My good friend Joe graciously hosted a SED reunion and my birthday in his city of Foundiougne. Foundiougne is located just north of me, in the Fatick region and is also on the water. They even have a 10 minute ferry that runs across the delta.
The first night we ate at an Italian restaurant and spent the night hanging out at the campement. The second night we dressed up in costumes and ordered a pig for dinner.
Counterpart does everything - recently, he set up a weeklong homestay program in Sokone for 6 American study abroad students living in Dakar (CIEE). Their schedule of visiting women’s groups and local businesses helped me learn a great deal about my own community.
Learning how to make honey - honey season will start in the spring.
Bagging bissap powder at the cereal transformation center
My sitemate once tried to start “Sokone Sundays,” volunteers in our subregion would meet in Sokone to hang out. We thought we found the perfect campement - it was pretty, secluded, and had a beach. I didn’t make it home till after dinner that night and had to cross waist deep water to get there. I think Toubacouta (more touristy town, 20k down the road) Sunday is safer and Chez Ass has amazing burgers.
Fadidi - home of the one time only Sokone Sunday
Keur Saloum - Toubacouta
Perks of living on the delta - Swimming. I was very happy to find out that I would be living so close to water - it meant I could swim as often as I liked. It was still school vacation and extremely hot my first month of site so the kids and I would head to the “beach” everyday at 5:00pm. Now that school has started, they are very busy and unfortunately we can only go on weekends.
Our favorite spot.
Our PC Country Director challenges all new volunteers to a 5 week challenge. To complete, volunteers must stay away from regional houses and in their sites for the first five weeks of service. If you complete the challenge, you get a party. Since our official party is TBD, our stage met in the Kaolack house for a little reunion.
We all made it.
(technically from Popenguine beach weekend, but same type of party)
My counterpart and supervisor skipped the Peace Corps information training that was held in Thies before my arrival. To make up for it, they gave me an office in the mairie - with internet.
Small catch- it is currently occupied by two Dakar students who are working on a database collection program for the mairie. The system will be used to track tax collection and mairie finances. Since I don’t actually have work of my own to do, I am more than happy to do a few hours of data entry with new friends.
Mairie - Town Hall
Fatou and Pape
I was afraid I wouldn’t have much to do my first few months in village, with not being allowed to start projects. Luckily, my very active subregion was able to help fix that problem.
Mangrove Reforestation - 30 volunteers and Seerer women/children planting almost 10 hectares of mangrove seeds in the Toubacouta/Sokone area. Counterpart was impressed.
First boat ride in Senegal - to planting site.
Planting, done - water fight.
Moringa Tournee - Volunteers in the Kaolack region had previously planted moringa trees in school gardens and women’s gardens. The second part of the project was to show the women how to cook and prepare meals with moringa powder. I attended a cooking session in Karang, Fatick.
My first week in site happened to coincide with the end of Ramadan, the holiday of Korite. My first Korite was celebrated during training in Hamdy, Niger. I was expecting similar traditions - wake up early, get dressed up, town wide prayer in the fields, big breakfast/lunch, wander around all day.
In Senegal you spend all morning cooking and preparing food for lunch and dinner and once it’s dark you get dressed up and walk around the neighborhood for two hours, done. The food was delicious - spaghetti, chicken.
Fatou, Diaw Nar Kane (me, new name), Moussa, Aziz, Mom, Badjin
Took the oath of a volunteer for the second time on August 19, 2011.
Waiting for the ceremony to begin
New SED Sokone subregion. Noah (Karang), me (Sokone), Robert (Toubacouta)
We will spend two more nights in Thies at our training center and then a week in Kaolack, our PC regional capital and finally off to our new homes!
Sokone is located in the region of Fatick (pink) or Sine Saloum and is very close to The Gambia.
I will be living with the Mbengue family consisting of Fatou Diop (mom), Khady or Badjin (daughter), Malick (son), Fatou (neice), and Diarra (granddaughter). I have a total of 5 siblings but three of them (Moussa, Maty, and Penda) are spread out from Dakar to Kaolack.
PC Senegal assigns counterparts for volunteers to work with and mine is the very well connected Baba Ndiaw. He owns the Auberge Du Delta Sokone campement and knows everyone. He is very interested in environmental education and tourism.
I will be heading to Sokone as an Eco-Tourism Small Enterprise Development Volunteer
The day after site announcements I was able to visit Sokone for a few days to meet my new work partners and family.
Home (all to myself) for the next two years. Visit.
First round of PST was 11.5 weeks of CBT (community based training) in one language.
Second round of PST is 9.5 weeks of CBT and Center (Thies) based training in two languages.
I will spend my first half of PST learning French and my second half learning the local language of Wolof. My CBT site is the lovely religious city of Tivaouane. I spend my days with my LCF (language/culture facilitator) Aissatou and three other trainees Jonathan, Robert, and Stanzi.
When I am not with those amazing people I am spending time with the wonderful, kind, and extremely “patron” Diallo Family.
We have a kitchen, living room, cable tv, maid, garage, and a Mercedes. My mother Nene stays at home with the kids (Kadidiatou, Dgeneba, and Ya Moussa) while my father, Ousmane, is at work at the chemical plant.
But if I wasn’t home I wouldn’t have…
Gone on the Oasis of the Seas with my family
Visited the Boy in PC Nicaragua
Seen my beautiful friends in NY
Gone to Disney World/Universal for mom’s birthday
Seen my beautiful friends in Boston
and visited the boy a second time in Nicaragua.
New/Current SED Stage 2011-2013
