Marie's Adventures

Marie's Adventures
So this country (villageoise) bumpkin has returned to the big CITY of Thies! And I must say, a) i have missed it and b) it is amazing how different Thies and Medina Ndiathbe are!
I have been here two weeks. And been LOVING every minute of it! My MISSION for this three weeks is: TRAINING! The purpose of being in Thies is to have more indepth language training and tech (health) training. In a perfect world, how it works is that after our TWO months of initial training, we go to cite. AT CITE, we are to practice language, become adjusted, get to know people, the village/city, identify resources, health issues/possible work. After those three months, we return to the center for training and (INSHALLAH) we will return to our cites equipped with the knowledge and motivation to GET TO WORK! So, needless to say, my two weeks have been filled with class, class, class and I have learned a lot. It has helped put me into perspective about where I intend to ATTEMPT to go with my work, and it is definitely motivating to be with the stage again and bounce ideas off each other, etc.
One task is that we split into two groups and we went to a village near Thies where we would do "work". While it might sound terrible, I suppose I think of it as a testing ground. We only have three weeks and it is a place for us to test different methods that we are learning about, such as: appreciative inquiry, how to do a causerie, how to hold a meeting. And it gives us the chance to try these things and see what works, what doesn't, why and why not.
Regardless, the first visit there we went around and asked quesitons about their village and their health/health practices. This experiment was interesting as we had to rely on limited language skills, and the fact that we have no relationship with these people and that we have three weeks to get anything from it. Regardless, we identified Malaria as a major concern, and that no one uses mosquito nets...THUS, we decided that the next week, this PAST WEEK, we would do more inquiry as to WHY they dont have nets, what are their priorities, etc.
We rolled up to the village around 2:30 in the afternoon. As normal, woman were gathered under a tree socializing and the men at another. We had decided that we would have a village meeting and play a game to assess their money priorities, and while this all sounds SIMPLE and COULD run like clockwork in the USA, it turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. We first waited for the village chief to come. The adorable, old chief slowly made his way to greet us, as is customary in Senegal...you MUST greet, and it MAY take awhile...How is the family? Your work? Your rest? The rain? The goats? Your kids? Your health? Repeat several times. Got the picture? So after the greetings, we hear drumming! Great! They are rallying everyone to come to the meeting! PERFECT!! Women come out of their homes and the FIRST thing we notice, which you cant help but notice, is their MAKEUP. They are clearly DONE. DONE meaning their makeup is caked...they could give any drag queen a run for their money. But we are thinking, how NICE! They got done up for us coming and the meeting. We were quickly informed that there was a BAPTISM going on. One of the two biggest celebrations in Senegalese culture. Everyone was gathered and done up and drumming and dancing for the baptism. In fact, they had forgotten that we were coming. Regardles, they insisted we stay; and we had no choice really due to time constraints. S o some people gather, and we begin. There are a MILLION factors that go into making a good and true analysis. Our first complication was that we had to discuss this over a celebration and music. We also had mainly the elder men as the women were off and busy with the baptism. We also had a difficult time explaining the CONCEPT of the game. We presented picutres of different things that are important in their daily lives: tea, sheep, medicine, shoes, clothes, fruits, mosquito nets, visits to doctors, etc. ANd we wanted them to select what they would buy if they could ONLY buy 8 items, then 4, then 2 then 1. And we wanted to know WHY they chose those things. It was intresting and a struggle to get them to realize it was simply a game and not over think. They wanted to know how much everything was, and if it was for kids or them, etc. Needless to say, this was my first of MANY akward anddifficult situations when doing my work, but it has been so beneficial as far as gaining any type of experience without tooooo much pressure. It has given me insight into the difficulties I am GOING to have to overcome. It told me a lot about how differently my western prespective thinks that htings should be/work. Let alone it gave me some insight into the problem of malaria in this particular village.
It is hard to explain my WORK here. I have a lot of liberty, as in, I dont have a STRUCTURED job, which is a lot different than most EVERY job in America. I at times am overwhelmed with where to begin, and what to work on. What is the most important? HEALTH is so broad and so important, and how do you make everyone SEE it IS important?? How can I tell them that they NEED AND SHOULD buy mosquito nets, etc when they have a million other things that they would rather spend their money on. THese are all things that I contemplate at times, but then again, that IS part of my job here, and I will be questioning it the next two years, I am sure.
Other than stressing over my role here in Senegal, while in Thies I have had an AMZING time. It has been so nice to be back at the center, back with all the other volunteers that I havent seen since May, and my host family here. It is incredible how fortunate I feel that I have these people throughout this experience. THere is NO WAY I would make it through 2 years without the support, encouragement, and just plain FUN that people provide me with! Or my family in Thies...they have been nothing but gracious and patient with me and I feel so lucky to have them. My dad in Thies still calls me when I am in Medina just to be in touch. And my sister had a baby and named her Salimata, my TOKARA which is a huge honor here.
In one week I will be returning to Medina Ndiathbe, but I am revived and ready to truly BEGIN doing what I am supposed to be doing...and while Thies is a city, and fun, and you can get anything your heart desires (as far as Africa can give)...I am looking forward to returning to MY village. Believe it or not, I am beginning to miss my little room and bucket bath...