2010, A Year in Review

I posted these same questions at the end of 2008, which was the year I left DC and joined the Peace Corps. 2010 was just as much an important year of change as 2008, just not quite always so happy.   The year was dominated by being in Senegal, leaving my village, attending some weddings in the US and working at a coffeehouse, and arriving in France. It has been tough to mentally marry all of the experiences into the same 12 month period, balancing them all without focusing on one more than the others, which I don’t think I was always successful with. Sorry to those of you who had to deal with my  moods readjusting to life and thanks for your support. I try to remember that every experience is a chance to learn and grow and makes us who we are.

Most Focussed Period
January through the end of April, my last few months in the village and last chance to accomplish things before COS. I hosted a few HIV/AIDS education classes, a weekend-long peer educator training, fenced in the women’s garden, attempted to protect the trees around the school (for the 3rd and final time), formed a village hygiene committee, worked with students in the school garden, COS Conference and WAIST, continued my PST work, traveled to a few different places, enjoyed time in the village with Baby James and friends, hosted my replacement, finally published the Serere-English Dictionary, and realized that 2 years was not nearly enough time.

Most "No way! Is That Real?" Moment
Packing up my hut and leaving the village.

Sunset in Dogon Country, Mali

Or, standing on top of the plateau in Dogon Country, Mali, admiring the scenery below as the sun set, taking pictures, drinking millet beer with friends, and realizing that I didn’t want to leave West Africa. And then having a crazy thunder storm blow in that night while we were sleeping on the roof of the campement, and had to protect ourselves underneath our sheets.  Those kinds of things don't happen in the US.
And also the time I had to lecture a guy in Serere, on Easter night, for taking us on a hoax of hyenna search, lying, being incredibly rude, and trying to take our money. I had never expressed myself so strongly before, in any language, and my friends could do nothing but stare on (because they didn’t speak Serere). I was incredibly angry and also really impressed with my language skills :)

Lowest Point
The morning of April 22, when I was loaded onto a charret with about 25kg of peanuts and a few possessions and driven out of the village, my family members and I all crying. It was so much more difficult than arriving in my little Senegalese village two years before.  I was proud of my work and felt very loved but wasn't ready to close that chapter in my life.  Fortunately I was able to spend the entire afternoon in Kaolack watching Glee and then headed to Mali the next day.


Best Feeling
My last days and weeks in the village, the prayers, gifts, and well wishes people sent me off with. Knowing that my village and my boss considered my service a success and that people actually cared about me. The songs, dances, and prayers the Ndiomdy women did for me was overwhelming.

Also awesome: Easter Vigil mass in Palmarin, where I heard the Word of God proclaimed in Serere.  The entire mass was in Serere, though as the only visitors, we were greeted in French.  However, I understood the priest's Serere words more than any mass I had ever attended in French or Wolof.  The music was incredible and I even recorded part of it, plus the holiday was spent with a good friend and a new friend.


Most Pivotal Moment
Getting on the plane in Dakar to return to the US, knowing that I wanted to extend but feeling like I was already too obliged to things in the US. Attempting to accept that a new chapter in my life was being written and realizing that things would never be the same, while also planning my return, hopefully in the next few years.

Most Humbling Experience

My village sisters trying my Kraft
Mac&Cheese

The love I felt from my village when I left, and every time that I have called them since. Knowing I made Senegalese men (and women) cry when I left made me realize that they cared as much about me as I them.  Knowing that it was relatively "easy" for me to leave, but most of the people in my village can never imagine leaving to go to Dakar or Kaolack, let alone across the ocean, and life would stay more or less the same in Ndiomdy for the next several decades.


Favorite Weekend
Either COS conference/WAIST in Senegal, which was more than just a weekend. It was my last time to hang out with my stage (the group of PCVs who arrived with me in March 2008) and many people from the region. The week included good food and great friends, a choreographed Bollywood dance routine (dream come true!), lots of dance parties, and memories without words.

With Leslie and Zane

Or driving down with Lori to Jenna and Wes’ St Louis wedding. The wedding was fun, it was great staying with Lori’s friend Katy, and I saw my dear friends Leslie and Mike Dallas for the first time in over 5 years, and met their new son. So much amazingness in one weekend!


Toughest Day At Work
The day after my 25th birthday, going into Kaolack to purchase fencing supplies for the Ndiomdy women’s garden. After a day spent purchasing and haggling over prices, the terrible car we had to rent (since the community truck was in a terrible accident the week before) broke down on the outskirts of Kaolack, I had to pay the repairs and for several cars just to get us back to the village, WITHOUT the supplies. I didn’t get home until midnight, angry at the world, and the supplies didn’t arrive until more than 24 hours later, in the dark. It then took the men of the village three months to (improperly) install the new fencing. A lot of angry words and protesting got them to mostly fix it in my last week, but there were still a few things not totally completed when I left the village. The women told me it wasn’t my fault, but the men’s, and that they were happy to be able to garden again because they never thought it would happen, but I was disappointed in the way things turned out. I would really LOVE to see the state of the garden now, and what tasks were completed. I did it for the women however and not myself.

Most Satisfying Day At Work
Realizing that my peer educator training weekend was a success (though stressful and exhausting in the planning and implementation) when the 42 trained high school students started leading their own health sessions at their schools without and prodding from me, and really took leadership roles in their communities. Knowing that I started something that will hopefully continue and spread, making an impact across a generation in the Djilor area. One can hope. It also helped me realize that my future is in public health training, specifically in health educator training.


Longest Wait
4 Months: the time between returning from Senegal and heading to France, killing time working at the coffeehouse and going to the gym.


Most I-Can't-Believe-I-Just-Got-Away-With-That Moment
Getting back into France after Emily and Brian’s wedding, without the immigration guy caring that I didn’t yet have a “titre de sejour.” In fact, he didn’t even look at my visa, just studied my 10-year old passport picture. I had spent the first three weeks in France panicking and obsessing about not being allowed back in the country, talking to different government offices, and email harassing people, being told I probably wouldn’t get back in. In the end, the immigration guy didn’t even care. What a waste of time. I then had to fight my way through a country of striking train workers, teachers, and oil refineries to make it back to my little Burgundy town. I spent less than 4 days out of France.


Highest Point
Knowing that going to Senegal was the right decision, that I did a good job, and that I will always have the love of my village.
Also, giving the Maid of Honor speech at my best friend’s wedding, knowing that the French bureaucracy trouble and expenses was worth it to be able to celebrate with Em and Brian.



2010 was definitely a rollercoaster year, so what will 2011 hold?  Roog soom a andu, Only God knows, but hopefully it will be on the up and up.  It will definitely be yet another year of new adventures, of that I'm sure!

From my email

Bonjour tout le monde!

Below is a random compilation of numbers representing the past year in my life, in mostly random order.  It was a year of difficulty and change, laughter and dancing, great friends both old and new, family in the US and Senegal, learning a new job (not the coffee one), and frustrations and victories.  A year that changed my outlook on life and goals for the future.  A year of discovering new places and rediscovering old ones.  A year when the lives of many around me changed with new and expanding families while I used a machete to forge my own path through the forest of life (to quote from my favorite middle school teacher).  It was also a year when I finally realized that wherever I am, I am far away from most of the people I love, which gave me a surprising amount of peace and freedom in what I do and where I go.  I have no idea where 2011 will take me, but that's half the fun!  And now, 

2010, A Year in Numbers

Number of…

Transatlantic flights: 4

Non-ocean crossing flights: 9

Weddings: 4

Bridesmaid dresses: 2

Money spent calling Senegal on Skype: $90

New jobs: 2

Residences: 3, on 3 separate continents

Months lived outside of the US: 8

Grand total: 36

Countries spent time in: 8 (Senegal, The Gambia, Mali, USA, France, Germany, Austria, and Spain)

Currencies used: 4 ($, euro, cfe, dalasi)

Sunny days: 190

Cloudy/rainy days: 120 (NOT in Senegal)

Days with my sister: 5?, but definitely not nearly enough

Group fitness classes attended: 65 (or thereabouts, Zumba, Body Jam, Body Flow, Yoga, Sh’Bam)

Text messages sent: 1,023, perhaps (Mostly to other PCVs in Senegal)

Blog updates:  19

Hours spent in transit: at least 351 (that’s 14.625 straight days)

Wine drank: I would rather not comment on how many bottles J

Types of cheese consumed: 30 or so

Cups of chai tea drank: 172

Lattes served: a few thousand

Visitors hosted: 7 (all PCVs, in 3 different countries)

Languages used: 6 (4 frequently)

Student leaders trained: 42

Gardens worked in: 5

Kilometers walked: probably a few hundred, if not more

Dance parties: far too few

Packages sent to Senegal: 4, plus several letters

Packages received from all over: 10, I think, but the kindness has boggled my mind

Mini RPCV reunions: 4 (Chicago x2, Baltimore, Semur)

Pairs of legwarmers: 2

English teachers I "work with" in France: 8 (supposed to be 9)

Different groups of English students: 40

Total students: about 520

Serere wrestling matches: 4

Trips to DC: 2

Friend couples with new babies: 4

Hours spent people watching: 101

European Christmas markets: 9

New countries I really want to visit: 5 (Morocco, Turkey, Sierra Leone, Chile, Burkina Faso, as well as anywhere else someone wants to send me)

Also...

Favorite discovery: Zumba, it’s such a fun and freeing dance exercise and one of the few things that kept me from going absolutely nuts this past summer.  If only there was a Zumba class here in Semur…

People of the Year:  It's a TIE! 

Farba Diouf.  He was my Batman in Senegal, always helps PCVs and other foreigners, enjoys a good laugh, and demonstrates true Senegalese teranga.  Since leaving, he still calls me on occasion just to say hi and check in.  He’s a great person with a true commitment to his family and community.  My second year of PC service would have been entirely different without him around.

 My dad, for being the backbone of the entire extended family, always helping me out so much from abroad, and going back to school for a degree in Accounting.  I’m so proud of you!  (and don't be upset about the shout-out here!)

More posts coming soon, Inchallah.


NOTE: within 30 hours of posting this/sending the email, Farba called me!  He doesn't have regular internet access or know that I gave him a shout out here, but he always seems to "know" when I talk about, write about, or otherwise think about him and all of the help he provided during my service.  Or when things here in Semur aren't going well, he just seems to know to call and greet me.  Incredible!  [I should also probably, finally, do a personality post about him just to better describe who he is and why in my honest opinion, he is The Best person in Senegal...but I'm a little biased :)  ]

Yes, I Live in a Christmas Village

(written the week after Thanksgiving, slightly out of date...)

For almost as long as I can remember, I helped my Grandma set up her "Dicken's Village" at Christmas.  For those of you not aware, Dicken's are a set of elaborate miniature houses and buildings the likes of what many suburban mothers put up to form a Christmas village under the tree, in a windowsill, or up on a bookshelf, just more expensive.  There are houses and shops of all shapes and sizes, figurines selling everything from pheasants to flowers, horse-drawn carts (quite unlike Senegalese charettes), iceskaters and small children, a plethora of tree varieties, snow-covered stone paths and walls, and anything else you can think of to convey the imagery of a small English town at Christmastime (or London, around the time of Charles Dickens).

One of the towers and the
"curiosity shop"

I spent many afternoons during the early Christmas season helping my Grandma create elaborate country, town, and city scenes with her figurines.  We used seran wrap to create streams under bridges, styrofoam to add height and dimensions, and cotton to look like freshly fallen snow.  I remember my sister and I occassionally using the figurines like Barbie dolls, creating elaborate stories for them, especially the quaint farm scene (that always had a place at child's eye level underneath Uncle Kenny's coffeetable).  The scenes took up her entire house--on bookshelves, under tables, as center pieces on tables normally reserved for eating--anywhere!  We always had a lot of fun brainstorming where to put pieces and I know she was sad when I got too busy to spend much time on them when I got to high school.

Homes along the river, complete with
stone wall

It's been snowing in Semur on and off for about a week now, and sticking (which means it's cold!).  While out for a "run" this week down by the Armacon River which cuts through town, I suddenly felt transported into the miniature villages of my childhood.  Semur, with it's old Burgundian architecture, flowing river, and snow covered stone walls was suddenly the personification of the Dicken's village (except without all of the Oliver Twist-esque aspects of 19th Century London).  Below are some shots, let me know what you think:

What a classic country lane!

Snow draped rooftops 

Looking up on the church from the river

Ok, so the French winter sky is always really gray, so the pictures aren't as beautiful as I would like, but oh well.

Update: after a week of nonstop rain, the snow is back.  It's still a little gray, but much better than the dreary start to December.  I hope you are all getting in the Holiday spirit, wherever you may be!

"Sur le pont d'Avignon...

on y danse, on y danse. 

Sur le pont d'Avignon,

on y danse tout en ronde."

I'll admit, I'm a pretty terrible francophile.  Sure, I've been speaking French for something like 11 years, spent a summer in Paris, and graduated from college with a Certificate in Translation (meaning that through the litterature heavy AU French Dept I had read several French authors), but I don't actually know that much about France, the different regions, or various current political or cultural figures (historical, sure, covered that in Paris).  While applying to this Assistantship program, I had to ask friends and basically googled the different regions, somewhat randomly choosing rural areas over some of the more industrial or famous parts of the country.  A shame?  Maybe, but I've obviously become more interested in Africa in recent years and Belgium has always held my Western European interests (and Sweden my northern interests).

 I had vaguely heard of Avignon when Monika suggested we visit it during our 5 day weekend in early November, but I couldn't totally place it at first.  A quick Rick Steve's check reminded me it's the city of the French popes and has a famous bridge, but that's about it. 

A look down on old Avignon

Avignon is a very cool city, the old heart of which is held behind the ancient town walls. It is a university town in southern France and a lot edgier than dear old Burgundian Dijon, in part to the interesting mix of cultures that comes from its location closer to the Mediterranean Sea.  I was pleasantly surprised when I kept forgetting I was actually in France and not Italy, between the popes, paintings, and good ol' Roman ruins.  Famous Avignon souvenirs include lavender, soap, fabric, and the multi-purpose Herbes de Provence (which we have learned this year can be used in everything from quiche to squash soup, chili, and Thanksgiving stuffing), none of which I purchased.



Le Pont du Gard



We stayed with some nice German university students and visited such famous sites as the Palais des Papes, Musee de la Petit Palais (sacred art, including a Botticelli), the Pont St Benezet (the famous bridge), the Pont du Gard (old Roman acqueduct you've seen in your high school French books, a bit outside of town), the opera (a first for me!  We saw Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte), and the Roman ampitheater in Orange on the way back.  The biggest let down was that the museums in Avignon are all operated by a private company, meaning we couldn't get in free with our "Pass Education" which allow free entrance into all public museums and monuments (like the Louvre).  Lameness, so we were forced to use our university student IDs get some discounts on entrance.

Part of the Palais des Papes,
but it's too big to get in one
picture.  Cool lighting tho!

While I never learned the famous song as a child growing up (thanks, Mom!), it's famous enough to have been dedicated as a UNESCO World Heritage site solely for it's role in the song (and not for it's architectural success as the bridge has been more than half destroyed by the Rhone River).

In front of the beautiful cathedral
for the Popes

Anyways, it was a good trip and I'm glad we were able to make the most of a 6-day weekend before the cold set in.

Thanksgiving, à la Française

A very happy and slightly belated Thanksgiving to all of the readers out there, wherever you are!

Thanksgiving or Christmas?  The snow started Thursday early afternoon and continued on and off most of the weekend.

  

I thought this was clever and complex,
yet not too difficult for my
oldest students to figure out.

Every holiday celebration is slightly different (or extremely different in my case) and Thanksgiving 2010 was no different.  Since my job here in France is to use American culture to teach French students the (American-)English language, Thanksgiving was an obvious choice for two weeks worth of class lessons.  Like my fellow American assistants, I spent the week prior researching a little on the background of Thanksgiving, as well as debating how to best include (or not include) some of the more culturally-sensitive aspects of Thanksgiving.  Having participated in many an elementary school Thanksgiving feast (including being a chosen reader in a Thanksgiving skit that would no longer be considered culturally appropriate), I had a lot of memories but needed a brush-up.  After scouring the internet for various lesson plan ideas, stories, and whatnot (some ok, many terrible), I decided it would be best to brush over some of the sensitive aspects and focus on what Thanksgiving has become today in America (having not participated in a US Thanksgiving in 3 years, I'm not really "up" on US culture, but whatevs).  Instead of the fateful first interactions between the Pilgrims and Native Americans (including Squanto who's story I am now fully versed on), I focused on four aspects: 1. Family (and friends), 2. Food; 3. Football (and the Macy's parade), and 4. Being Thankful.

I prepped a few different lessons, based on the grade level but all very similiar and was pleasantly surprised when they were mostly well-received by the students.  While I'm not sure if they understood everything, they all know that we eat turkey and pumpkin pie (which they think is a disgusting idea), watch football/the parade, and most get that we like to be with family and friends.  A few students and teachers even understood that it's hard to be away from family/friends/other Americans for the holiday, and asked me if I was sad, which was sweet.  Some may have even understood the idea "to be thankful for", because I asked them about it, but it's a much harder idea to get through their heads than the idea of a "large chicken" and lots of other types of food.  Whatever, it worked and put me in a great mood all week and helped get me into the spirit of Thanksgiving (even though I had to work on Thursday). 

  

A small, typical French oven

While in America for the Derlunas wedding, I planned ahead and purchased two cans of Libby's pumpkin in anticipation of perhaps being brave enough to do a Semur Thanksgiving.  A few weeks prior, I chickened out of everything except pumpkin pie due to the small size of our kitchen and my busy Thursdays.  However, as I was prepping the lessons, I got brave again and talked to the other American assistant in Semur, Jie, and we decided to get our international group of girls together for a Thanksgiving.  We had 4 countries represented (or perhaps 7, depending how you want to think of it) and had people bring dishes. 

Monika had difficulty carving the chicken,
so Vir was called in to help (not the
US Americans)

We didn't have a turkey due to the size of our tiny oven, but Vir and Anne (Argentina and France) made a delicious apple glazed chicken; Jie (the US, China) made mashed potatos, gravy, and chesnuts; Monika (Germany, Bolivia) made the beans and whipped cream, and provided the wine; and I introduced the girls to pumpkin pie.  (Klara, also from Germany, arrived in time for dessert, armed with delicious sparkling peach wine.)  It was quite the feast!



Thanksgiving Semur-style
Myself, Anne, Vir, and Jie. 
(Monika took the picture and Klara had not yet arrived.)



  

Not the prettiest pie ever, but I nearly
melted tasting it, yummy!

Even though I didn't have Thanksgiving Day off, I was still able to benefit from a long weekend since I always have Fridays off.  A bunch of the American assistants located in Dijon wanted to get together and celebrate Thanksgiving, so after submitting my first grad school application of the year, I "quickly" baked another pie and hopped on the bus.  I arrived to the setting-up of the Dijon Christmas market and spent an enjoyably long evening with other North Americans conversing over some great food.  (I didn't take any pictures though because there were about 5 or 6 other cameras constantly snapping and didn't find it necessary, sorry people.)  We played a fun game similar to taboo where I discovered how out of touch I am with French culture and government, being more of a franco-afrophile than a true francophile, which I am mostly okay with.  It was a great evening and I really appreciated being a non-Dijoner invited to celebrate with those based in the city itself.  Thanks to Taya for hosting the large group of us, Sarah for letting me stay at her place for the night, and Erica for grabbing coffee with me when I arrived several hours before the start of the dinner.  It was also a great opportunity to discuss travel possibilities with some others who are up for something a little more exciting than Western Europe...

And now, since it is (or was) Thanksgiving, I guess I should mention some of the things that I am Thankful for this year, in no particular order:

• All of the people who have sent me cards and letters in the past month, especially the Thanksgiving cards.  A big thanks for the three packages that arrived this week from Jen, Emily, and Bob and Margaret, especially the homemade cranberry banana bread and all of the chai tea, AMAZING!  Thanks for all of the love and kindness, even when I sometimes feel silly asking for things while living in a developed country.
• To my parents and everyone else who continue to support my crazy ideas and inability to stay in the same place or country for too long, in the midst of the crazy economic annoyances and massive student loans, especially with everything else they have to take care of.  You guys are champs and God has a special spot in heaven for you.  Thank you for your love and support.
• My sister, who I only seem to see once a year, but whom my students already think is cooler than I am because she is working so hard at something she loves and her bands will be huge some day.  Though she couldn't make it to Senegal, hopefully she can make it to France.  She, and several other friends, are inspiring me to start "running" (err, attempt to).  Maybe someday I will be able to do a 5km, but at least now I can do something since I don't have Zumba or Healthbridge.
• For all of my friends and family in Senegal.  I talked to many of them a few weeks ago for Tabaski and swelled with love as they passed the phone around, sending blessings and offers of sheep meat my way.  I miss them more than words can say and can't wait to return, hopefully sooner rather than later.  Amidst my frustrations and difficulties over the 27 months, they taught and loved me so much and I genuinely miss my crazy life with them in Ndiomdy (and Thies).
• For my job here in Semur-en-Auxois.  The town is super adorable and though I might not love the job and the school might not be the most organized/functional, it's still a job that at least pays a little. It has already shaped part of where my life is going (or more, where it's not going...) and I've met some great people and I know there will be some fun adventures in our future.  I have an apartment and though it's freezing, at least I have someone to share it with and fight for better heating--and we get along!
• Tying in to the above, I am thankful for all of the amazing and crazy experiences I've had and will hopefully continue to have.  After life in DC, the city of world travelers, I sometimes forget that things like study abroad, alternative break, mission trips, the Peace Corps, and other types of global work are NOT actually normal for most people.  When my students asked me where I've traveled, they were shocked that I've been to 39 US states and over 20 countries!  I had never even thought about that until they asked, but I've been blessed with some cool and ridiculous jobs and opportunities to learn more about the world in the hope of making it a better place some day.  Little by little.  O ndang o ndang.
• For the $6 Target leggings I bought prior to coming which have already played an important role as long underwear/layers and the newly purchased 5euro H&M legwarmers.  Best purchases in recent memory, hands down.  I may fantasize about the days when I woke up sweating in my hut instead of shivering curled up with my computer next to the radiator, but at least I have things to layer. 
• God, because He is pretty freakin' incredible, 'nuff said.

There's so much more I could include, but I will stop there.  Thanks for reading this and I hope that you all have a great start to the holiday season.

Yea Malaria Prevention!

So please check out this video shout out to Peace Corps Senegal and their work with Malaria No More (Ed Helms is from The Office if you think he looks familiar).  While I never did one of their mosquito net distributions, many of my friends did and I worked with other distributions and on lots of other types of Malaria prevention education.  (Check out my blog entry about Neem Lotion from November 2009: http://pcbeth.blogspot.com/2009/07/fighting-malaria-1-bar-of-soap-at-time.html)

Ok, here's the video.  Yea Peace Corps! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcCV0uGqMVI


(btw Comedians Against Malaria?  Whatever, as long as it helps combat the spread of this controllable disease.)

A Day on the Vines

So prior to my brief US sejour, I spent a fabulous afternoon in a tiny village an hour or so away from Semur, visiting the family of some friends here (the parents of the host mom of two of the assistants--her name is Odile).  They live in an old agricultural village, have fields, several gardens, animals, and a tiny vineyard.  We were invited to help with their recolt, which is done by hand in a long afternoon because the vineyard is so small.  This was one of my favorite days so far in France because the weather was gorgeous and it gave me a chance to get back outside, in the sun, and working in a garden.  Hopefully this day was just the start of my Burgundy wine-o education :)





We went up and down the steep rows, filling up buckets, emptying them in large barrels, and refilling them, all the while munching on fresh grapes right off the vine.  After a tough few hours in the sun, we stopped and drank fresh grape juice and ate soft cheese and cookies.  So French.  It was perfect.

After returning to the farmhouse with the loot of grapes, the men started separating the fruit from the woody bits, and the other assistants and I followed Odile to check out the four massive gardens here parents (in their 80s!) still work.  If only the people from Ndiomdy could see these gardens!  Every household had at least one and most weren't even fenced in because animals such as goats, sheep, and cows are penned in and not allowed to run rampant (novel concept for the Senegalese!).  The largest garden was still full of carrots, varieties of cabbage, winter lettuce, spinach, and so many different types of leafy vegetables that I had to keep asking about.  We drained two of the gardens of any of the ripe varieties of squash we could find, from zuccini to pumpkin-like orange globes to miniature flying saucers, butternuts, spaghetti squash, random gourds, and even a few renegade cucumbers.

 Just one part of one of the many gardens, one of our more than 6 full barrels of squash, and me, excited to be outside, in a garden, and wearing flipflops again.

  



We finished the day with homemade pumpkin soup, the first of many episodes of squash soup this fall :)