Blog Guilt

So I am feeling a little blog guilt because I have not written in over a month, and I like to keep my audience informed in my day-to-day activities and adventures. So, as I sit in the Peace Corps office in Dakar, awaiting my upcoming travel adventures, I will recap the last month of or so of my life... enjoy.

Last we spoke (or I spoke to you) I was just coming to my 1-year mark in country. I am officially an upperclassman... and its weird. I am supposed to know things, have answers, be fluent, and "get" Senegal. I am accomplished NONE of these things. However, with that said, I'm not really supposed to have. These were things that I assumed the people a year ahead me have under control. They didn't. Being here, technically now on the down-hill, I am much more comfortable in country, and feel that I understand how my job works here a little better, but by no means do I feel like Im an expert. I still have LOTS of questions, I don't understand a lot of things that happen here, and I am still working on the language stuff, "donding, donding" (little by little). Now with that said, I am really enjoying life here. Senegal is a great place. Its getting really hot (130+ in Tamba)! But work is happening and I am happy.

Last month, I took part in USAIDs Mason Training, which was held in a village called Birra and Kouthiaba. It was a opportunity to train the masons I have been working with in my village on how to construct a proper bathroom. I think it was great to receive the training that they did, and I hope they took away a lot from it. We began the adventure in Birra which is about 55k south of Tamba. 12+ volunteers and 60+ masons mobbed into this sleeping town, ready to do some work. We spent a full day going over dimensions and placement of latrines in a classroom before we actually began the construction on them. The Peace Corps volunteers present at this training soon became very aware that we were going to be facilitators during the entire process opposed to actually building the latrines themselves.

After a couple of days in Birra, living in two huts with 12 people, and learning the ins-and-outs of latrine building, half the group (6 volunteers and 30 masons) made a late-night trip to Kouthiaba, a mere 185k from Birra. We arrived at 2am, settled the masons into their new home in a community building, and then moved out stuff into Cady's hut. Cady is the current volunteer at this site, and was our lovely host for the entire week. She coordinated breakfast and lunch for us and all the masons and was gracious enough to open her home (a 10x10ft hut) to me and 5 other volunteers. We set up tents in the backyard and made due with the little to no privacy we had over the course of 8 days. We named this training Mason Fest 2012 since it really felt like we were all taking part in a music festival or something. It was a hard 8 days but I think I came out of it a better person.

Directly following Mason Fest 2012, was Tamba's Girls Leadership Camp. I think this is my most exciting experience so far in country. It was rewarding, fulfilling, and I felt like I was actually making a difference in these girls lives. We invited 1-3 girls from a variety of villages all over the region of Tamba to come with their fathers for a 4 days leadership camp. We had 100% attendance rate, and each girl had a male representative from their community (we asked them to bring their fathers, or another male in their family). We also invited Awa Traore to come and talk to the girls about their futures and actions plans for their goals. Awa is a force to be reckoned with. She is a power, accomplished, inspiring Senegalese woman who works with Peace Corps. She is often on tour around the country going to different sites, giving talks about women's empowerment and gender development. It was amazing to have her be such a huge part of our camp and she really took it by storm.

Besides her moving sessions with the dads and daughters, we had sexual education sessions, nutrition sessions, and LOTS of arts and crafts. We held the entire 4-day event at a local event space in Tamba. It gave it a real camp feel. All the girls really enjoyed themselves and I think the dads were able to take away some new ideas and thoughts about their daughters' futures. It was a great thing to be involved in and it is something I am looking forward to be involved in next year.

After that, I spent some more time in The Maleme, enjoying family time and doing some small projects here and there (pen pals and murals). But the time has gone quickly and now I find myself in Dakar, preparing for what I foresee as one of the BIGGEST, BEST and MOST AMAZING vacations of my life. I will soon be embarking on a week-long cruise, starting in Rome, and continuing through Greece, Crete, Sicily, and Turkey. I, along with 3 other volunteers, bought these cruise tickets almost a year ago, which gave us a great deal and means it has been on my mind ever since then. I have never been to any of these countries and cannot wait to see what the trip has in store for me. I hope to come back with lots of stories and a new sense of adventure.

After I return from my cruise I will turn right around again and take off to Cape Verde for 5 days the start another adventure to this great island nation. I was fortunate enough to meet some great PC volunteers who are serving over there during WAIST in January. They program is getting shut down this year, or should I say "graduated", so I thought this would be a good opportunity to take advantage of some free tour guides,  free places to stay, and some great company. I am really looking forward to this trip. It will be the perfect way to cap off my two weeks of bliss.

So that is all I have for you for now. Everything is going along smoothly. I am looking into what I will be doing once this experience comes to an end, and, otherwise, I am just getting through the day!

Hope all is well on your side of the globe!