Thanksgiving in Senegal

It was well.....strange to say the least. I spent the day and night in the Kaolack regional house along with about 20 other volunteers. Despite the 100° heat, one thing that did make it feel like Thanksgiving however, was cooking. I made some awesome apple pies and of course pumpkin pies, yum! Also, true to thanksgiving form, I made spinach dip for an appetizer. Overall it was a pretty good time, one of the guys even made some millet bread instead of regular since I cant eat that! So nice!

And while I am a bit disappointed, but slightly relieved, that we did not kill the turkey ourselves I was there for the head chopping (with a dull knife--ick). But explain to me how I can watch this going on with nothing more than an "eww dude, thats pretty nasty" and continue to drink my wine, but when a cricket the size of my foot came into my hut, I trapped it under a tupperware container and kept it their until my friend came to visit and I made him get rid of it. All the while hiding myself under the mosquito net and eating starburst as consolation. Sometimes Im so strange! but the thing was nasty, so i guess its okay.

I really missed just hanging out with the family and am still feeling a little down :( And after seeing some of the events of the evening, Im not really looking that forward to Christmas or New Years. Christmas especially though. There are some holidays that I think are just inappropriate to be out of control drunk. Christmas being one of them, thanksgiving too which is probably why I was feeling down last night. Its just not me, and its frustrating to constantly be in that environment. So, hopefully I can find something to do on Christmas that doesnt involve massive consumption of alcoholic beverages. I hope.

PS--- who are we kidding mom, ill always want a sloth :) Although I fear Im becoming more and more like them each day that passes. Awesome!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!

The infamous christmas list

ok guys here it goes. So, its that time of year again for the ridiculous christmas lists created by yours truly. This year though, I have a feeling it is a bit more random.

Make up: anything bare essentials, I love their eye shadow and thats what I need the most (pinks, purples, browns and nudes are usually what i wear), I need some eyeliner (brown or black) and of course lip gloss

Cute shirts (plain colored fitted tees XS or S and some cute tank tops too)

flip flops because mine broke and the plastic african ones just dont cut it for me

fun fashion jewelry

Nail polish and remover, pummus stone, nail file etc.

Itunes cards would also be ideal

A reeses peanut butter cup :) please please!!

And the completely outrageous, typical weirdo sarah animal I want for christmas this year is a baby fainting goat, the regular ones here just arent as fun!

Just got back from Dakar though, and had a blast!! Im really excited about maybe getting a bissap juice/jam project started in my village sometime this year. Even though the trip was work related, I still managed to be my rowdy self, swim in a pool, eat too much ice cream and drink too much delicious red wine :) at the moment, im sweating in Kaolack and wasting time before I make some pumkin pie. No spinach dip though sad. Unfortunately I dont have time to write more though. I do have my old phone back so give me a call if you miss me!!! Love you all!

True Life: I'm an awkward Peanut farmer

I wonder to myself about a hundred times a day “what the heck am I doing here.” Don’t get me wrong, I love it and I’m having a blast. There are those moments when I’m biking through the bush (15 K this morning….ahh!) that I think to myself, this is exactly what I should be doing. And I know I made the right choice. But in between those few moments of clarity, I just laugh and wonder, where the hell am I?!? For example, during my bucket bath the other afternoon, while washing my hair, my fence started shaking uncontrollably. Startled, I jumped up, dripping with shampoo and took a closer look. A herd of sheep were scratching themselves and bah-ing like crazy. As one poked its head in to see what I was doing, I couldn’t help but start laughing and think…..Sarah this is hilarious. Or then of course there are always the times when I look across the compound at my hut and wonder if that really was a goat/chicken/cat that came out of my room? The answer is always yes. Yes it was. And again, yes that baby goat was sleeping on my pillow. Nice.

My family is great though. My dad, Samba Ba, is really helpful and he is also my counterpart. He has 2 wives, very strange to me still, but I’m getting used to it. Cumba, his first wife is about 35 and has 6 kids. AHHH! And Awa, his second wife is pregnant with her second one. She’s 21, wow. When I don’t have anything to do, I pretty much just follow Cumba around and do whatever she’s doing. Most days that includes going to the fields and being a peanut farmer. I am the MOST awkward peanut farmer of all times! When they give me my bag of peanuts at the end of the afternoon, I don’t really have the heart to tell them that I actually hate peanuts. Oh well. But, in general, my days are boring. I figure that if I’ve said hello and gone through the greetings with half the village each day, its been a successful day. Completely different from American thinking, but whatever.

****Side note*******However, while greeting the village one afternoon, I started talking to the only man who speaks some English. As he came over to sit, I think he was trying to say he was sitting. It didn’t come out that way. Instead, he said “I have semen.” I couldn’t help but bust out laughing so hard that I had to get up an leave with the only reply of “well, yes. Yes you do!” HAHAHAHAHA!

My hut is, well, a hut. Its cute and I’ve definitely put my touch on it (aka pictures of Shia Labeouf, haha thanks Rae). But, considering that there is no screen door or anything to keep the critters out, life has gotten so much more interesting. Duct tape is saving my life to say the least. This being said, I’ve had some interesting nights with the critters inhabiting my house. As we speak, there is a monster size mouse/rat patrolling the top perimeter of my hut. Every time I hear a noise, I’m terrified that 10 pound mouse is going to fall on my head. That would not be a fun moment in my life. Gross. This mouse is not nearly as cute as the ones in Rachel’s place. Oh Tyler.

Anyways, aside from the rat (who has yet to be named), I awoke the other night to the sound of something rummaging through my thatch roof. Hmmm, pitch black and freaking out. Being the genius that I am, I turn on my light and shine it around. Ha! Good call on that one Sar. No sooner do I shine my light does a bat, YES A BAT, start flying frantically around my head. Holy crap, white girl freak out moment. Think John Candy in the Great Outdoors. Not pretty. But I figured as long as he doesn’t eat through my mosquito net, I’ll be ok. Finally, I fall back asleep only to wake up at 6am next to a monster termite mound literally a foot and a half from my head. Again, gross. Until I can get to Nioro and buy termite stuff, I’ve resorted to do it yourself methods. Enter the duct tape.

I heard that 40 percent of Peace Corps is spent sleeping. And after just a few short days in Pakane Toucouleur, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is certainly plausible. I have found that village life embraces my old lady tendencies of going to bed at 9pm or earlier every night along with a 2 hour nap mid-day. In all honesty, I sleep to fight off boredom more than anything else. I can only read so much in one day and use my small amount of pulaar vocab so often. I mean really, how many times does someone want to hear “its hot today” or “you are sitting.” Yes, for the 10^th time today, I am sitting.

Long story short, my life is quite boring. I’m going to Dakar on Thursday for some semi-american style living. I’ll be there till Monday and I’ll have my phone back yay! Feel free to call me anytime, I’m always up for a call. Chris is was good to hear from you the other night. I hope the Praxis went well and I know you did great. I love you and stop stressing about a job. Mom, dad and Rachel, I love you all too and can’t wait to talk to you again soon. I have a new address finally yay so we can start doing mail again! And to all my friends don’t think I’ve forgot about you. For those of you who have sent letters and emails you have no idea how much they mean to me. I’ll be getting back to you as soon as I can!

let me know if you want my address, I don't want to put it on here because there are crazies who will stalk me :)

Swear In...we made it!

So we are officially volunteers!!!! 40 of us came to Senegal 2 months ago, and now 40 of us swore in as official volunteers. Apparently that is unheard of. At least one person always goes home during training. We're just awesome...I guess.

My last night as a Trainee

Well ladies and gentlemen, it seems that I've made it through training. Tomorrow at 730 AM I will make my final trip to Dakar as a non-volunteer. Hooray!!!! Africa hasn't killed me......yet......

The end of PST is bittersweet. While I will enjoy not having every aspect of my life planned out for me or living with the Taateen Mafia family, I'm going to miss my built in friends and the late night dance parties in the discohut and Peace corps bus. They didn't know we got in it and danced haha! On Sunday afternoon, I'm heading to Kaolack to get ready for my install. Peace corps uses the term "installation" for us to be moved into our permanent sites. However, I'm not sure if that is the best way to describe the process seeing as how I'm not a refrigerator.

I'll spend until Tuesday early afternoon in Kaolack before moving into my hut in Pakane. Ah!!! Also, I'll have a mailing address finally (at the latest Tuesday) and will let you know what that is. Gotta run though. I have to learn the Senegal national anthem..... getting the clicks into the right key might be a little difficult. :)

Wish me luck!

An Ode to Millet

First things first.....I got your packages and I love love love you! Who knew rice crispy treats could taste so good? Mr and Mrs Pittenger, your package caught me completely off guard and I was so excited....I'm making everyone jealous with all my love from home. And rachel, love of my life Rachel. I love the sister box!!!!! Nail polish, cute undies, Shia Laboeuf.......what more could a girl ask for? I love you all so much! And mom and dad you know I always appreciate your boxes.

And now.....an African haiku

Am I eating sand?
Millet is my enemy
I am not a bird.

I have developed a love-hate relationship with the wonderful and favorite grain of Senegal: Millet. Actually, its a hate-hate relationship. Funny thing, a vet once told me that I should feed my parakeets millet. Apparently its like chocolate for birds, is the way he put it. Now, here I am, right along with the memories of Larry....sad.....eating the millet that he would have loved. I would gladly give it to a hungry parakeet though.

I am not sure how much of the lacciri (millet couscous with a bean/fishbone sauce) is actually millet, and how much is good 'ole fashioned African sand. Secretly each night I hope for something other than millet, it never happens. As I plunge the crusty spoon blindly into the dark bowl alongside my little sisters (who all still have pink eye by the way), I still maintain a little bit of hope that its a huge bowl of Cheesecake Factory Nachos. News flash, it never is. Damn.

Crunch! Oh theres that fishbone again digging its way into the roof of my mouth. Funny, we're not having fish tonight? I just keep telling myself to block it out and pay attention the french dubbed Desperate housewives or 24 (my family LOVES jack bauer for some reason). Four bites in and trying my best to take couscous-like millet the same way I would a pill, oh Mi Haari. Again, I'm full, but this time, drum role please!!!!!! The Pittengers sent rice crispy treats! I savor the processed sugar in the safety of my mosquito net and away from the constant "eat more eat more!" In the village, my bed time had turned into 830-9pm. I'm pretty cool, I know.

But, I must give them credit. With the nastiness we know as millet, they have adapted some creative techniques in its plating. There are a number of ways you can make a millet dish. I, indeed, have tried them all. Unfortunately.
1.) Lacciri: my "favorite" millet dish described more detailed in the paragraphs above
2.) Millet and milk: The actual millet is more fluffy than lacciri, which is more of a paste, and then we pour unpasturized, direct from the utter milk. Oh yea....but surprisingly not too bad and I will actually look forward to this one. Maybe, if i'm hungry enough.
3.) Millet pourrage: Cream/fish sauce/millet and maybe some chunks of something I cant quite make out.
4.) Sweet millet ball pourrage thingy: Sugar, balls of millet and milk. In theory it would be delicious. Its like a cereal like dish. But the unpasturized milk that has been sitting out for a few hours in the hot sun give it a soured taste that I cant bring myself to enjoy. Gag!
-Also, if you leave this out over night it solidifies and becomes more of a thick oatmeal/gel. Yes, I have eaten it and surprisingly its better than the original way. I wonder why I got a parasite right?

However, one thing that I am willing to try on my own involving millet is onion rings. I am pretty sure that I could make some bomb onion rings. Do an egg wash and dip them into pounded millet, fry those babies up. Delish. I'm willing to try it, and then eat the crap out of them, good or not. They can't be worse than goat face though right?

Pounding millet however has become a fun past time. Until my family makes me stop because they think i'm tired and cant stop laughing. Jerks. Africa not fun.

Millet oh Millet (To the tune of Homework oh homework, I hate you you stink):

Millet oh millet, I hate you, you're sand,
I wish I could ruin you with my left hand.

If only the bowl would tip over and spill,
even sans gluten, you're making me ill.

I'd rather take baths with a huge centipede
than be forced to eat millet I'll never concede!

Millet oh millet, I hate you, you're sand
I hate when you grow, get out of this land.

Recent random cravings:
-Nachos from Cheesecake factory
-Tuxedo cheescake (also from the factory)
-Chicken empanadas from Sangria in Chicago
-Dark chocolate M&Ms
-Whole clove roasted garlic bread and oil with herbs and balsamic vinager :)