“Peace Corps Guilt” by Esther Katcoff

The article, “Peace Corps Guilt” by Esther Katchoff, originally published November 1st, 2012 on huffingtonpost.com, recently popped up in my Facebook news feed courtesy of a fellow PCV in Senegal.

In my opinion, this article warrants a blog post because the author does a wonderful job of articulating some of the challenges PCVs face in their daily lives at site. I found it interesting that I’ve had almost exactly the same experiences at my site as the author has had at her site despite the fact that I’m in West Africa and she is in South America. I definitely relate to what she has written about and part of the reason why I want to share the article on my blog is to borrow her words because “if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” (thank you, Mr. Issac Newton).

After reading this essay, I want to make two points:

1) A long time ago, I realized that in this world, we are more a like than we are different. It is true. I see it every day. I wish more people believed this because I think it would help make the world a better place. I would go on, but I don’t want to interfere with your own thoughts and reflections on my observation. I’d be interested in your thoughts if you care to send me an email (I always love to hear from YOU!).

2) The author mentions the third goal of Peace Corps. For a quick recap, here is the statement taken directly from the Peace Corps website (http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/mission/):

“In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.

The Peace Corps’ mission has three simple goals:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.”

Just as the author fulfills goal number three through her article, I try to fulfill goal number three by keeping a blog. You can meet me half way and continue to read and share my blog. So, thank you for reading and coming back for more, and please read the article by Ms. Katcoff!

One last note – apologies to my family members who subscribe to my blog because I already sent this article to them in a separate email.

Happy Mo-vember!

J xoxo

The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton

Cruising the interwebs this morning, I came across this excerpt from The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton. Needless to say, I really like the passage, so that is why I am sharing it with you. I also promise to update my blog with a few entries on the last few months in the coming days.

xoxo J

“Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than a moving plane, ship or train. There is an almost quaint correlation between what is in front of our eyes and the thoughts we are able to have in our heads: large thoughts at times requiring large views, new thoughts new places. Introspective reflections which are liable to stall are helped along by the flow of the landscape. The mind may be reluctant to think properly when thinking is all it is supposed to do.

At the end of hours of train-dreaming, we may feel we have been returned to ourselves – that is, brought back into contact with emotions and ideas of importance to us. It is not necessarily at home that we best encounter our true selves. The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestice setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life, but who may not be who we essentially are.

If we find poetry in the service station and motel, if we are drawn to the airport or train carriage, it is perhaps because, in spite of their architectural compromises and discomforts, in spite of their garish colours and harsh lighting, we implicitly feel that these isolated places offer us a material setting for an alternative to the selfish ease, the habits and confinement of the ordinary, rooted world.” (Alain de Botton)

PST Milestones: Half-way through and Site Announcements!

As the title suggests, I’m going to write about two recent events: my stage has reached the half way mark of PST and we have learned where we have been posted!

Firstly, I can’t believe we’ve been in country for a month now and have completed half of the pre-service training program. Several volunteers say that pre-service training is the toughest part of acclimating to life in Senegal and getting started as a new Peace Corps Volunteer, so I take a lot of solace in that insight. On the one hand, the past month has been filled with ups and downs (a few days of mega culture shock were tough to get through, getting stones thrown at me by little kids was no fun, getting called “Toubab” is never appreciated, and being overwhelmed by the Wolof – not being able to keep up with conversations or truly understanding what is going on or being the center of the joke), but I feel like the training has generally gone very well (I’ve learned A LOT) and I’m pleased with my Wolof progress and, of course, finding out my site was very exciting!

But before I get into my host-community details, just a few more words on my CBT experience in Bayakh. I have now completed Round 3 of CBT, so I’ve gotten used to the crazy noises at night (mice, donkeys, roosters, etc), I’m more used to the chaos in the home, and I recently invested in a slick electronic fan which has dramatically helped to mitigate the heat in my room. My home in Baykah is still noisy, busy, hot, and at times overwhelming, but now I feel like it is my noisy, busy, hot, and overwhelming. I feel as though the family has really welcomed me and adopted me as one of their own. It is always heartwarming when you arrive back after a few days in Thies and everyone is so happy to see you and gives you a warm welcome. Some evenings after dinner while I sit in the living room in the middle of all the carry-on, I have caught myself smiling at all the chaos. I may feel this way because I know it is only for a short time, but I feel like I’ve come a long way since Day 1. I still wouldn’t mind if hygiene had higher priority in the house, but you know, you have to pick and choose your battles! (Luckily, I haven’t gotten sick yet.)

In my host family, I feel a few members deserve a special shout-out: Sega (my over-attentive brother-in-law who wants to marry me, but tirelessly helps me with my Wolof), Maamie and Mondiarra (my 10-year-old and 13-year-old host sister and cousin who dote on me like a big sister), Daba (15-year-old host sister who teaches me how to dance in the Senegalese fashion and does my laundry without complainng), Racky (19-year-old cousin and namesake who keeps me cool and divulges her boy drama to me), and Coumba (my host mother who is the backbone of the family – I have a lot of respect for her as a woman and mother, she hasn’t had an easy life).

I only have 11 more days of CBT spread out over the next month and I will truly to be sad to say good-bye, but I should be able to stop by occasionally for lunch…..BECAUSE I’ve just found out I’ve been posted to Ngaye Meckhe, a small city in the Thies region about an hour and a half away from Bayakh!

So, now for Ngaye Meckhe! I found out yesterday that I will be in a city/town (of 20,000 people) called Ngaye Mekhe which is near the west coast about 2 to 3 hours from Dakar by car (it is on the N2 national highway that connects Dakar to Saint Louis) and just 45 minutes away from Thies.

National View – Ngaye Meckhe, Thies, Senegal

Regional View – Ngaye Meckhe, Thies Region

There is a volunteer there right now who is wrapping up her service in the next few weeks (I’ll be taking over her post) and she has been primarily working with basket makers who export to the US via a company based in Oregon called Swahili Imports. She also works with leather workers who make good quality shoes, belts, bags, and other leather goods.

World Famous Senegalese Baskets from Ngaye that you will find in Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Eileen Fisher!

Sample Size for a Giant? Example of Leather Shoes and Sandals that come from the leather craftspeople in Ngaye

In light of professional preferences, I’m excited to learn more about import/export, international business, as well as product development and quality control while working with these artisans and their national and international clients. There are also opportunities to take on secondary projects, for example: teaching an after-school entrepreneurship class to high school students; working in other business sectors like food transformation (eg, turning tea leaves into dried tea for brewing with hot water); and developing waste management initiatives (eg, promoting waste management efforts by supporting the creation of private business that have the backing of the community to better manage waste, recyclable materials, and materials suitable for composting – not to mention the health benefits and beautification of the city). There are a number of business PC Volunteers who work in Ecotourism, and I’m not sure if I’ll get much exposure to that (which I’m a little bummed about, but c’est la vie), but I’ll definitely let them know I’d like to help them with any of their projects if they need an extra set of hands or additional support.

On a personal note, I’m also pleasantly surprised that I will be in close proximity to the Training Center in Thies (with the idea that I may be able to help with future PSTs) and to Dakar (in case I need to make a quick escape!!j/k….but Dakar is near PC HQ and medical care if I ever find myself in an emergency situation). There are some volunteers that are a two/two and a half day trek into the interior of the country, like Tambacounda and Kedegou, which are beautiful regions, but I’m happy to be near modern amenities in case of an emergency. And of course, I hope my proximity to Dakar will facilitate crashing embassy parties, Inshallah (god willing)! 🙂 Also, Ngaye is known for having a well-educated population, a nice post office, regular electricity, no shortage of water, having high employment, a reliable health center, and I should be able to re-install internet in the home! And my host family, the Niangs, have a long time relationship with the Peace Corps – I will be the fourth volunteer they’ve hosted – that is 6 years and counting with having an American in their home!

Tomorrow we depart for our “Volunteer Visit” – the five days that we will spend with our anciens (the PCV who will be completing their service in the next few weeks) in our new communities learning about the village, meeting work partners and important community members, and getting to visit with our host families for the first time. Later today, our APCD – Assistant Peace Corps Director for Community Economic Development, Amar, is hosting a wedding party at his house for his daughter who is getting married today in Montreal. I’m excited to see what the party will be like and the traditions of a Senegalese Muslim wedding. They newly married couple will Skype in from Montreal and the dad’s complete the deal with the Imam in the Mosque!!

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Julia 🙂

PS – thanks Dad for the letters and Mom for the new flip-flops – quite coincidental they happened to match my outfit perfectly!

Blue and Orange everywhere! (In front of the Foyer/Lounge at the Thies Training Center)