So much to write and not enough time. After arriving in Thies, we spent four days in demystification, shadowing a current volunteer. I was placed with Kate who lives in a small village of 1000 people in the Fouta, north east near the Senegal River and the Mauritanian border. It was HOT and DRY. And truthfully, it felt like the middle of nowhere, until meeting some of the people in the community. It definitely made me nervous and for a second I wondered what I had gotten myself into. But, it was reassuring that she had mastered the language in a year and was working on some interesting projects. I spent a day with her weighing babies in a nearby village across a small river. (Yes, we crossed by dugout canoe!) We are now back in Thies and just started our homestays. My family is very hospitable and has taken in many Peace Corps trainees in the past. There are lots of girls in the family and I am now named after one: Djenaba Diatta. (The Di/Dj is pronounced J.) There is a mango tree and a mandarin tree in the courtyard and I hope they will be ripe the next two months. I will be learning Mandinka, so I will probably be placed near the Gambian border (on the north) or between Tambacounda and Kedagou in the southeast. The bugs will be bigger than in the north, but perhaps there will be more vegetation!
I am happy and healthy, although it seems I have been here longer. I rarely get on the internet and it will probably get harder when I get to my site, but I would still love your emails, and ESPECIALLY your letters! (See address below!)
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3 comments:
Hi Traveler Thought an email would show up soon letting the world know that you had been "Posted". Sort of sounds like you've arrived in Barstow. Hopefully you arrived with all your luggage because you wouldn't have to be missing much to be in a fix. I guess it is sort of amazing all the info that can be garnered from infant's weights. You can tell us how it all works some day. Big bugs are surely easier to spot and smite than their lesser relatives. If they begin describing bugs in terms of protein content you've gone too far in an incorrect direction. Great to hear from you. Also hope Heidi adds to her blog today saying she did her 20 mi run.
Love Pete and Nan
Jamie, we all want to know about the kitchens and bathrooms. What kind of food are you eating? What were the conditions at the post you went to for demystification? I love that word! Is the new language you're learning one of those clicking kinds? Write something to us in it. We are all very proud of you and miss you much. Love, Mom
Jamie, Glad you arrived safely and that you're being kept busy to minimize any homesickness. We're all so proud of you. I intend to get the family around the blog with an atlas, etc so that we can learn vicariously. I promise to get a note in the mail and enclose a photo from your recent visit with Wally. Lots of love, Heidi and the boys (sore but still alive after a 20 mi run)
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