On the Eve of Thanksgiving--Posted the Day After

I’ve been debating whether or not to update the blog right now as not much is really going on. My biggest news is that my vacation is 3 weeks away and I am just about to start the 7th and final Harry Potter book, one of the big goals of my PC Service.

So basically nothing of what I said would happen in my last blog entry occurred in the past two weeks. So Africa… I still haven’t heard official word about my grant, but unofficially that it’s a go…though it may take 4-5 weeks for the money to go through. Since I just received my 3 month pay, I may front some of the money and wait for the grant to come through, just so that we don’t have to wait FOREVER for the project to start, but whatever. Then again, maybe I won’t.

I did not wind up going to “Pulaar Land,” aka up north for Thanksgiving and am instead writing this from dirty ol’ Kaolack (much improved, however, with the dry season). There are about 25-30 Vols here and we are making Senegalese versions of the American classics (and some Vols’ kind family members sent over lots of cans of pumpkin filling and cranberry sauce). We have 3 turkeys and 1 chicken (please don’t think American sized turkeys or chickens…it would disappoint), a bunch of apple and pumpkin pies, stuffing, mashed potatos, etc. And an afternoon game of football planned in a nearby field.

Almost all of last week I spent prepping for my big village meeting when we were to create an Action Plan based on the major health and environmental problems of the village and thus focus my work the next two years. After the morning meeting, there was to be a nice lunch for the 35 or so participants and then an afternoon teacher training. The meal was perhaps the most dramatic part. Last Tuesday, I went to Foundiougne and bought 6kg onions, 4kg carrots, 2 kg navet (a root veggie), 6 heads of garlic (is that what they are called?), 6 hot peppers, and 3 green peppers. Thursday morning I bought 20 maggi cubes (large bouillon cubes, basically), a ton of pepper, mustard, random seasoning, vinegar, dish soap, drink flavoring, 2kg sugar (smuggled from the Gambia…), and 1/4kg tea. As I was heading back to my village from town Thursday morning, I was planning on going around to buy 15kgs of rice, 4L oil, and make sure the 5 chickens were purchased and procured. However, while planning, I received a text message from my APCD saying he had Malaria and wouldn’t be coming the next day anymore. I don’t blame him in the least—he was traveling around the country running these meetings the past several months and was worn out and such. However, it did mean that most of my planning and work of the week went to naught, and a lot of money was spent, which I may or may not receive back... I gave the veggies to my family and a few others in the village, kept the nonperishables to use when he does come, and begged my counterpart for the chicken money back.

The big achievement of the week however was starting my own garden in my backyard. My nearest PCV neighbor came by on Monday to help me dig space for the school veggie pepineer, which was a lot of work. We had to dig through 6-9 inches of hard clay before getting to soil (rectangle space about 1m x 2.5m or so), dig that up, mix in manure and fertilizer, and water. We wound up not planting the seeds for the pepineer since there still wasn’t official word on the grant, but I did spend the next few days digging up similar spaces next to it for my own garden. I planted carrots, green beans, zucchini, and pumpkins, and when the eggplant and green peppers are ready, will add those to the plot as well. It’s small because it was so much work to dig and prepare the space, but oh well. Until I talk with the teachers more about the garden and have a better timeline, I still can’t plant their veggie pepineer, unfortunately (don’t want them to be ready to be out-planted only to not yet have a fence or garden space prepared, etc).

Also, I took a TON of pictures this past week, of the people of the village, myself, my backyard, etc, so hopefully I will at some point have access to a good internet connection to upload more photos. My village has also started having weekly Saturday night wrestling tournaments. This past weekend it was Friday AND Saturday. They are an experience worthy of a good blog entry, which will come at a later point in time.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for this opportunity, to be here, serving, even though I do not always know what my purpose or work is, and experiencing a new way of life. I am thankful for my family in the village, fellow PCVs, for dancing, laughter, and having a hut to call my very own. Most of all, I am thankful for all of my loved ones in the States and around the world who have sent me mail, packages, thoughts, and most importantly, their prayers. Thank you for the support and encouragement. It means a lot, more than words can even begin to express my gratitude and amazement at all of the love, especially on the worst days, the best days, and everything in between.

Thanks. Merci beaucoup. Njookoonjal. Jeregeenjef.