Hello!!
Soooo much has happened! I installed at my site almost a
month ago! I love my family, my village, the other volunteers in my region,
(other volunteers in general), the work I’m doing! Literally everything I had
hoped Peace Corps would be, is way better in every sense so far!
So as soon as I installed I set up
a routine. In the morning I wake up, work out in my room, my nene brings me
breakfast (bread and coffee), I read and eat, then get dressed, open my door
and study Pulaar, agriculture, or read for fun in my room until lunch time.
Sometimes I greet the village chief, my master farmers family, and my counter parts
family during this time instead of studying or sometimes I cook. But usually I
study or read. Lunch is around 2:30. I like to come out of my room around 1:30
and play with the kids and hang out with my sisters for a while. Then we eat
(it’s always delicious!) after lunch we all hang out on the mat together
drinking tea, chatting, napping, sewing, dancing, and a lot of laughter and
happiness. This is my favorite time of the day! There is such an amazing
feeling of love and happiness shared between these people, it reminds me so much
of home! It’s like the holidays, except all year round. Anyways, after lunch
and family time, I go to the gardens and dig some beds, make some maps, talk to the
women about their gardens, discuss with my master farmer about projects,
basically I actually do work! Then I go home, shower, call some PC friends,
hang out with the fam some more, dance, teach the youngins to step, sing, wait
for dinner, which is always delicious! After dinner, read for a while, then go to
bed. Wake up and do it again!!
But also, Christmas was awesome!
Came into the regional house! We had a wonderful lunch (chicken, mashed
potatoes, squash, green been casserole, pumpkin cake, and chocolate cake with
mint icing! AMAZEBALLS!!!!) We did a gift exchange and everyone had stockings
and it was wonderful! So much fun! Now I am back for New Years! We had a
wonderful lunch! I bought stuff to learn this cool embroidering all the women
in my village do! Oh and I bought a live chicken and some potatoes and corn and
cooked my family in village a Christmas dinner! I had to bike 3 hours to
village with all that stuff strapped to my bike! It was quite a challenge!
Tomorrow I am buying 2 baby chickens and bringing them back to my site! I am
going to raise them in my douche (back yard/ bathroom/ my safe haven!) and eat their eggs and have them eat all the
ants that munch on my cookie crumbs!
Things I love most about this
country include: peoples wiliness to help strangers. This is exemplified by
many specific situations including: me getting lost and people walking me 20
minutes to where I need to go, me biking home with all the stuff strapped to my
bike and people helped me put the chain back on after it came off not once, but
twice! People taking the time out to help me learn Pulaar, people helping find
what I am looking for in the market… Really, everyone here is so genuinely good,
all of time! I also love how relaxed and chill everyone is with each other. I
love how much time people spend with their families here. I love how much time
people spend outside! It’s just a wonderful place!
Some issues I hope to address
during the course of my service include: proper livestock management (seriously
overgrazing is a huge problem and no one even eats any of their livestock, they
just raise animals so the can die! It’s mainly for prestige and their sort of
bank account), seed saving and improved variety seed extension to improve crop
yields, basic accounting for farmers, nutrition education, soooo much! There is so much to
work on, I can’t wait till my language is at a higher level so I can make a bigger difference!
Some of my favorite instances so
far include:
·
One afternoon I was playing with the toddlers in
my host family, causing a ruckus, then I got tired so I climbed up a tree to
escape them and chilled there for a while till the moved on. Then my nene came
bye and said “Aissata! Why are you in a tree” I told her not to worry about it
and so she shrugged her shoulders and sat down curiously to watch me. Then when
my little nephew was walking bye I jumped out of the tree on him! It was sooo
wonderful!
·
Another great time was the day I learned this
complicated stitch and all the women were like, “Wow, she can, she really can!”
and then anyone who didn’t already know the stitch was obsessed with learning
and wanted me to teach them!!
·
There was the night I caught a frog, showed all
the kids. They thought it was hilarious that I caught one. They thought it was
especially hilarious when I named it and put it in my backyard douche so that
it could eat the ants.
·
I had mice in my room that my predecessor warned
me about but that neither him nor I had the heart to kill… But then they had
babies. Five babies… I came to terms. I had to do it. So I bought poison and
left it out for them… Two days later, I went on a search to find the dead mice
and I stepped on one… I have never before squished something so it’s guts came
out… So gross!!!
·
The other day I got a thorn up my foot, but I
ignored it. The pain is probably temporary, is what I told myself. But
the next day, when it still hurt, I decided to investigate further… It was much
more than your average thorn… It was a 1 inch long, 2mm in diameter piece of
wood so deep into my foot I had to cut it out with my sharpest knife… Nbd
·
The birds here are soooo amazing! All of the
brightest most brilliant colors I have ever seen!
·
I love the days when the littlest girls come running
into my room asking to play! And then when we play so much that they fall
asleep on my lap.
·
I love how clear and brilliant the stars are
every night!
·
I love how my sisters are always so happy to see
me and teach me!
I just love being here and can’t
believe its only been 3 months since I have been in Africa! So much has
happened and I have learned so much!
It’s a new year! Happy 2015! This
past year, I graduated and moved to Africa. It’s crazy to think that for the
next year, for the first time in my whole life, I will be in a completely
different country, completely different continent, for the whole year! I feel
like I have already grown so much! I can’t wait to see how I will change! I
hope to become much better at Pulaar, gain the trust and respect of the people
in my village, do some great projects that promote better food security, make
new friends, make great memories, promote a love of learning, promote a
positive image of Americans, learn more about Senegalese culture so that I can
share that with Americans. There is so much I want to do this next year! Should
be an amazing adventure! I miss and love everyone!! Hope all is well!
Love,
Heather McGettigan
