La Teranga La Petite Côte

... to eat and drink something. I actually fasted for about 8 days...it sucks. All I wanted to do was drink water. The food thing was not nearly as hard as the no water; it's freaking hot here and not drinking water is just plain ridiculous. I fasted partly to show solidarity and partly to understand what they go through for 30 days every year. They definitely appreciated my participation in this annual ritual and I scored some ...

... Men sporting jelly shoes (oh yes, we remember these, those clear plastic shoes we all wore in middle school)<br> - Motor oil as a burn antiseptic<br><br>- Africa does weird things to your skin: rashes, blister beetle sores, bacterial sores that prevent walking, etc.<br><br>- Spitting, picking your nose ...

... before me) had installed a hand-pump on one of our wells in an effort to increase water safety and accessibility for the village; however, this pump has turned out to be a pain-in-the-you know what. The pump broke almost right after I initially installed in my village in April (about one month after the installation of the pump) and had broken again for the 2nd time in 4 months. Now, in order to get water we must venture to another well, about 1/4 ...

So like most patriotic Americans, and those even not so patriotic, do on the 4th of July, most every volunteer in Senegal ventured to the far east of the country to the region known as Kedagou for a little bbq and beer. Not only is this region known for its beautiful scenery, including wild monkeys, wild boars, and amazing birds, it is also known for the influx of Americans to the area every July 4th, and this year was no exception. The day before, the volunteers in ...

So as I think you all already know, I am terribly slow at updating this blog and for that I apologize. However, I have lots to fill you all in on and hope that these next few entries will be enough to make up for my lack of regularity in writing. I think my last entry adequately conveyed my frustration with moving to a completely new place, knowing no one, and understanding nothing. My first month at site was full of setting boundaries with my family and village, worrying about ...

So I am alive after one month of living in the middle nowhere in Sub-Saharan Africa! I arrived in site on April 28th, 2009; the PC car drove three of us to our individual sites, dropped us off, and there we were...alone and in the middle of the desert. The first week was certainly the hardest as getting to know a village of complete strangers is a tremendously daunting task for the 1st week on the job. I spent time sitting with my new host family and trying to get to know ...

hey everyone! its been a zhile since ,y last decent internet connection and i dont have much time now so just a quick update...didnt end up going to Dakar as a couple of people in the group got ill! so just did the beach and scooter ride instead! so Much fun! The weeks are going by so quickly and dont think ill have time to ...

... boys to teac them the koran. We go in for a few hours a day to teach them hygiene, writing, maths etc and play games with them. They are absolutely adorable! I will be starting in my own Darra on Monday which i am really looking forward to. Otherwise, I am going to Dakar, the capital tomorrow with a bunch of other volunteers until Sunday to do some sightseeing. Not much else to tell for now! Love from Liselle xx

... the eye dropper I've been using.  Every day when I get on the van the ladies ask me about the kitten.  They want to know if it ate breakfast, if it likes fish, if it slept well.  Sometimes I wonder if they like the cat better than me.  I suppose the cat doesn't butcher the Wolof language. When not working in St Louis I've mostly been spending down time in the village with my family.  One morning I went running on the usual one un-sandy road and saw that there were tons ...

... exposition in Dakar which will be paired up with the Artisan expo to get a bigger draw, so I'm hoping this will help with marketing.  As part of that we've gotten funding to do a three day training on customer service, American/European preferences, general marketing, etc.  I don't have enough time to help with the overall planning of the events but will be working with my counterpart to put together display materials and brochures we can hand out at the expo.  At some point as ...