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Peace Corps Service: March 2012 - May 2014

Saturday, April 7, 2012

We've been here for one month already?!

Back from 2 weeks in Ngeexoox, crazily my time actually flew by. Also, cannot believe I’ve been here for a month. It hardly feels like it because we’ve been all over the place and our days are packed with training/language class.

Realistically, we didn’t do too much over the past 2 weeks. We have language class in the morning at 9:30 after a breakfast of instant coffee and baguette or bignets (if my mom was selling them the night before). At 11:30 we go buy snacks at the bitik nearby to hold us over until lunch. A bitik (boutique, but re-spelled into Wolof) is a kiosk-type store that has food-items (anything from powdered milk to food flavoring to yogurt-- either pre-packaged or in small tied off plastic bags) and random household needs items (washing powder, etc). Language class ends by 1 so we can all get back to our houses for lunch around 2 (mine is anywhere between 2 and 3:30). Lunch is always a variation of rice and fish in a community bowl. The seasonings all have MSG so it tastes good, but I’m really missing my daily dose of veggies and protein (1-2 fish for about 10 people... I get a few bites of fish each lunch). I’ve been supplementing my diet with fruits from the market and some peanut butter (they sell it in plastic bags at the market for sauces, I just squeeze it out on bananas or cookies.. kind of inconvenient packaging, but it’s natural PB- my favorite). In the afternoons we head over to our garden and water. We’ve transplanted tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and onions, in addition to seeding a bunch of veggies and trees. After the initial work of making the garden beds and compost, we don’t have a lot of work to do in it anymore other than water, so we often head over to someones house to practice Pulaar or just play cards or Bananagrams.
I get home before nightfall and hang out with the family, who is always watching TV. While conversation is sparse during this time (and there’s only one common room, so I either sit with the family and watch tv or be anti-social in my own room) I’ve turned watching ‘random soap operas from all over the world dubbed into French’ into productive French-study time. The TV programming here is pretty awful, but the daily morning Disney is pretty great (despite the fact they’ve already played Ratatouille 3 times).
We have dinner around 9 or so (as late as 10:30 one night..) and it’s generally milk and cous-cous... which I’ve nicknamed milky sand. Definitely not my favorite thing, but it’s kind of like bran cereal and at least I’m getting milk (I’m not thinking about how it’s reconstituted with non-treated water). Though 3 times we’ve had this great salad platter with caramelized onions, potatoes and hard-boiled eggs that you eat with baguette. Definitely one of my favorite dishes so far. Getting to sleep at my house is a nightmare, it is always loud outside my room. If it’s not chanting from a nearby brotherhood, it’s Top 40 blaring... neither monotonous prayers nor Rihanna at full volume are easy to fall asleep to, and I have to put my iPod at 80% volume to try to cover the noise. Luckily I’ve been exhausted for many nights so I’ve only been laying awake a few times. We’ve all been affected by crazy vivid dreams due to our malaria med- Mefloquine, but other than that, and possible limited short term memory, I don’t seem to have any of the other crazy side effects (unless I’m forgetting them all..).
Back at the training center we’ve had more full days of training. We had our first language exam to gauge our progress, I’m currently at a “novice-high” in Pulaar. We have to get “intermediate-mid” to finish training, and still have 2 more exams/one more month to get to this level. I’m feeling more and more comfortable in Pulaar and mastering the random consonant changes (F turns to P, or W to MB from singular verb to plural conjugation.... yeah). I still can’t believe I’ll be using it as my primary form of communication, but I know it will all just take time. It’s an interesting language because there are a lot of verbs. There’s a different verb for eating breakfast, lunch and dinner... in addition to “to eat”. However, there is no distinction between “to study” “to read” or “to learn”. Also, some terms are just great, the traditional term for fruit is “bibbe ledde” or “children of the tree”, though many people simply use “fruwta” colloquially.

One of the days in Ngeexoox we headed to Mbur, the next town over, to go to the beach. It was absolutely amazing and gorgeous, I can see why Senegal is a getaway for the French, like Mexico is to Americans. I’m very pleased that I’m on a coastal country so I can get away to a beach if/when I need it.

Other than that, I find out where my permanent site is on Tuesday! I cannot wait to find out my home for the next 2 years.

Also, mail is nice.. ahem :) My address is:
PCT Alicia Gorecki
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 299
Thies, Senegal
West Africa

3 comments:

  1. It is Easter weekend here, sounds so boring compering to your new expiriences.
    Good luck with your new home.
    Karolina Teplicki

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  2. Is there anything you're craving? Wishing you had brought with you?

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  3. Awesome, Ala! :) Sorry that I missed you yesterday!! I can't believe that you've been there for a month already too, that's crazy! XOXO, Lisa

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