Kaolack Demystified

Last week I went on my official Volunteer Visit, more commonly known as "de-myst," where they send all of the trainees out to stay with a volunteer in or near their permanent site so we can see exactly what we have to look forward to at the end of training. Since I'm going to be the first volunteer in my village I stayed with my future neighbor, Jen, in the Pulaar village of Fasstoucouleur. It was great to actually get to see my region and visit my site, and I got a lot of good practical advice from Jen on what sort of things I will want to get when I install. I was also relieved to find out that my life as a volunteer won't be nearly as hectic as our training schedule has been.

Peace Corps dropped us off at the regional house in the city of Kaolack and we started the week off right with a beer and a hamburger, then took an Alhum down to my road town called Keur Sosse. My road town is just that...the town along the main road that is closest to my village. This is where I will go to buy food at the weekly luuma (market), and its the closest place with electricity so I could even get a cold coke or creme glasse. There are also tailors, carpenters and ladies that sell bean sandwiches every day of the week. After grabbing some frozen bissap we took a 6k charette ride to Fasstoucouleur, or rather our baggage did. The wheel of the cart was on the verge of collapse and the poor donkey looked exhausted so we opted to walk along side to avoid unnecessary disaster.I visited my village on our third day to meet my family, and ended up being taken on the grand tour by one of my sisters to greet all 497 people at high noon. It was hot and uncomfortable, but I think it made a really good first impression, especially since my sister took me into every room of every compound to make sure we didn't miss a single person. My new dad is the chief of the village, and his name is Mamadou Diouf. He seemed really enthusiastic about having me, and he is one of the most organized Senegalese people I've met so far. He even did his own census and had a breakdown of the demographics of our village, so I think he will be able to help me a lot with my initial needs assessment. Of the 497 people in Sambande only 152 of them are adults, so I'll be doing a lot of work with kids. I didn't spend a whole lot of time with my family, but they seemed really nice.

Jens little sister Leyna Ba

Overall I love my site and I love the Kaolack region. The only thing that worries me is the language barrier...my road town speaks Wolof, the neighboring villages speak Pulaar, and the people in Sambande do not speak the same Seereer that I've been learning in Ngoundiane. I would compare it to learning the Queens English then trying to communicate with people in the deep South. Technically you both speak the same language, but realistically communication is going to be very limited. I'm going to basically have to re-learn Seereer after I install, then I'll start on the other languages. Good thing I'll have a lot of free time during the hot season to sit around and drink tea and chat with my neighbors.