Baskets!

Not too much to update on. I spent the last few weeks managing the latest basket order, and progress is coming along nicely. Within 10 days or so, our order should ship out and we'll be able to focus on making a few changes to streamline further orders. Once it is clear exactly how much th association can contribute, we'll be submitting a Peace Corps Partnership Application to try to get funds to build a storage facility for all the baskets (see attached pictures for why this is needed).
Other than that, life goes on as always. Next weekend will be a typically awesome weekend in Dakar, as we'll enjoy softball, followed by volleyball, followed by even more softball, and topped off with some live college football. Afterwards, I'll stay an extra day or two in Dakar to complete my mid-service physical, which should be loads of fun. Anyways, hope all is well back home. A plus tard!

The Boys Are Back in Town

As some of you may know, my good friend John came here to visit me in Senegal a few weeks ago. As a volunteer in Lesotho, John is experiencing a wildly different aspect of Africa than I am here. Thus, with a short 2 weeks to show him the country, we made the most of it, seeing quite a few of the major spots in Senegal, including Cap Skirring (nicest beach in Senegal, and also the closest point in Africa to Brazil), Popenguine, Ziguinshore, Kedougou, Ngaye Mekhe, and of course, Dakar. Moving at a breakneck pace, we barely spent more than one or two nights in one place. The most memorable part of our trip (I can guarantee that John will agree with me on this...) came down in Kedougou region, where we took the challenge to visit a beautiful waterfall that was reputed to be a "quick 4 hour bike ride" away.
23 hours later, exhausted, dehydrated and underfed, we arrived at these mystical waterfalls. With a group of 8 people, we had horrible luck in terms of bikes breaking down, and having to ford a 4 foot deep river with all of our stuff didn't help (there was a bridge to cross, but upon seeing this bridge, it was clear that fording this river was BY FAR a better option, since most of us were interested in staying alive). When it got dark around 6:30 p.m the first night, we had to ask a random Pulaar village if we could spend the night, which caused great excitement among the villagers. After a usual nighttime rainstorm from hell that almost blew our tent over, we were eager to get going the next morning. So, having left at noon the previous day, we finally arrived at around 11 a.m. Thankfully, the waterfalls were truly beautiful, or we would have been seriously pissed off. Other than that little overly intense adventure, the trip couldn't have gone any better, and it was a blast to say the least. See bottom for pictures. I am putting up all the pictures from the trip on a Picasa album, so go there for more pictures!

Now I'm back in Ngaye and bearing down with work. Coordinating the latest basket order, as well as filling out funding applications for both my leather workers and the basket association will be taking up most of my time for the next few weeks. Soccer season has started here, so I'll be going to a few games a week with my host family to watch local kids play (see pic at bottom). On November 1st, I will be continuing my tradition of stupidity when I attempt to swim from Dakar to Goree island. As an annual event, this organized swim is one of the top 5 longest open ocean swims on the continent. I've heard about this event ever since coming to this country, and have been determined to complete it when given the chance. Obviously, there are no swimming opportunities here in Ngaye (the country club is closed right now, so no tennis or golf either!), but I am doing my best by running a lot and working out a ton. I'm off to bed now so I can be competent for an early Sunday morning run, but hope all is well back home and that everyone is enjoying playoff baseball as much as I am! I'll try to be more frequent with updates so stay tuned. Ba ci kanaam!


On the boat to Zinguinshore



Popenguine




Night in a Pulaar village



Ready to roll the next morning...spirits still high




Post river crossing...notice how deep the mud is



John, being a badass



Victory! At last!



Kicking it with cows in Cap Skirring



Local soccer game in Ngaye

Korite

Yesterday was my 2nd Korite in Senegal. While the names and faces were completely different from my previous Korite, the day was spent much in the same way. In the morning, we ate breakfast like we normally do (outside of the month of Ramadan, of course), and then the men went off to the mosque to pray. From around 11am to 6pm, we basically sat around all day, enjoying the shade from trees and eating great food throughout the course of the day. Chicken, beef, lemonade, soda, popsicles, and dates were on the menu, and I can't say that I was complaining too much. In the evening, everyone got dressed up and took pictures, as well as walked around town visiting other families. To be honest, Korite is quite boring. We all sat for 7 hours talking about the same stuff we usually talk about, such as the ever popular question "Gallas, where are your girlfriends? And why aren't they here?" (They still ask me this, even though I've told them many times that I am not hiding a stash of girls in Dakar). That said, it's apparent that this is an important holiday for my family and the community, so I did my best to act like I was having the time of my life. Next on the agenda will be Tabaski, which is an even bigger deal than Korite, and promises to be quite the feast.
That's all I really have to say for now, just wanted to upload some pictures of Korite. My buddy John is flying in Saturday night, and I'm happy to say that I've planned what I deem to be a pretty awesome trip full of danger and adventure. Anyways, hope all is well on the home front. Ba ci kanaam!



Pictures are as follows --> 1)My namesake, Fallou Gallas and I (he is a complete clown, and my nickname for him is Golo, aka monkey)
2)Family members lounging about and making tea during the day
3)Me and my baby brother, Ahmet (notice my awesome Boubou outfit)
4)A light near my room. Yes, we have a lot of bugs...

365 Days later...

Exactly one year ago, the adventure we've come to call "Peace Corps" began in earnest. On September 11th, 2008, 40 toubabs arrived in Dakar, not knowing in the least what they were in store for. In truth, it's incredibly hard to believe that an entire year has flown by since that fateful morning. But in these past 365 days, my peers and I made new friends, learned new languages, acquired new "family" members, and of course, lowered our hygienic standards by a substantial amount. Together, we've shared some incredible experiences, and some awful ones that I somehow remember fondly, solely because of the company I was in. We've all had our highs and lows in this country, and it's safe to say that other volunteers are the greatest source of support when having a bad day. My greatest concern coming into this experience was what the other volunteers would be like. Having moved around my whole life, I knew how much harder these two years would be if I didn't have some friends to rely on. Thankfully, I've gotten to know some amazing people out here that have defined my service thus far. The good times were made even better due to having friends around, and the bad times were easier to handle with said company present. It's also important to understand that these are the only people in the world that can truly understand where we're coming from on many issues. When someone barges into a regional house saying "I wish this country would sink into the ocean and never be spoken of again!", you understand. When you sit on the beach, eating a mango the size of your head while watching a breathtaking sunset over the Atlantic, those next to you understand when you say "I never want to go home". With one year down, I'm making a mental note to enjoy this next year as much as possible, because all good things come to an end. As expected, this has been the most defining year of my life, and I cannot wait to see what the next 365 days have in store for me.

I spent the last few days in Dakar celebrating a friend's birthday, and just got back to Ngaye today. Combining the birthday with our one year anniversary, we had a blast. After a whole day of enjoying the pool and sun, we went off to a fantastic restaurant (where I had an actual Tex-Mex burrito), We're going to visit my leather workers a few times, as well as take a day trip out to the villages to get a first hand look at the production line. It should a be good experience and I'm looking forward to meeting my new neighbors for the upcoming year. Also, as some of you may know, my buddy John Anhalt will be flying in for 2 weeks on the 26th, which will be awesome to say the least. Well, I'm off to get some work done/clean up my room, but I hope everyone is doing well back home. I should note that today should not be a particularly uplifting day, as it is the 8th year anniversary of 9/11, so take my optimism with a grain of salt. So, for now, ba 11 Septembre bidi new! (until the next 11th of September).



Pictures are from N'Ice Cream (location of the 23 minute all-you-can-eat fest), and of Dakar at dusk from a friends balcony.

A Tale of Two Landscapes

When I left in early July for vacation, the landscape here was just starting to change. After no rain for about 9 months, the scenery was about as barren as could be, with only some shrubs and the occasional tree providing any color. When the rains finally started, I was just about to leave, so things looked quite the same. Upon my return, I was confused. Had I landed in Central Africa? What was this place with greenery flowing from all ends? Everywhere I looked, everything was green and lush. In fact, when I finally rolled back into Ngaye Mekhe, I had a hard time recognizing the town. Since the dry season is so long, literally the second that rain starts falling, the plants start to grow furiously. Obviously, there is still lots of sand, and for those missing the desert, it's still not too far away. Here are two pictures (the first of which I took during the dry season, the second a few minutes ago) to illustrate the change.












In other news, work is going well. It's looking like we'll have yet another basket order later this fall, which is great. Also, I'm going to start filling out some applications with our work partner in order to get a storage unit built for the village. Currently, our work partner stores ALL of the baskets in his home once they are finished. This last order, having 2600 baskets created quite a few problems for our work partner, as he had to give up a good majority of his compound when the rains started. Having a legitimate place to store baskets is essential for this association, and hopefully we'll be able to start constructing one in the near future. Also, I'll be making a catalog with my leather workers over the next few weeks so we can have all their models presented in an easy to access file that could increase their chances of securing an overseas buyer. That's all for now, I'm off to go run in the 100 degree sun...Ba ci kanaam!

The vacation to end all vacations

After a lengthy and fantastic vacation, I have successfully returned to Senegal. I wasn't in desperate need for a vacation, but the opportunity to visit Eastern Europe (with someone who knows quite a bit about the area) is one I couldn't pass up. Ever since my brother moved out to Serbia in the fall of 2006, I have been trying to find time to visit him. Three years later, there I was, sitting on an Airbus A320, grinning from ear to ear as the jet rocketed down the runway of Leopold Senghor International Airport. Upon arrival in Serbia, our little trio (my mother, my brother and I) spent a few days walking around Belgrade and eating amazing food. Then, thanks to the support of both our parents, Elliott and I ventured off on a tour of the Balkans. In a 10 day span, we saw various parts of Montenegro (including the beautiful Durmitor National Park, where we camped), Bosnia (including Jahorina, the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics), Sarajevo, and Dubrovnik (Croatia).


Simply put, I could not have asked for a better vacation. Not only did I get to enjoy the thing I miss the most as a volunteer (Western food), but I also got to spend time with my family and have a crazy adventure to top it off. Now, having returned to my "real" life, I'm ready and excited for the upcoming year here in Senegal. Even though the timing of my trip was unfortunate in respect to our basket order, the first container of baskets was sent to Dakar and shipped off with no problems that we know of. We will, however, have to set up a 2nd container to send the remainder of the order. As far as my leather workers, we'll be working on making a full fledged catalog over the next few weeks, as well as hopefully editing their video footage into a movie. In exactly one month, my stage and I will celebrate the one year anniversary since we arrived in Senegal. The fact that we've almost finished one whole year here is very strange indeed, and I will probably spend quite a bit of time over the next few weeks pondering how fast time flies. Anyway, I'm putting up a Picasa album with pictures from the trip so people can see all of them. Hope everyone is doing well and I'm glad to hear you're doing better Grandma! Ba ci kanaam!

PCV Gaines is M.I.A

No updates in awhile. If you didn't know by now, I am on vacation. I will be in Eastern Europe until early August. Internet is somewhat inconsistent in my current location, so updates will be short. Upon returning to Senegal, I'll write something more substantial. For now, I hope my PCV friends are enjoying the great scenery and weather that Senegal offers, and I'll see you all in August. Mangiy noos REKK!