Carrying Water

There are many differences between the 'bush' and the 'city.' Many of them are differentiated by labels such as 'development,' 'civilization,' 'location of food,' 'the beach,' 'rice only,' 'dirty,' bucket showers,' 'showers,' 'pit latrines ' 'taxi,' or 'horse/donkey carts.' In the peace corps world at large the most commonly used terms  are 'posh corps,' and 'peace corps.' Now these are pretty easy distinctions. Posh describes a PCV who lives with amenities, such as, electricity, running water, television, easy access to resources, bottom line the basic comforts of development. Although, to be posh, you usually have to have several of the previously mentioned to count, there are many volunteers who might have only electricity at only certain times of the day while still living in the bush, while this is a luxury, they most likely would not be described as posh posts. While a 'bush' volunteer has none of the previously described. There are benefits and disadvantages to each, living in the bush, you know everyone and everyone knows you, there is a less likelihood of theft, much like a small town in America, there is an element of comfort and security that the rural provides...there are thoughts that if anything serious happened to me my village would run a trial like old times or just go off on whoever had caused me harm...what i'm trying to say is that the village protects their own.  If you live in a more developed area, a volunteer would tend to get 'toubabed' more often, there are challenges such as tourist season, a warping, imitation  and misunderstanding of western cultures which makes communication much more difficult, a exception of because you are white you are rich and thus must give me minti's or money like the tourists do, and a limited wide-spread knowledge of peace corps and its objectives. A bush volunteer would have to carry water for all of their needs, cooking, cleaning, laundry, showering, and ...you're screwed if you run out of water in the middle of a shower or heaven forbid in the middle of a bathroom break...believe me i've done it...but i'm terrible at keeping water in my house. You also have to power all of your movements, and by that I mean many times the only way to get somewhere is walking or biking, there are no opportunities for taxis, but hey if your really in trouble make sure you become friends with someone with a horse or donkey cart so they can get your butt to the road. To get food in the bush, I bike 14 k round trip to a weekly market where I can buy beans, spaghetti, soap, fish(?), seasonal vegetables, second hand clothes like piles of salvation army, which are really fun to look through, soda, milk, coffee, peanut butter, and pasta for the majority of what I buy. In village, I hope that the bitik is open, and I hope that they have bread! At the bitik you can buy tomato paste, onions, garlic, small bags of pasta, mayo, margarine, chocolate sauce, sugar, attaya, oil, candles, cans of condensed or evaporated milk...but just remember that they might not have these things. Larger bitiks have more than smaller bitiks, there is a large bitik 2 k away from me that sometimes has eggs!! So with these things you become really inventive, garlic bread from a frying pan, bean soup, spaghetti sauce from tomato paste, onions, and garlic. When I head into the city, I try to make sure my bag is as empty as possible so I can load up on foods and bring them back home with me.
To get work done, I'm actually pretty lucky in that I have a NGO 14 k trip away which has a generator and get this...wifi, so I can plug in and do grant work...which is where I am right now. But its not as easy as that. For example, one NGO has solar which is FANTASTIC, but if I need to go online I have to use my internet stick which costs do add up fast. The second NGO has a generator but most of the time its broken. So this is how my trips to use power usually go, I bike from home to town, trying to remember to bring water..because the bitiks in town are weirdly always out of water bags and I don't really want to drink the tap water. In town, I check out the NGO situation. ok...so more detailed this is how my morning went. I did remember water, I show up to town really wanted to finish the garden grant I'm working on. One NGO has decided to take the day off because its Tuesday  and why not stay home. The second NGO's generator is broken but they tell me that they are working on it...which in Gambia could mean it will be ready sometime today or maybe sometime next week. No one has come to work yet and its 10:30. So I sit...and I wait. And I get frustrated, so at around 11:30 knowing that I have a fully charged computer from the last time I was at an NGO, I head into the backyard and sit down on the cement, turning on my computer hoping to at least get some work done before the battery dies. I have already hand written essay questions and discussed the detailed budget with my counterpart, so I transfer information from my notebook to the computer. Everyone walking around laughs at the weird white girl who sits around doing work instead of just waiting for the generator. Then at  12:30 they have miraculously fixed the generator and I quickly plug into the power. Like I said before I am actually really lucky to have close by access to power, not many volunteers have that opportunity.
I don't know exactly where I'm headed with this whole blog post except that yeah, things can be really difficult and the basics of living like water supply and access and availability to food are limited at times. (water taps being on of only certain times of the day) And if your lucky enough to have some larger populations nearby you might get an NGO that will let you sit and take advantage of their amenities. In the beginning basics of living were a novelty, like ohh look at me I'm living in Africa in a mud hut and image if my friends could see me carrying water on my head. Then feelings shifted to f-this, there are cockroaches that crawl into my hut and carrying water is a bitch. Emotions have changed recently to, whats the ruffling sound inside of my hut at 2am.. cockroach...grab the nearest shoe..bye cockroach,  and hey mom is the water on at the tap yet?...ok water time because i'm thirsty. The novelty is gone, the period of fighting it is over, and now its just life. Yes, I live in Africa, yes its hot, the basics of living are somehow difficult, there are days that the daydreams of life in America are constant, but I fight to stay mentally here, because I want this, I asked for this, and I'm not going anywhere.
As we approach the one year mark, I set goals for the next year, what I want to get done for my home-people,  what I want to personally accomplish, and where I want to head next. But for now, its all about living and working in a rural African village where I see my siblings growing up so quickly and get teary at the thought of leaving all of this behind. After all, when else am I going to have to carry at least 24 L of water everyday.

Baby

Bureaucratic what-not

This is a spread sheet that PC gives to trainees so that we have an idea of what 'wacked' feelings we have are actually normal, and when they are not so we known when to get ourselves help...kidding....kind of. This list is in general pretty descriptive and does somewhat correspond to the times and emotions of a PCV,  although in one day or one week you can go through all your 27 months in country of feelings. This also doesn't include the happiness or feelings of bliss, so for parents and PC applicants, new trainees just remember that  no one ever lives by the list completely.

Months in Country	Issues	Behaviors/Reactions
1-3	Too much structure, Too much routine, Fatigue	Withdrawal, anxiety, feeling incompetent, nervous, restlessness, irritability, weight and or health changes Coping Strategies:  -explore independence -make plans for first 3 months -visit new site-establish relationships/familiarity with Gambia, PC staff -gather skills for immediate use
4-7	Assignment, separation/solitude, uncertainty of role, Language	Fright, frustration with self, loneliness, weight or health changes, homesickness, uselessness Coping Strategies:  -Develop in-country correspondence- Visit peers/host family- Efforts to establish support links with NGOs and government services- Technical research for future use- Language study- Establish schedule, routine, sense of “home”- Establish hobbies to do in public
8-10	Slow work progress, Language Plateaus, cross-cultural frustrations, Lack of support	Comparison with other PCVs, over-zealousness, home sickness, intolerance with host culture, uncertainties about adaptation Coping Strategies:  -reunions with group/site mates -cards, letters home to forgotten Relationships -talk with friends about slow starts & failures -simple projects: cooking, personal crafts, meetings, garden for self -consolidate friendships
11-15	Mid service crisis, doubt about program, role, self, government, reflections	Impatience with self,  complaining, lethargy, feeling useless, haughtiness with new trainees, confusion in resolving frustrations vs. victories Coping Strategies:  -Plan vacations  -Review work plan; set new goals  -Celebrate one year anniversary  -Find new recreation  -Physical activity: "Get in shape" -Write letters  -Explore better in-country relationships -Return to language study and practice -Visit new volunteers
16-20	Increased and more defined work pace, project work, awareness of time constraints, realization of own limits, post PC considerations	Hyperactivity or apathy, procrastination, self-recrimination, resignation, disappointment, downgrade achievements. Coping Strategies:  -visit new volunteers-physical activity; “get in shape” -focus on relationships in village -re-examine goals and time frame -apply for GREs, write grad schools -explore work possibilities in neighboring villages- look to collaborate on projects with volunteers.
21-23	Project work, awareness of time constraints, realization of own limitations, post pc-considerations,   depression about perceived lack of accomplishment, consideration of extension, checked out	Resignation, downgrade achievements, monument building, withdrawal into work, panic, procrastination, frustration with self, moodiness. Coping Strategies:  - Focus on relationships at site   -vacation/travel -review work plans, assess feasibility -plan “closing out”, & follow-up -work with counterparts on planning for departure, follow-up -collaboration with 1st year PCVs -consider post-PC planning; first draft of resume; 4-Mo. personal calendar
23-27	Trauma of Departure, Concern about social re-entry, Bridging new and former identity, redefinition of career goals, redefinition of host country based on relationships	Fright, confusion, alienation, anxiety, panic, giddiness, impatience, obsession with planning and scheduling. Coping Strategies:  -check on trends, US popular culture amongst Trainees - Job search /Apply for GRE, write grad schools  - do self-analysis: i.e. factors of self-growth; work accomplishment, to consolidate self-confidence -work on self-image -shop for art, crafts, etc. -write friends, make social plans -post-PC travel plans -transfer work skills, area-specific knowledge to trainees - Contact friends at home, make social plans

Welcome 2013!

Tenengfara has started a seed bank for this coming rainy season. Each family sends a 50+ k bag of groundnut to be stored in a building where it waits to be planted. This ensures that there is seed for the coming season- instead of being sold or being eaten, we are starting to think about the future. 

She really did not like that hat being on, even though she looked super cute!

This time of year everyone burns their fields for fear of fire jumping into their compounds. I came home the other day to learn that 4 houses in my village had burned down. This is what happens when fires get out of control, although I wasn't there to witness I heard that every person in the village grabbed a bucket and ran to the nearest tap- this is the african fire department. That evening with fear in their minds, the young men of the village went on weed patrol and burned all the fields. This is the youngesters in my family standing at the front watching the fire.

I went to go help a woman with her onion garden and I returned with a kitty. It doesn't have a name yet, because well I've only had it for 2 days and names are given on day 7 (duhh), he is going to get a naming ceremony. He's a fisty little thing, not wanting to sleep anywhere but on top of me or eat anything besides tuna because hey, its go much better than rice and peanut sauce. He sure does help with those lonely moments of being a volunteer- and he's got to learn to eat rice just like the rest of us, he's a gambian cat after all.

Merry Africhristmas!

Merry Africhristmas!! Africhristmas was celebrated on the 21^st of December at Fatty Kunda. I explain to my family a few days before what my christmas’ in America are like and that I wanted to celebrate one with them. They were so excited, my mothers’ declared that it was an official holiday and they were not going to the fields, they worked of course, washing clothes by hand and cooking but there was no field work or cracking of peanuts on africhristmas. We woke up and greeted each other, wishing one another a ‘happy Christmas!’ Bori started dancing because she was excited that she got the day off. They made boiled yams for breakfast, and were sitting around enjoying one another’s company when I brought out a dish of ‘american breakfast.’ I had cooked oatmeal and added local peanut butter and sugar with cut up bananas on top….we all sat down on the mat crowding around this bowl and passed our 3 spoons between 10 people each taking turns, teasing one another about who took the most slices of banana. The bowl was empty in no time. We relaxed for the morning, sitting and talking with visitors who came by the compound, each asked ‘why we were just sitting?’ which started the whole conversation about American Christmas and why we bring a live tree into the house and put lights on it. My American mom had sent me a Christmas ornament to make my Christmas a bit brighter, the Gambian Family was so intrigued by its beauty; they keep asking to see it. We played with the kids and listened to some Gambian radio. For lunch, I surprised my moms’ with 2 packages of spaghetti, a half kilo of onions, yams, and bread. So they made a spaghetti, onion, yam, maggi, and oil sauce which we enjoyed by breaking off little pieces of bread and soaking up the oil and using the bread as a scoop. They were teasing everyone that the meal was so good, because oil was dripping down the length of their elbows- this is a sign of wealth, prosperity, and celebration- but the World Food Program gives my family all of the rice and oil that we consume, so it’s a different type of wealth- international food aid prosperity. Then I brought out my little gifts for them. The kids got a brown bag with some ‘mintis’ in it, they each got to reach into the bag 3 times and pull out a surprise candy- one thing I treasure about Gambian children is their ability to share. Tia, the 3 year old, got a whole bag of biscuits and he went around and shared with each person until the bag was gone- and they do this without being instructed. Each of the women got a black plastic bag with an American necklace, a Gambian bracelet and some soap. Nymandin did a whole dance for her soap and started talking to Isatou, the baby, that she now had soap when she took a bath. Baboo, got a can of condensed milk, attaya, and the monthly contribution of money that I give to my family a few days early, he was so happy that he had to go around the corner to see everything that was in his bag. A new sister, Nyamdin’s oldest child, Kaddy came from the city and she got bracelets, a necklace, and a new t-shirt, she immediately went to take a bucket bath so that she could put it on and show everyone.  A Happy Africhristmas, it was a moment of perfect simplicity, joy, peace, and family. 

Seasons of Smiles

My best friend in village with a cute baby. The leather and rope necklace around his neck is a  spiritual protection jewelry that's called a juju, it protects the child/adult against evil spirits. 

Bintu

Isatou (Mom, she's coming home with me- gosh look at those dimples)

Hibiscus flowers 

Jelli, my wolof neighbor

Brother and Sisters with Baobab fruit 

The Thanksgiving Days

I can't believe this but....Africa got cold. I don't know when it happened exactly, just one day I woke up and the thought "I'm cold," crossed my mind. And when I say cold, I mean that this morning around 7am it was a low of 68 degree. But seriously that feels pretty cold compared to the highs of 105 that were from April to August. It feels so cold that I sleep under a flannel sheet, a doubled up sheet, and an airplane blanket, and I even sleep in a t-shirt and pajama pants. Its the cold were you wake up in the morning and debate getting out of bed to go to the bathroom- and by bathroom I mean hole- but the cement walkway on my feet feels like the linoleum of my bathroom in MERICA-  because its so chilly. I'm not saying that it still doesn't get hot. During the middle of the day, I still sweat, but sometimes there is this nice breeze that cools everything off and the sweat drys. I even wear long sleeved shirts, what is happening to me!! Its a really nice change, the sleep is so much better and I am much more active, getting work done and going for more runs. My families pretty funny though- they crowd around a bon-fire during the evenings and even skip there daily shower saying they are not brave of the cold water. I have to admit that I've also skipped a bucket bath here and there. Think about it, this water is coming from deep in the ground and its freezing, which feels really nice during the hot season, but during the cold season you really are not brave of a cold cold bucket bath. I know some fellow volunteers that have even boiled some of there bucket water to heat it up.... silly kids. 

An update on Thanksgiving, it was a really fun and well messy day. A few volunteers gathered in Ferefenni, a river side town which has through traffic from Senegal so it has some nice convinces like, electricity and a daily market, fruit, and egg sandwiches. A volunteer that lives near the Senegal border, husseled a real live turkey  to bring to our party. So he shows up with this huge turkey tucked into a half of a plastic container, tied in there with some bungie cords. He tells us the story of how he got this turkey, and how its been living at his house for a week, and how it tried to hang itself over his fence. I have to tell the truth here and laugh alot at my slip in reality. We had talked about getting this turkey for thanksgiving meal and for some reason, I don't know where my brain was but I had imagined one of those nice like 15 pounders that you could buy in Stop and Shop all packaged in plastic and ready to go in the oven. So not a live turkey, all breathing and looking at me and having to get it ready for supper. But were hungry volunteers and there is no way we were going to pass up on some turkey which we haven't had in 8+ months. So with some laughing, some shouting, some beating wings, some discussion of feather headdresses, lots of blood, some nausea  and a huge dull knife, because that's how knives come in Gambia, the boys went to work and we then had ourselves a dead turkey. 

Now is the time I would like to thank Art and Sally of Brown Farm for educating me on the ways of cleaning and preparing chickens. Honestly, without having worked along side them this meal might have been a complete disaster. (Reference the blog, Farm Oasis to learn more about the farm). Anyways, Daniel, Ryan, and I went to town with some hot water boiled on some coals and a large basin and plucked this turkey from neck to butt of all of its feathers. Next, came the part of cleaning out the inside. And having had the experience at the farm, I sucked up all of my dedication to thanksgiving and my want for some good turkey meat and went elbow deep into that turkey...and get this Sally and Art, I cleaned the whole thing out without breaking anything!! Honestly, I was impressed by how it went, it could have turned out so badly, I could have ripped the bowels or the stomach or something and then we would have had to clean more nastier stuff out of the turkey, but no this turkey cleaning went completely smoothly. Then the turkey meat was cut up and grilled by grill master Peter! For sides we had wonderful fruit salad with oranges, bananas and watermelon, a cabbage veggie salad, garlic cheezy mashed potatoes, grilled butternut squash, creamed canned corn, soo much goood good food! My stomach was full for days! And I will always appreciate meat in a way that I never had before. Its too much work sometimes to butcher and clean meat, and now when I do have meat in my food bowl I am thankful for the cook who took the time to clean the chicken. I will never again look at packages of meat in the grocery store the same way- we are truly spoiled by the ease in which we consume and cook meat. It was a very wonderful thanksgiving, thankful for things I had always taken for granted and although far away from friend and family, I was surrounded by PC family. A thanksgiving I will always remember!