Eco-T Expo and more...

Well, it's still unbearably hot out here. Every day the temperature rises to about 98+ in my room, and at night cools downs to around 90. It's sprinkled a few times here and there, but we're still waiting on our first REAL rain, which will be amazing. Other than that, things are progressing as normal. Just yesterday, our work partner (Abdou Dieye) coordinated everything to have a container full of baskets and other artisanal products from Thies and Dakar to be shipped out. It's really gratifying to see our work partners take the initiative and do this work on their own. They had been hesitant at first, but over my service they have gained confidence and are taking steps towards becoming independent from Peace Corps, which would be a huge success! In the interest of shameless self promotion, a media crew from the Peace Corps came to the villages and filmed our work a few months ago. It was made into a short Youtube video that you can see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw3p0uhdN7U

In other news, I had been volunteered about a month ago to help set up a large Eco-Tourism training to be held before a large International Tourism Fair in Dakar. We spent 3 days having guest speakers and talking about strategies to revitalize the Eco-Tourism component of Peace Corps Senegal. Even though I'm not an Eco Tourism Volunteer, it was a worthwhile conference/training, and the program seems to heading the right way. Then, we spent the following 3 days at the International Tourism Fair of Dakar, which was MASSIVE. There were thousands of people there, and the president (Abdoulaye Wade) even made an appearance! Just about every tourism agency in Senegal had a stand there, and most countries sent representatives from their respective embassies. One highlight of the weekend was when Senecart Tours (a car rental agency) offered us a free limo ride around the parking lot, which felt like a somewhat silly (yet fun) show of force by the company. It was a great opportunity for the Eco-T volunteers to promote their sites, and some of us also took the chance to display some of our artisanal products!

Not much else to report. The World Cup is making the heat more bearable, and it's exhilirating rooting for the U.S again after last years Federation Cup. In mid August, after my stage has its COS (Close of Service) conference, I will be moving to Dakar to extend my stay here in Senegal for about 6 months. Instead of coming home in September/October-ish, it turns out I will be here until about March of next year. In Dakar, most of my work will be aimed at media production (helping make instructional videos for agricultural volunteers) and adding content to our pcsenegal.org website. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to it, especially since two of my best friends will be rooming with me during the 6 months. For now, I'm off to watch some more World Cup matches with the host family. Go USA!!!

Senegal dafa tang waay!

For anyone who thought my proximity to the coast gave me a cool ocean breeze, here is a picture of my thermometer that will shatter those illusions. The picture was taken at 4:40 P.M today just outside my room (it was a cool 96 degrees inside the room). Enjoy.

The Trek!

It only took 10 hours and 15 minutes, but the Trek has been completed. On Saturday the 1st, 5 of my friends (Ian, Thomas, Ankith, Chris, and Emily) and I woke up at 4:15 A.M and were out of the house by 5 A.M. By the time the sun rose, we were already 10 kilometers outside Ngaye Mekhe, following a bearing of 280. We wanted to avoid the factory from last year because it was a lengthy detour and we were trying to make good time. With our cloudy morning keeping us cool, the heat didn't become a factor until the early afternoon. As we skirted north of the factory, we ran into a really cool area that had canyons and even a pretty lake! Crossing through this area, we took a bunch of pictures, and then kept on going. Much like last year, we passed through the occasional village that left everyone dumbfounded. Invariably, each villager would ask us:
- TOUBAB, Fooy dem? (Where are you going?)
- Noungiy dem gej ba (We're going to the beach!)
- ...(insert confused look)...Foo jogge? (Where are you coming from?)
- Ngaye Mekhe lanu jogge! (We came from Ngaye!)
- Jambaar ngeen! (You are all very brave!)

Around 1 P.M, we hit our ending point from last year. Thinking the ocean was at most an hour away, we started getting pretty excited (it was, after all, only 1 inch on Google Map...). This is the only mistake we made on the day. As it turns out, the ocean was still two and a half hours away. As our energy level started to drain, our attitudes shifted and the walk suddenly became less fun. As we got closer and closer, the scenery changed completely and became quite lush. Palm trees, Mango trees, and watering holes were popping up everyone. As the villages became more frequent, each one we passed would tell us that the beach wasn't far, just over the next hill. But each little hill we climbed revealed yet another plain with a small hill in the distance, and no beach. With the sun now in full force, we were getting pretty weary, but there was nowhere to stop even if we had wanted to, so we pressed on. For a brief stretch of time, everyone could faintly hear the ocean but nobody said anything because we all thought we were getting delirious. But sure enough, after a few minutes, we all agreed that we could in fact hear the crashing waves of the Atlantic ocean teasing us on this final stretch. Finally, we passed a villager who assured us that the ocean was literally right behind a small forest in the distance. Exhausted, we kept on going. With the sand becoming as thick as I have ever seen it, walking became more tiring than ever. Every one of us had enough sand in our shoes to fill up a sandbox, and we had eaten nothing but peanuts all day. Walking to the edge of the little forest, the waves were getting incredibly loud, and it was clear that we were only maybe 500 yards out. As we tramped through the forest as quickly as our tired legs would allow, it seemed that there was no end in sight. Finally, Thomas (who was in the lead), let out a scream and started sprinting. A few seconds later, I saw it: the beautiful waves crashing onto an empty beach. We had done it, 36 kilometers through the desert in 10 hours and 15 minutes. Each one of us ripped our shoes off (which aproximately doubled the amount of sand on the beach), and sprinted into the ocean, diving in like little kids. For maybe twenty minutes, all we did was laugh and flop around in the ocean. After a few pictures were taken, we gathered our stuff and gingerly walked to the main beach, where our friends had a house waiting for us.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying beers and eating a mexican feast (thanks to everyone who helped cook and set the house up). Coming back to Ngaye the next day, I was sore and stiff, but very satisfied. Blisters and other ailments had prevented us from reaching the ocean last year, so completing the trek was essential to me. Also, the walk was made much easier by the fact that I had some very good friends with me on it. All in all, it was a great adventure. Now, I'm helping prepare my artisans for a big fair we're having at the end of the month. Abdoulaye Wade (El Presidente) and the minister of TOurism have organized a large fair to promote Senegal as a tourist destination. They also want to display the work of Senegalese artisans, which is where I come in. 5 artisans have been chosen from the Peace Corps Artisanal network to be present at the fair. We only have one table for the artisans, so space will be limited. For now, we are focusing on creating some marketing (brochures, pricing sheets, pictures, etc...) for the artisans to display at the fair. We're also shipping out another container of baskets on the 20th, so I will be pretty busy for the next few weeks. That's about it for now, will update people on the tourism fair later. For easier viewing, I'm putting all the pictures of the Trek at the bottom of this post. Enjoy them! Ba ci kanaam!


Trekking through the morning.


Descending into one of the canyons.


Studs of the Dakar region.


The random (but very pretty) lake we came across.


I am awesome.


Ankith struggling through the last 200 yards.


The final stretch. This part seemed like it would never end.


Victory!


Not of the walk, but my little host toddler with his new "girlfriend".

Jambaar lanu!

Tomorrow morning I will be meeting 5 of my friends to enjoy one massive lunch at our favorite chicken restaurant before the walk (see last year's post for pictures). I had originally planned on keeping the trek to 3 people, but some of my realy good friends were adamant about going, so I couldn't cut them out. We have a great beach house rented out in M'Boro and should have about 20-25 people for our party there. All in all, I'm very excited. It's going to be hot, really hot (last few days have gotten to about 110 towards midday...), but with 5 good friends, I'm sure the time will pass pretty quickly.

Just wanted to show everyone what I've been working on this past week. On Tuesday, we sent out yet another container of baskets, and will be doing so again in late May. Unlike the last order, we chose to fill the container right on the national highway that leads to the main village, Diama Thiendou. Not much else to say, but wanted to post some pictures of the event. First picture is what counting thousands of baskets looks like, and the second is my nearest neighbor Christine posing in front of the container as it gets filled up. Hope all is well back home, and I will make a post about our walk sometime next week when I get back! Ba ci kanaam!

The trek has been announced...

After an excruciatingly long stay in Dakar, I am back in Ngaye, but most likely not for long. At some point in the near future, I will have to take a day trip to the big city in order to ship out 450 pairs of shoes my artisans have made. Furthermore, there is a little expo being set up on the 24th to showcase the work of many artisans in Senegal when the company Cost Plus comes here to scout for potential products. For the first time in my service, I have grown tired of Dakar. Our regional house, known to volunteers as Liberty 6 (named after the neighborhood it is in) has served as a second home for me over the past year and a half. But staying there for a full 2 weeks is maddening, and I was extremely content to come back to Ngaye yesterday.

Before the extended stay in Dakar, we were able to go on a great fishing trip in Popenguine (possibly the nicest site for any volunteer in Africa). While our numbers were less than stellar (9 small fish caught by 11 people), it was a ton of a fun and pleasant to get away from the craziness of Senegal for a bit. The ability to go deep sea fishing, have a BBQ, a bonfire, tons of food and drinks and a place to sleep all for $25 is one of the perks of living in the Third World. For those who remember the great trek of 2009 (see entries from May 2009), I am happy to say that the event will occur again in just about 2 weeks. This year the trip will consist of only 3 of us: Myself, Thomas Wheat (from Khombole, see bike trip to Kaolack), and Ankit Patel (from Popenguine). The three of us will leave Ngaye at 5 a.m on the morning of the 1st and proceed to walk the 35 kilometers (around 21 miles) all the way to the ocean, where we will be met by other volunteers. We will have a house rented in M'boro for the night, so we'll be able to rest up and enjoy the party to celebrate both my birtday and the completion of the walk. I've created a Google Map of the trip that can be seen here:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104393776320816648931.000483d012afe4b95fb3b&ll=15.166584,-16.87603&spn=0.081019,0.110035&t=h&z=13

Along with a bike trip to Kedougou for the 4th of July, this walk has been on my calendar for a long time. Ever since we completed (mostly) the trek last year, I have been talking it up and wanting to go again. Interest was very high this year, with over 10 people wanting to go. Yet, in the end it will only be 3 of us, which makes things easier on me, since I have to host everyone at my house the night before! I'll try to have an uopdate right before the walk and post some other pictures, but until then, ba ci kanaam!

Naj bi dafa tang! (The sun is hot)

Last year, the hot season was late to arrive, which was a pleasant surprise as a first year volunteer. Into mid April, I was wearing long sleeves shirts at night and enjoying relatively cool days. Unfortunately, this hot season seems to be making up for last years. In short, it's hot, very hot. Last week, Christine (the newest volunteer in Tivaouane and also my nearest neighbor) and I spent all of Thursday visiting villages and doing quality control for the current basket order. After stopping by 5 villages, we took a 30 minute charette ride to the 6th village. Desperate to get out of the sun, we ducked into the first household we could find. It was right then and there that we realized how intense the sun was. From 10 a.m to 4 p.m we spent about 90% of our time under the sun, and by the time we got to the last village, we were exhausted and dehydrated. Sunburned and feeling faint, we examined one last set of baskets and got out of there as fast as possible. I had planned to go for a run after the trip to the villages, but at the days end, all I could do was sit in my chair and dream of cold weather.


All in all, things are going well here. My projects are really in full swing these days, and I find myself busier than I ever imagined I would be. Before coming to Peace Corps, I always heard that volunteers felt as though they accomplished nothing their first year, and got all of their work done the second year. While I definitely wouldn't say my first year was a wash by any means, I do have to agree with the second year philosophy. Maybe it's because I've been given more responsibility in my projects, or maybe because I have a better understanding of the culture, but things are moving much faster nowadays than they were last year around this time. It seems as though my Peace Corps Partnership has been fully funded, which is great news. When I submitted the project proposal to the Peace Corps, I was unsure if the project would get funded before I left Senegal. Yet less than a month after it got posted on the internet, $2,100 have been raised to build our storage facility! I am very excited about this, and my work partner and I hope that construction can be finished before the rainy season begins.


That's about it for now. I'm going fishing this weekend in Popenguine, which should be awesome, and then I will be working in Dakar for about a week (as well as saying goodbye to some volunteers leaving the country). Hope everyone is doing well back home. Mangiy deem gej ba!

P.S I finally took some pictures of Ngaye. Bottom two pictures are of the town and of the old abandoned train station. The first picture...well...it's hot here.

Work work work

Well, with WAIST being over, things must once again return to normal.  I spent all of last week helping out our U.S buyer navigate through Senegal and develop new products.  It was a very productive visit and between my leather workers, the baskets, and some other small projects, I am being kept quite busy for the time being.  Other than that, some close friends of mine are all in the process of COSing (COS = Close of Service), so I’ll be saying goodbye to them over the next few weeks, which is never fun.  Later this month, I’ll be going to Popenguine (where my friend Ankith works) and going on a fishing trip, which I’m really excited about.  That’s about it for now, I’m exhausted from having spent 10 hours in the village.

For the first time in a year and a half (has it really been that long?!?), I am going to give advice on here.  I won’t go into specifics since this website is increasingly visible to the public, but my advice to current and future PCVs is: DO NOT LET NGOs TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR FREE LABOR.  That is all. 

Ba ci kanaam.