening when other people read out loud, and of using pictures in books to help understand context.

The older students listened while students read, corrected their French pronunciation and helped with difficult words, then questioned the group about the context of the stories. The books were both sent by the high school I attended in the states, made by the French class, and borrowed from the nearest library (just over an hour away).