W.A.I.S.T.

I spent this past weekend in Dakar with almost every other Peace Corps Senegal volunteer and a considerable number from The Gambia, Niger and Mali, for the West African International Softball Tournament. Three full days of softball and three full nights of dancing (until dawn) later and most of us are ready to head back to the village and get back to work. The tournament is divided into a competitive league with teams of high schoolers, embassy officials, and ex-pats, and a social league which is mostly made up of teams from various peace corps regions and countries.

It can be debated that the team "uniforms" in the social league are taken even more seriously than the game itself. This years Kaolack's theme was ballerinas, and although everyone put their own spin on their costume we were all united under one common banner: tutus. The vast array of outfits was a real tribute to both the creativity of Peace Corps volunteers and the ingenuity of Senegalese tailors. Other regions were Cops & Robbers, The Jersey Shore, and Lederhosen. Despite a pretty respectable showing (can YOU field a pop fly wearing nothing but a tutu and boxers with a beer in one hand?) we didn't win any games, but Kaolack was definitely first place for continuity and team spirit. I think our pirouettes could give the Russian ballet a run for its money!

The part of WAIST that Peace Corps volunteers look forward to the most isn't the softball, but the chance to eat something other than rice and millet, and dance to music that doesn't involve drumming on buckets or old ladies wailing. Dakar has a great selection of insanely expensive (on a village salary) but insanely delicious restaurants, and parties are hosted by the Marines, Peace Corps, and the American Club. Since my bedtime in village is no later than 8pm I was worried I wouldn't get to enjoy much of the Dakar nightlife, but I rallied and managed to keep dancing until last call at 5am! I think I was more sore from the dancing than from the softball. It was great to spend a weekend forgetting that I still live in a mud hut and eat birdseed for two meals a day, but I am starting to miss my family and its time for me to get started on the school garden, so its back to the village in a few hours!

Dakars finest: Police officer, banana, Hamburgler

Master Farmer Madness

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This past week has flown by in a blur of manual labor. I made several trips to the master farmer field in Fasstoucouleur to prepare for a "Permagarden Party" that Jen and Peter hosted this past Friday and Saturday. Permagardening is a method of cultivating that involves double digging garden beds and creating berms (mounds of dirt) and swales (trenches) to maximize water retention and provide plants with an optimal growing environment. All week we saturated the area to try and soften the cement-like soil and took a pick to the ground to loosen up the first layer so that when Carla, Cora, Toby, Andrew and Mollie arrived they would already have a bit of a head start.

The first order of business when everyone arrived Thursday night was to have a little cocktail ($2 bottle of warm wine and fosters clark) and catch up. I had to bike home before it got dark so I missed dinner but I heard it was a colossal mountain of beans on top of millet (my favorite!). The next morning I had to travel to 15k down the road to check out another possible site for the incoming stage so I missed the first few hours of work, but by the time I biked back to Fass the group had made amazing progress. All of the beds had been double dug to 20cm and I arrived just in time to help amend the beds by adding manure, ash and leaves to the soil like a layer cake. By the time we broke for lunch (rice and fish and veggies!) we had three 1x4 meter garden beds surrounded by a 1m x 7m square raised berm and two holes on the downhill side for collecting runoff water.

After lunch and a couple rounds of dice most of the volunteers headed back to Kaolack and Mollie, Jen, Peter and I went back out to the field. Abdoul Salaam and his friends had already watered and manicured the new beds so they were ready for planting by the time we arrived. While the men watered the 24 regular garden beds, various trees and starter plants we transplanted tomatoes, eggplant, and hot peppers into the three separate beds and intercropped them with lettuce. By the end of the day we had transformed a bare patch of earth into a textbook worthy permagarden, and we even had time to play with our new mascot, a puppy that Abdoul Salaam has adopted to guard the field.

The regular garden beds are already bursting with tomatoes

Celebrity Guest Bloggers

Greetings from New Jersey...we are back from Africa.  Jennie has invited us to write a guest blog about our of visit to see her in Senegal.

I must say that we came back from the trip very proud of what Jennie has accomplished since March, 2010.  We were able to see the projects (well covers and latrines for the school) that she was instrumental in completing.  We met her family and were introduced to many others from the village who tell us that she is a very hard worker.  Jennie is a master at speaking Seereer, her village language, and has learned enough Wolof (another of the local dialects), and remembered enough from her French classes to get us safely through our trip. 

We were also able to meet about a dozen of her fellow Peace Corps volunteers from the Kaolak region and enjoyed hearing them discuss their grant applications and plans for projects in their respective villages.  She and her PCV friends have a really good networking and support system going. 

We experienced what it's like to live without electricity or running water. We helped Jennie pull water from the well to water her garden,  took a bucket bath in the evening and made visits to the pit latrine at night using battery operated headlamps. And imagine waking to the sounds of a rooster crowing, donkey braying and the sights of donkeys and goats wandering outside Jennie's hut.  Really a huge step back in time!

Jennie's village mother, Funjai, made us some traditional meals over an open fire and we shared the food with Jennie from a common bowl in her hut.  But we cheated and used "sporks" instead of eating with our hands.  Although the food was different than we are used to, it was quite good.

As we loaded our things onto the charette (donkey-pulled cart)  for the ride to Keur Socce for the beginning of the journey back to Dakar and our flight home, many of Jennie's family were on hand to say good bye.  It was a cheerful end to a good visit.   We really enjoyed the African experience and wish Jennie nothing but the best in completing her upcoming projects. 

May God bless you, Jennie,  for all that you are accomplishing in Senegal!

Mike and Patty Wysong

 Dad and Ba

 Mom and Ya