Quick Update

I don't have a lot of time or very much to say so I will keep this short. I just got back from spending nearly a week in Dakar (way too much Big City time for this village Vol) for my Mid Service Medical Appointment. Mid Service Med basically means general physical and dental (free cleaning and flouride treatment too!) checkups to see what kind of a toll life in this country is taking on a PCV. Good news, I am healthy! (or at least as healthy as a Rural PCV can be, with the usual ailments) The best part of Dakar was being there with several good friends from my Stage for their appointments and thus being able to hang out, get icecream (mmm Obama Cookie and Strawberry!), buy fabric, and run errands around the PC Office/Dakar.

As for the village, rain has been slowly starting, a bit delayed from last year. I overheard a bunch of different convos between people last week about how they were worried that we won't have a very good rainy season because all of the rain clouds kept passing over us without any rain. Surrounding areas are already planting, but we haven't had enough rain yet. Hopefully there will be a good Rainy Season and harvest, Inchallah. The one positive about the delay in the rains is that NO ONE in the village is done with their dry season work. Yes, the Dry Season lasts about 8 months and yet it's mostly been in the last month that people (men) have gotten off their butts and been building batiments (homes), roofing huts, and building latrines (my project). This just amazes me because March and most of April, the men of all ages in my village just sat around, playing games and listening to music, and now are running around trying to get everything done--and having to start prepping their fields. Good job guys. I guess procrastination is a problem here too (not like I should be one talking...).

Anyways, so the influx of hurried work before the rains has slowed down our village mason and my latrine project. Where several weeks ago he was doing two latrines in one day, the past few weeks have gone by with just 3 latrines being done in one week. Not cool with me because, frankly, I am ready to be done with this project (at least til next dry season, as I've told people). When I left my village, only 6 were left to be done and told the mason it would be GREAT to come back to them all being done. Here's to hoping!

So I only have a few days in the village before heading on my first real traveling in Senegal: down to Kedegou to celebrate the 4th of July with the majority of PC Senegal. In the four or so days, I hope to make a few more batches of neem lotion (natural mosquito repellent...I did 2 causeries on it in the last few weeks and have sold approximately 50 bags of it for about $.12), check up on the latrines and talk to people about covering the latrine holes, help transition the school garden to the Rainy Season, hold an end-of-year evaluation meeting on the school garden, outplant a few trees, talk Malaria (I think we just got a bunch of free nets last week, yay!), and prepare people for the fact I will be gone most of the summer.

And so begins my summers of travel and generally being out of site...

I love and miss everyone!