On jaaraama! Ko "Adraman" innetee mi! (My name is Adraman)

Things continue to get crazier here in Senegal, in every sense of the word. Long story short, I just got back last night from spending my first 3 days at with my "homestay" family, which was the most awkwardly amazing experience I've probably ever had in my entire life. To give you a little bit of perspective, I went to ONE language training class, which lasted for about an hour and a half, in Puula Futta (I discovered I butchered the spelling in my last email), and the NEXT night, I was watching TV with a family of maybe 2-dozen who spoke nothing BUT Puula Futta. Immersion? I think so...

It was easily the most challenging part of our training so far, but also one of the most rewarding; it was a time that further assured me that this is really happening. It was also a good time to practice not being self-conscious, considering I couldn't communicate much of anything at all to my family, which pretty much laughed at me the whole time. But a big part of the Senegalese culture is to make fun of one another, and I never once felt unwelcome or uncomfortable with them poking fun at me, I would have laughed at me, too. My days were spent going to language classes in Puula Fuuta with the 5 other volunteers who are learning the language and stopping back home with my family for lunch (which I ate in my room because it's Ramadan and everyone else is fasting) and then spending the evening awaiting the 9:30pm dinner after our fast-breaking. The thing I'm most proud of is that my Puula Fuuta classes are taught in French, so I have to use my second language to learn my third...what?

My room is a sauna and pretty much resembles a cell of sorts, but it's better than I ever could have expected. And if I ever get discouraged with my new environment, I can just remember that the city I'm living in is called Pout (pronounced "poot")! My family is extremely respectful of my privacy, and are all very helpful with everything and trying to help me learn the language. Another challenge for us Americans living the Senegalese life is getting used to losing a bit of our independence, because people will always be trying to do things for us. It has it's advantages though; if I ever say "no wuli" (I'm hot), my little brother comes over and fans me...it's an even trade, I taught him the exploding fist pound.

There's way to much to report and way too many things I could talk about, and soon hopefully my emails will be able to be more in depth about a few specific events, rather than trying to relay this barrage of experiences within a few paragraphs. Please don't hesitate to respond to my emails and let me know how things are going; I love to hear from you all, and thanks to those of you who've written me already!

Talk to you soon!

Mido aarde,

Steve "Sully" Sullivan

First post in Senegal

Hey everyone!

For those of you who get emails from me, I apologize for my other one being pretty sloppy. I was trying to write it from a pretty rustic internet cafe on a French keyboard, so I felt a little handicapped (and I only paid for a half hour).
Today has been the first day we've been able to escape our training compound and venture out into the city of Thies (pronounced "Chess"). We arrived here on Wednesday morning at about 5:30am in Dakar, and after about a 2 hour bus ride, we were at the "Corps de la Paix" training center. Since then, our days have been filled with interviews to gauge our linguistic and technical experience with the hopes of determining what our best fit site would be. For agriculture volunteers like myself, we were still tested on our French, but will most likely begin learning the indigenous language of our region right away, since we'll have little need for French. However, my French is already improving, and we're even learning some Wolof to get by here in Thies until we get to our homestay sights.
We're going to be guinea pigs, it seems, for a new training method, in which we'll be bouncing back and forth between the training compound (for technical training) and our "homestay" experiences (for language training), which will be based on which language we'll ultimately be speaking at our sites once our 8-week Pre-Service Training is complete. It'll be a complete immersion experience in the hopes that we'll pick up the language even faster than going to classes at the compound.
Needless to say, it's been a pretty out of this world experience with a lot to take in and adjust to, but everyday I get new things to be excited about and feel more comfortable with every new challenge we overcome. Today it was maneuvering through the crazy Thies market (and actually making purchases), while greeting people in their native Wolof to try and seem a little less like tourists. Eating from communal bowls has also been interesting, mainly at lunch, which has it's own set of customs and rules, and of course, the "Turkish style" toilets (we're all gonna have huge quads after this).
I'll be learning to speak Pulafuta, which is namely in the Southeast region of the country, which also happens to be the most mountainous and, likewise, beautiful. Though it'll probably mean some pretty long bike rides for me, being an "Ag." volunteer and all, I think I'll really enjoy to terrain and how it'll likely remind me of NH.
I don't know when I'll have access to Internet again to post, but be assured they'll be much more interesting and less full of info, but here's some pictures to tide you all over!

Much love,

Steve "Sully" Sullivan

P.S. Pics to come at a later time; can't seem to upload them right now.

First post as a Blogger!

Not much to report at the moment besides the fact that I officially have a blog to record my time in Senegal, Africa with the Peace Corps. I'm in the Business Center here at the Holiday Inn in the historic district of Philadelphia, having just completed my first day of staging orientation. So far it's been a bit of a whirlwind tour, but all in all it's been a very smooth and painless process, and the staff here guiding us have been great.

I hope to be able to post messages and pics here as much as possible, depending on how limited my access to the Internet will be, but thanks again to everyone for their continued support.

Talk to you soon!

Much love,