My guest proceeds to tell me the burger has grizzle on it after a half a bite. I didn't understand...the burger was well done. How could it carry that much grizzle? Oh, and the child w them just ate the...
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I turned in the last form a few minutes ago, completing this close of service process in record time. I'm still in Senegal (Iceland permitting, I plan to travel a bit), but I'm no longer a volunteer. Weird. Now I...
I am am going back to the village for the last time tomorrow. My replacement, Geoffrey, arrives tonight from Thies and we are going to be there for three days before leaving together. He'll return in a month. I won't....
Here's my chick! Isn't he cute? Sadly, he too had to die a violent death at my hand. I stupidly plucked him out of the beak of a marauding duck, and he never quite recovered. I told Balla I hate...
One of our chickens abandoned her eggs, and Baddu was systematically going through them, trying to figure out if the unhatched chicks were still alive. I assumed he was throwing out the dead ones and snatched one to satisfy my...
A close neighbor recently lost a family member in the states. The family member is set to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in two weeks, and she’s going home for the funeral. When she told her family their main...
I participated in the mass mosquito net distribution today. Spearheaded by Malaria No More, it is the “largest net distribution in West Africa.” It was a big deal in the states, too. Maybe you didn't hear about it, but I...
Work has been at a standstill since the girls started having fits. All the Marabouts (religious men) in the area convened at the middle school last Saturday to read the Koran and sacrifice a cow, but it didn’t do the...
I am posting this on behalf of a friend at home. She is getting ready to go to a wedding and having trouble writing the card to accompany the gift. She's a guest of the groom. Dear Men, Please don't...
Today is the Second Annual Miss K* pageant in my village. Unfortunately, I can't go. Here are the girls playing on the new cart of firewood Guiro had just brought home. There's a big deforestation problem here, it's not hard...
I was walking to the market this morning when I heard screams and saw people running toward the health post. Naturally, I picked up my pace. I was horrified to see them unloading a screaming girl from a pickup truck....
Kumba ran away to Dakar. She just up and packed her bags before anyone was awake and caught a ride. There's a story, of course. Kumba went "out" and left her toddler, Abby, in the women's hut. He was crying,...
I'm killing time. I mean that on a few levels, but right now I am waiting for a call from a fellow volunteer's mother. My friend's niece or nephew is supposed to start living today, and her mom will call...
Villagers have been giving the moon a lot of attention last night and tonight. Apparently they can see the man on the moon - and they know him! He's a well known Marabout (religious leader). I'm assuming he's dead, but...
Today was my last day at the health post. Good thing too, because Salimata (the midwife on duty this morning) abandoned me for about a half hour, leaving me to do the routine stuff such as blood pressure and urine...
This morning I saw a woman give birth to a little girl. That was the source of my stand off with Binta, whether I could “train” in the village, or not. She gave in though and this morning I showed...
I’m going to Velingara tomorrow. I don’t want to. I hate Velingara (the word translates to “come in happiness” – definite misnomer, trust me). One of many problems with Velingara is that you can to that sandpit fairly easily, but...
The hot season is in full swing, has been since January, and it’s getting to the point where you can’t force yourself outside during the day. One day I’ll get the snapshot I’ve wanted to take for all of you;...
One of the best parts about staying in Dakar was my host family, which is where we went after the conference. They were a wonderful German/American family (with three adorable daughters) and they sent Maggie and I back to village...
I owe my legion of readers a blog post. How many of you owe me an email? Because let's face it, the interesting stuff never makes it into the blog. Things are fine here in Senegal. I finished up the...
I'm in Dakar for my official Close of Service conference. They're sort of jumping the gun with that name because none of us are allowed to leave for awhile yet. Anyhow, it promises to be a good 3 days. We're...
The little girl who disappeared a few days ago had been found. The way I heard the story is that her aunt owed people money and they were going to kill her if she didn't pay up. So she relocated...
A little girl in Dorothy’s compound was beaten so badly today her hand is broken. Her host-mom delivered the beating with a stick because she stole (a little) money from the boutique and bought peanuts. I know stealing is bad,...
a) We were chatting before dinner tonight when someone came over the prayer speaker and shut us all up. A little girl, about 5, has been missing since this morning. The man on the speaker asked anyone who "has her...
We have a new high school in my village this year. The principal swears to me it's the worst equipped high school in the country. I can't verify that, but I can vouch that it's pretty bad. Here's the staff...
I went to a child’s funeral and then a baptism in the space of an hour today.
I was sitting by the fire tonight, watching Kumba cook and listening to an argument between two women in the family, when I noticed an annoying sound. Mariama was spoon feeding her baby, but he was lying down and screaming....
As many of you know, I pay my little sisters to do my laundry. Most volunteers do the same thing. Not only is it a good excuse to give teenage girls some spending money, but well – the novelty of...
It’s that special time of the year again! Yup, the dry season when the winds pick up, everything’s coated in dust, and the bugs that hid during the rainy season start to emerge. I was sweeping my floor yesterday when...
Fatima came to the village from Dakar to have her baby. She’s not from around these parts, and believe me it shows. She came over today to pound the rice and peanuts for tomorrow’s breakfast (it’s an acquired taste). The...
You know how some people are just natural teachers? They seem born to instruct, and take genuine joy in imparting knowledge to others. Well, despite an aptitude test I took in seventh grade, I am NOT one of those people....
I milked a cow today. I was less interested in getting it right than claiming I had done it, so I only gave it about a 30 second attempt. There was some milk and I was able to continue on...
So it feels like I never left. People seem happy to have me back, however, which is nice. As gifts I brought back 20 Veterans for Common Sense t-shirts (courtesy of dad) and 10 pounds of Hershey Kisses. The shirts...
Hey everyone, I'm back. I had a wonderful visit home and honestly it was a little difficult to return. Oh well, I'll get over it.
Work-related discussions are a popular topic among volunteers. I've yet to find it interesting (and would rather not speculate on what that says about my character). Still, it isn't until recently I've found a good conversational distraction. Yes, everyone, I'm...
Thank you, God, for putting me in Pulaar country instead of Wolof. Granted, you didn't give me the will/ability to really excel at either language, but despite myself I have managed to become sort of, not really, proficient in the...
I've uploaded a bunch of Tabaski photos on my photo album for you to look at, if you care. I only included one of the slaughtered sheep. Here's a video of Maim and Saratta dancing. Aren't they adorable?
Today was Tabaski (a.k.a. Eid al-Adha), the biggest holiday of the year in these parts. It was an exotic mixture of sights and sounds, nearly all of them having to do with the festive slaughtering and cleaning of the sacrificial...
I am not a good person to visit when you're sick. All I'll tell you to do is drink water and rest. I've stuck to this system for awhile, and if baffles me that people continue to ignore persistent evidence...
I know I said I was taking a break from blogging, but something amazing has happened. I have internet in my hut. Yup, you read that right. No running water, but for $40 I was able to buy a telephone...
I'm planning to take a break from blogging. I might change my mind, but for now I'm sort of sick of it and just tired in general (although life in village has been going well). School has started here, and...
I was in another compound today around the time the village child care center let out. If you're surprised that we have preschool here, I am too. It doesn't compare to Grace Methodist Preschool (my alma mater), but it is...
My fan broke today. I repaired it with duct-tape and super glue. I used this combination on a dresser once in college. At the time I wasn't sure whether I should be proud my resourcefulness or embarrassed because I had...
So it's Armistice/Remembrance/Veterans Day. Britain's Remembrance Day events were Sunday, and that morning's broadcast almost had me in tears. I listen to a lot of BBC. During breakfast I tried to explain to my family about Armistice Day, but I...
Tonight, after some cajoling, my site-mate, Dorothy, came with me satisfy a craving for a cold Coca-Cola. As Dorothy says, whenever we do this it's like we're in a Coke commercial. It's sweltering, the bottles are icy, and everyone around...
Tonight's after dinner talk was about a woman not far from here who received a 10-year prison sentence for accidentally killing her pregnant daughter during a botched abortion. The story was bad enough at first. The girl, estimated to be...
I was idly looking at my blog traffic, and discovered a surprising number of people come across my site while Googling the word 'dlido.' Actually, several variations will also lead you to this post. I think it's safe to assume...
Just so everyone understands, we haven't completely given up on Abdoulaye. I am waiting to hear back from the Jooko doctors about the next clinic. We are not continuing to house Abdoualye with another family until then, however, because we...
Dorothy has informed me that the village Imam has banned loud music from baptisms. Dorothy said it's all the village is talking about, and I believe her. Truly, this is the best news I've gotten in awhile. Every baptism I've...
I'm in Dakar to see my friend Sam off, and I am going to miss her horribly. In fact, I get bummed writing about it, so I'll stop. But here's Sam. This photo was taken at Peter's apartment. He's extended...
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