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!