Site Announcement:
Permanent sites are kept top secret, 007 style, from the volunteers until reveal day. However, a part from the Wolof language groups, most of the languages have known areas for their permanent sites. Since I am Fulakunda, I pretty much knew that I was going to be in the South, in the Kolda region. But, there was always that chance I could have been thrown into the Kedougou region or somewhere else, so it was nerve wracking!
I will be in the Kolda region as anticipated. Even though I had a good idea of what region I was going to be in, the site dynamics were completely unknown. It was like Christmas morning, you know you are going to get a present, but you have no idea what!
So, this is what Santa brought me:
A NEW SITE!!!!
Holy Crapballs! I didn’t realize that a new site would be so scary, but I was terrified when I opened the envelope and that information was revealed. So many thoughts about how I was going to learn the language if they never experienced someone doing the process before, how my family was going to accept me into their compound as the first American in the village, what my counterparts were going to think of me and how to explain to them my job description, how my community was going to perceive me, the “Toubab” … pretty much every possible “OMG” thought out there!!
My village has 24 compounds and around 364 people. My site does not have a health structure, but there is a Poste de Santé in a neighboring village called Sare Tobo, about three kilometers away, which is also “easily” accessible by bike. There is an elementary school located in my village, but the middle school and high school are located in another village called Sare Koutayel about another three kilometers away.
I have two counterparts: Ousman Diao, but he goes by Hoyo and Abdoulaye Balde. Hoyo is a Relais, which a volunteer community health position. He seems very excited about my arrival, which makes me even more excited! My second counterpart, Abdoulaye, is an ASC, which stands for “Agent de Santé Communautaire” or in English, the community health worker. He doesn’t live in my village, but he lives very close so it won’t be too hard to utilize his skills when carrying out my projects
Some volunteer’s received envelopes with a lot of information about their site, their living situation, their hut, their family, the previous projects, the counterparts, the moral of the community, and any anomalies or interesting/concerning facts, including the volunteer’s Close of Service (COS) report. I, however, did not have all this information, I had a single sheet of paper and a short survey with the aforementioned facts. So, on top of my hyperawareness to the challenges of being in a new site, I was lost in the unknown, so I sought out our Safety and Security Director, Mbouille, to ask him the details about my site and family.
After the reveal, we all had to pack our bags to prepare for the departure for our Field Orientation Training (FOT) in the morning.
Field Orientation Training (FOT):
We had to pack our bags the night before because our departure was scheduled for 0530-0600. Also, we had to claim random bikes that were brought from Dakar for those of us who needed bikes to get around during the FOT. I was one of the last ones to get to the bikes, so I didn’t have much to choose from in regards to ideal bike fitting and standards. The next morning, we piled into a landcover that had two benches lining the sides so we sat with a lot of our junk inside and our knees knocking each others’ in a tight, uncomfortable squeeze. Let me tell you, the ride from Thies to Kolda is rough and it is tough. It is bumpy, sandy, dusty, hot and I’m not completely convinced that the Senegalese actually have to pass a driver’s test to drive. I have been to a lot of countries with a lot of absurd drivers and rough, dangerous roads (including two of the most dangerous roads in the world, the road from Bolivia to Chile and the road from New Delhi to Dharmsala in India, that have been filmed and documented as such), and the way the people drive here is speed up, and slow the heck down for random speed bumps on paved roads, swerve for random cows, donkeys and other animals grazing in the road, sand roads that have the grand canyon of holes in them, and passing other cars when there are clearly other cars coming and a collision is inevitable. I have considered wearing depends (almost seriously) on these trips just in case I pee my pants from fear.. or worse yet, get my first golden star, ahh! And, that thought has never crossed my mind before this trip
Anyway, we started loading my stuffed book bag on the back of my bike and then head out on the eight kilometers (?? and let me just say.. what the heck does 8km even mean?? I know the conversion.. kind of, but my body cannot tell what a kilometer is when I am told we only have 2km more to go…to me, that felt like the distance of the whole state of Ohio.) to my site developer’s site. There were times that I literally had no idea where she was because she was so far ahead of me. I had so many issues going on: I was sick, couldn’t breathe right when I was just sitting down, let alone doing exercise, and I had to bend forward because I was on a bike, something that aggravated my abdominal pain. I was out of shape; and let me tell you riding a bike in sand is HARD. I mean HARRRRRD, I am not just talking about a little bit of sand on a paved road, I am not talking about a dirt road with some sand on top of the road, I am talking about INCHES of sand that takes extra force to move the slightest bit and not fall over. On top of all of these issues, my bike was too short for me even with the seat moved up AND my gears were BROKEN! It was a HOT MESS!! Literally HOT and MESSY. So. Much. Sweat. So, my first impression and experience was not a good one.
The first full day in Kolda we biked to my site and I met my counterparts and my new family! We spent the day greeting my entire village reminding them that I will be coming to live there in one month. Since it is a smaller village, it didn’t take that long to visit all the compounds. That is good to know for goal setting when I am there for my first three months when I am not allowed to do projects, but rather just learn the language and integrate into the community. I don’t know too much about my new family, but I know that I only have one mom and one dad and around ten siblings, all of them younger than I. My compound doesn't have good cell phone reception, so it will be hard to stay in touch with the outside world on a regular basis. BUUUTTT, I was told they are putting up a cell tower soon, so that might be changing in the near future? Who knows, it is Africa so you have to take everything with a grain of salt, or I guess here it is a grain of rice. My hut was already built and in use by someone else, but Peace Corps Safety and Security regulates that certain things be done with volunteers’ living structures to maintain their .. get this.. safety and security. So, I am getting new doors, my walls are being raised and a new “fence” is being put up around my “backyard” where they were in the process of building (or should I say digging?) my bathroom! When I was there the hole was dug, they just needed to cement it to contain the future waste. I was hoping that my backyard would be big so that I could have a lot of garden space to help supplement my meals and make it more like home in Ohio, but I don’t think I will have too much space to plant too many things. But, I have plans to optimize the space! I want HGTV/DIY to come and do (Back) “Yard Cashers” or “Bath Crashers” (since it will be both in my case), or maybe make a new series, “Hut Crashers,” and to do an overhaul makeover! I think I will just film my own show and send it to the network. You never know, I might be the next Ahmed Hassan/Matt Blanshaw or Matt Muenster!! Development Style of course. =) Anyway, back to my hut. I don’t have a shade structure in my backyard, nor do I think I will have room for one to be able to sleep outside when it is too hot to sleep inside, but I will make it work. I do, however, have an AMAZINGLY LARGE mango tree in front of my hut kind of separating my hut from the rest of my family’s huts. That will be a haven for me, I am sure.
The next day we biked to another neighboring village where my Poste de Santé is located and where I will be spending a good amount of time. I literally woke up with the thought in my mind of, “Ohh crap, I have to get on that darn bike again today!” It was day three of biking so I thought I was getting a bit more used to it, until I got a flat tire, and of course my site developer was very far ahead of me, so I had to walk my bike until the point where she realized that she should wait for me to catch up. We then had to track down a pump from another person passing by, and continue on our way. At this point, I resented my bike and I was not looking forward to having to spend the next two years dealing with these issues. (I swore that at that point that I was requesting (more like a demand, I am sure if you ask my parents) a bike accessory care package that would help mitigate all of these troubles.) Once we got to the village, we went to meet my site mate (a site mate is a volunteer that is in your village or the closest person to your village), whose name is also Jennifer, but she goes by Jenny (with a Y, not an IE like me, if I choose to go by Jennie). She is great! She also loves animals like me. Ohh! Speaking of which, I have to tell this story about me visiting all of the compounds in my village the day before…
So, I am obsessed with little baby chicks and really any baby animal. At this one compound, the people were inside their hut taking refuge from the hot sun, as the rest of the people went into the hut to greet the people of the compound, I was meanwhile outside having a huge internal struggle. What was I struggling about you might be asking.. well… there was a baby goat, probably only a day old that could literally fit in one hand. I wanted to go the opposite way (over by their well where the goat was standing, without his mom mind you) to get the goat, but I knew that I needed to greet the people, so I kept walking towards the door of the hut, but then I couldn’t handle it and turned back and ran for the baby goat. I hugged and loved on it for a few minutes and held it until I approached the door. I put the goat down and went inside to do my formal greeting and introduce myself (actually my language wasn’t strong enough to really introduce myself, so I was being introduces by the girl that developed my site and Hoyo) and my new baby goat followed me INTO the hut (but when I say hut, you must think house because it is where they live, so that is a “no, no”). I was so touched about the lasting affection the goat’s bond had with me, but at the same time was apologizing for teasing the goat and making him want to come into a place where he wasn’t allowed. However, to my surprise, the woman of the compound picked up the goat and held him the entire time of our conversation and even after I left. I knew I liked this woman and we were going to be friends. But as a side story that relates to this story, at my CBT site I am obsessed with the baby chicks and I always chase them around to pick them up and hold them when I am at my friends’ houses that have them. Well, Antonio’s house has a lot of baby chicks. What he also has at his house is an old woman (she says she is 100, but I don’t believe her) that thinks that I am trying to steal her (and they aren’t even her’s, which the other funny part!) chickens!!! So, she gets soooo mad when I come over and she sees a chick in my hand. She looks in my pockets, my bags and even, one time, she pulled my shirt out from my chest to make sure I wasn’t stowing a chick in my bra! So, when this woman held the goat, I had to wonder if she thought I was trying to steal the goat, too. But for the record, if I had somewhere to keep the chicks (and the baby goat for that matter) I would have taken them! Soooo Cute!!
The last day of FOT was spent in Kolda at the regional house with the other Kolda region volunteers and at a pool at this fabulous hotel in the city. It was a great way to unwind from the stresses of the previous days because FOT was hard for me. Not just because I was sick, my bike was worthless and my site developer wasn’t waiting for me when biking to unknown (by me) locations, but also because it was sooooooo hottttttt! I mean, at night, I drenched my clothes in water, put them on and just went to bed soaking wet. When I woke up, I was still wet, and I am pretty sure it was sweat, not the previous night’s water.
I am glad I had the opportunity to meet everyone from my village, my family, and my counterparts before being dropped off for two years so I am grateful that I endured all the hardships and kept my head up despite all the times I wanted to put it down.
OK- So updates. If you want to send me a letter or package from here on out, make sure you send it to:
PCV: Jenn Lowe
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 26
Kolda, Senegal
West Africa
If it is a letter, please put the date on it so I know the order they are coming. If it is package, please insure it and put an inventory list inside to make sure everything gets to me. The mail service is not like that in the United States…
Again, thank you so much for everyone that is taking the time to send me anything. I really appreciate everything. I feel so loved carrying out my packages and letters from the administration office in front of the other volunteers. Grandma Lowe, thank you for ALLLL your letters! I am defiantly a front runner for the most packages and mail. So thank you for all your love and support!! =) Those of you that promised you would be sending me things… I have noticed I have no love! lol You know who you are!!
Coming Up: will probably be my swearing-in and all of the steps leading up to that day!
Stay Tuned!!
Make sure you check out my tumblr for my pictures!
