Being that my site is a larger town of about 10,000, I rarely get the opportunity to live the “bush life”. Most of the PCVs from my stage are at much smaller sites than me. Most of them do not have electricity and running water. Anna is my closest neighbor from my stage. She is about 30K out into the bush from Koumpentoum in a little Pulaar village of about 300 people called Saré Boili. There is no electricity and no running water. She does not get to eat rice every day and rarely has vegetables in her bowl. Anna’s PC experience will be very different from mine, but I still like to the chance to romanticize the “bush experience” and of course visit my friend, so I paid her visit. I biked from Koumpentoum to Saré Boili and spent a day and half with her in her little village. It definitely has a different feel from Koumpentoum. The first thing I noticed was how much quieter it is in the bush. No motos. No TVs. Only nature to fill the space. There is a natural lake that forms during the rainy season just a few minute walk from Anna’s hut. The entire village of Saré Boili knew my name before I even arrived and the kids would sit outside of Anna’s hut and chant it while we sat inside. No one yells Toubab at you in the village because it’s small enough where everyone will know your name and face in a matter of minutes. It’s also very important that you greet everyone all the time. This probably gets old if you live there all the time, but a visitor can see it as part of the charm of village life.
Anna walking to her private lake.
Welcome to the bush in the rainy season.
The rainy season lake.
A rainbow after an afternoon shower.
1 comment:
Its interesting to hear you talk about the bush after my experience but, it does have a peaceful charm to it. Sorry to hear about your garden. I hope the next one lasts.
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