Probably the most enjoyable projects to engage in here in Senegal is mural painting. Its cheap (around $10), only takes a day or two, and provides you with an immediate tangible result. The best part is it requires absolutely no local language and no interaction with Senegalese people...you can pop in your headphones pick up your brushes and paint all day without ever having to speak a word to anyone.
When I first put up the world map in my room and realized that not a single child could find Senegal on the map or even identify the continent of Africa I decided to do a mural series at the school focusing on geography. I started out with a regional map of Senegal in three of the classrooms and Jen, my new neighbor Peter and I just completed a map of Africa this past Saturday. My plan is to do a map of Africa in every classroom and then do larger murals that are unique to each class. I'm hoping to do a gigantic world map on the back wall of one class, world flags on the back wall of another and the crest of Senegal on the back of another.
My obsession with muraling has recently spread beyond the walls of the school, and I've been painting just about anything that stands still long enough. I've painted two new chalkboards in my hut for writing out my to do lists and important dates, and I even put the Peace Corps logo on the outside of my hut (just in case people forget why I'm here). Jen and I have also looked into painting health related murals at the new health post being built in our road town and the staff seemed really enthusiastic about it. Our goal is to do at least one mural in each village every month for as long as we have things to paint. If you have any ideas for murals I'd love to hear them, but keep it simple...I'm no Picasso!
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