OK – first off, thanks to everyone who donated to my
village’s fire fund! We raised $2,000 and have been able to replenish some
much-needed supplies such as mattresses, trunks, and cement that were burned in
the fire!
Now I realize it’s been many months since I gave a real
update on what’s happening here, so I’m going to start back in April, maybe
skip over a few things, and get up to present time.
April – It had been 2 long months of traveling back and
forth between my village in Tambacounda and our training center in Thies, about
a 7-hour trip each time. I think in those 2 months I went back and forth a
total of 4 times. I was helping coordinate training for our new volunteers as
part of the responsibilities of my new job as Lead Health Volunteer. I was
thrilled to be there, but also wanted to spend as much time as possible in
village since my time was limited. So each time the new volunteers went off to
their training villages to focus on language, I trekked back to Tamba to see my
family.
My last week and a half consisted mainly of hanging out with
my family, wandering around the village taking pictures, and drinking lots and
lots of tea! I had wrapped up most of my projects (except that well that seemed
to linger on just a bit too long…), so by the last day, I felt a good sense of
closure. It was a weird ending for my whole village because everyone knew I
wasn’t leaving Senegal, so there was certainty that I would see them again. I
thought for sure this would make my goodbye easier too.
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| The perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon |
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| My amazing health workers - they even threw my a little party on my last week in village! This photo is from that event |
The morning I was to depart, my brother, who was taking me
into town on our horse cart loaded with all of my luggage, told me we’d wait
and eat breakfast and then go. At around 7:30am he changed his mind and decided
it would be better for everyone if we just left before too many people saw me.
So I went into my room to take one last look around. I went out into my
backyard space to check too, and when I came back in my room, my host mom was
awkwardly standing there. I thought “Oh great, which of my possessions does she
want to ask for now??” I quickly realized how petty that was when my host mom
grabbed a cup, reached into my clay water pot that I was leaving behind, and
drew out a full glass. She told me to toss the water out my front door, and
that when people leave their homes for big life moments, the water that you
toss is meant to provide you safe passage on your journey.
I then walked over to where my host dad was sitting to say
goodbye. Many of the other members of my house were there too. I had done so
well up until this point, but all of a sudden, I burst into tears. I thought,
“What are you doing? You know you’ll see these people again in a few months!”
But the realization hit me that, even if I come back for a visit, life will
never be the same as it is right now. My host dad didn’t know what to do…he
exclaimed “Oh we have a crier”, shook my hand, and quickly walked away (My
brother later told me that this is because my dad would have started to cry as
well and didn’t want to be around everyone just in case – we’ve had some tense
moments throughout my time but my heart melted when I heard this).
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| Sitting with my host dad on my last day |
I went to see my sister-in-law and say goodbye to her and my
namesake, baby Weli. As I gave them a last hug, my namesake held out her arms
for me to pick her up – cue waterfall all over again. I quickly jumped on the
back of the horse cart and we took off for town. My brother was amazing – he
spent the morning helping me unload my luggage. We ate breakfast together,
drank some tea, and he presented me with a gris-gris, a charm that you usually
wear around your arm to protect you on your journey. The whole experience was
quite emotional, but I didn’t have much time to dwell on the emotions, because
the next day I went back to Thies and jumped right back into training.
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| My host brother Alfa before he returned to village |
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| The three of us started in Tamba together! |
At the beginning of May, we swore in the newest group of
Peace Corps volunteers to Senegal, including 40 health volunteers that I helped
train. I then moved into my new Thies apartment with my roommate Natalie.
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| My new roommate and me at the swearing-in ceremony |
It’s
a beautiful little apartment that gets a lot of natural light. We have hot
water, electricity, a refrigerator, stove, and beds with real mattresses.
After living in a village hut for 2
years, who knew places like this even existed here! It’s a simple place, but
compared to my hut I feel like I live in a pent house suite!
Since then it’s been two rapid months of traveling, both
throughout Senegal and the USA! I went on a week of site visits in Senegal
where I traveled with a member of our health programming staff to visit
volunteers, check on their progress, meet with community members, and council the
volunteers about future projects. Then I came to the USA for a month of home
leave where I got to spend lots of wonderful time with my family, my new niece
Aila, and many many friends.
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| Me and the bestie :) |
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Because you can't take the Africa out of the girl...
|
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Me and Aila, my new niece
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I had such a great trip home that I was worried
about my emotional state returning back to Senegal, but my schedule was so busy
I didn’t have time to realize what happened. I spent one week at the Pink Lake
with our class of 2
nd year volunteers for their mid-service
conference, and then spent another week at a hotel in Somone (on the coast!) for
a gender integration conference that I had helped coordinate for a select group
of volunteers and the programming staff.
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| Participants of our gender workshop |
Now in two days, our newest group of
health volunteers comes back for their 2
nd round of training. While
only 2 weeks in length, it is jam-packed with training sessions and guest
volunteers coming in to share their experiences. I’ve been helping with much of
the logistical support and will also facilitate a few of the sessions.
Deciding to extend for a 3rd year in Senegal was
a tough decision for me at the time, but I still love my job and am getting a
whole different set of experiences out of this new position.
More updates to come!
Thanks for reading. Peace & love,
