Tales of a Thirty-Something

What’d you do for New Years?   It’s a pretty standard (almost obligatory) question for people my age.   In America it usually involves getting dressed up, maybe dinner, and a nighttime of fun.   While I love all those things, my New Years here probably trumps any and all New Years I’ve had at home.   To begin, as most holidays here tend to do, it got stretched from a single night into a solid week.   I guess I should also preface this with the fact that most of the wonderfulness that was my holiday came from the fact that I was out of my village.    In the past couple of months, for one reason or another, Saare Boyli has handed me mountain after mountain of frustration.   Now, I don’t say this to evoke a pity-party or demand sympathy, but merely to lay the foundation down of why it was so awesome to be out of “Penda Sow”-mode. So the week starts with an evening in Dakar….and Youssou Ndor! We happened to arrive in the middle of the African Art...

So as ya’ll are all gearing up for Holiday Season 2K10, I celebrated yet another Islamic parade of apologizing, macaroni, and sheep.   Last Wednesday was “Tobaski.” It is the celebration of the story of Abraham almost sacrificing his son to God in the Old Testament.   Because, Abraham is finally told to spare his son and instead kill a sheep, the Islamic faith celebrates this day in the same fashion.   The morning was spent in the same fasion as Korite (the celebration after Ramadan).   Everyone donned new clothes, new braids, and new shoes (all of which will last approximately one to two months).   We then went to the praying field for a quick session with Allah and, of course, to show off our new clothes.   After the prayers, we headed home apologizing to everyone we saw, removed our new clothes, and proceeded to dismember the sheep.   If I wasn’t so grossed out by the whole process of it, I think I could have found a new calling in life.   ...

Fatimata- I have to write about her.    She is one of my nieces, as well as one of my favorite girls.    She just has so many wonderful characteristics that most 4(ish) year olds don’t have.    She is so loving to me, babies, animals, and the other kids (most of the time). At the same time, she strives to always get whatever it is that she wants, and she’s not afraid to fight for it.    She knows what she wants, and despite her small size, she’ll force her way into it.  She’s kind to animals (which is abnormal here), but she doesn’t stop just because of other people. She eats dirt/rocks (which actually might just be a sign of iron deficiency), but she does so with zest. So much spunk, in such a small package.   My favorite quality about her, though, is her “I-don’t- care-what-anybody-thinks-of-me,- I’ll-do-what-I-want” attitude.   Most of the time, she’s just plain weird, but I love it. The other day, I saw her spinning in circle...

First off, here is a list of things I miss from America (outside my friends and family of course): Parks Live music Taking a shower and putting on pajamas Real toiletries Mountains Being able to go anywhere on a moment’s notice (aka the ease of transportation) Clean feeling/smelling sheets Going out to breakfast Good beer Alas, I have conquered my first Ramadan!   Not an easy feat, I’ll let you know.   Now, I didn’t know much about this “holiday” until I experienced it.   It’s a month-long, fast that ends with a day of big eating.   Those who are fasting are not to eat or drink anything from sun-up to sundown.   I’ll be honest; I only did it for about 4 days…2 of which I was sick.   Also, I cheated…I drank water.   For the most part, though, nothing happens during this month.   My villagers pretty much just sat around and spat all day (apparently, they avoid even swallowing their own saliva).   The eve of the first day was so funny.   T...

Due to the wonders of nature, I have come to find out that Saare Boyli IS beautiful.  All it needed was just a bit of water.  Here are some pictures of my personal oasis within the desert compliments of my friend Corka Djekitay (Jillian). My rainy season lake Just our village rainbow... Road out to the fields View from my hut, post-rainstorm. Notice the red onesie...compliments of my friends from Sweden and Norway. We even have grass now!  Lots of grass.

Peace Corps according to urbandictionary.com: 1.     An ambiguous government agency designed to quash the idealism of recent American college graduates over a two-year process. 2.  An international American government organization with continual rotating foreign staff and a fleet of white Landcruisers aimed at catching volunteers out of site.  3.  Two years of one’s life determined in a brief 20-minute interview after 15+ hour international flight. 4.   Committees, sub-committees and exploratory committees for both. 5.   The automatic and immediate forfeiture of four of the first ten Amendments.    6.   Groups, flipcharts and markers. 7.   Commonly proceeded by “Oh shit! I just graduated with a degree in international relations” 8.  A whole lot of serial (often dubbed over)   9.   Where CD, PTO, AO, PM, LCC, SSC, TM, PCMO, FA, GSM, and GSA speak to PCVs and PCTs about SP...

So the other night, some of the kids in my village asked me to teach them Spanish.  Well, seeing as my Espagnol repertoire is quite limited, as I haven't studied the language since 8th grade, I had to be quick on my feet, so as to look "cool."  As a result, there are now about 20 men, women, and children who yell "chimichanga" and "quesadilla" on the reg in the African bush . A dusk-ish view of village...as a matter of fact, just prior to the Spanish invasion.