This entry has been more difficult to write than I first imagined because of the nature of Peace Corps rules of blogs and written material. As the nature of this particular entry involves past security concerns regarding the area immediately surrounding my old village I wish I was capable of giving you all a very frank assessment of both the nature of the concerns themselves as well as the way in which the entire situation was dealt with by Peace Corps staff, but I have determined a public blog is not the appropriate medium in which to share such information. If you have any remaining questions after having finished reading the entry I can always be contacted personally, but will not be answering any questions left in the comment section. Again, I apologize of the following seems overly vague or trite. I also didn't bother to edit this out of laziness so blame any errors on lack of sleep and for having cracked this entry out in 15 minutes.
Approximately 8 months ago after having just returned to my regional house in Kolda from an agriculture sector work summit I received a phone call from my host brother. At the time my language was not where it currently stands, and I ended the phone call with the impression that he wished me to return to the village immediately. In fact, as it was the middle of the day, my brother had been encouraging me NOT to return to the village until later in the afternoon when things had cooled down and more people used the bush path out to the village. As I biked the 8k to SG two men, who presumably had been waiting hidden in the woods for any travelers came tearing out of the bushes screaming, “Halt/stop white person” while waving machetes in the air. I turned in my bicycle seat as I had just blown by the two men, realized they held machetes and dug down on the pedals and raced like hell back to my village 3k away. The men gave chase but being on foot did not chase me for very long. I discussed this matter with the PC Safety and Security Coordinator who is an amazing individual, and we agreed upon certain travel precautions for future trips to and from the village. The Safety and Security Coordinator had my safety in mind first and foremost throughout this entire process. He even went so far as to travel from Dakar to Kolda in order to assess the situation himself and speak with the local law enforcement. We both were under the impression that it was perfectly fine for me to stay in my village.
Fast forwarding to approximately two and a half months ago I traveled to a city near the Gambia border with the intent of purchasing a horse. I was traveling with one of my host brothers and my friend of whom I have written about in the previous blog post entitled David and his Splendiferous Garden. We were unsuccessful in our attempt to buy a horse and returned to Kolda very late at night. The three of us spent the night in Kolda, but while the two young men returned to the village the following morning by bike, I decided to return that afternoon on foot. Upon reaching my village later the next day I was met by my brother and our friend racing out of the village with the intent of finding me. A situation had occurred on the path to my village that morning involving my brother, our friend, and masked men. Both were extremely lucky and escaped the incident unharmed but the matter was serious enough and involved me in such a way that I immediately notified my Safety and Security Coordinator. I left the village the following day unsure of when I would be returning, but confident in knowing that PC staff would handle the matter professionally and responsibly.
As time passed multiple assessments were made, visits to Kolda and local law enforcement performed, and my father, the chief of the village brought into the loop. I wish I could say that I handled the waiting with patience, but it really began to drag on me after about six weeks out of site. During the time spent away from SG I traveled around most of Senegal visiting various sites and staying with various volunteers or in regional houses checking out their projects and collaborations, but ultimately was very bummed to be away from MY village and MY work. At the end of approximately 8 weeks from leaving site I made up my own mind that I was not willing to return to site and would consider taking an Interrupted Service or Early Termination. I went so far as to meet with my Director to discuss things face to face, but it wasn’t until a very forthright conversation with my parents that I realized I was acting stupidly to have considered leaving country simply because I was not comfortable with the situation regarding my old site. I think it was my mother who asked me point black if my motivations for staying in the Peace Corps were based upon the assumption that I could only be useful and help people in SG or rather if I thought I was capable of helping people elsewhere. This question and the realizations it caused made me realize I was acting childish, and rather than running away from a country because of an unpredicted snag, should instead focus on finding a new site and new projects with which to work with.
Ironically, it was only a couple days after this conversation that PC Admin determined that the situation regarding the area immediately surrounding my village was such that they would not be allowing me to return to SG as a Volunteer even if I wished it. They simply needed more time to assess and move resources in order to absolutely secure the site, and knew that I couldn’t stay in limbo forever. At this point meetings were held and I was given options as to where my new site would be located. We ultimately worked together and reached the conclusion that I could potentially accomplish a lot in the city of Kounkane Kolda. I am currently writing this entry from that city in my lodgings here in town. I have been living here for a little over a week now, and as much as I miss the friends and family I had while in SG, my new setup has several advantages that I did not have while living in the village. In the next installment of this blog (coming soon Si Allah Jaabi) I’ll describe the new site and the work I hope to be doing here over the next year or so.
Love you all, and missing friends and family like crazy,
David
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Part 1 of 3 catching ya'll up to date.
Pt 1 of a 3 part blog series, Pt 1- trip to America and realizations, Pt 2, Security issues with Saare Gagna/new Site, Pt 3, Description of new work and site while in Kounkane, Kolda.
Where to begin, where to begin? I realize I haven’t posted a blog entry since late May, but as delayed as this has been, I think as you read onward you’ll be able to afford me some slack for my tardiness.
My last blog entry was written and posted while in America on an absolutely glorious vacation of great food, amazing friends, and tons of quality time with the family. As my 3+ week stint back in America came to an end I realized a couple of really important things about myself: 1-- I ate way too much, but enjoyed absolutely every second of it. 2-- I was extremely motivated to return to Senegal after my vacation not only because I missed my host family and friends in the village, but because the break recharged my batteries and allowed me a lot of time to reflect back on my reasons for having joined the Peace Corps in the first place, and how much had changed during my time spent in Senegal. In order to cut this blog down to under 50,000 words I’ll recap my thought process on these two points as succinctly as possible.
I think I gained about 25 lbs during the week before and time spent in Americaland. Yes, this is absolutely disgusting, and probably more than a little dangerous for my body/sanity, but I have absolutely zero regrets. I came into Senegal last August weighing in at 252lbs give or take. Having gorged on cheeseburgers, pizza, and beer during my 4 years at UR I knew Senegal would double as a fat camp of sorts. During my Pre Service Training of 8 weeks I lost about 40 lbs then would cyclically lose weight while sick, slowly regain it while healthy, then lose more while sick or doing a lot of biking. When I came back for my vacation I weighed approximately 60-65lbs less than where I had started. I knew that my lifestyle in Senegal would allow me to lose any weight I gained, and quite eagerly stuffed my face each and every day while home. Returning to Senegal with an extra 25lbs packed on and back up to around 210lbs wasn’t a lot of fun. I was out of shape, felt bad, and was always tired no matter how little physical activity I exerted. Fortunately, however, the extra weight disappeared in under a month. Due largely to the events of the last 2-3 months, this weight further dropped to my current total of around 175lbs. I don’t have an ideal weight in mind, but would prefer just to be as healthy as possible. Hopefully in the near future I can get the weight loss to flat line and instead focus on building up muscle/endurance.
I tried to spend as much time with my family as possible while home in America while also seeing friends from UR, LHS, and work. It was fun to just sit and relax on the front porch with my parents, drinking a beer with my Dad, or talking about the agricultural practices of Senegal with my Mom. As many of you are aware, my life prior to Senegal involved very limited travel. I spent the majority of my college life only 45 minutes away from home, and have never been West of Kentucky. Being in Senegal was originally a huge culture shock and gut check in terms of homesickness, but slowly but surely I began to fall in love with this place, its people, and the overall idea of travel and expanding one’s horizons. This is a far cry from my mental state when I first applied for the Peace Corps. Yes, I have always had an interest in helping others and seeing new places, but as many of you know a big reason for me having joined the Peace Corps involved the urge to just simply get away from America and memories of a really amazing relationship with an ex girlfriend that fell completely and utterly apart. I don’t know exactly when it happened during my service, but while home on vacation I was finally able to vocalize that my reasons for staying in the Peace Corps were now entirely in line with what I consider “legitimate” motivations. I realized I was over the idea of Senegal as a chance to “get away,” and instead embraced it for what it is, as the opportunity to learn a lot about myself and my limitations while also doing my best to improve the quality of life of some of the people who need it the most in this world.
Somewhere during my service something just clicked, I picked up the language, made friends for life, stopped listening to sad bastard country music, became more confident in myself and my limitations, and was finally able to realize that happiness in life isn’t predicated upon how you are treated by others, but rather, by taking personal responsibility and initiative. I learned my own happiness was furthered by helping others, and no longer bitched and moaned as much about the little snags in life, but instead embraced the simple pleasures of life such as a cold water bucket shower, the first fall harvest after weeks of waiting, or the bi monthly skype calls from home. I’m just now starting to realize happiness means good food, country music, a fridge full of something cold, family, faith, and above all else, the ability to never, ever, take yourself too seriously. I got back on that plane headed for Dakar with a level of excitement that wasn’t present when I had first arrived. I had new work project ideas floating around in my head, the ability to harass the guys standing outside of the airport in their own language, and the confidence that I had made the best decision of my life to have joined the Peace Corps in the first place, albeit for maybe the wrong reasons initially. Although I won’t absolutely set it in stone (nor am I officially able at this time), but I would love the opportunity to extend my service here in Senegal until at least the end of 2012.
To be continued…..I promise the next 2 entries won’t be as cliché. Love you all. P.S., check out my facebook as I’ve updated a lot of the pictures I had taken over the last year.
Where to begin, where to begin? I realize I haven’t posted a blog entry since late May, but as delayed as this has been, I think as you read onward you’ll be able to afford me some slack for my tardiness.
My last blog entry was written and posted while in America on an absolutely glorious vacation of great food, amazing friends, and tons of quality time with the family. As my 3+ week stint back in America came to an end I realized a couple of really important things about myself: 1-- I ate way too much, but enjoyed absolutely every second of it. 2-- I was extremely motivated to return to Senegal after my vacation not only because I missed my host family and friends in the village, but because the break recharged my batteries and allowed me a lot of time to reflect back on my reasons for having joined the Peace Corps in the first place, and how much had changed during my time spent in Senegal. In order to cut this blog down to under 50,000 words I’ll recap my thought process on these two points as succinctly as possible.
I think I gained about 25 lbs during the week before and time spent in Americaland. Yes, this is absolutely disgusting, and probably more than a little dangerous for my body/sanity, but I have absolutely zero regrets. I came into Senegal last August weighing in at 252lbs give or take. Having gorged on cheeseburgers, pizza, and beer during my 4 years at UR I knew Senegal would double as a fat camp of sorts. During my Pre Service Training of 8 weeks I lost about 40 lbs then would cyclically lose weight while sick, slowly regain it while healthy, then lose more while sick or doing a lot of biking. When I came back for my vacation I weighed approximately 60-65lbs less than where I had started. I knew that my lifestyle in Senegal would allow me to lose any weight I gained, and quite eagerly stuffed my face each and every day while home. Returning to Senegal with an extra 25lbs packed on and back up to around 210lbs wasn’t a lot of fun. I was out of shape, felt bad, and was always tired no matter how little physical activity I exerted. Fortunately, however, the extra weight disappeared in under a month. Due largely to the events of the last 2-3 months, this weight further dropped to my current total of around 175lbs. I don’t have an ideal weight in mind, but would prefer just to be as healthy as possible. Hopefully in the near future I can get the weight loss to flat line and instead focus on building up muscle/endurance.
I tried to spend as much time with my family as possible while home in America while also seeing friends from UR, LHS, and work. It was fun to just sit and relax on the front porch with my parents, drinking a beer with my Dad, or talking about the agricultural practices of Senegal with my Mom. As many of you are aware, my life prior to Senegal involved very limited travel. I spent the majority of my college life only 45 minutes away from home, and have never been West of Kentucky. Being in Senegal was originally a huge culture shock and gut check in terms of homesickness, but slowly but surely I began to fall in love with this place, its people, and the overall idea of travel and expanding one’s horizons. This is a far cry from my mental state when I first applied for the Peace Corps. Yes, I have always had an interest in helping others and seeing new places, but as many of you know a big reason for me having joined the Peace Corps involved the urge to just simply get away from America and memories of a really amazing relationship with an ex girlfriend that fell completely and utterly apart. I don’t know exactly when it happened during my service, but while home on vacation I was finally able to vocalize that my reasons for staying in the Peace Corps were now entirely in line with what I consider “legitimate” motivations. I realized I was over the idea of Senegal as a chance to “get away,” and instead embraced it for what it is, as the opportunity to learn a lot about myself and my limitations while also doing my best to improve the quality of life of some of the people who need it the most in this world.
Somewhere during my service something just clicked, I picked up the language, made friends for life, stopped listening to sad bastard country music, became more confident in myself and my limitations, and was finally able to realize that happiness in life isn’t predicated upon how you are treated by others, but rather, by taking personal responsibility and initiative. I learned my own happiness was furthered by helping others, and no longer bitched and moaned as much about the little snags in life, but instead embraced the simple pleasures of life such as a cold water bucket shower, the first fall harvest after weeks of waiting, or the bi monthly skype calls from home. I’m just now starting to realize happiness means good food, country music, a fridge full of something cold, family, faith, and above all else, the ability to never, ever, take yourself too seriously. I got back on that plane headed for Dakar with a level of excitement that wasn’t present when I had first arrived. I had new work project ideas floating around in my head, the ability to harass the guys standing outside of the airport in their own language, and the confidence that I had made the best decision of my life to have joined the Peace Corps in the first place, albeit for maybe the wrong reasons initially. Although I won’t absolutely set it in stone (nor am I officially able at this time), but I would love the opportunity to extend my service here in Senegal until at least the end of 2012.
To be continued…..I promise the next 2 entries won’t be as cliché. Love you all. P.S., check out my facebook as I’ve updated a lot of the pictures I had taken over the last year.
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