Friday

Hello all! Today is Friday, a holy day, and our Peace Corps trainers are looking their best in their traditional clothing. Today we (the trainees) had our cultural fair and it was amazing. We were introduced to everything from proper eating and drinking etiquette to how to clean yourself without toilet paper *ahem*. The trainees were first split into six groups, and we rotated through six different stations. Each station had a theme and the trainees were guided through that theme by current volunteers and natives of Senegal. My favorite stations were the ones about Senegalese food and unique Senegalese cultural items, because at these stations I got to taste, touch, smell, try, and drink a variety of new things. I chewed a cola nut (origionally found in coca cola!) and used a tooth stick. I drank baobab juice and ate baobab fruit, as well as drank ginger juice, Touba cafe, and a traditional tea. One of the great things about this cultural fair is that I can try things in a safe environment where I can communiate effectively if any problems were to arise. If I have a bad reaction to something new, I can communicate immediately in English that I am having a negative reaction that needs addressing. If I have a bad reaction to a food or drink within the context of my future host family, I unfortunately do not have the language skills yet to effectively communicate anything other than I feel sick and need to call the Peace Corps doctor. Don't get me wrong- this is sufficient in most situations and being with a host family is 99% positive, but Culture fair was definitely a perfect opportunity to try and learn plenty of new things.

The trainees will probably learn what language they are learning and what their language group is either tomorrow or the next day. I'm pumped about this. I don't think there are any "bad" languages to learn. They all seem really cool and beautiful and the ability to speak any of them opens up doors to entirely new aspects of Senegalese culture. The groups are pretty small,
3-4 maximum, and should in theory accommodate a variety of learning styles. I will have plenty of opportunities after class to practice new things learned with my host family, in the market, with my neighbors, with children, etc etc. This time around, I feel much more confident. During PST in Kyrgyzstan I felt very insecure about my ability to learn a third language and my progress as a volunteer trainee. Now, I feel much more relaxed about language learning and am more willing to let it come to me informally. It is not a waste of time to sit under a tree and drink tea and chew sticks and listen to the radio- in fact, this will be how the best language learning will happen.

Everyone has started taking their malaria medications, myself included. While in the United States I dreaded the possibility of taking malaria meds and all of their wild sounding side effects, but now that I am in Senegal and see just how many mosquitoes their are around here, I am relieved to have the malaria meds. I couldn't wait to start taking them. I do not want to get
malaria under any circumstances and plan to be a very faithful malaria medication taker. One great thing that I did not realize while I was in the states is that if I have any bad side effects with a malaria medication that I am on, the Peace Corps medical officers can switch me to a different medicine. Before I was in country, I was afraid that I would be stuck with side effects if I had them. Now I am aware that I have options, and a few of them. Peace Corps medical has our backs.


Well, that's all for now. Still no pictures. I will get around to taking them, I promise, but now isn't the right time. In the meantime, happy reading!