So what have i been up to these past couple of weeks. Well I had been planning on going back out to Kafori to check out some caves and then hike up to fungolimbi to see a women's groups garden. Alas that kinda fell through as the country director, safety and security coordinator and the director of agriculture and agroforestry all came to check up on the progress of the newbies. So it basically ended up with them all coming to see me on the same day. So the 23rd was a busy day for me.
So before all this went on, i was out in Kafori for the seeding of the school garden there. That was good, went off without a hitch really. not a lot of the kids showed up for the planting as there was a little confusion over all the classes availability. But we ended up having a decent number of kids there for it. It went well, the teachers there were kinda giving kevin some grief because we werent nursery planting some of the plants we were planting. All in all it isn't ubber important as we only put 2/3 seeds into the holes so it'll be easy to weed them down to the appropriate size. It will be interesting to see what goes on with it as were heading off to Thies for our In Service Training (IST) on Friday. The family kevin is staying with in Kafori is really nice and my aunt lives with them in the same compound, so its nice to see her as well. Kevin got sick that night with flu-y like symptoms but it wasn't that bad luckily as we were meeting the country director the next day. It was kinda nice cause he got to see the work we had done in Kafori with the school and meet the teachers and all that. We also were able to snag a ride back to kédougou in their car which was rather nice as well. Both the country director ad the safety and security coordinator are really nice guys so it was nice to see them. They were down here with some Department of Defense guys who checking out some projects that they were funding. Interesting bunch of guys those DoD guys. Complete opposite of PCV thats for sure, polar opposites, but nice.
Chris and Etienne (country director and S&S coordinator) came by and meet my family and busted their chops about not having my douche done and promised me that they'd make sure that it would get done before i got back from IST or else. The family i live with is the family that chris lived with when he was a PCV 20 yrs ago so he was able to really get on their case about it. But other then that the visit with them went well, they were happy with the way things were coming along and kinda reinforced my idea of a kinda volunteer with my base in Kédougou and working all around helping other volunteers in the region. Great for me as i get to bike a lot and plant a bunch of trees and make a lot of gardens. I guess the guy who was supposed to be making my douche is the big brother of my dad and therefor Chris's brother. Whatever he came over last night all pissed saying he had other things to be doing and that chris had called him. Whatever he was supposed to have this done over three months ago. But they're working on it and it should be done soonish.
Anyway after chris and Etienne left, Massaly showed up to have a chat. He is my immediate boss i guess. He's the guy in charge of the aggies and ag/fos. He was really just checking things out making sure everything was in order and then checking out how i was doing. He shot a few ideas at me about what i could possibly get up to here in kédougou, again reinforcing my roll here in the gou as helping others around the region while conducting my own projects. but it was a good little meeting even if they did kinda mess up my plans for shooting up to fungolimbi.
Other comings and goings, been going to my tutor for getting ready for my pullar exam. Going over my notes and writing out sentences for tech vocab. We'll see how it goes on the 2nd. ill be back in Pout either way so ill be able to at least practice my pullar a little bit with my host family a little to prove that I'm not completely retarded. Im sure that they must have thought that i was special needs for the time i was there. Babby Steps i suppose.
I got to meet a really good farmer the other day which was neat, Boobs took me out to visit with this guy, i guess hes a really good source for scions which is good to know even if we haven't been trained in grafting yet. IST is only a week or so away. Boobs, who's real Senegalese name is boobakar dumfuker, no joke, goes for short as boobs, so boobs dumfuker took me out to meet this guy who has a garden/orchard out on the saraya road thats probably the best I've seen in country. Great orchard and garden, badass live fence, and a fairly decent irrigation system. Trees for the future should definitely check this guy out. Demba Samara is the guys name, doesnt speak french but does speak pullar and malinke boobs and my languages. I guess that boobs used this guy for a grafting seminar he did last rainy season. The guy was real friendly and very interested in working together i think and wanted me to call him when i get back from IST.
I talked to my counterpart today, which was nice, kinda ran into him as he was leaving the sonatel building next to the road i live on and had a chat with him about what i was thinking after going to the farmers federation meeting the other week. It was an ok meeting, lots of talking and not a lot of attendance unfortunately. I did manage to get some positive out of it though as thomas the other volunteer here in kédougou from my stage has been going to these meetings and has even been going to the farmers gardens to check them out. Right now the farmers federation is trying to supply the mining companies up in Sabodela with fresh produce so that they don't have to import them from Dakar. Only problem is the Dakar prices are really cheaper and they are trying to work that out. Me thinking that this was a SED type thing didn't go and was a little skeptical of the Ag/Fo potential there, but have since come around. When we get back from IST I'm going to continue along with Thomas on his visits around the gardens of Kédougou and try to talk to the farmers and kinda gage their interest in Ag/Fo technologies. My counterpart thought that this was a good idea and i think between him and Demba id be able to do that quite well. The objective now is to get a solid plan together as to what i want ot accomplish with them and what these farmers around Kédougou would actually want from me. We'll see when i get back in a month, here comes WAIST West African Invitational Softball Tournament. Weve never won a game and that doesnt look good for me cause i dont like losing. We'll see what happens
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Mbookie's, little kiddies gardening, and Badass bike rides
Story time it is again i guess. So I'm back in the Gou after a couple eventful days out in Kafori about 35k away from Kédougou. I originally went out there on the 7th to check out kevins site and help him haul some of his stuff out there as he had a lot. It was a nice bike ride out there as it wasnt balls to the wall fast and we had a bunch of stuff attached to our bikes. I got a couple good pics along the way of our loaded own bikes though and it was a nice way to spend a morning. We get out to Kafori in about 2 1/2 hours or so so it wasn't that bad of a time. The first lady we run into as were coming up out of the creek bed crossing that leads you into kafori is one of kevins neighbors who is a really old lady who is just thrilled to bits to see him and starts dancing and is just genuinely soo very happy to see him. so with my first impressions of kofori that we walk up the hill to where kevin is living at the moment as his hut hasnt even been started yet. He does have some really nice digs though as hes living with the president of the community rural for Kafori. My Aunt from my host family in Kédougou lives in the same compound as well as she is a teacher there in Kafori. So we get to unpack our stuff and relax a bit when we get there after we get through the ritual of greeting everyone and their mother in the compound. It was nice to relax a bit as the bike ride is kinda a tax, especially with a fully loaded port-a-bagage. After we relax a bit we head out to a couple of garden plots that kevin is working on throughout the village. A few of them weren't doing as well as he would have liked as the people that were supposed to be looking after them really weren't or hadn't done what they were supposed to do. But it was nice to see what someone else was up to during their first three months out in the village.
Another reason that i came out to Kafori was to get an idea about the school gardening project that kevin was working on as well. His main plan was to get about 6 plots going for the school to look after and then have the garden become a sort of communal garden once established. We got to scope out the site of the garden and have a good talk about the way the garden project was going to work. Basically the idea was to teach a class about the importance of a garden and then follow that up with a class on the actual making of the garden. It was a good plan and going over it kinda sealed the deal for me as far as my participation. So we crash and the next morning i take off back to Kédougou.
So basically i end up hanging out in Kédougou for the next two days and heading back out to Kafori again on the 11th to help prepare the plots for the garden class. I make good time going out there. Make it in in about and hour forty min. Great time riding out, basically get to go my own speed and my load this time is a little less then before but I've still got a decent sized load as I've got all my books for the class, sleeping bag and clothes for the next 2 days. Im so glad i brought my sleeping bag to country because it is rather cold here at nights during the cold dry season. mind you its still ridiculously hot during the day but the cool nights are nice. Like i said i made good time on the way out and with the ride out being the harder part of the journey, i felt pretty good with my self. Basically you end up climbing a lot more during the ride out and you descend a lot more on the way in, or at least the change is a lot more noticeable on the way out. Its basically rolling the whole way, and that makes for a nice ride either way. So when i get out there i chill for a little catching my breath. We head out to the Director of the schools house to get started on the plots. His hut is right next to the school and the forage so there is water readably available.
So we start making the plots with the help of several of the teachers helping out which was nice. We measure out 6 2x1 plots in two rows of three. The total plot size is 9x9 but we dont use it all. Measuring it out is a bit of a chore as we need to clear the ground first a bit and then have it dead on. We get that done and start clearing all the weeds and plants that are there which is harder then it sounds as its quite dry and the ground is rather hard. with the plots marked out and the ground cleared that takes us up till about midday and lunch time. All the while that we are working kevin brings out his CD player and portable speakers and we have a little music to listen to. A girl that is in our stage and in our region made the CD for kevin and it was a interesting mix of music. So whenever i now think of this project and making the plots, Britney spears newest song pops into my head with it starting out with her saying 'its Britney bitch'. That wasnt the only song on it but it had me on the floor laughing when it first came on.
So after our three lunches, as we get to eat with the teachers, kevins host family, and the family that he is living with at the moment, we get back to the plot to begin the process of finishing up the three plots we were making completely ready. So this involved double digging and mixing in manure so that it would be just right for the garden. On the way back to the site we stop and pick up a bunch of manure thats all over the place as cows kinda just roam about the village. This eats up the rest of the afternoon as we are working during the hottest part of the day. And that means its really fucken hot for those of you playing the home game, i think i clocked it at being in the mid 30's C the other day and this is the cool dry season. Who's looking forward to the hot dry season, this guy ain't. Like i said this eats up the rest of the day and we retire with a couple gorgeous looking plots ready to be seeded after a week of watering.
So This is the first day that I'm out there and when we get back to the presidents house, we are greeted with a nice little snack of some rice and meat. Now this might not seem to weird to you all back home, but considering peanut sauce or leaf sauce are the staples here minus holidays, this was a little odd for us. So we kinda enquire as to what the reason was for this. So after talking to the son of the president, as he was in Kédougou at the time, we find out something called mbookie had attacked and killed three cows the previous night. Kevin then chimes in that he remembers hearing it and that it was crazy sounding. Kinda bad for the owner of the cow, but we ate like kings for the night, totally unexpected. So upon trying to figure out what this mbookie animal is, we kinda end up on the conclusion that it was Baboons as i know in french monkey is sainge or something and when i asked the kid if that was what it was he said yea it was mbookie's. So kevin and i are kinda like WTF they attacked and killed three cows not far from where we were sleeping. Were sitting there thinking wow crazy killer monkeys running around right next to the house. So after our badass dinner, we head to bed and the night is fairly uneventful. The next day when the two other volunteers show up for the class one of them speaks really good pullar enquires as to what did all this we find out that it was hyenas' that had attacked the cows and that only one of them had died. Makes a lot more sense and i kinda chill out a bit after that as hyena's cant climb through windows like crazy killer monkeys!
But the 12th is the day of the actual formal class for the kids at the school. There were 6 classes, and they were broken into three groups of two classes. Each group would get one volunteer minus the group that got kevin and I as were newbies. Were slotted for a noon start time and kick off at fairly promptly. Luckily for me the teacher in our class spoke fairly decent english as the french i was using was pretty bad. Kevins Pullar was really good though, when he asked if the kids understood him at the end of each of his sections they all got it where as some of the kids didnt really get mine and the teacher had to jump in and explain what i was trying to say. That might have been a factor of some of the subject matter as well my language skill but it was still really difficult. My hat goes off to all my teacher friends out there, you've got a hard job even if you can do it in english. So it didnt go all that badly as i was able to get the point across.
After were done with the class, it happened that it was the same day as the local market, the luma. So we all kinda traipse over there to have a poke around to get a few things. Its weird for me because kédougou has a market everyday purely because it is a big town. But it was neat to have a walk around and see what it was like there. I bought some bread as the lunch we had this day wasnt as good or filling as the one we had the day before, and we head back to the presidents house. Steve and Roxy, the other two volunteers take off for their villages and kevin and i kinda just chill at his place.
While i was coming out to Kafori i stopped to take a picture and was using my new kickstand. it stood there for a bit and then bent pretty much in half as my bike fell over. Great times as i had to take it off on the side of the road. I had pretty much written it off as i couldnt bend it back with my hands and wasnt able to pop down to the tool shed to use the handy dandy vice until the kid who had told us about the mbookies came in and said he could probably fix it. He gave it a try with his hands then said yea it was busted. This all happened when i first got there, but while we were hanging out in Kevins room he comes back in and says that there will be someone who can fix it at the luma. Not wanting to get my hopes up i say sure take it see what you can do if not just keep it. He comes back about 20min later with a much straighter kickstand and the loaves of bread we asked him to get. the kickstand is better then when i bought it, thats how good they fixed it. Blown away, i wish i would have seen them do it cause im really curious to see how they did it! My kickstand is as good as new now and im very happy about that.
So we relax for a while just kinda chilling, and get the news that theres no dinner tonight. Kinda bummed we decide to bust into kevins stash of american food hes had sent out to him. Tuna sandwiches will suffice for the evening and will be pretty damn nice. So we give them to kevins brother to make in his room as kevin doesnt want his room to get crumbs and food all over it. So he takes it across the compound to his room and comes back with the news that we are going to have dinner. So we go and eat with the fam, but the brothers hut is right next to the eating area and his mom knows something is going on. Its not that we werent trying to share as kevins 2 brother and i were going to eat, there just wasnt that much to go around. So after dinner was over it becomes really apparent as kevins sister is standing outside her brothers door trying to get in to see what is going on and totally blows our cover. In the end kevin gives a packet of tuna to his host mother to kinda appease her. We get to eat tuna sandwiches and everyones happy.
So we kinda retire after this and head to bed. Now this is where the mbookies come back into the picture. I guess the previous night kevin had heard the hyenas out and about. So we end up talking about how messed up it would be if they came back and how we would eat really well again if they did. So that precedes our slumber and around 12/1am kevin wakes me up the cackling of hyenas. You can hear them all around the compound and evne hear them running right next to the wall kevins room bumps up against. ohhh ahhh what fun not really too worried i kinda sit up for the next hour or two listening to them. There is one of the cows that was attacked in the compound with us and a flock of sheep/goats for their own protection. so around 3 the sheep/goats start running round the compound. The interior of the compound is a circle type area with river stones covering it for better drainage. Also amplifies hooves. So you can really hear these guys running around the compound. Thinking theyre just freaked out by the hyenas i didn't think too much of it until the dog inside the compound starts growling and barking at something either inside the compound or right at the gate. I kinda hear a scuffle of dogs and a yelp. Then the dog is running after something and barking after it. Its kinda nuts but kevin and i are thinking that hyena was in the compound or really damn close to being inside it judging by the animals reactions. That was about it for the nights excitement really, but very interesting none the less.
So the next morning when we get up and come out the seat that is kinda in the middle of the compound was knocked over, it was a bench style seat made of pieces of bamboo. When i came out of kevins room my host aunt who lives there as well was cleaning it up and i asked her if she heard the mbookies and she said yea and that was about it really. The weird thing was that no one else really seemed bothered by it if they had heard it all. Most the people i asked said they were asleep and didnt hear anything! i guess im just a newbie and after so many times that gets old! But we get ready to go teach our class over at the school on the technical side of the making of the garden. Steve started off first, Roxy second and kevin and I last at 2. Steve is great, he got their attention by doing a little dance as they came filing into the field which broke the ice really well. I mean what can beat a crazy toubob dancing african style? His pullar is badass and he did a great job. He ended up teaching the class that kevin and I had the day before. They were probably middle schoolers at the front end of middle school or before. Roxy had the second group which was more like the end of middle school and they were probably the most capable of the three groups purely because of age. They were all very enthused by the whole event. Kevin and I ended up with the youngest of the three at the end, they must have been 2nd graders or so and basically the director ended up explaining most of it which was nice as he got it done tout suit! I got some great pics of everything if youre so inclined to check facebook out.
After the last class, I'm heading back to Kédougou and Roxy is heading back to Dimboli so we head out together. I was meeting up with steve at his villages turn off as all the volunteers are along the same road. So i kinda take off once we get going as im not sure when the last ferry crossing is at the entry way into kédougou to make sure i ride in with steve. I make it down to Togué in pretty decent time and steve and I take off. We end up flying into kédougou. It took and hour and twenty mineutes to get to the ferry crossing where as it took me roughly an hour and fifty min to get there the last time i tried to do it. I really think it was the company as when im riding with people the motivation factor is just there to keep up and not get dropped. I noticed that a bit during a couple races and group rides ive been on. If im with people i can generally keep pace but if i was just on my own it just wouldnt feel the need to go that fast or keep up a pace for a certain amount of time. So it was a great ride back into the gou with steve. We chatted about different projects hes working on, things im thinking about trying to set up in terms of projects, cycling and this and that. It was a good ride. Were thinking of planing a trip out past kafori and then up to another volunteer, aaron's village near saraya after my IST(In Service Training).
We made it back in damn good time and i was pretty racked out by the time we got back and i just kinda kick it with the host fam who are happy to see me for the evening. About 20min or so after i get back i look at my bike which is next to my hut and the front is flat ! I guess i either picked up the flat as i go t my compound or was really lucky that it was only a small thorn and was leaking only slightly so that i was able to get home without really being flat. But i bring my chair out front of my hut to repair it and end up getting a call form Ethan with Trees for the Future. He was just checking in to se what i was thinking of doing with my counterpart, who he worked with while he was in PC a few years back and who is working with TFF now. I shot him my ideas and he seemed totally onboard and just wanted to be kept in touch with what all was going on. It kinda weird whenever i get back from these rides im usually kinda up on a high and a really good mood. Just genuinely in a good place, i think i'm addicted to this kicking my ass thing and i have no desire to kick the habit!
Another reason that i came out to Kafori was to get an idea about the school gardening project that kevin was working on as well. His main plan was to get about 6 plots going for the school to look after and then have the garden become a sort of communal garden once established. We got to scope out the site of the garden and have a good talk about the way the garden project was going to work. Basically the idea was to teach a class about the importance of a garden and then follow that up with a class on the actual making of the garden. It was a good plan and going over it kinda sealed the deal for me as far as my participation. So we crash and the next morning i take off back to Kédougou.
So basically i end up hanging out in Kédougou for the next two days and heading back out to Kafori again on the 11th to help prepare the plots for the garden class. I make good time going out there. Make it in in about and hour forty min. Great time riding out, basically get to go my own speed and my load this time is a little less then before but I've still got a decent sized load as I've got all my books for the class, sleeping bag and clothes for the next 2 days. Im so glad i brought my sleeping bag to country because it is rather cold here at nights during the cold dry season. mind you its still ridiculously hot during the day but the cool nights are nice. Like i said i made good time on the way out and with the ride out being the harder part of the journey, i felt pretty good with my self. Basically you end up climbing a lot more during the ride out and you descend a lot more on the way in, or at least the change is a lot more noticeable on the way out. Its basically rolling the whole way, and that makes for a nice ride either way. So when i get out there i chill for a little catching my breath. We head out to the Director of the schools house to get started on the plots. His hut is right next to the school and the forage so there is water readably available.
So we start making the plots with the help of several of the teachers helping out which was nice. We measure out 6 2x1 plots in two rows of three. The total plot size is 9x9 but we dont use it all. Measuring it out is a bit of a chore as we need to clear the ground first a bit and then have it dead on. We get that done and start clearing all the weeds and plants that are there which is harder then it sounds as its quite dry and the ground is rather hard. with the plots marked out and the ground cleared that takes us up till about midday and lunch time. All the while that we are working kevin brings out his CD player and portable speakers and we have a little music to listen to. A girl that is in our stage and in our region made the CD for kevin and it was a interesting mix of music. So whenever i now think of this project and making the plots, Britney spears newest song pops into my head with it starting out with her saying 'its Britney bitch'. That wasnt the only song on it but it had me on the floor laughing when it first came on.
So after our three lunches, as we get to eat with the teachers, kevins host family, and the family that he is living with at the moment, we get back to the plot to begin the process of finishing up the three plots we were making completely ready. So this involved double digging and mixing in manure so that it would be just right for the garden. On the way back to the site we stop and pick up a bunch of manure thats all over the place as cows kinda just roam about the village. This eats up the rest of the afternoon as we are working during the hottest part of the day. And that means its really fucken hot for those of you playing the home game, i think i clocked it at being in the mid 30's C the other day and this is the cool dry season. Who's looking forward to the hot dry season, this guy ain't. Like i said this eats up the rest of the day and we retire with a couple gorgeous looking plots ready to be seeded after a week of watering.
So This is the first day that I'm out there and when we get back to the presidents house, we are greeted with a nice little snack of some rice and meat. Now this might not seem to weird to you all back home, but considering peanut sauce or leaf sauce are the staples here minus holidays, this was a little odd for us. So we kinda enquire as to what the reason was for this. So after talking to the son of the president, as he was in Kédougou at the time, we find out something called mbookie had attacked and killed three cows the previous night. Kevin then chimes in that he remembers hearing it and that it was crazy sounding. Kinda bad for the owner of the cow, but we ate like kings for the night, totally unexpected. So upon trying to figure out what this mbookie animal is, we kinda end up on the conclusion that it was Baboons as i know in french monkey is sainge or something and when i asked the kid if that was what it was he said yea it was mbookie's. So kevin and i are kinda like WTF they attacked and killed three cows not far from where we were sleeping. Were sitting there thinking wow crazy killer monkeys running around right next to the house. So after our badass dinner, we head to bed and the night is fairly uneventful. The next day when the two other volunteers show up for the class one of them speaks really good pullar enquires as to what did all this we find out that it was hyenas' that had attacked the cows and that only one of them had died. Makes a lot more sense and i kinda chill out a bit after that as hyena's cant climb through windows like crazy killer monkeys!
But the 12th is the day of the actual formal class for the kids at the school. There were 6 classes, and they were broken into three groups of two classes. Each group would get one volunteer minus the group that got kevin and I as were newbies. Were slotted for a noon start time and kick off at fairly promptly. Luckily for me the teacher in our class spoke fairly decent english as the french i was using was pretty bad. Kevins Pullar was really good though, when he asked if the kids understood him at the end of each of his sections they all got it where as some of the kids didnt really get mine and the teacher had to jump in and explain what i was trying to say. That might have been a factor of some of the subject matter as well my language skill but it was still really difficult. My hat goes off to all my teacher friends out there, you've got a hard job even if you can do it in english. So it didnt go all that badly as i was able to get the point across.
After were done with the class, it happened that it was the same day as the local market, the luma. So we all kinda traipse over there to have a poke around to get a few things. Its weird for me because kédougou has a market everyday purely because it is a big town. But it was neat to have a walk around and see what it was like there. I bought some bread as the lunch we had this day wasnt as good or filling as the one we had the day before, and we head back to the presidents house. Steve and Roxy, the other two volunteers take off for their villages and kevin and i kinda just chill at his place.
While i was coming out to Kafori i stopped to take a picture and was using my new kickstand. it stood there for a bit and then bent pretty much in half as my bike fell over. Great times as i had to take it off on the side of the road. I had pretty much written it off as i couldnt bend it back with my hands and wasnt able to pop down to the tool shed to use the handy dandy vice until the kid who had told us about the mbookies came in and said he could probably fix it. He gave it a try with his hands then said yea it was busted. This all happened when i first got there, but while we were hanging out in Kevins room he comes back in and says that there will be someone who can fix it at the luma. Not wanting to get my hopes up i say sure take it see what you can do if not just keep it. He comes back about 20min later with a much straighter kickstand and the loaves of bread we asked him to get. the kickstand is better then when i bought it, thats how good they fixed it. Blown away, i wish i would have seen them do it cause im really curious to see how they did it! My kickstand is as good as new now and im very happy about that.
So we relax for a while just kinda chilling, and get the news that theres no dinner tonight. Kinda bummed we decide to bust into kevins stash of american food hes had sent out to him. Tuna sandwiches will suffice for the evening and will be pretty damn nice. So we give them to kevins brother to make in his room as kevin doesnt want his room to get crumbs and food all over it. So he takes it across the compound to his room and comes back with the news that we are going to have dinner. So we go and eat with the fam, but the brothers hut is right next to the eating area and his mom knows something is going on. Its not that we werent trying to share as kevins 2 brother and i were going to eat, there just wasnt that much to go around. So after dinner was over it becomes really apparent as kevins sister is standing outside her brothers door trying to get in to see what is going on and totally blows our cover. In the end kevin gives a packet of tuna to his host mother to kinda appease her. We get to eat tuna sandwiches and everyones happy.
So we kinda retire after this and head to bed. Now this is where the mbookies come back into the picture. I guess the previous night kevin had heard the hyenas out and about. So we end up talking about how messed up it would be if they came back and how we would eat really well again if they did. So that precedes our slumber and around 12/1am kevin wakes me up the cackling of hyenas. You can hear them all around the compound and evne hear them running right next to the wall kevins room bumps up against. ohhh ahhh what fun not really too worried i kinda sit up for the next hour or two listening to them. There is one of the cows that was attacked in the compound with us and a flock of sheep/goats for their own protection. so around 3 the sheep/goats start running round the compound. The interior of the compound is a circle type area with river stones covering it for better drainage. Also amplifies hooves. So you can really hear these guys running around the compound. Thinking theyre just freaked out by the hyenas i didn't think too much of it until the dog inside the compound starts growling and barking at something either inside the compound or right at the gate. I kinda hear a scuffle of dogs and a yelp. Then the dog is running after something and barking after it. Its kinda nuts but kevin and i are thinking that hyena was in the compound or really damn close to being inside it judging by the animals reactions. That was about it for the nights excitement really, but very interesting none the less.
So the next morning when we get up and come out the seat that is kinda in the middle of the compound was knocked over, it was a bench style seat made of pieces of bamboo. When i came out of kevins room my host aunt who lives there as well was cleaning it up and i asked her if she heard the mbookies and she said yea and that was about it really. The weird thing was that no one else really seemed bothered by it if they had heard it all. Most the people i asked said they were asleep and didnt hear anything! i guess im just a newbie and after so many times that gets old! But we get ready to go teach our class over at the school on the technical side of the making of the garden. Steve started off first, Roxy second and kevin and I last at 2. Steve is great, he got their attention by doing a little dance as they came filing into the field which broke the ice really well. I mean what can beat a crazy toubob dancing african style? His pullar is badass and he did a great job. He ended up teaching the class that kevin and I had the day before. They were probably middle schoolers at the front end of middle school or before. Roxy had the second group which was more like the end of middle school and they were probably the most capable of the three groups purely because of age. They were all very enthused by the whole event. Kevin and I ended up with the youngest of the three at the end, they must have been 2nd graders or so and basically the director ended up explaining most of it which was nice as he got it done tout suit! I got some great pics of everything if youre so inclined to check facebook out.
After the last class, I'm heading back to Kédougou and Roxy is heading back to Dimboli so we head out together. I was meeting up with steve at his villages turn off as all the volunteers are along the same road. So i kinda take off once we get going as im not sure when the last ferry crossing is at the entry way into kédougou to make sure i ride in with steve. I make it down to Togué in pretty decent time and steve and I take off. We end up flying into kédougou. It took and hour and twenty mineutes to get to the ferry crossing where as it took me roughly an hour and fifty min to get there the last time i tried to do it. I really think it was the company as when im riding with people the motivation factor is just there to keep up and not get dropped. I noticed that a bit during a couple races and group rides ive been on. If im with people i can generally keep pace but if i was just on my own it just wouldnt feel the need to go that fast or keep up a pace for a certain amount of time. So it was a great ride back into the gou with steve. We chatted about different projects hes working on, things im thinking about trying to set up in terms of projects, cycling and this and that. It was a good ride. Were thinking of planing a trip out past kafori and then up to another volunteer, aaron's village near saraya after my IST(In Service Training).
We made it back in damn good time and i was pretty racked out by the time we got back and i just kinda kick it with the host fam who are happy to see me for the evening. About 20min or so after i get back i look at my bike which is next to my hut and the front is flat ! I guess i either picked up the flat as i go t my compound or was really lucky that it was only a small thorn and was leaking only slightly so that i was able to get home without really being flat. But i bring my chair out front of my hut to repair it and end up getting a call form Ethan with Trees for the Future. He was just checking in to se what i was thinking of doing with my counterpart, who he worked with while he was in PC a few years back and who is working with TFF now. I shot him my ideas and he seemed totally onboard and just wanted to be kept in touch with what all was going on. It kinda weird whenever i get back from these rides im usually kinda up on a high and a really good mood. Just genuinely in a good place, i think i'm addicted to this kicking my ass thing and i have no desire to kick the habit!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Baptism/seed opening/kafori
On Sunday 1/4/09 there was the grand opening of the seed store that Hassana had opened a few months ago. It was a good event even if a lot of the farmers from the Kédougou region didn't really come. But there was a good representation from up in Saraya with Aaron bringing down 4 farmers from there and a few from the Kédougou region. It was meant to be a informal little get to know the shop and have a open discussion about problems the farmers are having and why the relationship between seller producer and supplier is so important as they all depend upon each other. When all three are in line with the others, they work very smoothly and efficiently. So that was basically how that went. Very good and Hassana is going to go to the farmers federation this coming week to have a meeting about establishing a relationship with them that would be good for us as it would open the door for us to have a better working relationship with them. It was a good meeting and it was good to have a chat with hassana about all of his plans.
So monday the family had a baptism which was interesting. see pics in facebook for details. i woke up pretty early for it as i was under the assumption that it was a morning thing and wed eat lunch there and come back. Well as it turned out we were going to sit around all morning in true Senegalese fashion. it was kinda neat as they had all the gifts out in our little communal area. Basically, in my interpretation, it seems like the baptism here seems like a mix of a a baby shower and maybe a celebration of the birth. I've never heard of the later in the states but a really hyped up baby shower is the best i can do to describe it.
So like i said we sit about till about 11 and then head over to the house of the mother for the gathering of the family. We kinda hang out there for a while get to see the baby which was cool it was a newly born so tiny. But it was a big deal for the families involved and everyone was decked out in their best boubous. it was kinda cool to see. We had a great lunch there as well. I hung out with Hassana there as well as he is part of my family here as well. We basically sat around and waited for the mother to get back from the salon as its tradition for her to get all dolled up for this and she was def done up in spades. I got to play cards with my brother and his friend from across the street. It was fun and we got a damn good meal out of it.
I left to got to the market and stop off at the regional house and get the news that my plans to go to kafori and saraya kinda get screwed. Wula Nafaa was having a meeting and as the only ag/fo guy in town at the moment, i got to go. kinda sucked but it was kinda my job so i kinda put off my trip for a day. The meeting is basically about going over what they had gotten done in nov/dec of 08' and the second day was about what they planned for in jan/feb of this year. The first meeting was kinda interesting as they were talking about the projects that they had going on, funio and baobob production adn the relationship between the middlemen and producers and things along those lines. It was a good thing that thomas went with me as his french is a lot better then mine and he was able to help me with translation. After talking to Matt about the meeting and my tentative plans to go to kafori he said it was fine if i went to kafori and missed the second day of the meeting.
So I get ready to go for my little trip out to Kafori by getting my things in order. I bought a new backpack in the market which is really cool, knockoff jansport but its a pretty good knock off in my mind. load that up with my firstaid kit, ORS, fosters clark, camera, GPS, and all the other little gadgets that i take with me places on trips. I Hang out at the regional house tues night as its the last night that a bunch of the volunteers were going to be there, kinda the last remnants of the xmas vacation. it was a good time but i kinda left it late to go home and ended up getting locked out of the compound. Not a big deal as i ended up sleeping at the regional house and going to get my stuff in the morning. I end up helping kevin, my friend whos im going to visit with carrying a bunch of his stuff. It was a good ride out to his village. He lives about 20 miles away on a lovely little road. Its good up until dimboli or right after and then its more like a trail. good times though. we make it out there in decent time Kafori is a neat little village. When we get to the 'entrance' i.e. the first couple of houses there was a lady washing her clothes and she was just so happy to see kevin that she started dancing. Really cute as it was a really old lady with not many teeth, but she was just so stoked to see kevin again. similar reactions follow at his house.
So basically i was there to check out the lay of the land for kevin's garden project he was working on with the local school. He has a couple demo plots in Kafori now that are coming along and we were able to talk to the teachers at the school about the plan for what we are going to do on Monday. I think ive already said this but being out in the village was so much more helpful for the pullar. Thats all they speak really. much more incentive for learning the lang. But it was good for checking out the situation for this project. The way the garden class is going to work is that im going work with kevin in one of the classes, and roxy, the closest volunteer to kevin will take another and steve the second closest will take another. Were going to go over why its important to have a garden the benefits and then the technical side of making it and then get the kids to make it. It should be interesting. Ive and idea for a grander idea with a similar theme but im going to have a think on it first.
But this morning i came back to Kédougou and had a nice little ride. Got some good pics on the way. Well pics of me anyway. Got some good ones on the way out with kevin and I with all his stuff. But i made good time coming back in, its great to be able to go at your own pace and just relax. I had my ipod with me too, that was really nice, rock out a little bit in the middle of no where on a bike. I think in total going there and coming back i saw 1 car and about 3 motorcycles. heavy traffic this road. It was a good outing though, always feel a little better after a nice ride where ive accomplished something. I guess im just addicted to kicking my own ass on a bike/running, its fun.
Well today is the Islamic new year so i guess interesting happenings will be going on. So i should be off, ill write again soon, oh yeah been in site for 2 months, man time flies!
So monday the family had a baptism which was interesting. see pics in facebook for details. i woke up pretty early for it as i was under the assumption that it was a morning thing and wed eat lunch there and come back. Well as it turned out we were going to sit around all morning in true Senegalese fashion. it was kinda neat as they had all the gifts out in our little communal area. Basically, in my interpretation, it seems like the baptism here seems like a mix of a a baby shower and maybe a celebration of the birth. I've never heard of the later in the states but a really hyped up baby shower is the best i can do to describe it.
So like i said we sit about till about 11 and then head over to the house of the mother for the gathering of the family. We kinda hang out there for a while get to see the baby which was cool it was a newly born so tiny. But it was a big deal for the families involved and everyone was decked out in their best boubous. it was kinda cool to see. We had a great lunch there as well. I hung out with Hassana there as well as he is part of my family here as well. We basically sat around and waited for the mother to get back from the salon as its tradition for her to get all dolled up for this and she was def done up in spades. I got to play cards with my brother and his friend from across the street. It was fun and we got a damn good meal out of it.
I left to got to the market and stop off at the regional house and get the news that my plans to go to kafori and saraya kinda get screwed. Wula Nafaa was having a meeting and as the only ag/fo guy in town at the moment, i got to go. kinda sucked but it was kinda my job so i kinda put off my trip for a day. The meeting is basically about going over what they had gotten done in nov/dec of 08' and the second day was about what they planned for in jan/feb of this year. The first meeting was kinda interesting as they were talking about the projects that they had going on, funio and baobob production adn the relationship between the middlemen and producers and things along those lines. It was a good thing that thomas went with me as his french is a lot better then mine and he was able to help me with translation. After talking to Matt about the meeting and my tentative plans to go to kafori he said it was fine if i went to kafori and missed the second day of the meeting.
So I get ready to go for my little trip out to Kafori by getting my things in order. I bought a new backpack in the market which is really cool, knockoff jansport but its a pretty good knock off in my mind. load that up with my firstaid kit, ORS, fosters clark, camera, GPS, and all the other little gadgets that i take with me places on trips. I Hang out at the regional house tues night as its the last night that a bunch of the volunteers were going to be there, kinda the last remnants of the xmas vacation. it was a good time but i kinda left it late to go home and ended up getting locked out of the compound. Not a big deal as i ended up sleeping at the regional house and going to get my stuff in the morning. I end up helping kevin, my friend whos im going to visit with carrying a bunch of his stuff. It was a good ride out to his village. He lives about 20 miles away on a lovely little road. Its good up until dimboli or right after and then its more like a trail. good times though. we make it out there in decent time Kafori is a neat little village. When we get to the 'entrance' i.e. the first couple of houses there was a lady washing her clothes and she was just so happy to see kevin that she started dancing. Really cute as it was a really old lady with not many teeth, but she was just so stoked to see kevin again. similar reactions follow at his house.
So basically i was there to check out the lay of the land for kevin's garden project he was working on with the local school. He has a couple demo plots in Kafori now that are coming along and we were able to talk to the teachers at the school about the plan for what we are going to do on Monday. I think ive already said this but being out in the village was so much more helpful for the pullar. Thats all they speak really. much more incentive for learning the lang. But it was good for checking out the situation for this project. The way the garden class is going to work is that im going work with kevin in one of the classes, and roxy, the closest volunteer to kevin will take another and steve the second closest will take another. Were going to go over why its important to have a garden the benefits and then the technical side of making it and then get the kids to make it. It should be interesting. Ive and idea for a grander idea with a similar theme but im going to have a think on it first.
But this morning i came back to Kédougou and had a nice little ride. Got some good pics on the way. Well pics of me anyway. Got some good ones on the way out with kevin and I with all his stuff. But i made good time coming back in, its great to be able to go at your own pace and just relax. I had my ipod with me too, that was really nice, rock out a little bit in the middle of no where on a bike. I think in total going there and coming back i saw 1 car and about 3 motorcycles. heavy traffic this road. It was a good outing though, always feel a little better after a nice ride where ive accomplished something. I guess im just addicted to kicking my own ass on a bike/running, its fun.
Well today is the Islamic new year so i guess interesting happenings will be going on. So i should be off, ill write again soon, oh yeah been in site for 2 months, man time flies!
New Years in Tamba
So yea been 5 days since new years but i should write up what went down for that. Like my entries said, i was stuck in Tambacunda until the third. Kinda screwed my new years plans for going up to Saraya and visiting Aaron and his site, but o well. instead Josh a volunteer from Missira, Nathaniel who is a volunteer in a village 6k off the road to Missira, Danny from Kolda, Erin from way the hell far away, and Krystel from Dar Salam all went camping on the banks of the gambia about 40k away from Tamba. It was a really good time. It took us a while to get there as we took a kinda weird way that did a little bush whacking so to speak. Instead of taking the long way around on a good road we cut a corner that saved us maybe 5-10k. It was fun but sands a bitch. During the ride i talked to Nathaniel a bit and while he was from long beach, he went to college in wooster ohio. Small world really. It took us about 4 hours to get out to the camp site because of a number of factors, a large-ish group and carrying a bunch of stuff. but it was a really fun ride, but thats coming from someone who likes riding bikes.
So we get to the camp site around 6-ish with a little bit of light left for a few folks to go for a swim in the river. josh actually managed to get 6 gazelles ( bottles of beer) intact to the camp site actually really cold. He Used his therma rest as a case and packed it with ice. Hell of an idea and it worked really well, so after are long dusty ride we were able to crack open a nice cold beer on the banks of the river. Really well worth the ride. After the swim and beer we get to work on dinner and a camp fire. Well the camp fire first then the dinner as the one was contingent on the other. I have to say that this was probably one of the best camp fire dinners ive had, def up there with the pasta i had in the sierra's with chris. Hard to believe but it was damn good. So we had pasta, easy enough, but also made a pasta sauce with all sorts of fresh veggies that we brought with us. Another factor in the equation that makes it that much better was that it was all done without a stove, all over open fire. The dried herbs and oil and vinegar that were added just gave it that much of a push to tip it over to the best. To cap it all off we had a few sweet potato's for desert. I have to say that the sweet potato's I've had here are quite possible the sweetest veggies I've ever had, and very desert worthy. oh yeah josh is a vegan and Krystel was in america hence the veggie heavy meal.
So we ushered in the new year sitting next to a camp fire on a really gorgeous camp site next to the gambia river. The next day we kinda have to deal with the problem that we overlooked coming out to the site. Water. While we camped near a town called Djariko or something, water purification was a must. Boozing the night before left the campsite rather parched of water come the next morning. So all morning, minus a lovely little dip in the gambia and a ridiculously good breakfast of oatmeal and tea, water boiling was the name of the game. Worked like a charm till we decided to stop in a large-ish town on the way back, Gulumbu, for lunch. But we get about 4/5 liters out of our water purification efforts. Really really warm water that is, almost hot water. If i got a cup of tea like this id be really happy, and no dad you wouldn't be as you like yours really really hot and it wasn't quite there. A very interesting experience and it didn't get me sick, well not yet anyway so it did its job. mmmmmm smokey water, ill never forget that taste, almost like starchy smokey. Mush have been the pasta we cooked the night before chiming in as well.
After the swim and subsequent powwow to decide to break camp and head to Gulumbu for lunch, we start cleaning up the bomb blast that was our camp site. Tents down claiming the odd sock or flashlight we repack the bikes and hit the road. On the ride back up to the main road i spotted some monkeys running across the trail way up in the distance. Yay Africa. But this ride is just as fun as the last one for me. Only this time I'm carrying the large metal pot we used for cooking. All the while were trying to stay hydrated with the almost hot water that really Isn't losing a whole lot of it warmth as its rather hot out as well. Krystel had a few little packets of gatorade-y type stuff that made it a little better but still pretty damn warm! We make it to Gulumbu though and get some bad ass chebajen. Thats the national dish here rice and fish, very oily as they dose the rise with a a good portion of oil. Really tasty after a nice bike ride though. Since were in a larger town everyone else decides to take an al-hum minibus type thing back to Tamba as they were a little tired after the two days excursions.
Its here where our paths part as i decide it wouldn't quite be the same rolling back into Tamba in a car when there is nothing wrong with me kinda like cheating. Well not cheating but i went out for a ride and id be damned if i didn't finish it. it was only like another 35k or so. So i take off while they're loading up their bikes onto the bus. Started off pretty well with pretty good time just kinda zipping along now that i was on my own at my own pace. unfortunately the wind had other ideas. I had either a side wind/headwind for almost 2/3rds of the way back. makes it quite a bit more interesting. Now this accompanied with the huge portion of delicious chebejin i ate right before hopping on my bike at the hottest part of the day produced a lovely oily mix in my stomach. With all this in mind i still made decent time getting back to Tamba. About 15k out a guy i had passed earlier was talking to someone and sprints after me and is real friendly and rides with me for the rest of the way to Tamba. Nice to have someone to ride with even if our communication is minimal. But i make it back to Tamba in about an hour and 45 min.
The day after this all goes on, the day after i decide that its about time to head back to Kédougou. This times out really well as Kevin is getting back from Koalack and wants to keep on going to Kédougou in one day. Well that does end up happening just greatly delayed. So Kevin makes it to Tamba around 6-ish. There are two cars waiting on two people to be full and leave for Kédougou when i get there about 10 min before kevin and it looks like it will work out real well. Well not really. Right before kevin gets here they give the seats to two other people and we get shafted with an empty car that we have to wait on to fill. Another guy shows up so it might not take all night at that rate, but no one else shows up till 10, when one other guy shows up. So all the while we've been sitting there waiting for our car to fill, a minibus type thing is sitting next to us waiting to fill up as well. Well around 11 they finally come over to us and offer us two seats on that so they can leave right then. We take it as does one of the other guys from our car. The wait in the garage was kinda neat though tedious. We drank a box of wine and sat around talking with a vendor from Guinea who made us an egg sandwich which was really good. It was a good little sit if anything else even if i expected to be back before the time we left.
Well that would put us in at about 3 if we left at 11, but we were committed at this point so we went for it. The first thing that we did was to go somewhere in Tamba and sit for about an 1/2hour so the driver could eat i think. That was great, and then when we were leaving the city limits we got stopped at the police check point for another good 10/20min. So all and all it took another 45 min for us to actually leave the city. Other then that the ride was uneventful and we made it in by 445 and promptly went to bed. but it worked out and we were back which was really nice.
So we get to the camp site around 6-ish with a little bit of light left for a few folks to go for a swim in the river. josh actually managed to get 6 gazelles ( bottles of beer) intact to the camp site actually really cold. He Used his therma rest as a case and packed it with ice. Hell of an idea and it worked really well, so after are long dusty ride we were able to crack open a nice cold beer on the banks of the river. Really well worth the ride. After the swim and beer we get to work on dinner and a camp fire. Well the camp fire first then the dinner as the one was contingent on the other. I have to say that this was probably one of the best camp fire dinners ive had, def up there with the pasta i had in the sierra's with chris. Hard to believe but it was damn good. So we had pasta, easy enough, but also made a pasta sauce with all sorts of fresh veggies that we brought with us. Another factor in the equation that makes it that much better was that it was all done without a stove, all over open fire. The dried herbs and oil and vinegar that were added just gave it that much of a push to tip it over to the best. To cap it all off we had a few sweet potato's for desert. I have to say that the sweet potato's I've had here are quite possible the sweetest veggies I've ever had, and very desert worthy. oh yeah josh is a vegan and Krystel was in america hence the veggie heavy meal.
So we ushered in the new year sitting next to a camp fire on a really gorgeous camp site next to the gambia river. The next day we kinda have to deal with the problem that we overlooked coming out to the site. Water. While we camped near a town called Djariko or something, water purification was a must. Boozing the night before left the campsite rather parched of water come the next morning. So all morning, minus a lovely little dip in the gambia and a ridiculously good breakfast of oatmeal and tea, water boiling was the name of the game. Worked like a charm till we decided to stop in a large-ish town on the way back, Gulumbu, for lunch. But we get about 4/5 liters out of our water purification efforts. Really really warm water that is, almost hot water. If i got a cup of tea like this id be really happy, and no dad you wouldn't be as you like yours really really hot and it wasn't quite there. A very interesting experience and it didn't get me sick, well not yet anyway so it did its job. mmmmmm smokey water, ill never forget that taste, almost like starchy smokey. Mush have been the pasta we cooked the night before chiming in as well.
After the swim and subsequent powwow to decide to break camp and head to Gulumbu for lunch, we start cleaning up the bomb blast that was our camp site. Tents down claiming the odd sock or flashlight we repack the bikes and hit the road. On the ride back up to the main road i spotted some monkeys running across the trail way up in the distance. Yay Africa. But this ride is just as fun as the last one for me. Only this time I'm carrying the large metal pot we used for cooking. All the while were trying to stay hydrated with the almost hot water that really Isn't losing a whole lot of it warmth as its rather hot out as well. Krystel had a few little packets of gatorade-y type stuff that made it a little better but still pretty damn warm! We make it to Gulumbu though and get some bad ass chebajen. Thats the national dish here rice and fish, very oily as they dose the rise with a a good portion of oil. Really tasty after a nice bike ride though. Since were in a larger town everyone else decides to take an al-hum minibus type thing back to Tamba as they were a little tired after the two days excursions.
Its here where our paths part as i decide it wouldn't quite be the same rolling back into Tamba in a car when there is nothing wrong with me kinda like cheating. Well not cheating but i went out for a ride and id be damned if i didn't finish it. it was only like another 35k or so. So i take off while they're loading up their bikes onto the bus. Started off pretty well with pretty good time just kinda zipping along now that i was on my own at my own pace. unfortunately the wind had other ideas. I had either a side wind/headwind for almost 2/3rds of the way back. makes it quite a bit more interesting. Now this accompanied with the huge portion of delicious chebejin i ate right before hopping on my bike at the hottest part of the day produced a lovely oily mix in my stomach. With all this in mind i still made decent time getting back to Tamba. About 15k out a guy i had passed earlier was talking to someone and sprints after me and is real friendly and rides with me for the rest of the way to Tamba. Nice to have someone to ride with even if our communication is minimal. But i make it back to Tamba in about an hour and 45 min.
The day after this all goes on, the day after i decide that its about time to head back to Kédougou. This times out really well as Kevin is getting back from Koalack and wants to keep on going to Kédougou in one day. Well that does end up happening just greatly delayed. So Kevin makes it to Tamba around 6-ish. There are two cars waiting on two people to be full and leave for Kédougou when i get there about 10 min before kevin and it looks like it will work out real well. Well not really. Right before kevin gets here they give the seats to two other people and we get shafted with an empty car that we have to wait on to fill. Another guy shows up so it might not take all night at that rate, but no one else shows up till 10, when one other guy shows up. So all the while we've been sitting there waiting for our car to fill, a minibus type thing is sitting next to us waiting to fill up as well. Well around 11 they finally come over to us and offer us two seats on that so they can leave right then. We take it as does one of the other guys from our car. The wait in the garage was kinda neat though tedious. We drank a box of wine and sat around talking with a vendor from Guinea who made us an egg sandwich which was really good. It was a good little sit if anything else even if i expected to be back before the time we left.
Well that would put us in at about 3 if we left at 11, but we were committed at this point so we went for it. The first thing that we did was to go somewhere in Tamba and sit for about an 1/2hour so the driver could eat i think. That was great, and then when we were leaving the city limits we got stopped at the police check point for another good 10/20min. So all and all it took another 45 min for us to actually leave the city. Other then that the ride was uneventful and we made it in by 445 and promptly went to bed. but it worked out and we were back which was really nice.
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