How to Grow a Jayfundé!

What's a Jayfundé you ask??  It's the Wolof word for Butt, however in this context the better word would be Booty.  As I've mentioned before, Senegal has not been good to me.  Granted, I have had an AMAZING Peace Corps experience, but the Senegalese diet is responsible for the nearly 20lb weight gain I've experienced over my time here.  Don't be fooled like I was.  Originally I thought, "Huh, I'm going to West Africa, hell ,I'll probably lose weight there!" WRONG! So wrong! In fact,  I wish I would have known this before coming, but the majority of female volunteers serving in West Africa gain weight while the male volunteers lose weight.  The culprit?--- Senegal. The diet here. Carbs. Oh the carbs!
And no matter what I do, I can't seem to lose it---trust me---I've done almost everything to try to lose this weight including "questionable" methods which i don't feel so inclined to share.  The only thing that has worked for me was leaving this country.  When I went on vacation to Spain I lost like 10lbs, just by not being in Senegal.  So you can imagine that I can not wait to get back to America....counting down the days.....
But for those of you who are interested in growing a jayfundé, here's whatcha got to do (And believe me this works! I verified with my Senegalese friends and they confirmed it!):

~Eat Beans. Seriously. I eat the famous bean sandwich almost every morning for breakfast.  They are delicious!

My usual breakfast

Bread and beans: Simple but delicious!

~Eat Peanuts.  Anyway you want: just the nuts or in the form of peanut butter.  Peanuts are a staple here in Senegal, and at least 2-3 times a week my family makes Maffe Gerte, which basically is an oily peanut sauce on top of rice.

This is Maffe Gerte--get some!

~Eat Millet.  I know it's not something you'd usually eat in America, but we eat it a lot here.  Oftentimes for breakfast or dinner, and especially during Ramadan my family eats Mooney, which is a millet based porridge.  Literally it is little balls of millet flour boiled in water until it turns into porridge.  Add sugar, yogurt, and sometimes lime juice! It's delicious, and will definetely help you grow a bigger booty!

Millet Porridge

~Eat Corn.  Usually we eat a corn based "couscous" which is called Leciri.  Basically it's a bunch of corn kernals that have either been pounded by hand or milled by a machine.  My family likes to eat this often with either a peanut, leaf, or oil based sauce.

Before

After

~Eat Oil. Lots and lots of oil.  You can't avoid it here! It's in everything!  The most common is tintilu, or the red palm oil.  You can find it generously poured on top of dishes like these:

Fish boulettes in palm oil sauce on top of rice

The same dish, but this time on corn leciri (couscous)

~Eat Rice. Lots and lots and lots of rice! At least twice a day. That's what we do!

It's what we eat, but only short grain, not long grain

If you follow these easy steps, I guarantee you'll grow a worthy jayfundé, you may even grow other areas of your body too including but not limited to: stomach, legs, arms, etc. 
Soon after you've followed this diet, people will start to tell you (Like my Senegalese family likes to tell me everyday), "You have body now!" or "Wow, Salimatou your ass is so big!" 
Who wouldn't want to be complimented like that?

So a big Thanks goes out to you Senegal, for your eating habits and the new jayfundé you've given to me! Thank you! :)


**And inchallah it disappears the minute I step foot in America! :)

Dance ~ Danse!

So I'm in the final days of my Peace Corps service, and I decided for my final "project" I'd do something a little different.  The girls youth group that I work with here in my village, Kounkané, and I have been meeting twice weekly to prepare for the project.  I've been working with the girls, consistently, teaching them different kinds of dance  (jazz, hiphop, latin styles, etc.) while also giving them a chance to express their creativity. They really seemed to enjoy our meetings! After a couple of months of just dancing around together, the girls expressed interest in sharing what they've learned with the community, so we decided to put on a mini performance for their friends, families, and neighbors.  We started preparation for the Kounkané Dance Performance around the beginning of March.  The girls told me what songs they liked and what they wanted to dance to.  I thought it was a good idea to mix up the type of music, so that it wasn't just American music or just Senegalese music.  There ended up being 3 groups of about 3-4 girls per group.  Each group danced to a music mix for the duration of about 5 minutes, with a mixture of 5 to 6 songs per compilation.  I did the choreography for almost all of the music compilations for each group, but I gave the girls the opportunity to dance freely, doing movements they created, for some of the Senegalese songs that were incorporated in each compilation. {Also, some dance moves for Shakira's Waka Waka, and Jennifer Lopez's, Papi, were borrowed/inspired for our own use during those songs---but the rest of the choreography is my own :)}The girls worked hard, meeting about twice a week to practice and learn.  They learned new types of dance moves and choreography, how to count music, spacing, and spins.  There were some days I made them come to my house and dance in front of a mirror so they could see themselves and the areas where they could improve (they loved that!!!).

The girls during a practice session

Some of my girls rehearsing

Practice! Practice! Practice!

 By the beginning of April, one of the groups was practically ready to dance in front of a crowd, and with the Senegalese Independence day on April 4th approaching, the girls asked if they could perform at the yearly parade.  This year, however, due to budget cuts at the mayor's office there was not an Independence Day parade.  Fortunately, (after riding my bike all over Kounkané) I found out that the local band/orchestra was putting on a show that night, and I asked them if my girls could participate and dance.  They said we could as long as we did it for free, so that night my girls had their first taste of performing.  They danced three songs, and they were a huge hit! For weeks afterwards people continued to approach me and congratulate me and my girls on how well they did (even though there were a few mess-ups, they still did amazing!)  After their first mini-performance, they were even more motivated for the bigger show we were planning to put on at the end of the school year.
So the girls continued with hard work and practice and finally on June 16th, 2012 we had our "Spectacle de Danse" for the community.  It was a free show, which took place in the evening at the Foyer de Jeunesse (where we had our weekly meetings).  I had the girls make invitations and hand them our to their friends and families and I even had skirts made for each of the dancers, so they could have something similar to a costume. (We didn't have any money to put on a huge show and get really nice costumes made.  I had the skirts made for my girls with my own money, and we cut up pieces of old material and sewed them on to the skirts to give them some "flaire"). The local DJ said he would come and play the music for free on his giant speakers, instead of my flimsy little stereo I usually used for practices, and the mayor's office donated 20 chairs to use during our show.  It was nice to see that the community chipped in to help put on a free show for the kids in their village :)

Group 1 during the Dance Performance

Oumy, Siradia, Aichatou: Group 2

Salimatou & Dienabou: Group 3

The performance was great! Each group danced twice, and as far as an audience, we had a pretty good turnout, mostly kids, but it was good that their peers could see how hard they had worked for the show.  I am so proud of my youth group! Although this was a secondary work project, it was by far the most enjoyable projects I've worked on!

Showing off their skills :)

 I feel like my girls learned a lot from this experience, not just new dance moves, but the importance of hard work, trying new things, and believing in themselves.  When we first started, many of the girls saw the choreography and said, "I can't do that. That's too hard." But in the end, I think they realized that yes, they can do anything they put their minds to, and with hard work, practice, and discipline, they were able to do what they never thought possible.


Here is the link to the youtube video I uploaded of group 2.  I want to upload more of the videos but the internet is super slow here.  Check back later for more videos if you're interested :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUOkrbCpuWo&feature=youtu.be

April Travels.....

So I know it's been a long long time since an update....sorry for that....but I've been busy wrapping up.  I officially have a little under 3 months until my return to the USA, and after my COS conference which took place in the middle of April, I've opted to take the plane ticket home to America vs. cash in-lieu of.  Why?? Well, as much as I'd love to travel some more before heading home, financially I'm not in a position to do so, even with the readjustment allowance I'll receive. So I'm now officially coming home on August 11th, 2012!!!
 But what have I been doing since my last post?? Well, last month I spent about two weeks travelling around Senegal/Gambia. A few of my friends and I went to a village called Lompoul to ride camels in the Sahara desert. There's a great campement there where you spend the night in the desert in tents. We chose to ride camels, which is a service they offer, and we spent a lot of time playing in the sand dunes. It was AMAZING!!! I admit, it was a bit touristy, but I'm so glad we did it! If you are planning a trip to Senegal at anytime in the future, do this. Here's the website: http://www.gite-africain.com/gite-senegal/gite-africain-lompoul.php

Pam, Alex, Me, and Julia riding camels

Pretending to be pro camel riders

Freaking out when the camel stood up

Playing in the sand dunes!

After sleeping overnight in the freezing cold desert (seriously. It was so cold!), I spent some time in Thies working out Close of Service logistics and processes.  Then my friend Alex and I decided to use up the last of our vacation time in The Gambia (the country inside of Senegal). We spent about a week there checking out the beautiful beaches, petting crocodiles, eating delicious food, enjoying the best that Banjul has to offer, and gawking at the beauty of the Gambian river in Georgetown.

Petting a crocodile

A fishing beach in Banjul, The Gambia

Elephant trees!!!!

The Gambian River in Georgetown

After our short but amazing vacation in The Gambia, I returned to site. It's always a great feeling returning to my village after being away for a bit.  I love being reunited with my family and friends and sharing details about my trip with them :)
For the last month, since my return to Kounkane, I've been finishing up my Junior Achievement project.  I completed my last one at Ecole 4 in Kounkane, but this time I had 33 students instead of my usual 20. 
I've officially started the exiting process now that I'm in my final three months.  I only have one project left, which will take place on June 30th of this year (check back for a blog post on it!).  So until next posting.....

The Big Scary Future......

What do I want to do with my life??? I feel like that is the most pondered question anyone has ever asked themselves. As my service is coming to a close I've started thinking about the big, scary future, and I'm not gonna lie....I'm stressing out.  So many possibilities....Grad School? Work? or maybe I'll just eat myself into a taco comma?? Not to mention that I am terrified about going back to life in America, I'm going to be so weird!  I am definitely going to miss my abundance of free time and the slower rhythm of life here. I'm going through that bitter-sweet stage again like I did almost 2 years ago preparing for my Peace Corps journey: sad to be leaving friends and family and familiar culture, but at the same time excited for a new adventure and the unfamiliar.  Here I am again,but now preparing to return to my home country and leaving my second home.  By the time I leave, it'll have been 2 years that I've lived in Senegal; it is my home. I have a family here, a group of friends that I visit frequently, and a daily routine at site. I get a little tear-y eyed just thinking about saying good-bye.  But with the remaining time I have left, I plan on enjoying it :)
Now with about four months to go until my departure I have to start thinking about the future. What do I want to do? Where do I want to live? Besides finishing up the last few projects I have left, I plan on devoting my time to trying to get an idea about my future. Our close of service conference is coming up in mid-April, and then I'll have to start the exit-ing process.  Scary.  But with this conference comes a little fun. I'll get to be reunited with all of my stagemates with whom I've shared this Peace Corps journey, and a few of us are planning to travel around a bit afterwards (I'll do a blog update about that once it occurs).
As far as what has occurred in between this blog post and the last......well, I finished my Junior Achievement at école 2, and started another at école 1; therefore, making a grand total of three  completed trainings at my site (2 more to go!).  Also, two rounds of the Senegalese elections occurred. The first taking place on February 26th, where the number of candidates was reduced to two: Abdoulaye Wade and Macky Sall.  The second round occurred about a month later on March 25th, where Macky Sall won the presidential election. My host family was a little upset because their candidate lost, but in the end it was a very peaceful election. 
In March, the half marathon for girls education took place and lots of volunteers and Senegalese nationals participated to raise money for the scholarship project. Also, I assisted in an HIV/STD education project with several volunteers to talk about safe sex and teen pregnancy in a nearby village a few weeks ago, which was extremely successful in my opinion (great work Velingara volunteers!!!).  And last but certainly not least, I've been meeting with my girls youth group twice a week working on an amazing project that will (hopefully) take place at the end of May or beginning of June.  I'm, however, refusing to disclose any information about our "secret" project because I'm so afraid we will jinx all of our efforts up to this point in time.  Once the project is executed, I'll have a full blog update with photos and video :) I'm sooooo excited about this though! It is one of the most rewarding things I've worked on so far, and the girls are the highlight of my week! So keep your eyes open for any of new posts in the next couple of months :)

So what's planned for the next few weeks???:
-Easter holiday in the Jolla neighborhood (where all the catholics live) I'm going to a rare mass service in my village, which is predominately muslim! I'm really excited about it!
-Journey to Lompoul village to ride Camels in the Sahara desert
-Close of Service Conference
-Travel Shenanigans with my partner in crime
-Economic Development Fair in Kolda

I'll update again soon! :) Bisous to all! xoxoxoxo

Life Lately

So I know it's been awhile since my last post.......but I wanted to do a short recap of all that's been going on since my Mali trip:
It's the New Year! Alhumdililah! 2012 is the year I return to Amerik--I seriously can't believe it! It's crazy to think that by the time I return, I wouldn't have seen anyone in my family in 2 years!!! I miss them sooo much! Anyone want to come and visit me (After elections of course)???
My Peace Corps service has just flown by! But with the new year comes new projects, and I really am trying to finish as much as possible before I take off in August. So after a few weeks up north in the Dakar/Thies region in the beginning of January (mostly for work, summits, and drunken shenanigans), I started my first Junior Achievement at one of the local elementary schools in Kounkane. Junior Achievement is a really great program that introduces kids to basic business and economic concepts.  The level I did is very basics and introduces the kids with whom I work how communities function and how people work together.
  I started at Ecole 3, and we did two and a half weeks, meeting twice a week until the five sessions were over.  I taught 20 kids, about 5th or 6th grade level equivalent, about how a community functions. We also talked about types of production, the role of the governement, how to make decisions/weighing the options, and the cycle of money.  It was actually really really fun! My kids were great, attentive, and very involved! At the end of the fifth session I brought soda and cookies for the kids to celebrate what they've learned and achieved :) I just started my second Junior Achievement at Ecole 2 last week, and that should last me until the end of February. I really want to do one at all of the elementary schools in Kounkane (there are 4) and hopefully one in the neighboring village in Thianfara Koba, but we shall see how it works out.  It's been a bit difficult at some of the schools getting teachers or principles on board to help and organize this......inchallah it works out :)
What else have I been up to??? Well, I was "training" for a 10k race that is taking place in Tambacounda on March 4th to raise money for the Michelle Sylvester Scholarship program that keeps girls educated :) But somehow I messed up my right foot, I think it's a tendon problem because it didn't swell, but I can't really put a lot of pressure on it so I think I'm gonna have to forfeit running in the race.  No worries though, you can still donate, and you should, $5, $10, even $15 goes a really long way here for supporting girls with staying in school! Plus there are still A LOT of volunteers who will be running for the girls, and not just a 10k like i was planning.  There is a 5k, 10k, and a half marathon, all taking place in the beginning of hot/dry season in Senegal in probably one of the hottest regions in the country.  Crazy right?  So if you have a spare $5 or $10, please donate so we can keep this program continuing for the brilliant and beautiful girls of Senegal :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia8xgXyXBo4 Watch the Promo Video :)

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=685-CFD Click Donate and write "Marathon for Education" in comment section

So that''s about all I've been up to: work, planning, and trying to finish up my Peace Corps service on a strong note, inchallah :) So I'll try to update my blog more this year, but no guarantees, I'm sort of running out of stuff that I find interesting to blog about :)
A la prochaine......