W.A.I.S.T

After 365 days of waiting, Peace Corps volunteers from all over West Africa were once again treated to the festivities of WAIST.  The West African Invitational Softball Tournament has been going on in Dakar for 37 years now, and is easily the most anticipated event for just about every volunteer in Senegal.  Volunteers from many other countries, including Mali, The Gambia, Benin, and Burkina Faso also make their way for the tournament, making it all that more exciting.  Last year, my group had just finished IST, so we were still quite new.  This year, however, we had the memories of last years WAIST in our minds, as well as another year in Senegal under belts, so we were even more pumped for the tournament.  In a nutshell, WAIST is fun boot camp.  Waking up at 8 or 9, we spend the entire day in the sun, playing softball, volleyball, or even Marco Polo in the pool.  The nighttime activities usually last until about 5 a.m on average, leaving the PCV looking quite ragged by the third day.  The Peace Corps medical staff is on high alert the entire time, and they are often called upon to provide assistance with injuries due to softball and general debauchery.

This year was a bit different in that Peace Corps Senegal was able to field a competitive team.  There are two leagues in WAIST, a social one and a competitive one.  Since we usually lack any means of fielding a legitimate softball team (also considering the fact that we wear costumes that often impede our movement/visibility), PC teams are usually relegated to the social league.  That said, this year, a few of us gathered to field a competitive team, which was a ton of fun, even if we got destroyed in every game but one.  Thus, playing on both a social team and a competitive one, I was kept quite busy playing softball until I twisted my ankle sliding into second base.  I could say so much more about WAIST, but the ability to see everyone in one place and act like a kid again makes the event one of the most fun I’ve ever experienced, especially the second time around.

Now that I’m back in Ngaye, I’m focusing on managing the order my leather workers received right before the GRE/WAIST, as well as the order for the baskets we are currently processing.  I will be taking periodic trips to Thies over the next few weeks to help train newer volunteers for their IST, so this should be a busy few weeks.  As for the GRE, I felt that it went pretty well, but will only know for sure in a few weeks when I get my results back. 

That’s about it for now.  Hope all is well stateside and everyone is getting ready for the baseball season to start (I will be taking a trip to Dakar just for our fantasy league draft so it better be a good season).  Ba ci kanaam!

Pictures are 1) The Dakar social league (I am front center in the green mask with matching leggings…boom goes the dynamite), 2) Typical on-field WAIST antics, 3) “Les Nationales” (I am in front with taped ankle), 4) Teammate Cruger smacking a ball, 5) Myself, Peter (who has been in PC since 2005!), and Ankit getting ready to bartend for the biggest party of the year.