I am home and going to start the next part of my life.

I guess I should explain what has happened in this past week. Last thursday I left my site for a one day gender and development conference. During the conference I found out news that I would have to be moved out of my site for security reasons. I won't go into the details, but it is very frustrating to have to leave my family and my town. My town is great. It's very calm and friendly. After the conference I went to Dakar for the West African International Softball Tournament. I think our team might have won one game out of four. But we looked pretty good. Each Peace Corps team dresses up. Our team's theme was Jersey Shore (the popular MTV reality show). After the tournament I planned on going back to my site and taking at least 3 days to say goodbye to everybody and to pack up. That's not how things went. Against my protests, as soon as I got home I had to pack up my stuff and then I left the next morning. It was a shock to my family and my work partners. To top it off I spent the morning of my departure fighting with our transportation that we purchased. Normally a sept place holds 7 passengers. Well it was only me and two other volunteers and we had to pay almost double the price. Why? Because we had luggage and that adds on to the price. It just doesn't make sense. I tried my hardest to explain that we have 4 extra seats and we were going to use those seats for our luggage. Finally, my mom explained that that is not how they think in Africa. She said, "that's how you do things in America, but not here." It was not a beautiful goodbye to my family. It ended with hugs with my family and angry exchanges with our driver. Where am I now? Well I am currently sitting in an apartment on the coast of Senegal. I am waiting to figure out what I am going to do. I can come home without a penalty or I can stay here and work for admin. I am not really sure what I am going to do. It's very frustrating to be thrown off of your plans. I just hope that things clear up pretty soon.

Josephine and Jacqueline On a beautiful Friday afternoon my sister called me to help her cook lunch. I did not helped but I kept her company. It seems that the topic of family is always brought up with her and my other sisters. They want to talk about what my wife will be like and how many children I will have. This particular time my sister guaranteed the amount of children I would have and their names. How? She said that she went to a fortuneteller about it. I knew only one way to really test her honesty. I simply asked her what their names would be. She paused and had the hardest time thinking of American names and she gave me two names Joshua and Daniel. Those names happen to be the names of volunteers that have been hosted by my family. Then she went on to tell me that I would have two girls instead named Josephine and Jacqueline. I could not stop laughing at this because the name Josephine is the name I told a close friend back home that he would have to name for his firstborn. New Opportunity with new challenges After coming back from my vacation in the states I went around my town and visited my friends and work partners. During a visit at the women’s training center, I overheard my friend say to a student that they still do not have a math teacher. I asked him why they have not received a math teacher for this school year. He just replied that the State had not sent anybody up. Well I thought about it and I told him that I could help if he needed somebody. Well now I have three math classes a week to teach. These kids are all around 13 to 20 years old. It’s not complicated math and I think that math helps me because it is a universal language. The first couple weeks have gone by pretty smoothly. I had a little trouble at first because I did not know how to plan the first classes. I did not know their level and with the different classes there are different needs. The other good thing is that part of the curriculum includes calculations of revenue and planning for expenses. All business related topics. This all presents new challenges with doing lesson plans, managing a class, speaking in front of groups of people in French, and fighting with a crappy chalkboard. Back to normal life Some people back home have all asked me how adjustment has been being back from a month long vacation. The first few days were annoying because I only focused on the negative parts of being here. Probably because I was in Dakar and I was not back at my home site. As soon as I got home, I felt much better. My family was excited to see me and the baby Abligh cried because he was shocked that I was back. He started walking right before I left and his mom said that he would walk to my room and knock on my door looking for me. I love this kid. He has really become attached to me and it dawns on me that I have emotional ties to my family. I only have roughly 6-7 months of service left and I do not know how it will be like when I leave.

I have to say that I was really looking forward to my vacation. I have been planning to come back home for Christmas since July. It has been great to be in America and to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. I especially enjoyed the time I had with close ones. It truly cannot be understated the power of friends. The hardest part of being away is being away. I am so grateful for the love and support that has been shown to me by my friends and family. It’s just a hard thing to replace the physical presence of people that genuinely care for me.

People always ask me since I have been back; what are the hardest parts of being away? And I have to be honest and say seeing the changes in peoples’ lives. I have been away for only 16 months and I miss dearly not being able to be here for the changes. I guess it’s more of lost time. I am glad that I was in Africa, but it’s also a cost to miss experiencing life with my friends and family for the past 16 months.

Now it’s time to go back. I am ready to finish my service. I have about 7 or 8 months and it seems long and short all at the same time. I am not excited to leave my friends and family again, but I know that I will get to see them in time. But next comes the time to consider what I will do after my service or where to go. I think that I would like to go back into Auditing and use my Accounting degree. It was fun and challenging. I guess I will have to see if there are any companies wanting to hire someone who has less than a year of Auditing experience and has been in the Peace Corps for the 2 years.

Lastly, I need to end this post of really no point or purpose. I wanted to update the blog and to share a little about my vacation and the best parts: The people. I loved being cold, seeing snow, and watching the Ohio State University Buckeyes win the Sugar Bowl.

Side note: I think I have gained more love for America and western thinking since being in the Peace Corps.

These last few weeks I have taken a new approach meeting with entrepreneurs. When I first came to site I met them wherever and whenever they wanted because I wanted to be easily accessible. Well I got tired of doing this because it was not a guarantee that when I showed up that the other party would be ready or interested. A few weeks ago I told two entrepreneurs that if they wanted to talk about their needs, then I would meet them at the women’s training center at 4pm on Fridays. The first meeting went well with both people. The first man is a fisherman and wants to grow his business. I have started him off by doing personal finance managing. I do this with all the people I meet with, because Accounting is essential to actually draw data to make decisions or evaluate behavior. I told him to write down what he spends his money on everyday. A week later we met and went over his expenses. After this meeting, I advised him to include the money he makes from selling fish each day. The goal is to get him to make a salary for himself and separate in his mindset the costs of business and personal costs that should be deducted from his salary. He has missed the meeting last week, but I have confidence that we will meet again next week. I have sympathy for the people fasting for Ramadan and understand that people are not at their best. He did ask me how long he has to record all his expenses. I replied that Accounting is so paramount that he had to do it until he died. He laughed and I think I have become the weird Accounting kid. A women’s cosmetic salesman came to me this last Friday and we discussed how he did with the Accounting practice I assigned him. He did really well with writing everything out and we were able to project how much he would spend for a whole month and essentially estimating his monthly salary. Of course, I do not have complete confidence in this estimate, but I wanted him to start thinking of that projection. I wanted him to change his mindset to thinking of the future instead of just the day-to-day transactions. It’s all about planning. This meeting was more exciting because I was able to show him how he could prepare a simple Income Statement for his business. I hope he comes next week so we can continue to work on these concepts. My objectives for each entrepreneur is that they get a bank account, start a personal savings plan, practice accounting, and think about future planning. McDonald Pills? I promised my sister here that I would make a request to my friends and family back home in the US. I will explain the back-story before making the request. I was sitting with my sister one night and I was telling her about the new bou bou (Senegalese garment) I had ordered because Korté is approaching (Anti-climatic party to a whole month of fasting). She then proceeded to tell me that she wanted this crazy sum of money to get her hair done, buy an expensive dress, good shoes, and as always, the vehement application of make up. But the one request she made to me is to get her fat. She is skinny and pretty but women here want to be big. She is convinced that in the United States, there are drugs that make people fat and give them big butts (She sees Americans on TV and sees that their fat.). I assured her many times that there are no drugs in the states that give people big butts and that people in the US generally want to be thin and fit. She is still not convinced and I promised her that I would ask my friends and family to send any medication that would make her get fatter. You have 4 days because Korté is on the 9th or 10th. Gorjigeen The other day I was walking home and a family that I know was sitting outside their shop and asked me to come say hi. I went over and while I was there I met a new young man who is a tailor. I was standing in the shop with two guy tailors, a woman tailor, and another woman. The guy was asking about me and why I am in Senegal. When I told him that my service is over around October ’11, he expressed that he wanted me to take him to America. This is not unusual at all. What follows caught me off guard. I told him that I couldn’t easily just bring over a native unless that person is either my wife or my child. This usually cuts the topic short because I then explain that I am too young to marry and too poor to take care of a child. But he told me that he could be my wife and then separate when we got to the States. I just started to laugh because it’s very odd to hear a guy talk about dressing like a woman in this culture. He used the word that they call gay men or men who look like women to describe what he would become to be my wife. The other people in the shop laughed as well because I went up to him and said that the US government is not foolish and would be able to see that he is not my wife because he does not have long hair or have a womanish figure. It was funny because it was just a big joke and it left me puzzled by the angle the guy chose in our discussion.

Today I met with two entrepreneurs. One of them, I had met previously and instructed him to create a personal accounting system. We also set up a savings plan so that he could get enough money to open up a bank account. Well he stopped me on the street one day and asked me if his project was going to work. I asked him if he followed the initial steps of recording his personal finance transactions and if he started saving money, then we could get a bank account opened for him. He said no and I told him that we could not move on to the next steps of his project until he practiced good record keeping. This is how I approach entrepreneurs because I have a very hard time explaining things about their business when I am not able to use evidence to back up my case. If they practice accounting, then I can explain why they should take a certain strategy by showing them accounting results. Anyways, after I told him no about going on to the next step, he got angry at me. I was not in a good mood to deal with him and I told him that I would not work with him until he started his personal accounting plan. Well fast forward to today. He was at the meeting with the other entrepreneur and he asked me the same question. This time I took the time to draw out a simple record keeping system. I showed him how to use it and told him that after a month we would sit down and try to analyze his expenses. Well I will be meeting both of them again on Friday to do an accounting workshop. I hope this goes well, but my guess it will take a lot of patience from all parties to get through it. I will jump for joy if any of the entrepreneurs I meet with follow a savings plan, get a bank account, then have a good standing with the bank to get a loan. It's just really hard to explain why accounting is so important. It takes time to see the benefits of it. I will keep trying even if it's hard to train.

Well I it’s official. Ramadan has started today. I was awoken by an extra early prayer call at 4:10am. I do not think it was an official prayer call but a warning that this morning was the start for fasting and that everyone needed to eat breakfast before the sun came up. To reiterate, Ramadan is a month long Islam practice of fasting. Between sun up and sun down people do not eat or drink. I am not going to participate simply because I am not a Muslim and I do not want to sacrifice basic life necessities for a religion I don’t practice. The effects of Ramadan have started. Today a school administrator kind of blacked out/ fell asleep while we were having a conversation. That’s a drawback with the month of Ramadan. People are so tired and sometimes they are not at 100%. This makes the social part of my work and my traveling done in the morning hours while people are fresh. Past two months traveled a bit. Went to a 4th of July party, visited my friends site and helped with his garden for a week, went to a SeneGAD meeting and I am now at my site for awhile. I cannot think of any amazing stories for this update. I will just try to leave an encouraging announcement that if all goes well; I will be coming home between Dec. 11th through Jan. 10th for vacation. I hope to see many friends and family enjoy spending time relaxing. I provide a warning that I will be poor so if hanging out requires me spending money, then I might be begging you to pay my way (sorry but it costs a lot for a plane ticket home).

Author Book Title Pages L/L/D/O 1 William P. Young The Shack 256 Like 2 Mike Yankoski Under the Overpass 240 Like 3 C.S. Lewis The Great Divorce 80 Like 4 John Colapinto As Nature Made Him 336 Like 5 C.S. Lewis Miracles 166 Like 6 McCarthy Cities of the Plains 292 Like 7 Lewiss Carrol Alice and Wonderland 200 Like 8 Lewiss Carrol Through the Looking Glass 200 Like 9 Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things 352 Didn't 10 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 320 Didn't 11 Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged 1069 Love 12 John Eldredge Wild at Heart 220 Like 13 John Jeavons How to Grow More Vegatables 164 Like 14 Jack London The Call of the Wild 83 Didn't 15 Jack London White Fang 199 Like 16 Ken Follett Pillars of the Earth 974 Love 17 Don Piper 90 Minutes in Heaven 203 Didn't 18`Kathleen Staudt Managing Development: 273 Ok State, Society and International Context 19 Erik Larson The Devil in the White City 396 Ok 20 Joseph Heller Catch-22 463 Didn't 21 John Grisham The Appeal 484 Like 22 Lawrence Wright The Looming Tower: 424 Like Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11 23 Tim O'Brien The Things They Carried 246 Like 24 Gary S. Becker The Economic Approach to Human Behavior 305 Like 25 David Remnick Lenin's Tomb: 542 Like The Last Days of the Soviet Empire 26 Tim Weiner Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA 601 Like 27 Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle 288 Like 28 Eric Schlosser Fast Food Nation 288 Like 29 Benedict Anderson Imagined Communities 206 Ok 30 Che Guevara Guerrilla Warfare 175 Ok 31 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Player Piano 320 Like Total amount of Pages = 10,045 Average Number of Pages per book = 346

Women’s rights = Men’s rights The girls scholarship program is coming to an end for this year. I have had the pleasure to interview 18 great girls that have big aspirations and they do amazing at school. I have had the chance to speak with their parents and encourage them that it is important to finish their education. Sadly, there is an equality issue when it comes to girls and boys. The girls here are expected to cook and do housework on top of their homework. They marry younger and they are expected to quit school to take care of their husband and new house. The scholarship and the discussions are put in place to help encourage the girls to have confidence and to believe in their futures. My culture trainer for the Peace Corps did the last presentation that I had planned. She is amazing. She can command a room of any kind of audience and can talk about any subject. For example, during her presentation she did a little icebreaker, talked about what it means to be a woman, the importance of self-confidence and education, sexual health and what to do about domestic violence. She kept all the girls involved and interested in the discussion. To be honest, I am afraid to do any kind of presentations with the girls other than talking about education. I think its obvious why; I am a guy and I do not want my community getting weird ideas about me doing programs with teenage girls. But I have enjoyed every part of the program and I see the importance to encourage education for the women. I am also very grateful for trainer from the Peace Corps (A Senegalese woman) to do a presentation on important topics for these girls that affect their lives. My first experience with death This is a recounting of my first experience with seeing death. One morning I was getting ready to go and pay my electric bill. Throughout the morning I heard cries outside my room. I did not think much of it. I thought they were cries from animals or kids playing a game. I soon found out that they were coming from the hospital. I walked out of my house, turned the corner and playfully greeted my sister at the corner boutique. It was strange because there were so many people around and my sister did not playfully greet me back like she usually does. I continued walking and I looked at the crowed outside the hospital. I saw a group of three women with one crying. I did not stare because I did not want people to think that I belittled or disrespected their grief. I walked past the hospital and realized that I forgot my bill in my room. I turned around and walked back still being drawn to the scene of sadness. I remember one of the women going up to a young man, who just go to the hospital, to tell the news of a death. I could not believe how publically people here show their emotional grief. The man fell to the ground, cried, and wailed. Everybody in that group was crying together and aloud. I don’t know how to paint the picture, but they were so open about showing and dealing with their mourning. After getting my bill I walked back outside my house and I saw the group walking through the streets crying. It was kind of like a parade and a way to share with the community that there was a death. It’s so strange that in this culture men are expected not to cry, but with a death, emotions are so open and accepted. GOAL!!! With the USA being in the World Cup, my pride in being American has been magnified here. The other day I caught the USA vs. Slovenia match with my family. We started watching the game during the first half after Slovenia’s first goal. I was a little worried and when they scored the second goal my mother told me good luck and patted my back jokingly. My spirits were grim, but I mentioned to my brother in a weak voice, that it was possible for the US to score 3 goals. My brother repeated my statement and willfully commented in front of the whole family on the probability of that happening, and the probability that I would be moping for the rest of the day. I kept quiet watching the start of the second half. I sat there worried, but when the US scored their first goal I have to say that I might have overreacted. It was as if the Ohio State scored a game-winning touchdown against Michigan. It felt like my identity and pride of being an American was glorified in that moment. I stood up, yelled, and pumped my fists in front of everyone. I literally startled my family. They exploded laughing and doing imitations of my celebration. I did not care. I was so excited to see the US triumph. When the ball found its way in the back of the net the second time, I stood up and motioned to my family with two fingers up and yelled, “That’s two!” They imitated my actions and English. I think that they are more inclined to watch the US play because they get entertainment value from my reactions. I don’t care. If the US wins the world cup, I can guarantee that I will be yelling on the top of our roof out to the community about the greatness of America.

I am updating my blog per the request from my father. Happy Father's day and I miss you dad and all my friends.......

These past few weeks I have been working with a couple of middle schools to finish up a scholarship program for girls. This has been an enjoyable small project because I have had the chance to read essays, interview, and visit the home situations of each of the candidates for the scholarship. Each of the girls has a desire to finish their education. This is a good program because while going to each of the homes to visit the families, I tell the parents how important finishing education is for their daughters. It’s interesting here in Senegal; there is a gap between the amount of guys that finish high school and the amount of women. There are several factors that contribute to this. One is that sometimes women marry before they finish school and taking care of their husband and house comes before education. Another is that girls are expected to do the housework for the family. This causes the girls study time to decrease and girls are forced to drop out. I see this first hand in my home. My sister goes to school then is expected to cook while my brother comes home and studies and drinks tea. It’s not fair because the education of women is probably more important than men. What I have studied in AG econ back in University is that women mothers who have been educated have a higher desire to send their kids to school than men who are educated (In developing country situations). This leads to higher education percentage for the population and better development. Hopefully the rest of the scholarship events pan out well. I have started to help with a couple of schools faculty understand Microsoft Excel. It’s going ok. It will definitely take awhile before they can use it on their own to analyze their work. Lastly, I have found out that my ideas have no value. This story starts out about a month ago. I went to a town close to mine to meet with a women’s group president. We talked about the groups desire to get training in tye dying clothes. We went over the cost of the training, the amount of sales of product after the training, and speculation on where financing can come from. I went through sales and profit calculations with her. I told her that I could not fund the project, but would be willing to accompany her to a bank and discuss loan options. We finally met at a local credit institution to talk about a loan. The loan institution laid out the conditions and the president of the woman’s group and I told the bank that we would talk to the tye dye trainer about lowering the bill. The trainer had quoted training for 25 people, but it does not make sense to do that. You only need one person in the group trained to teach the others. I negotiated with the lady to get the training down to only 5 people. This reduced the total bill by almost 40%. This was a huge success and brought down the total amount needed by the women’s group for a guarantee on a loan down to a manageable contribution by each member. Finally, I told to the president of the woman’s group that she needs to hold a meeting and tell them the situation and ask if they would want to contribute the small amount to get the loan ($10 from each member). She told me that she already told them that she talked with them and said that I was here to help. I was a little confused and asked her to clarify. She asked me how much I was going to contribute. I told her that Peace Corps does not give money but trains people in skills (like business skills). Then she said what are you doing? I felt like this was a slap in the face. What did I just do? I am showing you how to work with a credit institution, plan a repayment plan, negotiating, and preparing a pitch for the women’s group. Apparently none of those things have value. I was so frustrated, but did not let her know and told her simply that I am here and that if she wants me to talk to her women’s group, then I would be glad to. We parted ways and I wonder if she will contact me again. Doing the business part of my volunteering has been a thorn in my side. People are not welcoming of business practices and only think that I am here to finance projects. I don’t know what else I need to say in the beginning to get this point across. Maybe I should stop doing project analysis with them. Are they thinking when I do these calculations, that I am prospecting their success rate to see if I could loan them money? I don’t know and I find that the trainings in IT stuff are more successful. The day was not ruined. That night I enjoyed sushi with volunteer friends who lived in town and we conversed to late in the night. One of the volunteers brought up the point that we would probably not be friends in the states. Which is probably true. These people are different from me and would not fit in with my friends back home (Especially two people who graduated from Michigan). But those are the joys of Peace Corps. We share the bond of American culture and the troubles/successes of Peace Corps work.

There are some cultural behaviors that I can not succumb to. For example here in Senegal, people are very community oriented, proud, and indirect. I am going to share my frustration with indirect communication (I do have a problem with pride here. It seems that every Senegalese says they know how do to something, when in actuality they can’t and they don’t want to look bad. I find that humility or more importantly honesty about one’s ability saves everybody headaches.). This is so hard to accept or understand. I really wish people would be direct and get to the point. In my opinion, I believe this causes wasted time and miscommunication. The whole situation started with a project that I was to play a small part in. In my region a team of doctors are coming to do consultations, but the problem is that they need translators. I was asked to help assist find translators in my town. I went to all the schools and to all my contacts whom I felt could speak English well enough for translating. I told each candidate that I would give their names and phone numbers to the organization so that they could contact them with all the details. I told them that I had no idea about payment. I was pretty much in the dark about the details. Well a month goes by and I get called by one of the potential translators. He proceeds to complain about how he is hearing two different payments that he would get paid for his services. I told him that I did not know anything about the payments. He persisted and pressured me to come see him in person to talk about the problem. I go expecting him to complain and I would just reinforce that the only thing I can do is contact my contact and tell him that he needs to get the organizer to call all the translators and to be clear about the payment. Well to my surprise he wanted to be indirect about the whole problem. We talked and again, he explained the problem to me. I told him what I could do. He proceeded to give me his phone and wanted me to talk to the organizer about the payment. This is a classic solution to Senegalese problem solving: Get a middleman to talk to both parties. I definitely did not want to be in this pow wow. Some might say that the middleman would be acting as a mediator, but my friend did not even tell the organization the problem. He wanted me to present the problem and solve it for him. I was angry by this time and told him flat out that I could not do anything and he could get in contact with the guy, and if he is dissatisfied with the payment, then he could voice his opinion and refuse the work. We will see how this plays out, but right now I am tired of indirect communication.

As a Peace Corps volunteer in the small enterprise development sector, I meet with different people to talk about projects. Much of the time they think that I have money to offer to help start their projects. I get frustrated about this but can not put too much blame on them. The more I have been here the more I see aid projects that are funded by other governments and NGOs. With that being said, it should not be a surprise to me if I boast myself as an Aid worker and get requests for money. Most of the time they don’t directly ask for money, but its; “I have this idea that I want to do and I know it will work, but I don’t have the means to start it. All I need is X amount of CFA.” I wanted to lay this out so people can understand a little bit about my weekend. About two weeks ago another volunteer texted me and gave a university student my number because he lives near my town. He called me and told me that they will be holding a medical free clinic for Easter weekend in his town. He wanted me to be there to talk to people who wanted advice for their small enterprise development. I told him that I would be willing to go and that he should call me the day before to give me the details. Well I have never been to this place but I know it’s between my town and the town that I do all my banking and other related errands. Cars only leave my town and go to that town so I would have to tell the driver to stop early at this village (there is also three villages in between my town and the other town). Anyways, I did not want to use the public transportation and decided that I would ride my bike there on Saturday. Saturday came and my front tire was flat. I could not get the pump to work and called the guy and told him that I would not make it. He responded by telling me that it was really important that I come. Honestly I was not real motivated. I had a feeling that if I go there, that the meetings would end up with people asking for money and not really showing interest in creating a saving and budgeting plan. By this time it was late and I would have to go there on Easter, another no no. I decided to take the risk of being disappointed and went. To my surprise both meetings went well and it seems like they are motivated to start budgeting and saving for the initial costs of their projects. I try to keep indifferent because I know that some people will say that they are excited and motivated but they don’t start the simple little steps in the process (Like writing down all your expenses for a month). After my time in the village, I went back home to shower and change to celebrate Easter at a missionary’s house in my town. It was awesome. The missionary is from Nicaragua and they prepared beef Brazilian style. It was delicious and the beef was complimented with potatoes, salad, and grilled onions. I was so happy to eat a meal at a table without rice. We ended the night watching a Jesus film in French. A great Easter and He is Risen!

(DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE DISGUSTED) My last part of this post is about a situation I had to deal with in my room one night. To preface this, my father came home that night and I spent time outside my room with the family. Well I went back to my room to shower and I noticed that my window was open. This is not a good thing because I know that cockroaches climb through my window at night and make their way into my bathroom. I wasn’t too concerned because I am used to killing 2 or 3 cockroaches once a week. My bathroom does not have a light in it so I always shower with the door open to allow light to come in from my bedroom. Well I opened the door and saw the floor moving and was met by a slight stench. I realized that I forgot to flush my toilet and the seat cover was up (It is very easy to forget to flush the toilet because some days the water is shut off around town and you have to conserve it for when it comes back on. So the water I have that’s stored in a container is used for drinking water when the water is off. ). My first estimate was that there were about 6 cockroaches. I decided instead of going in my bathroom and smashing them with my shampoo bottle that I would spray the room with my cockroach spray and shut the door. I sat about 3 feet from the bathroom door, with my smashing weapon ready because I knew they would crawl out the crack in between my bathroom door and the floor. I also knew that it would be easy to dispose of the escapees because they would be slower and disoriented from the poison. Well sure enough I waited and one by one came out. I killed about 6 when I realized that more were filing out. By this time I was out of my chair and was in my attack stance because they were coming faster and with more force. I am proud to say that I won the battle and made a smart decision in the beginning by spraying the bathroom first. I counted out 22 dead cockroaches at the end. I thought about taking a picture of all of them, but our power went off and there was not good lighting.

This past week I went to a town close to mine to help with an Aids awareness concert for the community. A second year health volunteer organized the event and several other volunteers, like myself, just helped set up for the day and work the event. It was filled with Senegalese music, dancing, and typical flirting relations between the youngins. My job was really simple during the concert. I sat next to the door and used my bulky manly presence to send the message that people should not start any fights that night. I wish that were the case. As my friends know, I do not give off a scary persona and I was given the task of counting the people that came to the event. But nonetheless I had a fun time and was able to enjoy listening to some music. The concert was set up to encourage people to get tested for free and within a half an hour they would know their results. A side from the musical performances there was a skit team and its amazing how Senegalese people love to act. (To know this fact, all you have to do is watch their local tv shows. I can’t bear to watch it, but the rest of my family loves it. They roll and laugh during the programs. ) They received free t-shirts if they tested and received counseling before and after testing. The event started at 6pm and ended around 3am. I was tuckered out and nothing cures that except a night full of sleep and a room temperature above 90 degrees. Yes, it has started to warm up and I am hating wearing culture appropriate pants outside and cannot wait to take as many clothes as I can off when I am in my room. It’s hard to imagine what it feels like to sleep at night on these foam mattresses. So just think after a half an hour on the mattress it acts as a sponge. My personal preference is that I do not like to soak in my own sweat, but I guess some people could just think it as regular cold water. After the concert, I spent a couple of days in the regional house for the north. It was nice to cook some barbecue chicken, macaroni & cheese, and chili (I am starting to get better at butchering a chicken). I had to use the PC there to do my quarterly report and it was nice to spend time with other volunteers and see some of the volunteers who are about to finish their service. Well being home from the weeklong trip has been nice and a little productive. I finished up drawing a rough sketch of a database that will hopefully work in a school. I just need to get past using Microsoft Access in French. The other thing is I think I have found a good site to start a permagarden. I really hope to do a garden, because it is nice to see physical evidence of my time. It helps with sanity and the agriculture volunteers enjoy the fruits of their labors. Enjoy spring my friends back home and cheer on the Buckeyes in the NCAA tournament for me.

It has been a month since I have been gone from site. I was gone for 3 days of Wolof training, a week of gardening, a week of softball, and two weeks of SED training. I enjoyed much of the time spent with other volunteers and enjoyed some American comforts. Despite all that, a month away from site was too much. I am glad to be back and see my family and the other locals. It is starting to get out of the cold season as today reached 105F and it has not rained in 3 months. Green plant life is drying up and the area around my town is looking more like a desert. The first few days back I have spent answering emails, writing reports, greetings, and planning out events for the next few months. I encourage any of my friends to email me with specific questions that I do not post on the blog. There are some things that I am not permitted to publish and will be open and honest over emails (fickle2287@yahoo.com don’t spam me). The Wolof training was great. It gave me time to really ask questions about the grammar structure and understand the uses of pronouns. Three other volunteers and I stayed in a small Wolof village to take three days of classes. It was tiring, but beneficial because when I listen to Wolof conversations I can discern and separate phrases. I had a blast doing gardening training. Our country director has made it a priority that all volunteers should try to start a garden. I would love to do a garden because its fun and it is physical representation of work. A volunteer who served in Tanzania developed the method of gardening we learned. It involves using as little as space possible to get a very high yield. The actual construction of the garden is designed to hold water better and directed it to the right spots. Another agriculture volunteer close to me has expressed interest in helping me with a garden. I just need to find a group or farmer who would be willing to learn it. After a week of gardening, all the volunteers in country attended an All Volunteer Conference. There other volunteers gave presentations about successes and new technologies they are using at site. Usually, volunteers who are about to finish their service gave presentations. After the conference, we had four days to enjoy WAIST (West Africa International Softball Tournament). I had the privilege to play for two different teams. The first team was composed of volunteers for the competitive tournament and the other team was volunteers in my region for the social tournament. The competitive dressed up in jersey shirts, boasting our pride of being volunteers in Senegal while my region’s team was dressed up as mimes. It was nice to be competitive but I had way more fun in the social league. I firmly believe that I took the costume part seriously. I wore chias(think alladen pants), red and black stripped knee socks, a checkered beret, and red striped shirt. I was the “ginger” mime for the team because of my apparent ginger qualities (I guess I have a red beard). Nobody competed with me for best dressed and I feel that it made our team a dangerous threat. We played against a team of missionaries, peace corps Gambia, a middle school team, and then another middle school team. The middle school teams were too serious and hurt the fun aspect of the game. They don’t enjoy mimes putting an invisible box around them at first base. I personally think it brings joy to both sides even if it delays the game. I enjoyed my time in Dakar and was able to stay with an American family during the tournament and they were very hospitable. I cannot describe how awesome warm showers and sleeping under covers for the first time in months can be. The last two weeks consisted of more SED training and how our sector can group up with NGO’s to aid their projects. I am back at site and excited for things to pick up. I want to end this with a disclaimer: My attitude to my work is ambitious and I wish to say that part of the frustrations with volunteer work is the lack of motivation in projects (from locals and/or volunteers). With that being said, I ask that friends and family will pray for me even if things are not progressing like I want them to. Please email if you have any questions or suggestions.

The week is over and I have finished my laundry and cleaning as usual (Sunday habits). This past week has been fun. Monday I went to my friend’s boutique because he wanted to practice his English. He was asked to help translate for doctors and nurses that came from America and Bolivia. He speaks Pulaar, Wolof, French, and English. On Tuesday he went to a Pulaar village with the medical team and the missionary that was hosting the team. He called me during his visit and asked if I was free Friday. I was thrilled because I wanted to see their work. I have been going to similar villages and it’s frustrating that the villagers don’t go to the hospital or know when they should. I was with the team for one day at a small village. I assisted the translator with his English. He translated the Pulaar to English and if there were communication problems between the doctor and translator, I was there to explain it in French. A little confusing, but it worked. Observing the doctors’ methodology for diagnosing and treating patients in unfamiliar circumstances captivated me. I had a fun time and I enjoyed my American time with the people. After their work, I was invited for dinner on Saturday with the team and the missionary. We had cheeseburgers and French fries. It was amazing. We ended the night singing worship songs and I tried my best to translate for the missionary and the Americans. It is encouraging to see any organization sending aid like that to people who need it. The villages do not have close places to get medical attention, it’s a rough ride to get there, and I feel like they are not educated well in basic medical knowledge. I will be out of site for the whole month of February. I have 3 days of Wolof training and then I return to the training center for IST. I desperately need some training in Wolof and I love the language trainers for Peace Corps. It’s frustrating at times, but they are good about having lots of practice with the language and correcting mistakes. I remember doing French and it was annoying when I was trying to speak in French and my language instructor kept correcting me on every little detail. After Wolof training I have a few days of gardening training then WAIST (West African International Softball Tournament). That’s right, I will be playing slow pitch softball in Africa! One of my teams are going be dressed up in ridiculous costumes and pictures will be up after the event. I do not know how I will be able to play dressed in the costume (I have to keep it a secret right now. That’s the reason you will have to wait for the pictures). Finally after softball I will be having two weeks of technical training in Small Enterprise Development. I will probably not be in much contact and will post as much as I can when I return to site.

I like kids. They are so funny. I feel that they provide more entertainment than any other media outlet here and my experience would be worse off without them. I posted a video of my sister practicing martial arts just to share the entertainment factor (It becomes even more entertaining when she practices her skills on me. I have a bigger reach, height and weight advantage, but she still wins).

The working atmosphere has been challenging here for me. Last night I had a meeting with a guy that I work with and the three women that work under him. He is the résponsable du sectuer 5 for the waste management project in my town. The meeting was held at a home of one of the women. It was an awkward meeting to begin with because the guy was expressing his anger at the lack of motivation to work and absenteeism from meetings. I occasionally gave an input in the meeting when we explained the action plan for 2010, but other than that I was zoning out. Why? They were speaking in wolof and I learned French in training, there were roasted peanuts in front of me, and the kids kept running around me. I did start the kids up by throwing peanuts at them, but they continued the feud. It ended well because it became more of a nice distraction for the women from their heated conversation.

To end this post, I wanted to share about a village that I have started to visit 2-3 days a week. There is a set of Pulaar villages that are about 15km from my site. They are located in land that is filled with grassy/sandy fields and bushes. They use the land for herding cattle, sheep, and goats. They are poor and experiencing several problems. The three main problems that they talk about is not having water close, no education, they are not close to a health center, and they are poor. It is hard to decide which is a bigger problem, them not having easy access to water or there is no education. I have decided to try to pursue helping them get a well built in their central village. Since I have gone there twice, I know that it takes between 45 and 75 minutes to get to my town for water because I have taken the trip. They make this trip back and forth from my towns four times a day. I could tell them to move closer to the town, and then they could be closer to water, have access to the education system, and be close to the hospital. But, it is hard to tell a community to move their lives after they have lived there for generations and their sole economic activity depends on living in that area. I can’t do that. Last week I had a discussion about the well project with the men leaders of the village and they wanted to pursue it. The next day I started teaching the alphabet to the kids of the village. It was fun and heartbreaking to see the kids so motivated to want to learn. Maybe it was because I am a toubob, but in the end I really feel helpless. These people have shared their troubles with me and have put so much hope in me and I can’t do everything for them. This is where I am asking for prayer for guidance and opportunities to happen. I hope that God can help me or any other person with whom I work with to find a solution to some of their problems because this is a community that has had empty promises in the past.

I have to say that I like to cook and where I live the thought of cooking is the woman’s job. Now, I know before, when I was in America, I have joked about women work and apologize for any offenses and just say that they were jokes because I fully did not/do not believe that woman have certain work. As I have lived here, I have had several conversations involving women’s role in society, because I feel that it is vital to have woman equal as men and that they are encouraged to contribute to the development of society. People think I am weird because I cook breakfast, other than eating a breakfast consisting of coffee and bread, do my laundry, and constantly question men’s statements about women’s work. Anyways, I mentioned to a Senegalese friend that sometimes I make crepes for breakfast. He had never heard of them. He is a nice guy and has been very friendly by offering me snacks when we hangout. I thought a nice way to return the favor would be to cook him breakfast. The morning before going over to his boutique, I got all the ingredients ready in a used cotton candy container (It was comical to explain him that it was just a container with ingredients I bought in my town and not some “magic” batter that somebody sent to me), my non-stick frying pan and left with haste. I got to his boutique , did the morning greeting thing and set up in the corner of shop. I mixed everything together and was ready to start cooking the crepes. Only one problem, the portable gas stove he had did not work.

I sat looking wide-eyed at my batter because, I was hungry, I made a double batch so that I could share, and I had a bad feeling about not getting to cook these crepes. My friend was busy tending to customers during the morning rush and I felt bad adding problems to his busyness. After waiting an hour and ¼ of the batter missing, we got the gas fixed and I started making the crepes. We lost ¼ of the batter due to my hunger, self-control issues, and my phenomenal skill of sneaking any sort of baking batter in my mouth without anybody noticing. I am not sure if the crepes were a success. There was nothing wrong with the actual crepes, it is just the remarks I got and the facial expressions about the taste did not match up. Oh well, I will continue to search for something “American” that my friends will enjoy eating.

I advise that you do not say that phrase to children. I was visiting a house of a women’s group leader and her kids were inching up to me, touching my toes or hand, then running away laughing. They were a little distracting because I was trying to have a serious conversation with a work partner. After awhile I decided to play along. When the younger of the two girls came up to me I sprang up and chased her out of the room. She ran off crying and treated me like a monster ensuring that there was 50 feet in-between us at all times. She even did not eat lunch at the bowl because I was there. My fun did not end there. A little later, the older girl was sitting across the room and joking with me by mimicking my voice. I then said the phrase that is the title of this entry to her (The phrase is wolof and she speaks wolof). The first part is, “I am hungry.” The usage of Dama-y puts emphasis on the verb hunger. The second sentence is, “I eat children.” She ran out the room. All this time the mother and my work partner were laughing at my games. I do not think I will repeat this because I do not want all the children in my town thinking that I might eat them. I spent Christmas in St. Louis, which is a town that is located on the coast of Senegal. It’s a big tourist town and has beautiful beaches. It was there where I had my first cup of coffee made from French people. I will never be skeptical of their ability to make coffee. It was amazing and was straight up coffee with milk. My Christmas activities started by going to midnight mass and hearing traditional Christmas songs with an African rhythm remix. And they were in French. When I awoke Christmas morning, I had brunch with other volunteers and made Christmas cookies after that. I understand the importance of cookie cutters and have seen physical evidence of my artistic abilities. It’s a good thing that you could eat my creations, or I feel that they would have been unappreciated. I ended the night having burgers with other volunteers and watching G.I. Joe. Sadly even with all the Christmas spirit forced expressions by us volunteers, it did not feel the same. Its still reaches 100 degrees here in my town and it is considered winter. It was hard to miss my first Christmas away from friends and family and I will be excited to cherish that when I return home. I will be heading out to the “bush” as they say it here. I will be traveling to a Pulaar village outside of my town to spend two days meeting the people there and helping a work partner. He wants to go there each week and give basic health talks and teach basic French to these people. I have been told by my work partner that they are excited to meet me and excited to voice their needs. I just hope that I can find a way to help them.

I have just returned from a celebration by my region for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was marvelous to have some time to relax with other Americans. We spent a day doing a regional strategy meeting and discussed our plans and goals for the coming year. I enjoyed the time to listen to other volunteers talk about their projects and it gave me ideas on how to approach my work and how I need to be patient with my community. We spent the day at a Senegalese hotel and it was there that we played with a monkey. I really don’t think I need to expound on this event and I feel that one can understand how much fun playing with a monkey would be. The next day was spent with relaxation and preparation for the big dinner. The women in our region did all of the cooking with respects to the side dishes and desserts. We watched Christmas movies and listened to Christmas songs. The day of the feast started off with another volunteer and I searching the market for charcoal. After we brought back the charcoal, we prepared the 3 chickens to be killed, cleaned, and butchered. We had 5 chickens prepared by a local woman and we decided to prepare 3 ourselves. Usually instead of three chickens being killed by the volunteers, we would kill 3 turkeys. I was in charge of finding and buying the turkeys, but when the day came, my contact had already killed his turkeys and no other family would sell their turkeys. It was a bit frustrating not having live turkeys to eat, but that’s how life is sometimes. We did receive a frozen turkey from our country director for the party. My contribution to the party was butchering a chicken, the turkey, and grilling the birds with the other new volunteer. I have never butchered a turkey or chicken and have never grilled a turkey. I will say that it turned out well and the dinner was amazing. We had chicken, turkey, mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, cornbread, stuffing, cookies, apple pie, pecan pie, and of course, pumpkin pie. I am amazed in how the women volunteers made some of these dishes with the limited supplies here. I took full advantage of the feast by eating pumpkin pie and cornbread the next morning for breakfast. I have traveled home and on my way, I picked up two packages from home. I want to say thank you to all my friends and family who have encouraged me and sent me letters, emails and prayer support. Receiving these things really do help in this hard stage in my life. I will say that after doing this fun celebration of Christmas and Thanksgiving, that it still does not feel the same. Before the meal, everybody got in a circle and spoke about what they were thankful. I could not help to say that I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends. Being away has made me realize how wonderful you all are. As for my daily life here, it is coming along. Language is improving slowly, but I am striving to improve my wolof because people give respect when you speak their language. There are a few doors starting to open for work and I am excited and hopeful that God will lead me to the right projects and the right people. I do not want to disclose the projects just yet, because they are not set in stone, but please know that am hopeful and working hard try to find ways to help. I have come here with the intention of helping people. I have prayed this before coming here and it still is my primary motivation and goal to being here. Some people come here for an international experience, or to learn, or to put something great on their grad school app/resume. I ask friends and family to pray for me and to keep me accountable to my motivation.

Tomorrow marks my 5-week stay here at my site. Since I have been at my site for 5 weeks, without staying anywhere else for the night (area regional house, other volunteer sites), then I get to go to a super bowl party. The best part is that there will be American food and football. The theory behind this challenge is that by staying at site this whole time will help in the long run with my work. It definitely has not been easy. I am stationed in the north and nobody ever comes up here. Therefore, I will not see volunteers pass by and get some “American” time. I am excited and looking forward because in the next two weeks our region is going to have a Thanksmas party. Turkey and probably Christmas music! As far as my daily activities go, three days a week I go to an elementary school. I sit in on a class because the teacher has been a great resource to talk to and is trying to help me with my wolof. He is helpful and lives 3 houses down from me. The other 2 days of the week I sit in on a business class held at the local women’s training center. I do both of these activities because it helps me with my French, I get to meet teachers and other community leaders, and its nice to learn how Senegalese people teach. One thing that I have neglected while I am here is I have not been studying my languages as much as I should. I know the next two months before IST (Peace Corps Training) that I will have to study more on my languages and spend less time out in the community. I have had the pleasure of being a substitute for the elementary class three times now. All three times were unplanned and unexpected. Imagine walking in a classroom and there is no teacher and a room full of loud kids. What do you do? I was asked by the director of the school to manage the class. It was frustrating after the third time because all of the materials are locked up and the teacher has the key. I don’t have the lesson plan with me and have to rely on the number one student in class to direct the subject flow. I would ask the student what was next and he would tell me, show me in their lesson book, and I would teach the lesson. Math was easy because its math. Math is the same language everywhere and proofs are easy ways to explain answers. I tried to have an environmental discussion on the importance of recycling and properly disposing garbage, but it turned out to be a puzzling experience for the kids. It ended with them figuring out that if you just have trash all over town, then the flies and stinky odors will be unpleasant. Being a substitute teacher is not part of my job description here as a SED volunteer but what was I to do? I did not want these kids just to be sent home because there was not a teacher. Oh Africa. My last area of frustration is the understanding of American politics. I preface this by saying that I am not at all writing that I was telling the Africans, that I have come in contact, that one political party or president is better than the other. With that being said it is amazing how much I see Obama’s face in this country. I can not go a day without hearing his name or seeing his face on a hat or shirt or shoe. People always ask me if I think Barack Obama is the greatest president ever. I never tell them my political views because I feel that they will judge me before understanding my stance on issues. I simply question them why they believe certain things and what sort of proof they have to back it up. At one point I had one African tell me that George Bush was a dictator. I had to explain to him that American government is set up for the people to vote, congress to declare war, and limits of the power of the president. I am astonished on the views of American politics by outsiders.

I have received requests to post items that people could send to me. I will say that all gifts/letters are greatly appreciated and are not necessary. With that being said, I have compiled a list of things that are luxuries for me that are not found here in Senegal.

1. Non Stick Frying Pan (This is not even necessary. It would just be nice because I have not found one here and it would make cooking and cleaning easier. This is probably the least essential item on the list.)

2. Journal (I am running out of room on my current journal. Not a necessary item.)

3. Pictures (I love to put up pictures of friends and family around my room. It helps me to remember the great parts of family and friends and it reminds me of the support I have here.)

4. Encouraging Notes

5. Gatorade Powder (Its nice to add flavor to the bleach treated water. Lemon-Lime is my favorite, but all flavors are welcomed.)

6. M&M's (These are the only chocolate things that I have seen make it through the mail. I love all flavors milk chocolate, peanut, peanut butter, and dark chocolate. I crave chocolate so much.)

7. Fruit Snacks (Even though the Gusher's I received had "gushed out" the flavor juice, they were still delicious.)

8. Peanut Butter (Its a great source of protein and it saves from days when I have had too much rice and fish.)

Three weeks have passed since my last post and overall; it has gone well at my site. I was happy to see that my room had a desk, bed, chairs, and a refrigerator that does not work. After settling in my room and meeting my family the next few days I spent going to the market to buy other necessary items for living. I have learned that using wolof in the market helps with bargaining and it seems impossible that I will live here and not learn wolof. Everybody I meet in my town are really motivated to teach me wolof. It seems like I can’t do a whole conversation in French. Oh well, its for the best because people respect you more if you speak a native language and not French. There is still a hint of dislike for the French because of colonization. Wolof is a little frustrating because there are some sounds in the language that are not used in English or in French and the grammar seems strange. To quote a fellow volunteer, “To speak Wolof you have to speak like Yoda.” Some of the grammar in wolof consists of starting with the object in the beginning of the sentence instead of the subject and I can’t roll r’s and that is a part of speaking the language.

I have felt so busy these last three weeks. Monday through Saturday I am out in the market or at school. Many people here want to talk to me and ask me about America. I sit in on an elementary class at one of the schools to improve my French and to observe the classes. This also gives me a chance to meet with teachers and staff. I have been thinking of what kind of project I want to start and I like the kids here, so I thought of maybe doing a once a week class with middle or high students. The class would be the importance and practices of business with a project for the class during the year. I haven’t put a huge amount of planning into this but, I thought the students could start a garden and use the profits to sustain it and give back to the schools. I have a couple other ideas but I need to engage myself with the community to allow those opportunities to arise.

I have become the Rudy of one of the soccer teams here in town. One day I was running around town and there are over 15 neighborhood soccer teams in my city. The age of players ranges from 20 – 29 years of age. I was running by one of the team’s practice and the captain yelled at me to run with them. I went over and ran with them and practiced with them. I think that they were a little shocked, but I am thankful for the opportunity because it gives me exercise everyday and it provides another opportunity to meet new people. I am the Rudy of the team because I am the worst player with a competitive heart and I don’t play in the games. A week after my installment the team had a team gathering the night before a big match and the leaders of the neighborhood gave speeches and the team captain reinforced the team with encouragement. I was sitting enjoying the fellowship when the captain asked me to say a few words. I was little shocked because I had only been there for a week, I was not confident in my French, and I did not know what to say. I spouted of a short minute speech how I had the privilege to watch the soccer team of my old village win a lot of games and that I had seen really good players on their team. I said, “un chall la (God willing), vous gagnerez le match.” Sad to say that they lost, but it was still the thought of the message.

My days are still filled with busy times meeting people, working on language and missing home. America is great and it seems for a bunch of people that getting to America is this some unattainable beautiful dream. I don’t know how to tell them that America has its problems. I do miss America and the comforts and development there. I miss fall and family and this Thanksgiving will not be the same. I have been thinking and thanking God for my family, friends, the blessings I have had in my life, and my education.

So I will be installed tomorrow in my new site. I am excited but I am also scared. This will be the first time that I will be alone. I will not have other volunteers in my village to talk to and their will probably not be an American in my area or pass through my town throughout my service. I will be going to the market today in a town that I have been staying in for the last two days that is right next to my town. I am going to the market with another volunteer to see prices on things I may want to buy for my room. I will post of pictures of my set up after I settle in. I know that I have two rooms, a bathroom (its carved out of one of the rooms), possibly a bed, desk and table. I will be ecstatic if there is a desk in my room! For installation, the plan is to get to my house and meet my family, move in and then meet important people in the town. I will meet my work counterparts, the local police, and maybe some local government officials. I hope that the Peace Corps staff person that is installing me will help me find leads on a Wolof tutor. I am not looking forward to learn Wolof, because it will be hard and I know that I don't have a full grasp of French at all.

Apart from tomorrow, the last few days have been nice. Last Thursday we had a party for our host families at the training center. Only one person could come from each trainee's family, so there was about 100 people in attendance at the party. It was a blast! I danced and watched an amazing performance from a drum group of Pulaars. I started off the day not feeling well because the night before I ate a whole chicken, fries and a salad. After the party we all said goodbye to our host families one last time and rested for the night because Friday we swore in as Volunteers. We had a police escort to the ambassador's house and we were all dressed up in our Senegalese formal clothes. I have to say it was a great day and I was so happy to accomplish training even though it has been hard at times. After the ceremony we had a "cocktail hour." There was no alcohol but there was American food and it was a fight to get a scrap. One thing about Senegalese people, is that if there is food, they go to town on it until it is finished. For fun, we all went to the American club in Dakar and swam, ate more American food and played sand volleyball. It was a tiring night and when we got back to the training center, the staff peaced out on us and we were left to get are own food. It was funny that right after we swore in, they cut off all our ties to free food and transportation and said good luck.

At last, I will probably not be on the internet as frequent as I have been. These next 3 months before IST Training will be hard and I ask for prayer that I can integrate with my community well and find a feasible project to work on. I always ask for prayer with my communication skills to increase. Thanks for all the support so far.

My New Address for my next two years:

Joshua FickleB.P. 32Richard Toll, SenegalWest Africa

"Par Avion/Airmail"

It is hard to believe that training is almost over and I will be soon swearing in to be a Peace Corps volunteer. Tomorrow I leave for my last 7 days with my host family during training. I am sad because these people have been so loving and hospitable to me. I wish I could have this family for my host family for the next two years. I have been having trouble deciding what to get them for a parting gift. I have taken photos of them during my time and I feel that they would love to have a copy of the photos. I know that they will miss me and I have grown to enjoy spending time with them because I sense that they would protect me. They care for me and worry about me. I hope that my next family will be just as fun. I am not looking forward to leaving to them and I think about what will happen if I get connected to my next family. How hard will it be to leave them? Or if there is some kind of problems in the country and I have to leave them behind knowing that they will not be as safe? For this post, I will share with you a day by day account of my last week of training in my home site. Tuesday It was hard to get back into the swing of speaking French all the time and it takes me some time to warm up. I was not happy because I lost my French to English dictionary too. But my language trainer gave me another dictionary and I did my homework with another volunteer. We had lunch and I am always happy when my father comes home because we always have the best meals. The day finished with my friend, my language trainer, and I watching a local soccer match. Our town won and when they scored a goal, the place erupted. People were running around on the field and things had to be controlled so that the game could continue. The night finished with laughs and good times with my family. I joke by telling my sisters that I am the favorite son of the family and my mother affirms my rumor. WE HAD CHICKEN FOR DINNER!! That is why I like it when my dad comes home. Wednesday Today was filled with many memories from home. The day started off as usual with my morning tasks of getting up, doing my devotions, eating and preparing to go to language class. After class my friend and I went to the soccer field to watch a local match. The local soccer field is all dirt and not properly marked. After that, I asked my friends brother if we could make this delicious drink composed of powdered milk, sugar, cheese (think of laughing cow style), and little mint candies that are just like jolly ranchers. The drink is mixed and the candies are put in the glasses and the milk mixes with the candy in the class. The drink has a nice sweet, creamy, hinty-minty taste. Something really caught my eye today as I was waiting outside of a boutique. There was a group of 8 boys dressed in white garments. I wondered if they were poor because their garments were so simple. I posed that pondering to my friend’s brother and he told me that they were circumcised. All these boys were older than 5 and this is what they do here for boys. I am so glad that I did not ask that question to the boys. The night ended as usual but I had many memories and reminders of home. I had two phone calls; one from my father and the other from my mother and sister. I also watched a video of my friends and family that sent me a goodbye message and it just gave me encouragement of all the people that love me and think about me. I appreciate all the prayers and that is really a factor that keeps me strong. Thursday The interesting events that occurred today were my culture discussions with my family and I took my final test for Technical Training. I think that I passed it . It consisted a test of the basic goals of the SED program, ways to approach projects, and simple businesses practices and knowledge. There are a couple things that I do not agree with the Senegalese. First discussion, the role of the man is to provide money for the family. The woman’s role is to take care of the kids and take care of the house tasks. Now all of the man’s money needs to go to the family but if the woman has an income generating activity outside of her duties, it is considered her personal money. She will help pay for the family only if the husband can not do his duty. It is accepted that if a woman sells fabric, that if the husband wants some, than he must buy it at full price. I don’t understand this. They are family and I think that both parents should share the roles and responsibilities. Neither should have their own stash but work as a team. This is one area that I try to explain my belief, but it is truly a point of different cultures. They feel that there are certain roles in the family and after the woman does her part, then whatever she gains is hers. But I have been told that women do not like their husbands managing the money of the house because if they have a lot then they will go out searching for another wife. This leads my discussion to my second issue. Polygamy is allowed and legal in this country. Senegal follows the Koran that a man can have up to four wives. From what I have gathered, the older generation thinks that it is ok because it makes your family grand and well respected. The men think its okay and will support if the man can support more than one wife. The majority of the younger women do not agree with Polygamy. I get the overall opinion that men cannot take care of their first wife and children and they can show favoritism to one wife over the other. Also women believe that it is universally true that men are unfaithful and will sometimes lie about not wanting a second wife and then go find another one. I tried to express my opinion to my cousin that it is better to use all your resources for one wife and the children produced from her instead of searching for another wife. He believes that if you have enough money than you can search for another wife, but why not use those resources on your own family and raise your own standards of living instead of spreading it too thin? He told me that the advantages are that you have a lot of kids to help with the work, there is a larger women population in Senegal to men, and you can spread the love. Oh well, this is an issue that I believe I will have more debates on and will not be able to understand. Saturday Yes I know that I have skipped a day. I was too tired last night and did not feel like documenting my day. Language training is winding down and on Tuesday I will be taking my final language test. If I don’t pass my last test, then I will have to be held back at the training center for a week. But, according to my Language Trainer, I should be at the level or maybe a level higher. I try to have many conversations with my family and people to practice and I read children books French. Reading is one of the most beneficial things for me. In everyday talk, verbs like glare, tipped toed, or adjectives and adverbs are not used a lot. In books that kind of language is used and it helps me learn new vocabulary and be able to see correct grammar. Other than that, I have been thinking about the things that I will miss about Tassette (the village that I am staying at). The people are nice and hospitable, my family cares for me, and life is simple here. Sometimes the power goes out and the water is not running but it does not bother me. I enjoy sitting around joking with my family and having them laughing at me while I dance. I will miss the general care and love that these people have for me. I feel like if I was with them for the next two years, that it would be unbearable to leave them. The thing that I will not miss about Tassette is my bathroom. I find cockroaches crawling around it every night. I think I counted 19 one night. I will also not miss the heat. I know that it is going to be hotter in my permanent site, but I will be able to own a fan. Those are probably the two major things that I could do without. This village is small but amazing about how the people interact and cooperate with each other. In my town and the towns around me, there is not a police station. I have not seen a policeman since I first came here. I have not heard of any problems and I imagine that the community works out the problems. It amazes me how peaceful it is around here. Sunday Ah Sunday, the Lord’s day, there was a birthday in the village of Tasette. One of our fellow trainees enjoyed her birthday with class in the morning and then going to Thies for some American food. The three other trainees and I went to Thies and had lunch at this restaurant called “Big Faim.” I had a cheeseburger and a Sprite. After eating lunch I went on a walk around the market with another trainee. We stopped at the photo shop because I wanted to get some photos printed of my family. I plan on giving them the photos right before I leave the village. Why? Because I don’t have photographs of everybody in the family and I only got 13 photos developed. It is expensive and I can’t afford to get everyone in my family to have their picture developed. I also think that if I give it right before I leave, then no one can get angry at me for not taking their picture. I tried this morning to get people that I don’t have pictures of, but not everybody was around my house and sometimes they are so ridiculous. My aunt changed into her nice clothes before a picture and my cousin took a bath just for the picture. And the worst part about it is that I realized that after I left Thies to return to my village that my cousin’s head was chopped off in that picture. He will not be happy! I want to take the time to mention the joys of taking my malaria medication. Mefloquin is an interesting drug. I am required to take it once a week and the drug either prevents or downplays the symptoms of malaria. But the side effects of this drug can give you vivid dreams and in some cases hallucinations. I have felt some of these side effects and at one point in time have been laying in bed and was awoken by somebody whispering in my ear. The bizarre part of the situation is that I felt the breathe of the person hit my ear but there was nobody there. I am positive because if there was, then they would have been laying right next to me. That being said, I may or may not have had another episode very early this morning. Around one o’clock I was awoken by a blister beetle underneath my back. I quickly killed the bug because if they leave an extract on your skin, then your skin will form a blister like ones found on burn victims or bad sunburns. They aren’t bad, but they can be annoying and spread if they are broken. After killing the bug I swept it off my bed onto the ground. I looked around my mosquito net to see if there was an entry point for the bug, but I only found a small hole. I fixed the hole and went back to sleep. The thing about Mefloquin dreams, is that when your mind is fixed on something, then you will dream about that. I awoke two hours later by killing a bug in my dream/awake state with my hand. I could have swore that I felt it crunch in between my fingers. But I looked around my bed and I did not find a dead bug. And the worst thing is that the first bug that I am certain that I killed was not found that next morning. I remember sweeping it off my bed and onto the floor, but I could not find it anywhere around my bed! I have two theories; one the ants that travel through my room could have picked it up and carried it away or two, it was a crazy hallucination. I have decided if I have more weird episodes, then I will request to take a different malaria medication. I will not stop taking it, because I would rather have freaky dreams than contract malaria. It’s 10:33pm and I found a blister on my chest. This confirms that the first blister beetle that I killed was in fact real. I only have my shirt off in my room and that explains on how I got the blister. I feel a little better that I am not going crazy. Monday This was last day for language class and my last full day and night in Tassette. We had our cross cultural evaluator come to our village to talk to each trainee about their time here. She told me that I did very well integrating myself within the community and my family will be sad when I leave. I expressed those same feelings and that I will be comparing them to my next family at my permanent site. The whole day my sisters were saying that they were not doing well because they knew I was going to leave tomorrow for good. I spent the rest of day practicing French for my final language test tomorrow and watched our local soccer team play in the semi-finals. The team they played was favored to win, but Tassette won 2-1. We scored a penalty kick goal just before the end of the first half and scored another one within the last 15 minutes of the game. The other team scored in the last 5 minutes and we were all a bit nervous that the other team might come back. They did not and the place exploded at the end of the game. People ran out on the field celebrating and hoisting players on their shoulders and carrying them off the field. It is really quite an event because the whole community has its stake in the team. There are not a lot of activities that are entertaining and soccer involves the town’s attention and pride. This game was highly regarded that there were police officers at the game controlling the tensions between the two villages. The only thing that scares me is that there were only five of them and they were only armed with batons. When I got home my little brother who is three and my sister who is two bombarded me. I think that they finally understood that I will be leaving tomorrow. I played with them and felt sad because my little sister would whine while hugging me. I was also had to eat two dinners, one with my family and another with my aunt’s family. I just don’t want to have to say goodbye to my family because they have been so caring and hospitable to me. Hopefully they enjoy the pictures tomorrow. They would not stop bugging me about them. They know that I got pictures developed but I will not let them look or have them until I leave. I want to keep it as my parting gift. Tuesday It sucked! I did not like leaving my family!!!!! When I returned back to the training center I received 3 packages. It was awesome!!!! Thanks friends back home and family!!!!!

I think that flies are the worst possible insect created. They serve no purpose except annoying people and being food for spiders. I can't tell you home many times I am trying to swat flies away from my face, my feet, and any part of my food!!! I had the last two days off and it has been refreshing. We are really busy during training and really do not get weekends off. I have been at the training center with a small group of other trainees while the rest have gone off to Dakar for experiencing the city. The only exciting thing that I have done in these last two days is that; I watched the Michigan vs. Michigan State game and the Ohio State vs. Indiana University game. Less than two weeks of training left.

I hate Flies!!!!

What is going on my friends? I have not been up to much. The past few weeks have been fun and got me thinking. As you can see on my blog that I have a picture of the lizard that I helped catch. Another trainee, his village dad, village brother, my brother and I went on hunt. It is well known in our town that the dad is the best lizard hunter in the village. Naturally me and the other volunteer were ecstatic when we found out that he would take us hunting. When the day came, we took the necessary precautions. Which included dressing for the tall grasses and sticking prickles, preparing our whacking sticks, and receiving advice on how to properly hit a lizard. We set off and passed through the village to find ourselves wandering aimlessly through the fields on the frontier of the village. We spent around an hour and half looking through tall grasses and bushes for lizards. We found lizard holes, but that would have been to deep to dig out the lizards. As we were heading home empty handed, the father spotted something in the sand. These were small lines of imprinted sand was caused by the tail of a lizard. I do not understand how he spotted these lines and how he knew that it signaled that a lizard was near but it was native awesomeness . We searched through the bushes that were close to the lizard tracks and about after ten minutes of investigation his dad yelled out for help. We surrounded the bush that the lizard was hiding. After his dad shook the bush, I gripped my stick and saw the lizard dart out of the bush. We all took off chasing as it searched for refuge. It found a tree and started to climb up the inside of the tree because it was hollow on the inside. When out of nowhere the dad grabs its tail right before it disappears in front of our eyes. All five of us pulled on the lizard but it had its death grip on inside the tree. The other volunteer and I held onto the tail while the dad pulled one of its back legs off and twisted it until it broke. He did the same to the other hind leg and was able to get a hold of the head. At this point the lizard only had two points of contact because two of its legs where broken. The dad pulled out the lizard and slit its throat. What a day! Not only did we catch a lizard that was over 4 feet long, but we caught the more difficult type to trap. We walked proudly back in the village, parading the lizard corps for the people to admire. The lizard was skinned and the skin was sold so that it could be used as a drum cover. That night I ate leftovers for dinner and was a little disappointed with the menu. After about a half an hour, my cousin invited to eat at his bowl. They also caught a lizard that day and I ate as much as my tummy would allow. After escorting visitors from my house to their respective homes I decided to visit the family who I went hunting with. I planned to only stay for 10 minutes but was asked to stay until dinner was over because one of the men there wanted to escort me home. I was offered dinner and refused politely by saying that I had already eaten twice before. I was escorted home and went onto prepare to go to bed. Right before I shut my door, I heard a knock and my brother announced that the volunteer that I went hunting with came over to visit. I thought this was weird because I just left his house but I did not question it further. When I went to greet him, I saw that he brought me a present. The only problem was that I did not want this present. His mother apparently prepared part of the lizard that we caught for me. I was full from eating twice that night and demanded to my friend in English why he brought this over when I clearly ate already. He confessed that he was also confused but just followed orders from his intimidating mother. I sat there and attempted to eat the food while dragging all the other people in my compound to try it. I knew that if I offered the food to other people that they would have to eat to be polite. After the night was over my friend complained the next day about not getting enough dinner and I wanted to whack him for not eating some of my lizard. Oh, the days in village life.

September 21, 2009

Yesterday was a day filled with new experiences. Korite is a little boring considering there is a month of anticipation. In the morning I woke up to the cries of the goat that my family bought the previous day. I went out to find my uncle tying the legs of the goat together and my cousin digging a hole a little wider and deeper than the goats head. After the hole was finished, my cousin held the goat's head back and my uncle slit the throat of the goat. This was the first slaughtering of an animal that I have seen. It was harder to watch than I thought. The blood flowed out and the struggle of the goat to make cries for pain were silenced by the loss of its windpipe. It was hard to watch something that was alive and innocent struggle and die like that. I think about the sacrifices that the Israelites used to have to do. It was hard for me to watch this goat die, but I can't imagine how they felt. They Israelite raised this herd, took the best one and spilled its blood all over the alter for their sins. A command followed for God. I feel that the old testament brings forth light to God's character. He commanded this sort of sacrifice system to show the consequences of the sins of men. That something innocent had to struggle and die. I compare this with the sacrifice Christ made. His sacrifice was spilled for mine and all transgressions. The struggle before and during the bloodshed haunts mind. I feel guilty for the sins and the death Christ had to go through. But, I sit here thinking that it was a beautiful choice. He chose to struggle and for his blood to spill for the sins of people He knew would never accept Him. I find value in seeing an animal being slaughtered. Yes it was gruesome and cruel. But it gave me a picture of what man has done to this world and the sacrifice needed.

Hi all,I have just returned from a volunteer visit in the northern part of Senegal. The volunteer visit lasted 4 days and it was useful to get to know my work and the area that I will be for the next two years. It was good but there will be challenges. One, I will be stationed in a town that is on the border of Senegal and Mauritania. That means this are is very hot and it can reach over 110 degrees sometimes. It is also not the most beautiful part of the country. Two, all of the volunteers in the north are spread out and so I will be on my own and it will be difficult to visit other volunteers. Third, my site is about a 10 hour car ride from Dakar. This is important because Dakar is the city where we have are medical staff and our point of exit from the country. The 10 hour car ride is in a vehicle called a sept place. This is a station wagon car that 9 people fit in. The cars that are used are in bad shape (If anyone can remember my Toyota Tercel, think of that but worse) and very uncomfortable and sweaty.

Other than that, I think I will be able to enjoy my site and my work will be difficult. I don't have a specified project to work on when I first get to site but, I will have to look for opportunities in the community to encourage education and training.

The volunteer I visited was nice and we had a good time. I am still working on my french and feel that I will be able to meet the required level from Peace Corps by this next week. I need a lot of practice and need to study more vocab and verbs to aid my speaking ability. I will be here in training center for the next three days and then travel back to my home stay village for 10 days and celebrate Korite with my family. Korite is a party that muslims throw at the end of Ramadam (the month of crazy fasting). It is filled with food and fun and I picked up my nice Senegal grand boo boo for the affair. A grand boo boo is a traditional outfit worn by Senegalese men to special events. It looks awesome and I will post a picture of me wearing it. It actually is very comfortable and feel that I am naked while wearing it (Note: It is a garment that covers almost my whole body... it is just really light... don't get any weird pictures in your head).

I find this one little thing about African culture interesting. The word Too-bob. It translates to foreigner. Us white people here get called Too-bob all the time (ALL the time). Literally I dread the mornings when I walk to language class because there is this corner where a whole bunch of kids hang around. When they see me they yell/sing in unison, "Too- bob, Too-bob." After the first few times it is funny but they sing/yell in a way that it touches the part of my brain that causes me to have a sensation to punch a little kid in the face (not really). There are different strategies to combat these kids... I will list the ones that I use and the strength and weaknesses of each strategy;1. Call the kids too-bob -- This will sometimes confuse the kid and he will stop yelling, but most of the time it continues.2. Run after the kid with a stick -- This is really intimidating and it is really funny to see the kids run away scared. After the first couple times they get brave and find out that the white too-bob is not dangerous and continue to call you too-bob.3. Swear at them in english -- I have not personally tried this one but it helps get your frustrations out on the children. The good thing is that they don't understand but the bad thing is that they don't understand what you are saying.

At the end of the day they will never stop calling you too-bob and you have to find ways to cope with the continued yelling. It is also funny because in America we would never point at people and call them foreigner or mexican or black. It is something that is accepted here because I think that there is a very very low foreign population. This is true because I have had kids scared of me because I am white and their parents bring them to me laughing. Apparently Senegalese people think its funny when their children are afraid of white people and get a kick out of them freaking out.

I don't really have any funny stories but here are some prayer requests:1. This training time is the most stressful time for a volunteer so I need prayer to keep my spirits high during this time.2. My language - Pray that I will be able to do well in speaking french and continue on to learn Wolof. It would be nice to speak with the people in their native tongue.3. Pray for my site. I am a little worried about my seclusion from the Peace Corps staff and other volunteers. Please pray that I will make great friends with the people living there and will be content with my situation.4. Pray for my work. Please pray that God will bring forth opportunities in my site for me to work on. This could be teaching computer classes, working with artisans and tourists, or with other NGOs to help out the community.5. My spiritual and mental health. It was a little scary when the Peace Corps medical staff gave the trainees the run down of the mental challenges during service. I already miss many things about America and the people. I always feel like I am being watched and feel uncomfortable at times.

Fickle.. out.

Hi all, So the two week stretch of being with my host family is over. The two weeks was long, but I find myself getting use to the way of life. The last two weeks was the starting of Ramadan for Islam. I have never been around an Islam culture and my whole host family are practicing Muslims. Participating in Ramadan looks very rough. During the month you must fast. And the fast starts at 545 am and ends at 730pm. So between that time everyday you can not eat or drink anything. I thought about trying it out with my family, but there is no way that I could go without water. The days are so hot here and I have only been here a month. The Medical Staff advises us that we should not participate because we are adjusting to the new food. I joke with my family that I will start fasting tomorrow and then when tomorrow comes I reply with the same answer as before. I love my family. They are so much fun and we joke all the time. I have two sisters, one is 17 and the other is 19. They both talk to boys and I tell them that they are players. Now I am called Sai-Sai ( in wolof means a player) and the other volunteers at my village lied and told them that I have 5 girlfriends back at the states. Family: As I have mentioned before I have two sisters. My whole immediate family includes 3 sisters and 3 brothers. My youngest sister is 2 and she bites me all the time. I love her and it is too hard to discipline her. I just say, "Me Manges Pas!" Which is my french saying, "Don't eat me!" My two brothers are 10 and 12 and we wrestle American style. Women: The women here are amazing. I don't understand how they do all the work they do. The clean the house constantly, cook, do laundry, and take care of too many kids. I did my laundry today by hand and found out that I am horrible at it and it is really tiring. The first time I tried at my house my sisters laughed at me and took it away. The culture here is really divided on men's and women's roles. My family would not let me help cook or clean.Finally after much persistence, I got to help cook my lunch one day. I made fries, an omelette (Senegal style), and glazed onions. I started by cutting the potatoes, fried them, and used the same oil and amount for the eggs. Lastly, used the same oil, in the same pot to make the onions. It was literally putting fries in a frydaddy then cracking eggs in the fry daddy and the same with the onions. Paula Dean style cooking but with oil instead of butter. I really can't think of any else to write about right now. I will find out later today where I will be posted for the next two years and if I will be Eco - tourism or a regular SED volunteer. I hope all is well with everyone and welcome all visitors to Senegal. The Peace Corps encourages visitors and I am pretty sure that I don't have to take vacation days to entertain visitors. I think that it is considered sharing the Senegalese culture with Americans. Phone Number:If you are using skype or a telephone, my phone number is as follows221 - 77 330 48 24

I encourage all calls but I will not call my friends unless it is an emergency. I am sorry but I am poor and it is cheaper for people in the US to call me than for me to call the US. I throw frogs at girls in Africa:My sisters are terribly afraid of Frogs. To start off the story, I was reading a children's book in french to help with my pronunciation. I would read the book with my sisters and they would correct me. The book was about a larger animal cooking a mouse in a soup. They joked with me that I needed to catch a mouse so that they could cook it for dinner. I joked with them that I would catch 500 mice, but left them at the school where I take my french class. Well one day my sister said that I was dirty because I have frogs in my room. Every morning there is a frog that comes in my room. With that being said, one night my sister called me a Sai-Sai (which is a player) and I threatened her that if she called me a Sai-Sai one more time, then I would throw a frog at her. Later on in the evening she called me a Sai-Sai. I went for my room and found a frog and trapped it in my bucket bath cup. She ran away and I threw the frog in her direction. It flew within 2 feet of her face and she threatened to never cook or do my laundry for me again. Lesson: Don't throw frogs at Girls.

Hey all, My first week of an adventure has ended for right now. For the past week I have been in a small village outside of the the training center of Peace Corps. There is no internet and I have not received a phone yet. It was definitely a scary thought when I first met my home family. I was the last person dropped off our bus and the driver dropped my bag off at a different house. So here I am at a new house with people who do not speak english and all I have is my book bag. My mind was racing through my limited inventory of items in my book bag. I set up my water filter and mosquito net and placed my journal on the edge of my bed. I walked off of my room and waited under a tree that sits in the middle of my family compound. Waiting to see if my bag was lost forever my two of my sisters came and sat with me. We exchanged small conversation and ever so often they would converse in Wolof ( a local language). My bag was found and I was relieved to know that all my possessions were not lost.

The week has been filled with learning french and speaking with my family. My family prefers to speak in Wolof, so it can get tough getting immersed in french and having them speak Wolof all the time. I have to say that my family treats me like a king. At every meal I try to squat around the bowl to eat and every time my mother gets me a stool to sit on. The food is good and it is interesting to sit eating out of the same bowl with 10 other family members. The mother and my sisters use there thumb and finger as cutting tool to cut carrots and meat to place in front of me to eat.

My family watches TV every night and one night we watched an american movie. I felt bad because it was so bad that I started to read my book and wish I could have brought the "Dark Knight" for them to enjoy. The storms here are wicked, on friday night we had storm with the hardest and most rain I have ever experienced. I seriously was waiting for my family to wake up and get us to higher ground.

I have to say the title of Glazed donuts in Africa is a description of me and my other three Peace Corps Trainees in our village. It is so hot that I have sweat constantly oozing out from my pores. I feel like a glazed donut.

Something funny - So apparently I am considered a dirty person to Senegalese women because I only shower 1 a day. They shower 2-3 times a day (A shower is not a shower. It means a bucket bath). I have been offered a woman to marry but I told them that Senegalese women are ugly. This is not mean it's an accepted joke.

PCT Joshua Fickle

Corps de la Paix

B.P. 299

Thiès, Sénégal

West Africa

"Par Avion/Airmail"

This is my first blogging experience, so I am sorry for amateur writing. With much anticipation we finally landed in Dakar and have since moved to our training center. The sites of Senegal have been amazing. Today we have interviews for language placement and interviews from our professional experience. I look forward to keep continuing with training and learning the Senegal culture. The food here is a little spicy but I like it so that is a plus. Our first meal we had rice, meat and vegetables in a communal bowl. More to come later.

The Senegal people have been very welcoming and willing to help us with our language skills.