A quick overview

Hey everyone! I wasn't going to do a Peace Corps blog because wifi is so limited, an I'd rather spend my time out there experiencing this beautiful adventure I'm on rather than trying to document it.... However, I'm still finding myself repeating things when updating y'all over emails and such, so I figured that I'd just post those very quick recaps here. This won't be anything like my Southeast Asia blog. In fact, with the exception of once in the first week, I haven't even taken any pictures so far. I'll try to get better about that, but I do like that I'm enjoying my time so much that taking photos is the last thing I usually think about. 

I don't feel like spending too much of my time on the computer on this beautiful, cool (thank the lord) night at the training center, so for now, I'll just copy and paste some snippets of emails/messages I've sent to some over the past month. I'll also add a tiny little blurb about my last 4 days visiting my site!! (hint: they were awesome). I will say though, that this last month has been the most challenging month of my life, and the happiest. I've never felt more like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I'm in love with Senegal, my Peace Corps friends, and even with Pulaar - the language I've been tirelessly trying to learn.

March 4th:

"Internet connection is awful, so I only have a minute again, but just wanted to let you know that everything is still great! I got my language placement today, and I'll be learning Pular du Nord instead of Wolof (not spoken very widely in Senegal, but more widely throughout Africa, so that's cool). The crazy 10 week crash course starts tomorrow. I find out in about a month where I'll be placed for the 2 years. Next week, we go to stay with temporary host families to practice language/culture. The training center is so wonderful - so similar to camp in a lot  of ways. We all have our hammocks strung up, and sometimes pull out guitars for sing-alongs in our free time. We're all a bunch of hippies. I have lots of close friends already. The bit I've seen of Senegal is intense, but not more culturally shocking than what I experienced in Asia. The people are incredibly friendly, and I've enjoyed using my French. Also, the food is wonderful!  It won't be quite as easy as it is at the training center, but it won't be as hard as I thought being a vegetarian."

March 7th:

 I'm off today to my host family for a week, so I won't have any access to internet.  Pulaar is not  form of French - it's actually quite difficult to learn. Lots of vowels and such. I'm a little stressed about needing to become as good at it as I am in French (and eventually basically fluent)... but everyone seems to manage it. Right now, I'm just working on basic greetings. The 10 weeks before we leave for our sites are quite the boot camp. It's basically just a really intense class - quizzes, and everything. But so far, it's all been basic medical information, logistics, cultural things, etc. So not too difficult. The medical coverage is pretty amazing. Anything we could possibly need... we get. They pay for everything. No copays or anything like that. And they restock our med kit (which has everything under the sun) whenever we ask. It still amazes me that I'm actually getting PAID to be here! It's like a free study abroad program, with free language classes, and job training. We've learned more about the type of work I might be doing. Still very vague, but there are 4 sectors - ecotourism, agribusiness, waste management, and handicrafts. Any of them would be great, but I requested agribusiness is the smallest community possible. Who knows what they'll give me though... Everything's great - and seems significantly more organized than the whole process of getting cleared to come. :) 

March 13th:

I'm back from my first week living with my training host family! It was incredibly difficult, but wonderful. The living conditions weren't too different from some that I've experienced in Asia (bucket showers, the occasional cockroach, the mosque's call to prayer waking you up at 4 every morning....etc.). Everyone eats communally out of one giant bowl. The food is usually delicious- especially when they make this amazing Senegalese onion sauce. There were only a few times that I found it difficult to eat because the meat/fish was mixed into the dish rather than put in big chunks in the middle. The people are SO friendly and hospitable. I originally thought that my three host "moms" (the women who typically take care of me) were the 3 women married to my household's head-of-the-house-father (polygamy is very common in Senegal), but now I'm thinking they might be siblings or something. My vocabulary still hasn't allowed me to figure out how everyone is related to each other... There are also several little kids in my family who are adorable and fun to play with. I just have to be careful not to play with them too much and use that as an excuse to not try to speak in Pulaar. We have 5 hours of language classes a day, and the rest of my time was spent either studying, trying to speak with my host family, eating or sleeping. Learning a language this rapidly is very very very hard. After a week, I'd say I'm almost to where I was at after maybe a semester of French... and it's just going to get faster. It's crazy.  My family speaks a little French, so I'm often using my French (which is almost as much of a relief to hear as English) to learn Pulaar. It gets very confusing, especially when I'm trying to improve my French as well.  We're only back at the training center for 3 days, and then we go back to our host families/language classes for a week and a half (no internet again). Then we're back here for 4 days I think. That's when we find out where we'll be placed (I'll very likely be going somewhere called Fouta I believe). It's in the north, and more of a desert and more conservative.  

It's nice being back at the training center with all of my volunteer friends, but it's also very "cushy" and comfortable. I'm already ready to get back to Pout (where my host family is). Last night, they took me to a little concert with lots of drumming and singing. The verb for "to want" and "to like" is the same in Pulaar, so when I told them I like to dance, they dragged me up on stage... where I proceeded to make a fool of myself dancing alone in front of all of the locals. They all loved it though, and I think it helped me gain a lot of respect in the community.
There were definitely some low moments over the last week (one night I was very tired and doubting my ability to speak Pulaar, so I ended up crying in front of my host family after they kept throwing questions at me that I didn't understand). I bounced back from that quickly though, and my spirits are still very high. I also found out today that about half the other volunteers did the exact same thing.  I'm having absolutely no regrets about my decision to be here... it's even better than I expected. 

March 22nd:
To be honest, this host family stay is a little harder than the last one, just because I'm feeling like I should be learning faster than I am, and I keep getting frustrated with myself for forgetting things. But I'm totally on a normal learning pace... I just keep holding myself to a higher standard (it doesn't help that the other guy in my language group is a super genius and remembers everything). I've learned a lot! We're almost half way through the language learning process, which is crazy. Can't wait to show off my skills when you visit!
There's one meal that's amazing (like maybe my favorite food ever), but the other ones have been hard to adjust to. There's meat and fish in all of the sauces (which cover all the rice and vegetables), so I don't eat much. I'm supplementing it with a crazy amount of peanuts, which are super cheap here. They say I can buy protein powder here, so I'm going to look for that, but if I can't find it, I might have you send some. And maybe some vitamins. But when I get to my actual site it'll be a lot easier because I can buy myself a stove and make my own breakfast and dinner (with vegetables that aren't over-cooked...).
It sounds like things have been rough, but they really haven't. I'm happier than I've ever been... lots of hard work, but it's very fulfilling. And I really love the people that I'm with. Still in that honeymoon phase where I'm thinking joining the Peace Corps was the best decision ever.
I find out my site in a week! Counting down the days... right after we find out, we actually go to our site to visit for 5 days. Couldn't be more excited about that. Ok I should go "integrate" (i.e. Talk to my host family). They love it when I pull out my guitar (bringing that was also the best decision ever), so maybe I'll play a little.

April 2nd:I'm currently in my tent (sans rainfly) on the roof of my regional house faaaaaar up north in the region of St. Louis. Did I tell you that I learned that my site is a small town called Fanaye that's about 15 km away from the Mauritanian border? I LOVE it. It's exactly what I asked for... but it's going to be quite a challenge. It's a new site (which is awesome), so they're not used to volunteers. About 4000 people live there, which is the smallest of the business sector sites (but health usually has tiny sites of around 1000). I'm told it's a great size because it's easy to get to know your town. I spent the last few days with a current volunteer near Fanaye, and we visited my host family and the mayor's office in Fanaye. It's all getting so real!
It is really really freaking hot up here, which is why everyone sleeps outside on the roof. Thankfully tonight isn't too bad, but the last few nights were an early taste of the hot season - when it's typically around 110-115 degrees in the afternoon. Last night it was 100 degrees when we tried to go to sleep.... (emphasis on the "tried"). Cold season it can get into the 60s though.
So anyway, I'm at the regional house now, which is about an hour and a half by bus from my site. It's just a house where all the volunteers in one area can convene to hang out, and use the wifi to work - kind of like an escape. We can wear whatever we want, so we all basically walk around naked (short shorts and tank tops, etc), and there's a tv with lots of movies, and a huge library! Unfortunately only 2 people from my stage (cohort) are in the region with me. I met everyone else in my region though, and they're awesome. Can't wait to spend more time with them. It's things like this house that are making the peace corps much easier than I thought it would be. At the same time, I'm worried about the heat.... that was quite a shock to the body. It makes you very lethargic and lazy. But we'll get used to it!
Tomorrow we head back to the training center for a few days before more language learning at our training site. We're getting down to the wire now!

April 3rd:

I'm back at the training center! 3 more days and then we're off to our 3rd CBT (host family stay). Can't wait! My Pulaar is going to be awesome after that...I ha what a joke. But I really hope it gets better. I'll be needing it!  Just fyi, I won't have internet for those 2 weeks!