Sunday, February 11, 2007

Back in Training

Well so i have been in a city with internet for the past week and a half and i am sorry i have not written more. i know you are all heartbroken and have been waiting for this letter. But its ok now. First things first... Colts won the superbowl. for sure they did. how about that indy fans? i was able to watch the game which was entirely crucial for me to enjoy the rest of my 3 weeks in thies. A bunch of us went to a hotel which was broadcasting the game live on the french channel, channel two, starting at midnight and ending very, very early in the morning. I have to be honest, watching the game in french was a new experience, and one i hope to never have to go through again. they just don't do it justice. Anyways...
So training. well i have to say it is good seeing my friends again and hearing about their villages and their crazy stories. Listening to other people and comparing my village has been one of the most profound learning experience i have had here. i am able to compare stories and situations, and gauge other peoples language skills against my own and see how i have progressed. And i think i am alright. as far as my technical skills, you know I'm doing farming work out here right?, well they are progressing slower. The classes have been minimally beneficial. they are good for the most part, but my real training is coming from talking with other volunteers and picking up tidbits of info. Learning this agricultre stuff will come as i get my feet wet when the rainy season begins and the farming is underway. One of my struggles in the village has been a lack of ideas for projects. the importance is on sustainable projects that wont fall apart once i leave but will be carried on by the villagers themselves. That's a tall order being as it is they often are dependent upon outside help to improve their situation. It appears to me that unfortunatly all the aid and ngos that operate have assisted in creating a dependency on people from the outside to stimulate activities. It is unfortunate and is an incredibly difficult situation to tackle. But anyways, I need to find projects in which i am a catalyst to get things going and that they see through. Talking with people, listening to the truly motivated and excited volunteers has given me a sort of burst of confidence to begin with some rather ambitious ideas. Such as working with the villagers who have tin roofs, there are only a few, to install gutters and dig concrete water storage tanks so that they can store water from the rainy season and extend their gardening into the late part of summer. I would also like to get chicken pen going as a way for the villagers to raise some extra cash. They can eat the eggs, eat the chickens, or sell them when they need money. That is an interesting aspect of rural life. They don't have bank accounts or safes in their huts. They might have a little cash lying around, but their real money is invested in donkeys, goats, horses, chickens, or like the pulaars, cows. They just sell an animal when they need money. anyways not enough people have chickens and those that do just don't have enough. bottom line, i am beginning to get more excited about my work. Which is kind of the point of me coming to senegal, right? hrm...
Last thing i want to say. If you have access to pictures of my niece on the internet check them out. Natalie is the best looking, cutest baby that i have ever seen. Especially her in that colts hat. And if you can see her in person, well i guess I'm just jealous of you.