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!)

J’ai faim, quoi

    

Well, tomorrow afternoon I will be heading off to Dakar in order to start my vacation.  The past few weeks have been hectic, and things won’t really slow down until I step onto the plane.  This past weekend Peace Corps hosted an artisanal exposition in Dakar (at the American club, specifically).  This was my 3rd expo here in Senegal, and it went quite well all things considered.  Our basket association sold a solid amount of baskets, and the artisanal network as a whole sold right around $3,000 worth of products (some of which you all might be lucky to get in a few days…).

One big downer on the weekend was that one of my leather workers, Moussa Gueye got in a car accident on his way to the expo.  He fared better than the other passengers in the car, but he essentially has a broken hip.  I visited him today in Thies (any serious injuries in our area are usually treated in Thies, where they have proper medical care), and the doctor came in to tell him he should get a hip replacement, which is a very expensive solution in this part of the world.  I’m not sure how the situation will turn out, but I wish Moussa the best, and hope he’ll be able to get back to work soon.  On a side note, I never want to visit a communal emergency room in Africa ever again. 

That’s about it for now.  I’m scrambling to get things ready for vacation so I don’t have too much time to update people on everything, but I will do so once I get to Texas.  For now, here are some pictures of the artisanal expo and of the flyer I made for the expo.  The last picture is myself and several of my stage mates doing what we do best: party like rock stars.  Ba ci kanaam!

“Don’t you have something for me?”

Well, a whirlwind of activites not involving work has just come to an end, so I'll provide a summary. The week before Thanksgiving, my friend Thomas and I decided to do a bike trip from Ngaye to Kaloack. The distance is not too far (140km), and we wanted to visit people along the way, so we didn't exhaust ourselves too badly. All in all it was an absolute blast and I definitely want to do another bike trip in the future. Halfway through the 2nd day (going from Bambey to Fatick), we ran into a kid who exemplified the Wolof attitude better than most.  As we sat on the side of the road taking a small break, a well dressed teenager came up to us on his own bike (and a decently nice one at that).  Once we  had exchanged the typical greetings, the kid just stood there quietly.  After maybe a minute or two, he grew impatient and blurted out “Don’t you have something for me?!?”, as if as toubabs, we simply carried around a large bag of gifts to give to anyone and everyone.  Failing to hide my frustration, I simply told him that we were not going to give him anything, and proceeded to get back in my bike.  As we rolled off, he kept repeating the same thing over and over again: “Why not?”.  It’s this aspect of the culture that I will simply never understand, and will always get frustrated at.  Other than that, the trip went great and I’m glad to have had the time to do it.

After a birthday party in Kaolack, Thomas and I rushed back (by car this time) to our sites to get ready for Thanksgiving.  About 25 volunteers were lucky enough to get invited to the Ambassador’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, and it’s safe to say it wasn’t a disappointment.  A few of us even cooked sides that turned out quite nicely (my group made green bean casserole).  The next morning we were up at 5:30am to get back to our sites, since the following day was Tabaski.  Being the biggest holiday of the year, we all wanted to get back in time to get ready for the event.  For me, this involved helping my host father carry two struggling sheep into a shack, where they would spend their last night.  The next morning, I awoke and had a leisurely breakfast with my mothers and sisters while the men went to the Mosque.  With their return, the show was set to begin.  To avoid freaking anyone out, I will refrain from posting pictures of the actual slaughtering, but you’re interested, let me know and I can send you some wild ones. 

After the slaughter, we went to work cutting up the animals (I helped out by holding a leg here and there in order to give more room for my host brothers to work with).  Soon enough, we  were eating ribs and liver with mashed potatoes, and needless to say, it was pretty tasty (compared to a usual meal here, of course).  Later on we had more meat, and then some more, and then some.  In the evening, people went about town visiting friends and family.  It’s a tradition to ask for forgiveness from the people you know in order to begin a new year on the right foot.  After yet another meat filled dinner, I was pretty tired and called it a night. 

Well, that pretty much summarizes the past week or so.  For now, I’m working on a few things here and there, and will be working with my leather workers to get them ready for the artisanal expo on December 12th-13th.  After that, as you may or may not know, I will be going to TEXAS for the holidays!  Anyways, hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, see you all soon!  

P.S – Pictures are of the middle of nowhere between Ngaye and Bambey (1), me looking on in Baba-Garage (2), Thomas adjusting his bike during a break (notice the size of the Baobab!) (3), preparing to slaughter the sheep (4), and Tabaski dinner with my host family (5).

Softball and baskets…again

It’s been a little while since I’ve written, but all is well here.  I had an extra long stay in Dakar that involved my mid-service physical, a visit with a high ranking Peace Corps official, softball, and shipping baskets.  Softball has become perhaps my favorite thing about Dakar region.  Once every 2 weeks, we get together and play in a recreational league against other expats and some Senegalese teams.  Being by far the least advantaged team on the field (we are usually barefoot and more often than not, a few too many beers in…), I’m happy to say that we’re sitting on a 3-1 record so far.  I guess talent and youth can prevail over dedication.  These games usually go on throughout the winter and culminate the week before WAIST, when we will be in the playoffs, inch Allah . First picture is of my previously nearest neighbor, Daniel, hitting a line drive to center field.  Second picture is Cruger (left), congratulating my stage mate Ankith (right) on a run scored.

 

The work portion of my trip included an 18 hour debacle that was the packing of our container.  As stated in my previous post, our baskets were done and ready to be sent to Dakar for packing and shipping.  Our U.S buyer had asked that a volunteer be at the location of the packing to oversee the process, which I would have done even if she didn’t ask. Through a combination of miscommunication and ineptitude on the part of the containers supervisor, I found myself in Rufisque (a far out suburb of Dakar, seen here in the first picture) at 6:30AM last Thursday for no good reason.  With 3 large trucks full of baskets on the way (or so I thought), one of them made a quick stop to pick me up and take me to where the container actually was.  It was then that I realized it was going to be a long day.

 

To make a long story short, the container HAD to be filled on Thursday, and someone had to stay with it until ALL the baskets were loaded in order to properly lock it once it was full.  While the 1st truck came into Dakar on time, the 2nd and 3rd were not so lucky, with delays of 6 and 12 hours, respectively.  Thus, after filling the container with 2 trucks worth of baskets (see 2nd picture), we waited until 8:30pm, when the last truck rolled in.  Around 10:30pm, we realized we had yet another problem: there wasn’t enough room in the container for all the baskets.  With 82 baskets not being able to fit inside the container, we had to find a place to temporarily store them, which resulted in a late night transport of the baskets to an apartment in Dakar where 5 volunteers live.  In short, it was a extremely stressful and exhausting experience I hope I don’t have to repeat again.  The good news is that the container will be leaving Friday, and consequently our job was successful, if not messy.  The even BETTER news is that one month from today, I will be making a 17 hour trek across the Atlantic to go HOME.  For 2 weeks, I will be basking in the glory of the U.S.A, enjoying the holidays with my family, and eating myself into a comma.  Anyways, for now I’m preparing to take a bike trip to Kaolack with a buddy from my stage.  Upon return, I will head off to Dakar, where the Ambassador is kind enough to be throwing a Thanksgiving party.  2 days later will come Tabaski, so I will rush home for that.  So I’m off to bed now, hope all is well back home and see you all in one month!  Dinaa gis sama waa ker ci ay vacances yi!

 

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