24 March 2010

Tech Training in Thies

We've been in Thies for three days for technical training, and today we head back to our village. We covered a variety of topics including village survey and assessment techniques, safety and security, understanding the Senegalese education system and of course more vaccinations...but the best session by far was working on improved stoves.

We focused on two main types of stoves, both designed to decrease the amount of wood needed to cook in order to help combat deforestation and reduce the amount of time women have to spend collecting wood. Mud stoves reduce fuel usage by up to a third, are really fun to build and the materials are completely free, but they require a fair bit of maintenance and are rather labor intensive. Rocket stoves reduce fuel usage by up to 50 percent and also reduce the amount of smoke and carbon monoxide women are exposed to, require very little maintenance, can be made mostly with materials found in the trash. They are a little more complicated to construct but require less overall labor and very little maintenance.

Mud Stove
2 parts clay
1 part manure
.5 parts sand
Mix with water as needed


Step 1: build a base and select three rocks to support the pot

Step 2: Build up the walls with balls of the clay mixture, use an old tomato can to make space to insert the fuel and punch two holes in the back to allow for ventilation

Step 3: Smear with a baobab sap and water mixture to protect it


Step 4: Allow finished stove to dry for 12 days before using


Rocket Stove
1 Piece tin sheeting (600cfa ~ $1.50)
3 large tomato paste cans
1 small tomato paste can
Wood ash for insulation



21 March 2010

A Day in the Life of Koura Ngom




Me: Namfi'o!
You: Mexe meen
Me: A Naaya?
You: O ndik rek
Me: Nam tig o tig ke?
You: owe naaya
Me: Taa mbind na?
You: O waa ma. Nam Ne'ee?
Me: Koura Ngom ne'eem no Senegal
You: Tam Inooro?
Me: Amerik inoorum, ndiiki Ngunjan inoorum
You: Mam geno?
Me: Mbind Sathioke genum no Ngunjan.

Welcome to the exciting and complicated language of Seereer. So what the heck was that all about? In English that exchange went a little something like this:

Me: How are you?
You: I'm fine
Me: Is everything good?
You: Everything is good
Me: How are things?
You: Things are good
Me: How is your family? (literally "where is your family")
You: They are good (literally "they are here"). What is your name?
Me: My Senegalese name is Koura Ngom
You: Where are you from?
Me: I am from America, but now I am from Ngunjan
You: Where do you live?
Me: I live in Mbind Sathioke

I know you haven't heard from me in a while, and there is a very good reason for that. Last Monday was the start of my community based training (CBT) home stay with my Senegalese family. I'm now living in the village of Ngunjan about 45 minutes from Thies, and even if our village did have internet I wouldn't have time to use it. I'm back at the Peace Corps training center in Thies now, so I figured I'd give you all a sneak peak at what I've been doing every day.

First off let me set the scene: I live in a family compound called Mbind Sathioke (Sathioke's House...it is named after the person who built it). There are 42 people in my family, spanning three generations. It is impossible for me to keep everyone's name straight, but most people are named after other people in the family so I can usually guess pretty close to the mark. In my section of the compound there are about 15 people that I interact with on a regular basis, most of them are my brothers and sisters. My father's name is Mordu Mgom, and my mothers name is Ya Nogoy. Ya Alima, Ya Diouf and Ya Badji are the other three wives that live in the compound, and their husbands are the brothers of my father. I have 5 sisters between the ages of 12 and 17, and 6-8 younger siblings between 5 and 10. There is also an infant named Mousa and finally Falou...a 4 year old boy who they call my son because his mother is the same age as me. It is hard to figure out exactly who all of the children belong to as they are raised by the whole family, not just one woman. My 7 year old sister is usually the one in charge of the baby. We also have a group of men in their 20s, called Xadim (friends), living here who are either teachers at the school or students at the university, but do not belong to the family.



Our compound is surrounded by a wall with a gate at the very front, and our part of the compound has 5 cement and tin-roof buildings arranged in a square all facing a central courtyard of sand with three trees. The rooms all open onto the courtyard (think motel style), and my room is in the corner of a building where my mother and Ya Alima live. My window (hole in the wall) is opposite from the door and looks out on the other half of the compound, specifically the horse tam-tam, who is tied up 5 feet from my window. I have a bed, a mosquito net, a small table, a water filter and a plastic mat in my room.


Every morning I wake up around 5am to the sounds of Africa...birds scrambling around on the tin roof, somebody pounding millet, babies crying, and of course tam-tam whinnying directly outside my window. I look at my bedside thermometer which registers around 78 degrees and I roll over and try to fall back asleep. At 7am I drag myself out of bed greet my family, grab my water kettle and head to the pit latrine to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth (stay tuned for a special "hygiene in Africa" entry). On my way back to my room I greet everyone in the compound with "Waldo" which means "good morning." My mother brings my breakfast (bread and coffee) into my room and I eat it on my mat while I watch my younger brothers and sisters head off to school. At 8:30 I walk down the street to the school to work on establishing our garden, which last week meant the other trainees and I were raking trash, digging dirt and hauling loads of manure to mix with the sand that is supposed to pass for soil here. On my way I greet everyone that I pass with a similar exchange to the one at the beginning of the post. In Senegal it is considered extremely rude not to greet everyone you see, so the 500 feet to the school can sometimes take upwards of 10 minutes.




Some days we finish early and have an hour or two of Seereer lessons at our tutor Assane's house, but lately we've had so much to do that we stay in the garden for several hours. Around 11:30 the temperature is flirting with 100 degrees and the sun is too unbearable to continue shoveling and raking so I head back to take a bucket bath and have lunch with my family. In Senegal lunch is the big meal of the day, and all of the children go home to eat with their families. Usually we have Maalo fo Lip wish is basically rice with vegetables, fish, and tons of oil. The Senegalese don't use forks or spoons, instead I dip my right hand into the bowl (left hand is the toilet hand), squeeze out the oil, mash the rice into a ball and try to get more of it in my mouth than on the ground. Friday night my sisters complemented me on my improved eating technique...maybe someday I will actually be able to eat until I'm full! After lunch the children go back to school and I usually play with my "son" Falou or some of the younger kids who aren't in school yet. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious I study my Seereer.


At 3 I walk across the street to Assane's house for another language lesson, greeting everyone again, even if i just greeted them a few hours ago. Assane makes tea and we all sit on the floor to discuss Seereer grammar and Senegalese culture. After 3 hours of trying to learn in the extreme heat my brain is absolutely fried, which means its just about time to head back to the garden. After another hour or two in the garden we are absolutely exhausted so we trudge down to the boutique to buy a cold fanta from Mbai Faye and sit on some old tires outside the shop. We sip our drinks in between trying to figure out what the men outside the shop are trying to say to us. Usually they are asking me to marry them or telling me they love me, to which I respond "Ha'aa, jegaam o kor." No way, I'm married! I need to buy myself a cheap ring to make it more believable.

The evening is by far my favorite time of day. I get back to Mbind Sathioke with about an hour of daylight left, so I usually try and get my homework done before it gets dark. After my work is done its party time. Sometimes my family asks me to break out the ukulele and sing them a song while everyone dances, but usually the children teach me a Senegalese game and I teach them an American one. Around 9:00 I crowd around a big bowl with 5-7 of my sisters to eat dinner, which is always ground millet with a bean sauce. It has the consistency of extremely muddy water, but the flavor is really growing on me. It has that "really good for you" taste which is a welcome feeling in my unbalanced diet. After dinner I spend another hour or so hanging out with my younger sisters and then retreat to my room for my first alone time since I left my room in the morning. I make another trip to the pit latrine and brush my teeth under the tree in the yard then crash into bed around 11pm. My thermometer still reads between 88 and 95 degrees so I lay as still as absolutely possible and try to get some sleep before I have to wake up and do it all over again.

I will be in that routine 7 days a week for the next two months, with occasional visits to Thies for technical training for the environmental program. At the end of that time, if I manage to pass all of my language exams and the Peace Corps deems me fit, I will travel to Dakar to be sworn is as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. Then I get to move to another village and actually start helping people. In'shallah.

12 March 2010

Contact Info

I just realized I should get out my alternative contact information before I'm cut off from internet (which could be any day now, they are going to turn it off at the training center). If you want to send me mail (letters or packages) my current address is:

Jennie Wysong
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 299
Thies, Senegal
West Africa

Keep in mind letters take at least a week to reach me and you have to take them to the post office to send them, one regular stamp won't work. Packages take anywhere from weeks to months, but they will always be appreciated. Stay tuned for updated wish lists, but here's a basic one for now:

Beef Jerkey (not slim jims, the real stuff)
Climbing / Outdoor Magazines
Pictures of you!
Orbit wintergreen gum
Cow Tails
Hard Candy
DVDs or Books
Banana Chips
Dried Strawberries
Chai Tea Mix
Powdered Drink Mix
Sharpie Pens


I also have a Senegalese cell phone. I can receive phone calls and text messages for free, but it might cost you a pretty penny. If you want to call me the cheapest way to do it is from skype.
The number is 011 221 77 117 7283.

First Impressions

First view of Senegal from the airport bus

We've only been here 3 days, but they have been three of the most jam packed days of my life so it feels like much longer (in a good way). So far we haven't seen much except the training center, although we did get out and walk around the city a little this afternoon. I didn't do a lot of research before I got here because I didn't want to have any preconceived notions, and I'm still trying to keep an open mind, but here are some of my first impressions so you can get an idea of what things are like here. Keep in mind these will most likely change, this is just based on what I've observed so far.

My Fellow PCTs: I feel like its the people you're with that can really make or break an experience like this, so I was a little nervous meeting everyone for the first time at orientation. Thankfully we have the best Stage (group) ever to serve in Senegal (I may or may not be a bit biased). We all get along really well, and we're already comfortable enough with each other to discuss squatty potty technique without embarrassment. I can honestly say there isn't a single person I don't really like, and in a group of 41 that's saying something.

The Weather: Hot, but not too bad. We're just coming into the hot season now so its going to get significantly hotter over the next few months, but for now it has been hovering around 90-95 during the day and 70-80 at night. It takes a little adjusting to, but for now its not unbearable.

The People: We really haven't been out of the compound enough for me to get a feel for the average Senegalese person, but all of the staff at the training center has been absolutely amazing. Granted they are used to our western mannerisms...

The City of Thies:
(pronounced 'chess') We only got to go out and explore for a little bit today, bit so far I like the look of the place. We passed the market and I can't wait to go back and explore it more. There are a couple of really nice restaurants and the Bon Marche sells all kinds of food and snacks.

The Food:One word: amazing. I've heard the food they cook us at the training is especially exceptional, but I think I'm going to like most everything I eat here. Most of what I've had here has been rice based, but the different sauces are amazing. I can't wait to get out and try some street food. I've heard fried millet cakes are amazing!

10 March 2010

Tam Tam

First order of business at the training center after initial interviews...2 hour dance party!!!


09 March 2010

Goodbye USA

This past week has been a whirlwind of preparation...packing, paperwork, saying goodbye, more packing, more paperwork. Yesterday we all met in Georgetown for orientation, basically getting to know each other, getting to know the peace corps, and of course even more paperwork. In about an hour they will shuttle us over to the federal clinic for vaccinations then drop us off at the airport (5 hours early mind you...). After that it's an 8 hour flight directly to Dakar.

There are 42 of us going over to Senegal to work in Health and Environment programs...about twice as many as I was anticipating. I think its the people you're with that really make or break an experience like this, and so far it seems like a really great group. I'm excited to put all of the preparation behind and really dive right in. I can't wait to learn more about my fellow trainees, explore Senegalese culture, try out the local languages, and of course eat some mangoes.

It sounds like we're going to have a pretty jam-packed first week and post so I don't know that I'll be able to get on the internet for a few days. Next update will be from Senegal!

05 March 2010

The Final Countdown

Time is a funny thing...when you would give anything to slow it down it has a disobliging habit of speeding up. I fly to Senegal in four days. It seems as though I've been waiting forever for this moment to arrive, so how is it that I'm not yet prepared? There are still more things I need to do, more people I want to see and more foods I want to eat before I leave! Sadly time stands still for no one so I suppose I just have to make do with what I've got. Thankfully I've finished packing so at least that major obstacle is out of they way. I've got two bags to check, a carry on backpack and my ukulele.


01 March 2010

West Coast, Best Coast

This past week has been a whirlwind of travel. Wednesday I flew out to Oregon to drive down the coast, and I got in to San Diego yesterday around 6pm. Between the scenery and the company it was the best road trip I've ever been on. We spent 4 days winding our way down the coast...saw waterfalls, giant trees, beaches, mountains, elk...no real plans or priorities. It was awesome.