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As you cannot comment on other people's comments on Blogger, I will comment here in response to my mom's comment to my last blog post. I hear you. This information web is totally valuable, and sometimes numbingly overwhelming. I also think it's an admirable goal to put laptops, particularly with internet access, in the hands of children in developing countries. However, before this could possibly do any good, we must ensure that these children can read and encourage them to be the principal actors in the development of their own lives and communities. That is, we must do these things in order to further my personal agenda of having their lives be lovely in one of the ways my life has been lovely. In other words, you are also completely correct that this is not implicity necessary to having a beautiful and full life. However, I believe that there is no stopping the change of the world. No stopping the "development" of the world. I would love it if the directors of that development were the people it affected rather than the people profiting from those it affects, and for that reason, I would like the people of my small village to be able to read and access the network of information so widely shared in the world in the form of books and internet sites like wikipedia.

The Inexorable March of Technological Advancement

As the economic gap widens, leaving the poor relatively poorer and the rich relatively richer, with a shrinking middle class, and as technology leaps forward at an ever increasing rate, where does that leave people like my Senegalese village friends?

Most of them Literally do not have the means to complete anything beyond an elementary education, and even that has only been available for about a decade. Many of them cannot read or write, and the basic mathematical skill of addition is a struggle. Though nearly every family has one television and at least one cell phone between them, they get two channels on a good night (reception of whatever-waves is sketchy at best), and frequently can’t afford to put credit on their phones (yes, they’re pay-as-you-go). So, while in America we’re discussing whether we should save up for a new flat-screen real-color display television, and if we’ll be able to buy a new iPad when the prices go down just a little bit, here, most people have never touched a computer and don't even own any books other than the Koran.

What, then, are the implications of this lag in technology? As the speed of technological improvement advances, the developing world lags ever further behind in their ability to share in our world of rapid information exchange. What impact does this have on their ability to self-determine their development, or to experience development at all? I can only speculate, and all speculation comes from a firmly grounded culturally instilled belief that knowledge is power and there is no greater human gift than that of new insight. I’m scared of Kindles because I believe the printing press was the greatest invention of all time, and books are a divine gift to humankind. So, please, give a moment’s thought to what it actually means to be illiterate—to be unable to share in the vast amounts of information exchanged through the printed (or typed) word.

...(This is a pause for you to stop reading, clear your mind, and Really think about what that would be like.)...

...(Seriously, take a minute :) )...

What can we do about it? I’m not sure. Part of my mind is screaming “HEY AMERICA! SLOW DOWN!!! Give people a minute to catch up!” But of course, slowing the progress of technology won’t happen, nor is this a reasonable solution. What is?? Promoting literacy, promoting education, promoting the exchange of new ideas (if you’ve never heard of it, check out TED. Google it. Great stuff). How will this impact my work here? Stuff’s-a-cookin’. It’s hard enough to work with the local kids to encourage them to fight for their right to be educated, but to convince the older members of society who have rarely left the village in their lives that the world IS changing, and for Senegal to be a part of that they MUST be proactive in seeking to increase their literacy and education opportunities… See, what they see is that in America and France, everybody has a computer, everybody has more money than them (I know, its not true, but its the media image they receive), and when development forces have come to their village before Peace Corps, it has been to dump some money to build something-or-other (needed stuff, mind you), the get the * out of dodge (dodge is a hot, buggy place, of course), nowhere in that schema has the idea been conveyed that you must BE the change you wish to see in the world. That no one can help you until you help yourself. And if you don’t know how to help yourself, you look into it. You learn about how other people have gone about helping themselves. You SEEK KNOWLEDGE. But where do they have to look?

Mmmm… I fear this is a self-centered view point, and obviously just a baby idea that has not been so well thought through as to be entirely coherent, but I think there’s some serious seed of truth here.

So, thoughts? I plan to talk to other PCV’s about this at our Summit, starting tomorrow, and perhaps organize literacy classes in my village, perhaps even try to organize a literacy campaign in the north with other volunteers culminating in a book distribution funded by YOU GUYS (that’s how Peace Corps money actually works, turns out) through Books For Africa. For more information about that aspect, google Books for Africa or Peace Corps Partnership funds. I'll keep you guys posted.

Sending Love to my waa Amerik, always.

Happy Birthday to me!

In a week, I will have lived in village for five months. As of now, I’ve been in country for seven. Wolof comes more easily now, though I am still far from fluent. I can carry a pan of water on my head at a quicker pace now, without spilling. And the coolest thing to me, right now, is that I’ve seen baby Aida learn to sit-up and now to crawl (walking unaided doesn’t seem far away), and a few days ago little Djibi said his first full, clear sentence to me. I brought candy back for the kids (this is a fun diversion, occasionally), and he said to me, “Rama, may ma tangal” (literally, Rama, offer me candy). I flipped a little, and told everyone. It’s also nice to see everyone putting a little weight back on after slimming down during Ramadan. It was a gradual but noticeable change, and everyone already looks much healthier after a month of eating.

So, two days ago was my birthday. I think a totally of five people wished me a happy birthday, two young students at the high-school in the city, and one friend who I told literally four times, “just say the words ‘happy birthday.’” It’s not that they don’t care about me, it’s just a foreign concept to even know your birthday past a certain (young) age. In fact, a lot of people don’t even know what year they were born, or if they do they aren’t sure how old that makes them. So, despite all that, my good friends Ami Kole and Maguette decided I should have a party. I went along with it, cause hey, why not. After changing the date/time twice, it was set for yesterday at five. Here’s a little story about time in a Senegalese village. At five, I closed my door to take a shower, just after one woman came by to say she had to go to her field, but would come later. At about 5:15 I opened my door and Seynabou was getting ready to help by cooking the shrimp chips I bought (surprisingly a common party food here). I went to buy ice to make kool-aid-like stuff. When I got back, Ami Kole and Maguette were here along with my community counterpart who was cooking the shrimp chips. We made the drinks, they finished the chips, we put them all in my room, and then they all left again—to get ready for the party. People started showing up at about 6:00, and the party began about a half hour later. Maguette and Ami drummed beats on overturned metal bowls while the women took turns dancing. Senegalese dancing, which is like, keeping your core strong and still at a 45 degree angle to the ground while flailing (in time to the complex beat) all four limbs, and getting a good butt-jiggle going on. In the company of friends, I humiliated myself trying to learn. It was a blast! After pretty much everyone had shown up, kids and women only (none of my male friends came, not sure if that’s a cultural thing I’m not clear on…?), and after much Amazing dancing on their parts, I showed them my American dance moves. They loved it! I loved it! Cannot express how much I’ve come to love dancing… Funny that for all those years through middle and high schools (even some into college) I convinced myself that I wasn’t into it, to ignore the fact that I was too shy. Well, ::shrug:: now it’s now, and Man! Mmmm… So, just at sunset, we served the shrimp chips and boissons, under the condition that if you don’t dance (or, okay, drum), you don’t get snacks (my rule, lovingly enforced by my lovely party hostesses). Fun fun fun J

Now it’s down to work. The school has just opened, and I met with the teachers and director this morning. They’re lovely people, and I consider a couple genuine friends, and I think the meeting went well. It gave me an opportunity to teach them the three goals of the Peace Corps (for those of you who don’t know, 1.Send people to teach people to teach their countrymen/women things, 2.Learn about another culture and share what you know with Americans, and 3.Share American culture abroad), and emphasize that giving them money to buy things is not on the list. However, as it is a possibility, and some good things can be done that way, I will (inshalla) be doing some of that. BUT the most important work I think I can do has nothing to do with money. For example, yeah, it would be cool to have a computer room at the school. But in a community where not everyone even finishes elementary school, is it a priority? I’d rather focus on ways to teach people the importance of an education so they can prioritize spending 100 cfa on a pen rather than on four pieces of candy. This is obviously a VAST oversimplification of development, but ya dig? Anyway, I’m really excited to start working with the kids here, particularly with a group of girls to encourage self-confidence and creative problem solving through crafts like crochet and design. So, as always, onward!