Jaxanke!
At the start of the second week of training, we had language announcements. I was assigned to and have begun to learn Jaxanke (pronounced something like jaw-haw-n-kay)! I was really excited to be assigned this language because that means I will almost surely be serving in the south of Senegal where the climate is more humid. Almost all Jaxanke volunteers serve in Tambacounda, Kolda, or Kedougou. The climate in the south I expect will be somewhat easier to manage for me than a very hot, dry site in the north, but it will still be very difficult to deal with the intense heat. Many sites in the southern regions of Senegal are also more than one day's drive away from the training center, making commuting back and forth for trainings in Thies a little more time-consuming.
In addition to being assigned a local language, I also got assigned a host family in Mbour, a city about an hour southwest of the Peace Corps training center in Thies, where I will spend 5 weeks over the course of October and November. My Senegalese name in my host family is Fadialy Sane. (I will almost surely get a new name when I install at my permanent site in December).
We were driven to our home-stay sites for the first time by Peace Corps; I was packed in the back of a van in the middle of the day with seven other sweating trainees, our belongings squished under the benches and tied down on the roof. The van first dropped off another Jaxanke trainee on the north side of the main road through Mbour. I was told that I was next. We crossed the main road and turned onto a wide, dirt road. We drove for a few minutes and the van slowed down. Some discussion ensued and the van kept driving. Again the van slowed down and again my Jaxanke teacher told the van to keep going. Finally we reached my house, after driving what seemed like miles from my fellow trainee's host family. I was on my own. I got out of the van, waved goodbye to my friends, and set about the business of the afternoon: sitting in the shade under the mango tree in the front yard.
In my host family, I have four brothers ranging in age from 17-25 and a sister who is my age. I also have five younger sisters, the youngest of whom is six. My host mom spends her time at the house unless she is going to the market to buy food. My host dad is in the military abroad, so I will likely not meet him before I move out in November.
Each day at CBT (Community Based Training, my home-stay), I eat half a baguette with either a chocolate spread or a fried egg. I then walk 25 minutes through sandy side streets to language class at my teacher's home-stay house. We have class for a few hours under the mango tree in the front yard, then I walk home in the hot sun for lunch. Before and after lunch my family rests--some nap, some sit in the yard, and some watch TV. Novelas (soap operas spoken in French) are very popular here in Senegal.
I eat lunch around a bowl with my brothers sitting on the floor in the house's common area. We always eat fish, generally over rice and sometimes over corn couscous. Often there is a thick sauce made from hibiscus leaves to accompany the meal. My host mom eats outside on the porch with my sisters around a larger bowl. After lunch, we often have attaya (tea). I have made attaya once under the direction of my younger brother--I'll describe the process in detail once I have practiced a few more times.
After dinner I again walk 25 minutes in the heat to my group's garden. We practice some of the gardening techniques that we can teach to community members at our final sites, spend a few minutes chatting about the day, and then I walk home to my host family. My favorite part of the day is when my family eats roasted peanuts outside the front yard around 9pm. We sit in plastic chairs relatively quietly, the only sounds coming from the cracking of peanut shells. The temperature is cool, there is a breeze, and the peanuts are delicious. After I told my host mom that peanuts are not as good in the US, she told me that they are even better in Tamba, where her village is. Something to look forward to when I inevitability get placed in a southern site.
In addition to being assigned a local language, I also got assigned a host family in Mbour, a city about an hour southwest of the Peace Corps training center in Thies, where I will spend 5 weeks over the course of October and November. My Senegalese name in my host family is Fadialy Sane. (I will almost surely get a new name when I install at my permanent site in December).
We were driven to our home-stay sites for the first time by Peace Corps; I was packed in the back of a van in the middle of the day with seven other sweating trainees, our belongings squished under the benches and tied down on the roof. The van first dropped off another Jaxanke trainee on the north side of the main road through Mbour. I was told that I was next. We crossed the main road and turned onto a wide, dirt road. We drove for a few minutes and the van slowed down. Some discussion ensued and the van kept driving. Again the van slowed down and again my Jaxanke teacher told the van to keep going. Finally we reached my house, after driving what seemed like miles from my fellow trainee's host family. I was on my own. I got out of the van, waved goodbye to my friends, and set about the business of the afternoon: sitting in the shade under the mango tree in the front yard.
In my host family, I have four brothers ranging in age from 17-25 and a sister who is my age. I also have five younger sisters, the youngest of whom is six. My host mom spends her time at the house unless she is going to the market to buy food. My host dad is in the military abroad, so I will likely not meet him before I move out in November.
Each day at CBT (Community Based Training, my home-stay), I eat half a baguette with either a chocolate spread or a fried egg. I then walk 25 minutes through sandy side streets to language class at my teacher's home-stay house. We have class for a few hours under the mango tree in the front yard, then I walk home in the hot sun for lunch. Before and after lunch my family rests--some nap, some sit in the yard, and some watch TV. Novelas (soap operas spoken in French) are very popular here in Senegal.
I eat lunch around a bowl with my brothers sitting on the floor in the house's common area. We always eat fish, generally over rice and sometimes over corn couscous. Often there is a thick sauce made from hibiscus leaves to accompany the meal. My host mom eats outside on the porch with my sisters around a larger bowl. After lunch, we often have attaya (tea). I have made attaya once under the direction of my younger brother--I'll describe the process in detail once I have practiced a few more times.
After dinner I again walk 25 minutes in the heat to my group's garden. We practice some of the gardening techniques that we can teach to community members at our final sites, spend a few minutes chatting about the day, and then I walk home to my host family. My favorite part of the day is when my family eats roasted peanuts outside the front yard around 9pm. We sit in plastic chairs relatively quietly, the only sounds coming from the cracking of peanut shells. The temperature is cool, there is a breeze, and the peanuts are delicious. After I told my host mom that peanuts are not as good in the US, she told me that they are even better in Tamba, where her village is. Something to look forward to when I inevitability get placed in a southern site.
Tavish,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds lie you are having quite an adventure! What a wonderful time you will never forget.
We are seeing the Detroit and Boston Fenberts for Thanksgiving, there will be 27 of them!
I will fill them in on how you are doing.
Keep writing, I enjoy reading your blog.
Audrey