Made it through Ramadan... It wasn’t that bad but I definitely prefer other months to September. This week is pretty light with the end of Ramadan and Korite so I don’t have too much planned. Monday, the power was out during the day so I went to the office and just chit-chatted with folks. Tuesday I meet another volunteer in Mbour to catch up since I hadn’t seen her since she went on vaca in Aug. We had a nice lunch in Saly and then I picked up some things from the grocery store. Wednesday was Korite, the celebration of the end of Ramadan. All in all it was a good day. I hung out with my family during the day and in the evening I visited friends. For yet another local holiday, I didn’t have traditional clothes for the fete so I felt kinda uncomfortable and outta place visiting ppl. By the end of the evening, I managed to get into a funk, which is never nice. But I ate well and had a good time with my family and that’s all that matters.
At the end of the week I get a dymyster who’s going to be staying with me for a week, which should be interesting cause I live in a box. As new volunteers come in, there’s a period of time where you go stay with a current volunteer to see what kind of projects they work on and how they live. When I did it, I only stayed with my host for 4 days so this week business is going to be…interesting. I just hope she’s cool and understanding cause if it was me, my tolerance for sleeping on the floor of someone’s room I don’t know may not last 6 days. But I’m going to have a positive attitude.
I miss my Chele! Talking to Yaa yesterday really made me start thinking about how my trip home is going to be since she went home for a few days during her time off. Im trying really hard not to think about it cause I still have...(regarding iCal) 75 days left and that’s to early to start counting down. But I can’t wait to see my friends, eat hamburgers and enjoy the standard of life I’m accustom to. I am very proud of myself that Im working here in Africa cause I know it takes a certain kinda person to do what im doing. But being here makes me realize just how well I have it in the states and appreciate America for the type of people it creates and they way it functions...even though right now it’s not doing the greatest. People here have a certain way of doing things that is sometimes very frustrating. Its like their mindsets are so limited. Now this maybe because they are not exposed to the same type of things folks from the states are because they don’t have access to them or just aren’t capable of thinking outside of the box. This is of course coming from and outsider who has been privileged enough to see something other then what I’ve been raised with. I’m just happy that I’m able to see how another country functions, have a basis for comparison and a different perspective.
02 October 2008
01 September 2008
Happy September 1st!
In 13 day’s I will have lived a year in Senegal. It’s crazy how time flies. To celebrate myself and a couple other folks are going to go play golf. I have to get through these next two weeks first. This week I don’t have a lot planned, just a couple of meetings. This week also starts the month of Ramadan which should be interesting. When I got last year in September, I was staying in a Training Center were we got breakfast and lunch everyday and by the time we finished with training, it was about time to break the fast. Considering I live in a family with 3 small children it shouldn’t be too much different cause the kids don’t fast. What’s going to be interesting is to see how my work changes, or even if it will change. I’ll keep you updated.
This past weekend I hung out in Saly with my friend Meme and some other American’s for her going away party. I was just planning on going for the evening and then coming back to Joal, but no one wanted to me to travel at night so I ended up staying the night. Sometimes its really weird being around a group of American’s cause there’s a sense of disconnection. I live my life like the Senegalese, I eat Senegalese food, all the people I interact with on a daily basis are Senegalese. The life I live here is completely different then how I lived in the states and to be around other Americans that live like they do in the states is foreign to me. Im fine when it’s one or two folks but a group of folks who have the comforts of America I just feel like an outsider. I guess you can say I’m truly integrated in my community. And it’s also a good thing that on occasion I go and hang out with other Americans so I don’t become completely disconnected from what I know. At any rate, had a great time; I had burgers and chicken off the grill, hung out around the pool had a lots of laughs and by Sunday i was glad that I stayed. Even have a new Wii hook up since Meme is leaving. It’s Monday and I need to go be productive while it’s not raining.
[gnilan]
This past weekend I hung out in Saly with my friend Meme and some other American’s for her going away party. I was just planning on going for the evening and then coming back to Joal, but no one wanted to me to travel at night so I ended up staying the night. Sometimes its really weird being around a group of American’s cause there’s a sense of disconnection. I live my life like the Senegalese, I eat Senegalese food, all the people I interact with on a daily basis are Senegalese. The life I live here is completely different then how I lived in the states and to be around other Americans that live like they do in the states is foreign to me. Im fine when it’s one or two folks but a group of folks who have the comforts of America I just feel like an outsider. I guess you can say I’m truly integrated in my community. And it’s also a good thing that on occasion I go and hang out with other Americans so I don’t become completely disconnected from what I know. At any rate, had a great time; I had burgers and chicken off the grill, hung out around the pool had a lots of laughs and by Sunday i was glad that I stayed. Even have a new Wii hook up since Meme is leaving. It’s Monday and I need to go be productive while it’s not raining.
[gnilan]
29 August 2008
Year In…Im getting Tired
So originally, I was going to post a perturbed PC volunteer piece but after a day of reflection, I decided perhaps it wasn’t necessary. Suffice it to say I was in a salty mood cause:
*the power had been out and it had been raining for the past two days
*I had cabin fever
*I was missing the comforts of America.
But I’m a little better now...Alhamdulillah. Even though it’s been raining off and on all day and the power went out for a few hours.
Saturday I went to a Gelle(sp). It’s a traditional Serer Celebration of people born in the same year and it’s usually done 4 years at a time. For example, Men and women who live in close neighborhoods born in 1970-1974 get together and hold monthly meetings to plan their annual party. So Saturday I hung out with my friend Edward and his family cause I was invited to his sisters Gelle. It was slightly delayed cause the power was out but after they got a generator they started it. There were about 50 people who had outfits made in the same colored fabric who marched in circles and danced to traditional Serer music. I always enjoy going to traditional parties and taking in and enjoying the culture of Senegal cause I know there are few Americans that have/will do that. So unfortunately the generator kept going in and out so the music would start and stop. There were drummers and they weren’t affected by the power outage so people continued to dance with out lights. There were tons of children as always and there was a man with a rather large stick keeping them from getting in the way. Every 20 mins there would be a swarm of children running out of the public place where the fete was held. I think I must have stayed for 4 hours cause the power was out all the things I really wanted to do I couldn’t so I figured I might as well stay and take in the “flickering sights”. About quarter to 10 I decided it was time to go and I started walking home and thinking about what I wanted to do with myself. Just as I was getting to my street, the power came back on. Took a shower, at an apple (dinner) and went to visit my friend Bara. Not bad for a Saturday.
[written Sunday Aug. 24]
gnilan
*the power had been out and it had been raining for the past two days
*I had cabin fever
*I was missing the comforts of America.
But I’m a little better now...Alhamdulillah. Even though it’s been raining off and on all day and the power went out for a few hours.
Saturday I went to a Gelle(sp). It’s a traditional Serer Celebration of people born in the same year and it’s usually done 4 years at a time. For example, Men and women who live in close neighborhoods born in 1970-1974 get together and hold monthly meetings to plan their annual party. So Saturday I hung out with my friend Edward and his family cause I was invited to his sisters Gelle. It was slightly delayed cause the power was out but after they got a generator they started it. There were about 50 people who had outfits made in the same colored fabric who marched in circles and danced to traditional Serer music. I always enjoy going to traditional parties and taking in and enjoying the culture of Senegal cause I know there are few Americans that have/will do that. So unfortunately the generator kept going in and out so the music would start and stop. There were drummers and they weren’t affected by the power outage so people continued to dance with out lights. There were tons of children as always and there was a man with a rather large stick keeping them from getting in the way. Every 20 mins there would be a swarm of children running out of the public place where the fete was held. I think I must have stayed for 4 hours cause the power was out all the things I really wanted to do I couldn’t so I figured I might as well stay and take in the “flickering sights”. About quarter to 10 I decided it was time to go and I started walking home and thinking about what I wanted to do with myself. Just as I was getting to my street, the power came back on. Took a shower, at an apple (dinner) and went to visit my friend Bara. Not bad for a Saturday.
[written Sunday Aug. 24]
gnilan
21 August 2008
Back to Basics
Made it back to Joal Tuesday night. I returned to a relatively bugless room, 1 spider, 1 waterbug and lots of dust. The power was on so I quickly terminated the insects and proceeded to eat dinner (a mango) before it went out or I saw any more insects. I would have been a lot more comfortable eating outside but it was raining so that was a no go. On a normal day it usually takes me anywhere from 2.5-3 hrs to go from Dakar to Joal (68 miles), but yesterday it was raining and I left during the equivalent of rush hour traffic so it took 5hrs…oh how I love public transportation. I really didn’t wanna leave Dakar but I have to keep myself from getting too comfortable there cause life in Dakar and Joal is very different. Plus im low on funds till the end of the month and Dakar is expensive. I was in Dakar because my mom came to visit for 2 weeks. Im so glad she was able to come out and see how I live and do things on this end of the world and that she was able to come to Africa. It was great having her here but also a bit stressful. But then again, when is traveling with a parent not stressful? She left Monday and I’ll be heading home on the 15th December, I’ll start the countdown Sep 15. I think I recuperated very well at Meme’s house with her WIFI, Wii and “real” kitchen. So this week is going to be a short one since I’m only available 2 days out of the work week. I’ll probably pass by the community center, and the compost facility to check in. And maybe Friday I’ll go to the Finio…ugh. The politics there really pisses me off and makes it hard to do my job. My region is throwing a party on Saturday and even though it’s only a 700cfa ride down the road I’m probably not going. I’ve just spend 2 weeks away from site and there’s things I need to do here.
[gnilan]
[gnilan]
16 August 2008
"Virgil Brigman Back Online"
It seems like every year I attempt to revive this damn thing. We'll see how long this comeback last. Since last I wrote I've temporarily relocated to Joal, Senegal. as I am a Small Enterprise Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps. I’ll go into details about what exactly that means in a later post. I’ve decided to start this up again cause I decided to come to country with out the Apple cause I didn’t know if I was going to be some place with electricity and cause it was fried. But my mom just came to visit me and brought me a new one (Thanks Mom). Expect new changes to come in the very near future...
:gnilan:
:gnilan:
24 March 2007
What do you Think?
My automatic response would be hell yes it is a problem. In general, I’m not cool with people just coming and going with out giving a reason or without regard to my feelings. That’s selfish and rude. But then I think about what has occurred in the past and what lies in my future. There have been numerous times where I’ve let people in my life for weeks or months at a time to have them disappear because they didn’t wanna deal with their feelings or some other reason unknown to me. The first few weeks are usually hard to get through without being angry or bitter, depending on how interested I was in the person. But after a while, I let go and keep it moving. I’m not scarred or bitter towards the person, no need to waste energy on something you can’t do anything about. 9 times out of 10 if they come back around, things pick up right were they left off...sometimes. At this point in my life I don’t wanna get attached to anyone that I meet because I won’t be here for long. So again I ask, is it really that bad to keep letting some one back in your life even though you know they’re not going to stick around? If you have a true connection with this person and genuinely like them, outside of their disappearing act, what’s the harm in keeping them around for company?
:amel:
22 March 2007
I Wanna Move Too!
So, why is everyone making big moves in the month of March. 2 people I know are moving into their own places. These are ladies I knew would strike it out on their own eventually but I didn’t know it was going to be so soon. It’s amazing where a little determination will get you. Knowing people that are actually moving into their own place makes the whole concept so realistic. There are plenty of people I know and hang out with but no one has there own place. This is such a wonderful thing and I hope they are both prepared for my company cause I plan to but the hell out of them....well at least one of them. In other news I’m so excited for the spring to come. I’m sick of being limited in my social activities ie: restaurant, bar, movies ect. When it warms up there are things to do outside and I’m all for that. I think I’m going to the National Arboretum tomorrow afternoon with Green Eyes since it’s supposed to be 70°.
Complaint for the Day
Today was the last portion of my doctor’s appt. the wonderful and oh so pleasant PAP. My appt was at noon, which translated to 1pm. I even go there early to see if that would help. To give me even more time constraints, I was scheduled to be at work at 2pm. Worst-case scenario I get seen at 1:30, I get to work by 2:30. Guess what time I was seen...3pm! Sigh, I sat patiently at first and I even told the person who takes your vitals that I had to be to work at 2, but that didn’t even help. I ended up not going into work, which sucks cause those were hours that I needed and missed out on. As Green says, there was a reason I didn’t go in, fine whatever. I was still miffed that I had to wait 20 years to get poked and prodded. Oh and the total for the office visit *drum roll* $290. In total for my dentist, doctor and eye exam for Peace Corps were looking in the price range of $1,000, and I’m only going to be reimbursed $200. That hurts my pockets beyond belief but, its all finished and now I can move to the next step in this process.
:amel:
Complaint for the Day
Today was the last portion of my doctor’s appt. the wonderful and oh so pleasant PAP. My appt was at noon, which translated to 1pm. I even go there early to see if that would help. To give me even more time constraints, I was scheduled to be at work at 2pm. Worst-case scenario I get seen at 1:30, I get to work by 2:30. Guess what time I was seen...3pm! Sigh, I sat patiently at first and I even told the person who takes your vitals that I had to be to work at 2, but that didn’t even help. I ended up not going into work, which sucks cause those were hours that I needed and missed out on. As Green says, there was a reason I didn’t go in, fine whatever. I was still miffed that I had to wait 20 years to get poked and prodded. Oh and the total for the office visit *drum roll* $290. In total for my dentist, doctor and eye exam for Peace Corps were looking in the price range of $1,000, and I’m only going to be reimbursed $200. That hurts my pockets beyond belief but, its all finished and now I can move to the next step in this process.
:amel:
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