In-Service Training....

En jaraama from Thies!  Yes, I'm still here....I'm almost done with my in-service training.  It's like being in school again.  I have 4 two hour sessions a day: two in the morning and two after lunch.  We have been learning various things.  I've had learning sessions on food transformation (yea!!! definetly a potential project for me), sector collaboration, creating GIEs, teaching business consulting, accounting for the illiterate, and much much more.  My mind is on overload; I've been learning so much!  Tomorrow me and two others in my program have to do a presentation in French over calculating costs.  It should be interesting....But I'm almost done with training--saturday is the last day.  It's been a little hectic, but I really have enjoyed some of the sessions.  I feel like I'm learning quite a bit, and I'm starting to get some ideas of projects I can do at my site. :)
Last weekend we had a field trip to Dakar for the Artisinal Expo!  I had so much fun there and bought way tooo much!  There were various pieces of art made by local artisans in Senegal.  I bought some jewlery and greeting cards!  I couldn't help myself; the artisans created some beautiful things!  There were also various art works including: Basaari masks, hand-crafted wooden chairs, Senegalese style clothes, and and assortment of home-made jams and juice concentrates in local fruits like bissap, tamarind, etc. I saw a lot of wood carved figurines and paintings too!  There was a large selection of beaded, hand-made jewlery like bracelets, earrings, and necklaces also. Check out some of the goods I bought!  It was a fun way to pass a saturday afternoon, and it was amazing to see what some of the local artists create.

 

Some of the bracelets I bought at the expo



Artisan Expo

So what's left on the agenda??  Well, today is technically New Year's Day for the Muslim calendar. I missed the party last night because I'm away from my family.  There's always next year right?  I am done with training on saturday, and then I'll be heading up to Dakar for a week to celebrate Christmas with my Peace Corps family!  Stayed tuned for a more interesting blog--inchallah! Bisous! xxx