On being an invasive species in the desert

Evolution here is counter-intuitive. If you're too hot to function, the obvious choice is to boil tea for 20 minutes and drink it from glasses without handles, wear pagnes that reach your ankles, and work just a little bit harder during the season where it goes months without raining.

Since my last update a few things have changed...most notably my location: I now live in the village and will be moving into my hut soon (inchalla as in G-d willing and the workmen finishing something like a month late and before the rains come!!) Patar is pretty amazing and the people have really opened up their hearts and homes, honestly treating me like a daughter of the entire village. They just go out of their way to make sure I know the ropes like a local...no small task considering my excellent sense of direction and innate ability to remember names, relationships, and important community positions.

Now for story time:
1.As of about 1 month ago I'm an official Peace Corps Volunteer!! We had our swearing-in at the American Ambassador's gorgeous palace-like residence and although it was basically commencement all over again (except in French, Wolof and Pulaar!) the feeling of finally being done training was just about as amazing as those last few hours in Gosman. Afterwards we filled out mountains of paperwork, got back cards, and headed to the American Club some pool time fun, although a kickball tournament and river boat dance party would have been nice additions to the program!

2.I was welcomed into the Kaolack regional house community with a rice sack bag, our very own spoon, annnnnnd a scavenger hunt race! We tore through the market trying to buy used American clothing, fresh mint, a goat horn and Senegalese sex amulets (mine glows in the dark!!). The regional house is basically our home away from hut and mine has about 40 volunteers that share the western style kitchen, bathrooms, and kiddie pool! Its a magical place when you've been in the village for three straight weeks like I just spent and the other volunteers in your region are an incredible support network whether you've got a crazy fungus destroying your garden, really need to make tex-mex food, or want to commiserate on your host family's best intentioned attempts to make you eat the goat eyeballs at dinner last week!

3.The day after was supposed to be my official installation at my village site but I found out at the very last minute that my hut wasn't done! It was a really stressful day or two while Peace Corps Administration contemplated sending me to another site entirely (about 15hrs from the capital in the hottest part of the country!), packing me back up to the training center, or having me move in and sleep in the great wide open as a motivating prop for the slow-paced stone masons.

4.My installation was moved back a week, meaning I got to go to Dakar for the Women's Soccer Tournament and some super fun city time! After getting a free, air conditioned ride for me and my new puppy to the capital we made a quick stop at the vet before starting to check out all there is to offer in the almost western world of Dakar. I played touch football with some Marines stationed nearby and the other Peace Corps Volunteers and I somehow kept the score even until the very last minute...think every stereotype you know about Peace Corps Volunteers and Marines and just take a quick mental picture! We had a BBQ afterwards at the park which ends abruptly with a steep step down into the ocean and a breathtaking sunset view.

5.That same night I followed the Ladies Tourne '09 staff into Thies where the Semi-professional soccer teams would be spending the night before the big game the next day. It was a long ride out of the Capital and crazy to be back right next to the training center after only a few days away. It was a really fun night of meeting and greeting the teams, coaches, and even a Senegalese pop star! The tournament the next day was fantastic and coaching the girls clinic in the morning made me happier than most anything else I've done in country.

6.It was really nuts to be working in such a familiar setting but with a Senegalese twist...the ball and the drills were the same but we had a really tough time getting them to concentrate of the ball instead of dancing to the blasting drum beats. A game of head-catch got everyone interested and translated surprisingly well into Wolof. Then, instead of the standard pasta party fare we all crowded around bowls of rice and meat on the floor before watching the semi-pro teams play in the afternoon. I finished up a fun few days in Dakar with an international dance party, visit to the posh pool club for some super-competitive volleyball, and champagne pong!

7.I finally installed a few days later and even though my hut still wasn't done, the community came out in mass to greet me! The first few days at site were a whirlwind of meetings at the local government council, the health post, the middle school, and with all the Khalifa (VIPs!) of the community. My host family is pretty amazing and I'll be sure to write a lot more on them all soon...with lots of photos!

8.The local government seat is ridiculous...its probably the nicest office building I've ever seen with varnished conference tables and leather desk chairs, Internet and a gigantic scanner/copier/printer/possible time travel device that no one knows how to use. This is definitely an example of an NGO throwing too much money at the wrong problems and now we have some kind of clone of “The Office” where grown men play dress-up with second-hand briefcases and loafers to go with their traditional tribal dress and argue about authorization forms for markets that have no sanitation rules, events that are regulated by completely non-existent police forces, and committees that discuss the problems of communication between committees with other bodies not involved in the committees. Its funny to watch but mostly makes me sad when you realize there are a few more pressing issues that might have been dealt with first.

9.There was a HUGE weekend long party in honor of the end of the school year at the junior high with a quiz game show, wrestling tournament, and drum circle dance party...all at the same time! The line of what is and isn't culturally appropriate here is absurd...with showing your knees forbidden and pregnancy a completely taboo topic, while giving public lap dances to your teachers, wrestling in your underwear, and shaking your booty so hard your skirt falls off are totally acceptable and encouraged. I also ended up chaperoning the middle school dance which included watching 13-16 year old kids in the most racy outfits I've EVER seen light up cigarettes and dirty dance until 6 am...truth be told I'm not sure what rules exactly we were enforcing but it was entertaining as anything else and it seems like everyone had a great time!

10.I had my first baby weighing/nutrition demonstration! I made some special weight gain porridge type stuff and talked to about 100 mothers about breastfeeding, healthy food, and how to avoid malnutrition. Of all the kids we measured there were only a few significantly underweight and hopefully armed with this new info those kids will have improved significantly by next month's event! It was tough to talk in front of everyone (while cooking on an open fire!) but it seems like I got through to at least a few of the women and it definitely didn't hurt that I was giving away free samples to people who answered by questions correctly!

So that's about all I've got...I'll try to post again next time I leave my village with lots of pictures...especially now that I've let some of my new friends in the village braid my hair!
Until then, lots of love and hope to hear from you all soon!

And PS. NEW ADDRESS!!

“Stephanie Shumsky”
b.p. 325
Kaolack, Senegal
West Africa