The day I felt at home…

November’s travel obligations

I had every intension to try and stay at site as much as possible before I left for vacation to the USA in December, but that wasn’t possible. 

Jenny with her younger
sister with some freshly
picked peanuts.

Starting November 1st, we had the Field Orientation Training party, where all of the new volunteers came and saw their future homes for the next 2 years and at the end of their stay, we threw them a nice (Halloween themed) party. The next day they took their departure back to Thies and we current volunteers rallied another night for the Volunteers that were COS’ing (Close of Service, aka, they finished their 2 year service contract and were making the steps to get their medical clearance and head back to the States.) 

All the goods for making Attaya

I went back to site instead of going to the annual Tambaween party in Tamba the next day because I wanted to stay at site and get work done before my departure. I went to Santancoye to say goodbye to Jenny, my (old) site mate and then spent the afternoon at the health post with my ICP, talking and learning how to make attaya. I can’t believe that I was in the country for eight  months before attempting to learn how to make attaya! I am no pro, there is definitely a technique involved.

The new Toubab Store!

The next week we had the grand opening of our new Toubab restaurant that “we had” to come into Kolda to support development, working in international development in all. It is a little over-the-top and not really meant for the locals to eat at because of the prices, but it is our little slice of Dakar, which is a slice of America, so it is almost, almost like being home. Almost. 

I went back to site for a few days and developed an allergic reaction to something. What? That is still to be determined. But, my throat and tongue was swollen (along with other parts of my body) and I had a rash all the way from my face down to my legs. I came into Kolda to call med and get some medicine. Unfortunately that took three more days out of site than I wanted, and I had other obligations where I would be out of site for two weeks starting two days later. I biked back to village, did laundry, packed my bag and prepared my room for two weeks away. The next night I biked into Kolda because early the next morning I, along with four other Kolda volunteers, were headed off to Diobé for the MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) R6 inauguration. We went to pick up the Ambassador and other embassy and MCC employees from the Kolda airport (kind of a big deal) and then went around to  see the project’s details and sites. Thereafter, we attended a ceremony where my friend Jim (Moussa Balde) and I (Miariama Diamanka) got special shot outs from one of the radio people. After the ceremony, we all came back to Kolda and had a great lunch at the Hobbe hotel and got to network and enjoy ourselves.

The crew with the Ambassador
and other Embassy Staff from Dakar
that are RPCVs.

The inauguration location. It was pretty
extravagant! 

   The following day, I went to my friend LK’s site for the night, to prepare for a bed net care and repair tourney the next day and then make our way through the trek that is 20k of true African bush trails, sand, fields, forest, and hills!

Sand is the worst thing to
bike through.. no questions

Why? We went to visit Annie at her site with the intentions to paint a health hut mural. Annie has the most amazing family and village. The road to her site, on the other hand, is brutal. I admire her even more than I did before after tackling it. And, she does it ALL the time. No wonder she is so in shape and I’ve gained 22 pounds.  

A beautiful tree on the way to
Annie's site.

LK and me starting out the trek with smiles

We spent less than 24 hours at her site before returning to Kolda because I had to leave the next morning with Barb to spend five days at Brandon’s site in Ndorna doing a bed net care and repair tourney there. Brandon named one of his mom’s Rachel, and Rachel is amazing. So caring and hilarious. They are best buds. His family has amazing food. The best Senegalese food I have ate (a part from Training Center food, but, very competitive), so he is living it large at his site.

Annie transplanting a banana tree during our
Agriculture on-demand training

After going to three villages for the bed net tourney, it was time to return to Kolda in time for the regional meeting the next day, followed by on-demand agriculture training the following day. Although the Kolda Thanksgiving was the day after that, I still went home the afternoon after the ag- on- demand training, because I bought pineapple and some other plants that I did not have enough space on my bike to carry it all back at once since I was already traveling with two weeks of travel supplies. So, after learning some great techniques, I grabbed my plants and biked back to site to do some gardening. 

Now, after all of that background information comes to the point of this blog post…

I arrived back in my village, and everyone was surprised because I said I wasn’t coming home until the 24th, and It was only the 22nd. News travels fast in a small village. Apparently a small child saw me on the road biking back to site, they ran and told other kids in the next village, who then ran and told the people in my village. So, by the time I arrived at my hut, I had people standing and clapping singing that I had arrived. It was all very sweet, but I wasn’t exactly in the mindset for a big homecoming, I had numerous things to accomplish before dark because I had to bike back in the morning for the Kolda Thanksgiving. I greeted everyone and they helped me unpack my plants. Most of the people were still out in the fields harvesting the rice, cotton and/or peanuts, so I didn’t have to worry about offending anyone by going to my backyard and not socializing.

My holes for my pineapples

My holes for my flowers

   






I had to dig 7 large holes: 1 to transplant my water deprived banana plant to new, more desirable location, 5 holes for my new pineapple plants, and a lime tree nursery location. Since we are now in the dry season, digging deep, wide holes isn’t that easy. I had to go and pull seven extra large buckets full of water to moisten the ground in two steps to get the desired depth. Mind you, my back has been hurting more than usual because of all of the travel and less than desirable sleeping arrangements, so my back was wobbly. Thus, carrying buckets full of water on my head wasn’t easy and I was spilling the water with every step I took. This also started the gossip train and as more people were coming back from the fields, the more people wanted to come and catch up with me. My second dad, Sadio, my neighbor Ibu, and another one of my good friends, Salu, they all came to my back yard to chit-chat as I worked. My second dad, he took his place in my hammock while Ibu helped me plant my pineapple plants. Salu

The finished product after I
extended my fencing and swept
my backyard, yes, we sweep dirt
here in Senegal. Each.And.Every.Day.

came later to check it all out. It felt so comfortable and natural digging holes, pulling water, getting dirty and talking to my friends at the same time. The fact that after Ibu’s long day in the field, he still wanted to interact with me enough to come help me plant my plants instead of relaxing. That really hit home. It was pure kindness. They told me they were mad that I was gone for so long. That comment made t hard to tell them that I was leaving again in the morning for Thanksgiving and I would be back until the following day, and five days later I would be leaving to start my journey to the States for my vacation, AND that I wouldn't be back until after the new year. They had a look of shock and disappointment on their faces that you would see on a child’s face when their parents left them for the first time. Pure sadness. Ibu told me that he didn’t agree and that I wasn’t allowed to go because they would miss me too much. It was then that I realized, that I, too, would miss them. 

I looked around after everything was planted, and I felt an ease I haven't felt in a long time. I was home. My village, my hut, my family, my friends and community members, they are my home now. It was a great realization and even better feeling.