I survived! I made
it through another hot season. There were days where I could not summon the
energy to move off of my floor (bed was too hot, floor is cement and thus a
little cooler) between the hours of 2-5 pm. Try living in 115 degree heat
without your fancy fans or air conditioned car. Surprisingly, there are a few
positives to hot season-
-shower 4 times a
day and no one judges
-No one does
anything or expects to do anything between the hours of 2-5pm
-excellent detox
for my sweat glands
-I wore shorts knee
length in my compound and no one cared
-Mangos!!!
-Hippos are back!
-Bragging/bitching
rights
-And that its
over!!!
So ya, the rains
have come! Hooray! While it is still damn hot, the temp has decreased some and has
been replaced with humidity. Some times slightly better.
I have been at my
site for over one year and am seeing things happen again, the exact way they
rolled out last year. More and more I realize how much I missed last year and
how much more I understand now.
The first rains
have come, signaling the men to first rush to the fields. I understand who
works on what crops. I know what all of the things people build are for, and why it is necessary to create huts just for peanuts. I am aware that women with older daughters plant more than
one plot of peanuts while women without older girls do not. I realize that my
father, the old, crazy chief that rarely moves from his chair, still has crops
of cotton, corn and peanuts because others plant it for him out of respect.
 |
| Aminata has grown so much since I arrived, she now walks and is beginning to talk! |
What has affected
me the most is how hungry the women are after working in the fields from 8 am
til 2pm. Since December, people were not working in the fields and I had
forgotten how much food these women could eat. Now that they are back in the
fields, their aggression at the field bowl increases. Additionally, Ramadan is
around the corner meaning that people are trying to save their money because
Ramadan is expensive. Therefore we have run out of rice and are only eating
corn couscous.
With that said, Ramadan is coming as is malaria and with these two events, I have my work put out for me. I have just attended a 10 day
intensive 'Malaria Boot Camp' that is put on
by Peace Corps and includes PCVs from all over Africa.
During my Boot Camp, there were over 30 volunteers from 16 different countries. I was able to collect lots of ideas and information on projects I
will do over the next few months, working on encouraging everyone in my community to sleep under a net. With malaria work, talking to pregnant and breastfeeding women about not
fasting during Ramadan, and an internship program that I am starting in
Tambacounda, I have a busy few months ahead. Before I know it, I will have 3
months left in Senegal
and will be planning my next adventure!
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| Kid playing on the chief''s brand new moto that he received from the government for being chief... He now uses it to travel 20 meters away from the compound. |
