cultural oddities

No, I am not talking about quirks in the Senegalese culture, I'm talking about myself haha - but I'm getting a little ahead of myself; I owe you all a little bit of background on what I've been up to. The training center in Thies (pronounced 'Chess') is where I spent my first 4-5 days. It was basically a crash course on culture, language, safety & security, medical info, gardening, and all things PC. It's really just been like summer camp in Africa for big kids.

On our last day in the center we were finally told what language we would be learning (Wolof is the main language, but there are many other local languages which can act as a sort of hint to where you will eventually be stationed). I am learning Seereer (google it), which seems to be a rather remote minority language. This means that I will most likely be stationed in the Fatick or Kaolack regions (again, google it). There are only four of us in my stage (PC lingo for training group) who are learning Seereer, so I get the feeling that countrywide, it is a pretty small group.

After about a day of intro to the language, we headed off to our villages. I am in a tiny little village with the three other volunteers and Assane, our language and culture teacher. I have to say, it has been very interesting living with a Seereer family, without being able to do much more that greet people in the language. The other volunteers in my village are staying with families who have had PCTs (Peace Corps Trainee) before but this is the first time a trainee has stayed with my family, so we are sort of figuring things out togegther. As soon as I arrived I was renamed Awa, and Ngom is my family name, so that is basically what I go by now. My mother's name is Maget, and my father's name is Gorra. He has at least one other wife that I can pin down, and a third that I am still deciding about. If that isn't enough of a hint, there are alot, and I mean alot, of people living in my compound; I'm at about 30ish people all together. The three women have all been incredibly kind and helpful to me, and they have definitely made sure that I am well looked after. Now as far as I can tell, there are about 15-25 children, of all ages, living at the compound at any given time. It has been amusing trying to get to know them all. The older girls definitely look out for me when they are home from school, and they speak alot of French which is very helpful. The little ones are alternately scared to death of me or think that just the sight of me is absolutely hysterical.

So anyways, some serious stuff - no joke, this is hard work. Definitely the most exhausting week of my life, but also the most exhilarating. I figure if I could make it through the past week without totally flipping, I'll do ok. Talking with the other PCTs has really made me realize how much my time in Ghana has helped me. I'm used to the yelling out "toubab" (local word for white person/foreigner), the crowding, the staring - I already know what it means to stand out wherever you are, and since that can sometimes be an unnerving experience, I'm glad that I have some practice. I have to say, while the PC's method of dropping you in a village can seem a little intense, I can already tell that it's effective. When I arrived in my village I could barely complete a greeting, and after a week, I am practically a member of the family, and not so much of a cultural oddity :)

A few notes on village life:
- Drop toilets and bucket showers...I think you should all adopt these practices out of solidarity haha!
- Being the only four white people in the village, everyone knows our names. Walking down the street becomes a process, because you have to greet everyone, which is like a 15 min thing
- Frozen juice pops from bissap and baobab trees, YUM
- We drink ALOT of tea, big social custom here. And I'm not talking Lipton with a drop of sugar and a splash of milk. It's some sort of black herbal tea that is brewed three times, and sugar is continually added. What you end up with is practically tea syrup - you literally only drink about a shot glass worth of it at a time. Not to bash tea though - some people are able to brew it really well, and I've already become so accustomed to drinking it that I am starting to really like it. It has become my mission to learn how to brew it, since apparently it is deceptively difficult to do, plus as a woman it will earn me some serious street cred with the men of my compound.
- I eat alot of millet. Not my favorite. The rice and fish dish, maalo fo lip, is much better. It's a spicy rice with smoked fish, a nice assortment of of cabbage and carrots and usually a pretty tasty sauce.

Ok - I think I have written a sufficient amount!

Boo jaf lakas!