So I have been back at the center since March 31st.
Last Sunday and Monday a myriad of holidays converged upon Senegal, including the Easter Weekend (very important time for the few Catholics to imbibe heavily in public and for long stretches of time) and the Senegalese Independence Day, celebrating 50 years For my "holiday" I celebrated in part the Catholic way and in part the Seneglese way... napped, had beers, watched some movies, etc. There were about 20 people here in Thies, so it was very calm, and a wonderful break from the village life.. Along with donkey races, parades, riots, and general chaos when everything is closed, there was the unvailing of a very controversial statue in Dakar (somehow North Korea is involved)...read about it below:
The most important parts of my training thus far has happened in the last 2 days;
We took our first language proficiency exams and also found out our Sites!
My home for 2 years: NGODIBA, SENEGAL.
Ngodiba is around 5,000 people large, on the road and at the heart of Senegalse Peanut Basin in the region of Kaolack.. I am 5 k from the regional capital city Kaffrine, 40 K from Kaolack City and only 20 K from the Gambia! My home has no health volunteers, but volunteers from the Agroforestry, Agriculture, and Environmental sectors.
I am nestled between the Sine Saloum delta and the Sine Saloum Nature Reserve. Because Ngodiba is so close to Kaffrine, and Kaffrine wasn't created until 2008, it gets lumped into the information about Kaolack. Click on the following links for more info, and check out the attached map!
I will have more information about Kaolack region and my town in the coming 2 weeks. Off to my village for more language training and then headed to visit a volunteer stationed in Kaolack!
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