Ghetto Fitness

Well, only a few more days to the GRE. The past few weeks have been spent alternating between studying for the GRE, working with my artisans, and working out at Ghetto Fitness. About 2-3 times a week, myself and a few other volunteers from the region meet up in Thies to work out at the local gym. Sporting the most appropriate name ever, it is called "Ghetto Fitness Club". The inside resembles what I imagine a gym within a federal prison might look like. There are no lights, only the sunshine coming through the wide open doors. Rusty weights, some made with used car parts, are strewn about the floor in the most unorganized fashion imaginable. When we work out, not only do we stand out as toubabs (duh), we are also by far the least athletic people there. Imagine a High School debate team sharing the gym with the Dallas Cowboys, and that's Ghetto Fitness in a nutshell. With all that said, the staff is made up of some of the friendliest people I have met in this country, and they are always ready to greet me with a "FALLOU! Boroom u Ngaay!" (Fallou, the boss of Ngaye!) whenever I walk in.

Tomorrow I'll be heading into Dakar to take care of some things before the GRE. Tuesday through Friday, I'll be sitting by the pool at the American Club doing practice exams until the main event on Saturday. Having finished the GRE, I will help out with preparations for the All Volunteer Conference taking place on the 12-13th. I've been volunteered to give a session entitled "Artisan Best Practices". It feels strange to be preparing this session since I still somehow feel new to all of this. It happened without any of us noticing, but my stage is now considered an experienced group and we are expected to share the knowledge we've gained over the past year to the newer volunteers.

After All Volunteer comes the long awaited West African Invitational Softball Tournament (WAIST, for short). Needless to say, this is the highlight of the year for most volunteers, and is an absolute blast. During WAIST, each region competes in a softball tournament in hopes of gaining no recognition whatsoever. The goal is fun, and I'm pretty sure we all come out winners. Traditionally, each region chooses a theme to dress up as during the tournament, and this aspect of WAIST is taken quite seriously. Meetings are held, tempers flare, and fights erupt over what the theme for WAIST will be. This year, the esteemed members of the Dakar region have chosen "Professional Wrestling" as the theme, and I'm happy to say that costumes are looking splendid so far. I won't say that much more until I can provide evidence, but the pictures should be awesome. Additionally, a few of us have managed to enter an All-Senegal Peace Corps team into the competitive league (which historically has been avoided by Peace Corps, since we play barefoot and are usually a little too "rowdy"). I'm quite excited about this, since we are getting jerseys made (I will be #9, Niang) and will be able to enjoy a higher quality game.

That about sums it up for now. Hopefully my next update can involve sentences such as "I can't believe how easy the GRE was after all that studying!". Until then, ba ci kanaam.

Indi GRE bi

Happy New Year to everyone!
I returned safely to Senegal a few days ago and then came back to Ngaye shortly thereafter. Coming back was a bit stressful in that traveling with large amounts of luggage in this country is both frustrating and tiring (and I don't even live that far from Dakar). People constantly try to rip you off on baggage prices and you have to watch for thieves. Flying back was also quite a bit more nerve wracking than the first time around for some reason. I suspect that it's probably because I originally came here with my stage and everyone was a bit nervous, which allowed us to take comfort in the fact that everyone was going through something intense. This time around, sitting by myself in seat 63F, I sat and pondered where the next year would take me, and what crazy adventures Senegal and 2010 were going to drag me in. I guess it's somewhat comparable to being in line for a rollercoaster, you know that it's going to be fun, but it still scares you a bit for some reason. But here I am, back in Ngaye, as if nothing had changed.

Coming home to Austin was fantastic. Having the chance to spend the holidays with my family, as well as being able to appreciate the relative ease of life (you've been in Africa too long when the idea of ordering a pizza on the phone sounds like heaven) that America offers was great. So, now that I'm back, life continues as it did before. 2010 should be a good year for my artisans, as a new basket order is about to come in, and my leather workers are close to finally exporting their shoes. Also, our baskets were featured in the "What's Hot" section of Elle Decor magazine in the Nov/Dec issue, so check it out!

Anyways, I will be taking the GRE in exactly 29 days (Feb. 6th), so I am now focusing on kicking butt on it. It's actually incredibly refreshing to have something to study for again! I thought it would be quite miserable to memorize vocab word after vocab word, but I've been enjoying it quite a bit. The GRE is perfectly timed in that it will be directly followed by WAIST, which is essentially Christmas for Peace Corps Volunteers. More will be written about WAIST as it approaches so I will leave you all with my favorite picture from the holidays and the one I will be looking at every time I turn on my computer from now on! For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting him, this is Ruckus, our Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and a most awesome member of our family. Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well back home and thank you to my whole family (especially you Grandma!) for bringing me home for Christmas! Duma raggal ci GRE bi! (I am NOT afraid of the GRE!)