Apologies for the lack of updates. Ramadan finished with Korite, the holiday that celebrates the end of the fast. I have decided that Adama Diallo (my name in village) and Hilary Hines are not exactly the same people. While Hilary loves surprises, Adama does not. For example, Korite was one long day of surprises and Adama had her fill. The day started with lunch for breakfast followed closely by "fancy clothes time" when I had to put on my very itchy, very hot Senegalese clothes and sit around. Then, just when I thought it was over, I went to a party where all the women were done up and we sat and drank tea and listened to music. Not too bad, but really when it comes to Senegal, I don't like to be surprised. The best part of Korite was lunch (at lunchtime). I had explained to my family that I don't eat meat and while they seemed like they understood, I still had a "Big Fat Greek Wedding," "thats ok I make lamb" moment. My sister had a separate bowl for me and said this has no meat in it, just chicken. I was really touched by all her effort even though it wasn't exactly what I meant.
After Korite, me and some other Tamba volunteers went on tournee. This means that we went village to village doing little skits and giving informational talks about diarrhea. We did a skit about the importance of washing your hands and then one about making ORS (oral rehydration salts) because as you know, it is really important to replinish the fluids you lose when you are sick. We went to 13 villages in 5 days (if I remember correctly) and I would call it a huge success. We were able to talk to lots of people, and when I had a women's group meeting a couple weeks later several women were able to explain to those who didn't see the skits what we had said. Plus, working with your friends for 5 days straight is really really fun. I loved tournee and I can't wait to do it again soon.
Also in September I went to summer camp! USAID sponsored "EPQ" camps in Sare Coly, another village further south from me. They reviewed French and Math, and PC vols were able to help with the health-themed lessons. I didn't really help out that much (because they speak a different kind of Pulaar in Sare Coly) but it was fun to hang out with the kids. After the USAID camp, I went to Dakar (the capital) to participate in the US Embassy's English Camps. These camps were more "campy" mostly because PC vols organized the whole thing. We played sports games, told the kids a little about culture in America, and sang a lot of American pop music because kids here lose their minds for Justin Bieber (although I really don't blame them. I will admit I've got the Bieber fever). It was basically a time for the kids to practice their English and have a little fun before school starts. I was really amazed at how advanced some of the kids are in English. A couple of them were mostly fluent. One of my favorite parts of camp was field day. We set up 6 stations-- frisbee, bat spin, tug of war, 3 legged race, sack race, and egg race. I had the bat spin station which was absolutely hilarious. First the kids had to run down, pick up the bat, spin with their forehead on the bat 3 times, then run back. Of course I had to demonstrate for each group (6 times) and the kids really loved seeing a dizzy white girl run. We also sang this awesome song called the Moose Song. Probably because of my enthusiasm for the song, we sang it 5 times in 3 days.
Now i am back in Tamba and am heading back to site in a couple days. Myself and another fabulous volunteer, Emma, are planning a hygiene training for our villages. We are going to talk about hygiene/sanitation in family and home life and its relation to health. I am excited about this project and if it goes well, we hope to make another tournee out of it.
Also, I am officially going home in one month and 5 days! I have been here 7 months and can hardly believe how fast it has gone by. Thanks for all the letters, emails, cards, packages, I love them all!!! Thanks for the support. See you all really soon!
