Settling in Koumpentoum

In my personal observation, the first couple months at site are a rollercoaster ride. You find out that you can’t speak the language very well. You don’t know anyone. You don’t know your new “family” and “home” that you’ll be living at for the next two years. You have no idea of the type of work/projects that you can do. Each day, you wake up with very little idea of how the day is going to unfold. You find yourself on a rollercoaster ride of emotions going from the highest highs to the lowest lows in a matter of minutes. Things you thought that wouldn’t bother you so much really do. And things that were probably not as funny before, you find to be hilarious now.

I have now been at site for three months (granted one of those weeks we spent going to the 4^th of July party and another 3 weeks I was in Thiès for In-Service Training) and I can honestly say that the rollercoaster ride is starting to taper off… slightly. So, what I have been doing with myself for a last couple months? I’m still trying to figure that out as well. The routine I established in Koumpentoum at the beginning was a way to get-to-know the community. It typically consisted of me wondering around the town and finding people to greet / introduce myself to so when I actually do start projects, they will know my face and role in the community. I would swing by the Eaux et Foret, the Mayor’s office, and the Educational Inspectors office just to visit. Some mornings I would hang out at my counterpart’s house and just try to learn some Wolof. I also did a fair amount of gardening to get away and feel somewhat productive.

A shot of my garden before I left for IST

In my first week at site, I met Moumini Diallo, the President of a local GIE called Les Amis de Tous which manages a decent-sized women’s community garden in the quartier of Grande Ville. Moumini had worked with my ancienne a little bit and has a pretty good grasp about the role of Peace Corps Volunteers. I worked with him and the women in the community garden almost every afternoon doing composting, double-digging, tree pépinières, and vegetable pépinières. By the time for IST came around, I had pretty much exhausted everything that I knew about gardening, but still little has seemed to take off. The garden lacks proper fencing, which makes it utterly impossible to do any effective gardening because animals here are always running amuck. The women get discouraged by the lack of fencing and are not consistent in their attendance. Some women are reluctant to take advice from a young foreign girl who has very little gardening experience (I don’t blame them). The first compost pile I did with the women, everyone showed up to help out. The second compost pile, hardly anyone showed up. And we haven’t been able to mobilize people to do start up again. I feel like garden is difficult subject to teach because nothing you do has immediate consequences. Everything is very long term and it’s a gamble to change your ways for one season when it could cost your food.

The Community Garden of Les Amis des Tous. Parts of the fence fell down the first storm of the rainy season. You can see our tree pépinière and compost in this photo.

Moumini watering one of our vegetable pépinières.

Some things that were challenging my first couple months at site are:

· People, adults, children yelling “Toubaab” (white person) constantly – while I’m working in my garden, outside of my room, walking down the street…

· People pointing out that I cannot speak Wolof

· People stating that I need to learn a different native language – Pulaar, Bambara, Fula Kunda, etc.

· The heat! Constantly sweating!

· The flies and mosquitoes

· Skin infections – the second you get a bug bite or a cut, it flares up in a pussy infection during the rainy season

· How long it would take to start meetings (hours of waiting)

· People asking for money

· Everyone being tired/cranky/hungry/unproductive during Ramadan because no one is eating or drinking!

· Children yelling “Toubaab! Donnez-moi cadeaux” (“White person! Give me a gift!)

· Public Transportation – drivers lying to me about when a car is going to leave and where it going

· Nothing grew in my garden

Some things that I loved about my first couple months at site are:

· My host family

· Having extended conversations in Wolof

· Having someone tell me that I can speak Wolof very well for having been here just a short time

· Morning bean sandwiches and café touba

· Hitchhiking – usually much more pleasant than public transportation and free

· Riding my bike into the bush

· Visiting nearby villages

· The food – my family cooks really well

· Watching the World Cup with my family – even though I don’t give a lick about soccer

· Getting to know the Tamba Nation Volunteers – we are such a great family

· Homemade yogurt and Thiakery (yogurt and cous cous)

· Sweet potato fries with mustard – I hated mustard in the States, but love it here

· Getting to know the JICA Volunteers (Japanese Volunteers – there are 5 in Koumpentoum)

· Breaking fast during Ramadan – I’ve only fasted two days, but I still break fast with my family every night

· Things are starting to grow in my garden

· Rain storms

· Receiving packages and letters from home!

My Room. Home Sweet Home.