This is going to be a long blog post. It’s all about my time
in the Village. Because there was no electricity, I kept notes in a journal and
am typing them all up after the fact. Here we go.
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 – Add that to my list
of allergies
Left my home stay in the morning to head to school. I woke
up with some weird red spots on me that were super itchy throughout the night.
They looked like bug bites times 100. I texted our fellow in the morning saying
that I might need to go to a doctor to get them looked at, but because we were
leaving in the morning for the village, I wasn’t sure if we would have time. My
host mom gave me pills without the package, so I said thank you but no and she
got extremely mad at me. Super fun. Got to school and had a mini break down
because I was breaking out everywhere, my host mom made me upset, and we were
about to go somewhere new. Struggled to pay attention through our Wolof lesson.
At 10am we left for the village. The bus ride would be about
6 hours. We stopped at a beautiful resort on the way for lunch and had chicken,
rice, fries, and a cold soda. Then we drove to a hotel in Toubacoutta, which is
apparently a major touristy spot. The hotel was absolutely beautiful – right on
a river with an amazing doc and pool. We went swimming in the pool, took
pictures on the doc, and hung out for the night. For dinner we had beef, fries,
salad, and crab cakes…tried the beef but didn’t eat it. Then everyone left for
a traditional music performance. I was all ready to go but was noticing that I
was breaking out throughout dinner in the same itchy red rash that I was in the
morning. But this time it was so much more. I was breaking out everywhere, and
it was not a pretty sight. So I had to stay back and not go to the performance.
I took lots of Benadryl, some ibuprofen, and covered myself in hydrocortisone.
One of our faculty members has her phd in something related to medicine and
society, so although she is not officially a doctor, she does have a lot of
knowledge about diseases. She told me that a similar thing happened to her when
she went to Ghana, and that it is really common reaction in West African
countries. She said it was probably something in the air that is reacting with
my skin. When this happened to her, it was some chemical that mango leaves gave
off in the air. She said that if I am allergic to poison ivy (which I am) then
I would have a similar reaction. Pretty sure this is the case. Went to bed
hoping that I would wake up itch free.
Thursday, March 21st, 2013 – Teranga
Woke up with less rash than the day before. We left the
hotel for the village after eating breakfast and stopped at a pharmacy on the
way. I got some Zyrtec and some kind of cream. Took the Zyrtec and it helped a lot.
There were two villages, one small one where about 10 people were staying and a
bigger one where everyone else was staying. The faculty and our translators
were staying in home stays too. First we got to the small village. There was a
huge mob of people in color clothing and a few people banging on bowls. We had
a huge dance party. After the dance party, our country coordinator called out
the names of the people who were staying in the village with their families,
and they danced with their families and took a picture. Then we went to the big
village, which was less than 1km away, and the same thing happened: dance
party, call out names of student plus homestay family, dance, photo.
My host family was a father, three wives, and about ten
children. When I first got there, I gave one of my host moms my gifts: two
loaves of bread and some games for the kids. I gave them two rubber bouncy
balls, a mets necklace, and a yoyo. Yes dad, I am spreading mets pride all
around the world. I have never seen bigger smiles. Two of the little boys
played with those bouncy balls for hours. I also changed into traditional
clothing right when I got there. I have lots of pictures.
I ate a traditional lunch of rice, some vegetables, and some
kind of meat at around 3. I helped to prepare the lunch by grinding rice
grains. Everyone ate with their hands, but because I was a guest, they gave me
a spoon. Senegalese hospitality is called Teranga, and people feel as though
they have to be good to deserve guests, so they treat them like royalty. After
lunch, we danced outside. Everyone there only speaks Wolof, and I only knew
survival phrases. But dancing is a pretty universal language.
After, Lucy and I went to a wedding ceremony at the other
village. It was the day after the wedding, but there were still celebrations
the next day. I could write an entire thesis on this wedding, but I will show
you pictures when I get home. When we got back, we interviewed the chief of the
village. We have to do a case study project comparing rural and urban life, and
my group is focusing on traditional practices.
I then helped to prep dinner. Then did some star
gazing…there is no electricity, and people don’t eat dinner until 9pm when it
is dark. So they cook and eat by flashlight. Dinner was delicious. It was fried
potatoes, eggs, and onions. They prepare three dishes, one for the women, one
for the children, and one for the dad. I was placed with the dad (again,
teranga). They wanted me to eat a ton, and I did, but being full wasn’t an
option. It was delicious though.
Friday, March 22nd, 2013 – “Wrestling” with heat
Today I woke up around 8 to the sound of a million animals
and people making lots of noise. And the heat. I had breakfast alone in my
room: bread and leftovers from dinner. I think eating alone is a sign of
respect. Then I watched people build a hut from mud and straw. Then my case
study group interviewed the Marabu of the village, who is the chief’s brother.
The Marabu is the person in the village who has memorized the Quran. If anyone
has a question or needs advice, he is the one to give it. Then we interviewed
the healer of the village, which was very cool. Then we interviewed the two
midwives, one of whom was one of my host moms.
After the interviews, I helped to make lunch by sifting and
grinding cous cous. Hard work in the heat. Then we ate lunch. Since everyone
eats from a communal bowl, the family pays attention to what I am eating and
then throws that kind of food in front of me. Then we had culture and society
class in the other village and we got to talk to members of the village about
gender roles. Then we had learning community. After, I went back home and
helped make dinner. Then ate dinner with my loxo (hand). We had to eat early
because we had to go to a wrestling match. Wrestling is HUGE in Senegal – all
boys want to grow up and become wrestlers. The match was absolutely insane.
Lots of chanting, crazy fans, really buff wrestlers. It was a ton of fun. It
lasted until midnight, and I fell right asleep after.
Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 – Sad goodbye
Woke up this morning, ate breakfast, and had a sad goodbye
to my family. Left for Dakar on the bus. Stopped along the way for lunch and
rest stops. Got to Dakar, unpacked, showered (best shower of my life), ate
dinner, and went to Lucys to check my email. Then we went out to a bar for a
few hours to celebrate someone’s birthday. Then I came back and fell right
asleep.
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