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| It's a small world after all! |
Sunday was our major travel day. After 8 hours of mild discomfort in the back row of a sept-place, Alex (my CIEE travel buddy) and I met Peace Corps Phil on the side of the road in Koumpentoum, Tambacounda. Phil’s mother was traveling in Mali at the time and his father had just returned from a business trip from Dakar, so after a brief hello we crashed outside Phil’s “hut” for a few hours. I use the term “hut” here loosely, as it was complete with a working fan, an electric light bulb, and a gorgeous outside “office” porch where we spent most of our downtime. In the evening, the three of us wandered the streets of the town, with Phil pointing out sights of interest and Alex documenting every passing specimen of wildlife, be it rooster, sheep, or pig!
Monday started off with a delicious breakfast of toppaloppa (my absolute favorite bread, whose name means “pound and beaten”). We spent the morning making visits with Phil, checking in on people who are considering expanding their business or have ideas to talk through with him. After an interesting half hour hearing from the town’s school inspector, I chatted with some of the tenants in Phil’s compound, university students from Dakar who are in the process of conducting a two month World Bank survey on poverty in Senegal. We spent a relaxing afternoon swapping jokes, bananas and peanuts, and our thoughts on development. That evening, Phil, Alex, and I met up with a high school teacher, and together we shopped for a good three hours for school supplies. As one of his Peace Corps projects, Phil had helped to organize scholarship competitions for middle school girls throughout the country, with enrollment fees being award to the top nine winners and school supplies to the top three. In Senegal, and particularly in more rural regions, girls are often forced to drop out during middle school to work as household maids or to get married, so it was really neat to see how people are striving to counteract this trend.
Tuesday started off on a bright note, as Alex, Phil, and I painted a world map on the side of a local elementary school. The teachers were thankful to an almost overwhelming degree, explaining to us how each of the teachers would bring their classes outside to teach everything from colors to geography and culture! As the guys rested up after our artistic endeavors, I made friends with Khadjatou, the young family maid. She let me help prepare our lunch of ceebu jen (the national dish of Senegal, aka fish and rice), which, as she only speaks Wolof, actually means she mimed and cooked as I laughed and tried to follow along! That evening, Alex and I joined Phil at Koumpentoum’s scholarship ceremony where we helped pass out the school supplies we had bought the evening before. If I thought the teachers’ appreciation of our help that morning was disproportionate to the amount of work I had done, boy was I in for a shock that evening, as they thanked us with speech after speech— and here Alex and I had literally done nothing! Just when we thought the ceremony was over, one of the school board members stood up and delivered a few final words: “We thank you; it is important to encourage girls in their schooling. But what about the boys? I propose we start thinking about the boys! They live the same reality, you know.” And on that rather bizarre note, the ceremony came to a close, and we headed to an evening soirée hosted some of Phil's friends in town who are JICA volunteers, the Japanese equivalent of Peace Corps. Along with another student from Casa Blanca, we joined four JICA volunteers for an incredible meal of traditional Japanese cooking, all the while listening to music ranging from Edith Piaf to the Backstreet Boys, and swapping stories in a hysterical mix of French, English, and Wolof. It was definitely an evening inoubliable- unforgettable!
Tuesday started off on a bright note, as Alex, Phil, and I painted a world map on the side of a local elementary school. The teachers were thankful to an almost overwhelming degree, explaining to us how each of the teachers would bring their classes outside to teach everything from colors to geography and culture! As the guys rested up after our artistic endeavors, I made friends with Khadjatou, the young family maid. She let me help prepare our lunch of ceebu jen (the national dish of Senegal, aka fish and rice), which, as she only speaks Wolof, actually means she mimed and cooked as I laughed and tried to follow along! That evening, Alex and I joined Phil at Koumpentoum’s scholarship ceremony where we helped pass out the school supplies we had bought the evening before. If I thought the teachers’ appreciation of our help that morning was disproportionate to the amount of work I had done, boy was I in for a shock that evening, as they thanked us with speech after speech— and here Alex and I had literally done nothing! Just when we thought the ceremony was over, one of the school board members stood up and delivered a few final words: “We thank you; it is important to encourage girls in their schooling. But what about the boys? I propose we start thinking about the boys! They live the same reality, you know.” And on that rather bizarre note, the ceremony came to a close, and we headed to an evening soirée hosted some of Phil's friends in town who are JICA volunteers, the Japanese equivalent of Peace Corps. Along with another student from Casa Blanca, we joined four JICA volunteers for an incredible meal of traditional Japanese cooking, all the while listening to music ranging from Edith Piaf to the Backstreet Boys, and swapping stories in a hysterical mix of French, English, and Wolof. It was definitely an evening inoubliable- unforgettable!
Wednesday came around bright and early, as we set out to Tambacounda to meet up with two of Phil’s Peace Corps friends and their respective CIEE students. From there, the nine of us took an Alxumdiluluy (an overcrowded baby bus) to Wassadoo, where, after a good half hour hike, we found ourselves in a beautifully lush hideaway. We sat for hours by the river, looking in vain for hippos and spotting a handful of chimps and gorgeously blue birds. After a meal of macaroni and orange juice, we were joined by Amanda, a health volunteer who lives in a traditional Pulaar village near the campement. On the spur of the moment, six of us decided to join her for the night rather than making the trek back to Tamba, and so after another hour or so of walking and a quick Alxum ride, we made it to Medina darou Salam just before nightfall. Once there, I helped Amanda pull water from the nearby well before joining her family for a dinner of smashed corn. We were ready to crash early after our day of travel, so Amanda helped us improvise bedding all over her little compound. Lucky me had the good fortune to claim a spot neighboring the sheep and the roosters, so needless to say it was a pretty eventful night!
Thursday morning we wandered around the neighboring woods of the village, spotting fields of rice, corn, peanuts, and cotton. After goodbyes all around (and many, “Why don’t you stay till tonight? Or tomorrow? Or next month?” from our generous village hosts),we journeyed back to Tamba, where we headed straight to the Peace Corps Regional house, which is one oversized fraternity house where volunteers go to relax after a long week in village. After an hour curled up with a borrowed Agatha Christie novel, we enjoyed the delicacy of warthog for the first time at one of the volunteer's favorite hang-outs. We spent a lazy few hours enjoying the food and company before heading back to the Regional House to get ready for the next day’s trip. Back at the house, we enjoyed talking to volunteers stationed all over the country and made the most of our access to a kitchen by cooking up some mini grilled cheeses for the road. At last, after making plans to meet up next time any of them make it to Dakar, we bid good-bye to our new Peace Corps friends and headed to bed.
Friday was spent on the road, with just a quick detour on the way so that a fellow sept-place companion could inspect a herd of sheep for Tabaski (an upcoming religious holiday in which sheep slaughtering plays an essential role). As we waited, I received many tempting offers of sheep myself, but somehow I just couldn’t quite bring myself to shell out the minimum price of $300! At last, the woman decided that none of them really passed muster (which might have been influenced by the fact that there was a mysterious coffin strapped on the top of our car, and thus no real place to put a mouton!), and we rolled into Dakar by around 4:00 in the afternoon.
Though our week of traveling was filled with so many unforgettable moments—speaking Wolof with a new Japanese friend, being claimed by Khadjatou as her very own toubab, being offered a baby in Medina darou Salam, and eating warthog (aka Pumba!)—I could not help but feel happy to be returning home to my family. “Our favorite American has returned! We missed you so much daughter!” Papy Jo exclaimed upon my arrival…to which Mama Fat Kane added in her usual sarcastic (though secretly affectionate— I think!) tone, “Yeah. Things were well, um, calm without you here!"
Happy Halloween, folks!
Amy Diallo
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| Outside of Amanda's hut in Medina darou Salam |
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