Do they know it's Christmas time at all...?

It's been a month now since I became an official resident of the village of Kekeressi, and while that in and of itself is hard to believe, it's even more difficult to comprehend that Christmas is a mere 5 days away. Without being surrounded by the usual holiday cheer associated with this time of year, it's pretty easy to forget just how close the holidays really are. It's not to say that I won't be celebrating, in fact, I'll be decking the halls in style come the 25th, enjoying the site and, most importantly, the non-cous-cous-related foods of the Senegalese capital of Dakar.
A few friends from my stage and I have got ourselves hotel reservations in the city for a few nights, including Christmas Eve and Day, and plan on making the most of our time away from the village, celebrating the holidays in our own way and taking time to remember where we come from, despite being a world away from home. It looks to be a great trip, with a possible stop-over in St. Louis, a beautiful city to the north of the country, for New Year's, before returning to Kedougou around the 3rd of January. I don't know when I'll have another opportunity to get up as far as St. Louis, so it seems worthwhile to visit as many places as possible on this trip, despite the arduous amounts of traveling it will entail, before returing to the "grind" in the vill.
Speaking of, it's been a pretty productive couple of weeks for me in terms of Agricultural work, as well as some progress language and integration. For me, keeping myself occupied with projects is the best way to start feeling settled and a part of the community, so I've been trying to get my feet wet without getting in too far over my head. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but so far I've been able to start a tree-pepiniere (which unfortunately look to be duds at the moment), a vegetable pepiniere (nursery), and two garden plots. I was able to clear out a large section of field behind my family's compound that they said I could use, and felt validated when, after watching me work for a while, my Senegalese father confirmed that I do, in fact, work like a "man". I also had help digging three compost pits under this huge tree (being the dry season, pit composting in a well-shaded area is the best way to go), and by rotating the compost every couple weeks I should hopefully have some good fertilizer to add to my recently-seeded gardens, si Allah jabbi (if God accepts).
In terms of the integration I mentioned, I got to participate in the most-recent Muslim holiday of Tabaski. I went into the town of Salemata with the men in my family to pray, wearing my ever popular Boubou (the white pajamas). The bike ride itself was pretty comical; my male counterpart, Bambe, is actually somewhat of a religious leader in our village, so we were hussling to get to the mosque on time for him when his bike popped a tire. Tis the season to be giving, so I had him sit on my "port de baggage", the place on the back of the bike where you can strap luggage, and biked the rest of the way, huffing and puffing to get the spiritual leader to the mosque on time. We barely made it, and while I dripped sweat all over my prayer mat, I felt good about it. I was then asked to walk around with a group of men from both my village and Salemata, who all seemed to be religious leaders or persons of authority in some fashion, from compound to compound while we watched each family carry out the traditions of Tabaski: sacrificing a goat(s) by slitting it's throat, and collecting the blood in a hole dug in the ground. If you ever have the chance to be a witness to this great Muslim pastime...pass.
Otherwise, it's been a great few weeks, and please continue to keep me posted on how everyone is doing Stateside. I love reading emails from home, even if I don't get to them til theyre a little stale. The following are some pics of my digs in Kekeressi and some of the work I've started as of now, so I'll let them do the rest of the talking.

Thanks again for all the support, and talk to you soon (si Allah jabbi).

-Samba Diallo


My "street"


My family's compound (my hut's on the right)


Inside my hut #1


Inside my hut #2


My backyard, during the "controlled" burning of the tall grasses


My two older brothers and another farmer after they helped me finish our first tree nursery


3 compost pits (right one is full)


My gardens and pepinieres


My bathroom


Hammock I bought for my family

Has it been two weeks?

Hey everyone,

We last left off with me having been sworn in as an official volunteer, and anxiously awaiting my installation into my village and FINALLY being able to settle in a bit. Well, my install was a little over two weeks ago, and insofar as I'm still here, I think it's going really well!

My village is called Kekeressi, and it's a small village outside of the town of Salemata. Supposedly, I'm the most isolated Volunteer in the country of Senegal, but I have another volunteer only a 5k bike ride away, so at least we have each other. It is pretty secluded though, and it was entertaining to see the P.C. car try to make it through the hillside trail to get to my village. We made it, with all my stuff intact, no less (Alhumduillay - thanks be to God).
It's been an interesting couple of weeks, with me attempting to get to know the village and, of course, try to improve my language skills, though it's almost impossible not to improve, unless I were to not ever leave my hut, because I'm now in a situation where I have to hear, speak, and even think in only the language I'm learning, with only a little help from French with people who speak it a little. Needless to say, immersion is the best way to learn a language fast, hands down, and its definitely the most important thing for us to be doing right now, because as they say, if we cant speak the language, we wont be able to do much of anything.
However, I find myself bored after a while of just studying my books and practicing on my family, and like others have been trying to help out around the compound, going and picking cotton, biking in to the city with my father, beginning a tree nursery, basically trying to impress upon them that I want to be there to work and not be a boarder. It seems to have worked out so far, as they have acknowleged that I like to work and work hard, and have been insistent more than once that I need to rest more. Though, part of that is because a lot of the things I actually find as restful, like reading English books, or writing, or drawing, they still consider working, or studying, so they basically think I just work all the time unless my eyes are closed. This would probably explain the fact that they can simply sit and be content with just being in my hut with me, without expecting me to talk to them, even while I read a book, and we're bonding. I've also been fortunate enough to be placed in this new village where just 5 years ago, Madame Wade, the first lady of Senegal, put forth the funding to have an excellent grade school built, where students have class, eat, and are even given clothes. The piece of land for this school is completely enclosed by a cement wall, with the actual buildings only taking up about half of the space, and the rest just being open field. Ideal for agriculture projects...? I think so.
The director of the School, Demba, actually agreed to be my Pulaar tutor, and we've been meeting 3 times a week for an hour at a time, and I basically ask questions in French about the language, or ask him to speak about a certain topic in Pulaar and I try to write/understand as much as possible of what he says. I recently started showing him pics from America and asking him to describe what he sees in Pulaar, which has been fun and entertaining. He's a great guy and I know will be a great resource for my work over the next couple years, and he's been very excited about my project ideas (a school garden for veggies, large tree nurseries, educational murals), and has even said that a lot of what I want to do mirrors the aspirations that Mme Wade herself has had for the school which haven't been realized yet. So who knows, maybe I'll be working with Senegal's first lady in the years to come.
I biked in to the P.C. Regional House of Kedougou a couple days ago for Thanksgiving, an 85km, 7.5 hour bike ride that I dont hope to repeat anytime soon, but was glad to have done it for the first time and gotten it out of the way. It was definitely a beautiful ride though, despite my getting pretty exhausted and having some kids in one tiny village accidentally yank the break I had strapped to my bike for food onto the ground. It was pretty funny to try and yell at them in Pulaar, to the best of my ability, but it was pretty much along the lines of "Not good! Not good! You stole my bread!" Then I was at a lost; a new language becomes even harder to remember when youre pissed.
So we had our feast last night, and it was nothing short of glorious. We had all of the volunteers from the Kedougou region here, as well as a lot of volunteers from the nearby region of Tamba who came in, including all five of the new Tamba volunteers whom I swore in with, so its been great to see them again. We did in fact have a turkey, our PCV leader, Matt, who is a 3rd year volunteer recently appointed as the coordinator for all of the volunteers in our region, purchased a turkey from the Tamba region about a month ago, and he had since been living and being fattened up at the regional house. Yesterday, however, he gave his life to make sure we had ourselves a traditional American Thanksgiving. His name was Tasty, and needless to say, he lived up to his name in the end. The food was amazing, but in the end, it was the company that really made the night, and had everything been horribly burnt, I dont we would have had less of a good time. I'll be here at least for a couple more days, because tomorrow we have a regional meeting with the Country Director to talk about the regional goals that have been drafted as of late, and our strategic plan to hopefully achieve them. Up til now, the newbies haven't had a role in said plan, but after tomorrow they'll be more clearly defined, and I'm definitely excited to have some clear objectives to work towards...what can I say, I'm still very much an American, even after a whole 2.5 months. Hopefully I'll be back here soon to update you all again (I have to bike to the nearby town of Salemata for pretty much everything, but believe it or not, they dont have Internet). Please dont feel obligated b/c it's insanely expensive, but should you want to send me anything...I put a list up on my blog in an earlier post and my address is there as well. Thanks! (Shameless? I think so).

Talk to you again soon, and thanks again for all the love and support, as usual!

-Steve "Samba" Sullivan

Now it's official

I guess I should start off by announcing that I am officially no longer a trainee, but a tride and true Volunteer with the United States Peace Corps. Our "swearing in" ceremony was this past Friday (yesterday), and it certainly was an honored event. It was held at the U.S. Embassador's residence, in an beautiful area of Dakar peppered with palatial houses, and Madame Embassador's was certainly no exception. She was so gracious as to allow us to hold the ceremony in her home, including the reception afterwards, and the event had some pretty notable invitees, including the Secretary General of the Republic of Senegal.
And yes, all 40 of us trainees who arrived in Senegal on September 11th were sworn in together. It's apparently quite rare to have a training group to be sworn in in it's entirety, having not one person terminate early. I'm also honored to be a part of this group because not only are we all still HERE, EVERYONE reached the language level required in order to swear in and essentially pass training (they call it Intermediate Low...I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I got Intermediate High). Needless to say, our country director has some pretty high expectations of us.
It was also cool but a little nerve-racking of an event for me because I actually was allowed to give a speech at the swearing in, in front of the Embassador and the all the news cameras...yikes. It wasn't so much a speech as a way for the Peace Corps to show what we had been learning with regards to local languages, and for us to have an opportunity to formally thank everyone in those native languages. They had three people do speeches in three of the major languages spoken here: Mandinka, Pulaar, and Wolof; I was the Pulaar one. I actually got some compliments on it afterwards, at least in terms of my pronunciation, and probably not so much for the content (Hi, my name is....I'm going to...thanks to the teachers...bye). It was a little more involved than that...but not much more.
What was also particularly cool about yesterday was that we were allowed to go to what is commonly referred to as the "American Club" in Dakar, which is basically just a nice resort with a pool and a bar and a volleyball court which allows free-access to Peace Corps Volunteers....and given that we had JUST been sworn in...we didn't waste much time. I felt very European because I forgot my swimsuit and said screw it and just swam in my boxers (sorry Mom), which were still bigger than a lot of the bathing suits there.
After hanging out there for a while, we had to get back to Thies to the center, because we had all been allowed to invite one member of our homestay families, who have done so much for us over the past 8 weeks, for a party with some great food (eaten the American way at tables with plates and not around the communal bowls we've become accustomed to) and an opportunity to honor our family members. My "Dad" came, which I was happy about, and even got up to talk about his experience with me in front of the whole crowd when they asked for volunteers to share them. I also gave him a couple gifts to take home to the family:photos I had developed in Thies of them, and a couple drawings I had done that were of family members.
Then came time to spend some quality time with, who else, each other. It's definitely a testament to not only this new training module that we have been guinea pigs for, but also to the caliber of the relationships we've formed with one another since coming here. We've all been a great support network for one another, especially when we want to vent about what we're going through and we can't do it with family for fear of scaring them or current Volunteers who have already been there, done that, moved on, got the t-shirt. We also have a lot of FUN whenever we're all here, which has also been a big motivation for us to stick together.
So, tomorrow at 6am, I begin the journey to Kedougou. We'll be making the trip over two days, staying one night in the Tamba regional house, and then we begin getting "installed" on Tuesday. Mine is on Thursday with Chris, the country director, so I'll have a couple days at the Regional house to hang out, and probably get me another warthog sandwich...those things were damn good. It promises to be a pretty stressful next week, but I feel ready, especially to finally have a place to begin to call home, where we've been hardpressed to feel settled anywhere during training with going back and forth so much.
Hopefully I'll be able to be back in touch soon after installing when I make it back to Kedougou, but thanks again to everyone for all the love and support. I made it (though you didn't have any doubts...right?)...

Naade go,

Samba Diallo
...formerly Adraman Barry
...always Steve Sullivan

Pics: Watch out Africa, I'm a Volunteer; the majority of our group during Swear-In; the Embassador's "backyard"; our Pout training group; me and my Senegalese "Dad" during training.

A new name and soon to be a new place

On jaaraama!

　Ｊｕｓｔ 　ａ　ｑｕｉｃｋ　ｎｏｔｅ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｃｏｍｍｕｎｉｃａｔｉｏｎ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　Ｉ　ｕｐｄａｔｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｏｎ　ｍｙ　ｌｉｆｅ　ａｎｄ　 ｔｉｍｅｓ　ｉｎ　Ｓｅｎｅｇａｌ：　Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ａｌｌ　ｍｙ　ｃｏｎｔａｃｔ　ｉｎｆｏ　ｏｎ　ｍｙ　ｂｌｏｇ，　ｉｎｃｌｕｄｉｎｇ　ｍｙ　 ｃｅｌｌ　ｎｕｍｂｅｒ，　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ａｓ　ｆｏｌｌｏｗｓ　（ａｇａｉｎ）：

　　　ＰＣＶ　Ｓｔｅｖｅ　Ｓｕｌｌｉｖａｎ
　　　Ｂ．Ｐ．　３７
　　　Ｋｅｄｏｕｇｏｕ，　Ｓｅｎｅｇａｌ
　　　Ｗｅｓｔ　Ａｆｒｉｃａ
　　　Ｃｅｌｌ：　２２１　（ｃｏｕｎｔｒｙ　ｃｏｄｅ）　７７　１８７　８７６０

　Ａｐｐａｒｅｎｔｌｙ 　ｃａｌｌｉｎｇ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｅ　Ｓｔａｔｅｓ　ａｌｓｏ　ｒｅｑｕｉｒｅｓ　ｄｉａｌｉｎｇ　０１１　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｏｕｎｔｒｙ　 ｃｏｄｅ，　ｓｏ　ｉｆ　ｙｏｕ　ｄｏ　ａｔｔｅｍｐｔ　ｔｏ　ｃａｌｌ　ｍｅ　ａｎｄ　ｉｔ　ｄｏｅｓｎ’ｔ　ｗｏｒｋ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｔｈｅ　 ２２１，　ｔｒｙ　ｉｎｓｅｒｔｉｎｇ　ｔｈｅ　０１１　ｆｉｒｓｔ．

　I wanted to take this opportunity to send a quick update before we head back to our homestay families for the next week, and for the (what?!) last time! It's hard to believe that we've come to the beginning of our 7th week of training here in Senegal, and I'm proud to announce that we are still 40 for 40 in our "stage", without having had ANYONE "early-terminate" (i.e. quit). It's probably not the first time it's ever happened, but it does seem to be a rarity and we feel good about being able to have our entire group who met in Philadelphia a lifetime ago swear-in together on Nov. 7th.
Regarding training since my last update (which I have finally been able to add pictures to my last post about the waterfall, so check them out when you get a chance), things have been going pretty smoothly, with the usual back-and-forth between our homestays in Pout and the training center in Thies. We had a four-day stay in Pout with the usual language training and working on our gardens/field crops, then came back to Thies for a few more sessions and shots, and then the fun began.
This past week a very important event took place at the training center: our "Counterpart Workshop". For every volunteer site, there are two "counterparts", a male and a female typically, who are chosen from the community to act as a type of liason between the volunteer and the rest of the village. While we certainly don't have to work solely with these individuals during our service, and likely we'll end up working with others more often, it's beneficial to already have connections on the day we install in the village so we have people we kind of know to show us around, introduce us to important people, etc.
This workshop was a great experience for the trainees and counterparts alike (many of whom have attended before for past volunteers in their villages) because it gives the counterparts a glimpse into what our lives have been like over the last 6 weeks by explaining the kinds of trainings we have been getting and what they are　ｍａｄｅ 　ｔｏ　ｐｒｅｐａｒｅ　ｕｓ　ｆｏｒ．　（Ｉ　ａｐｏｌｏｇｉｚｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｆｏｎｔ　ｂｕｔ　Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｗｈａｔ　ｊｕｓｔ 　ｈａｐｐｅｎｅｄ　ａｎｄ　Ｉ　ｃａｎ’ｔ　ｆｉｘ　ｉｔ．）　Ｔｈｅ　ｂｅｓｔ　ｓｅｓｓｉｏｎ　ｗａｓ　ｏｎｅ　ｉｎ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｔｈｅｙ　 ｈａｄ　ａ　ｇｉｒｌ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｏｕｒ　Ａｇｒｉｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ　ｇｒｏｕｐ　（ｔｈｅｒｅ　ａｒｅ　９　ｏｆ　ｕｓ；　ｅａｃｈ　ｓｅｓｓｉｏｎ　 ｗａｓ　ｄｉｖｉｄｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｂｙ　ｗｈａｔ　”ｓｅｃｔｏｒ”　ｙｏｕ’ｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｓｅｒｖｉｎｇ　ｉｎ）　ｔｅａｃｈ　ａ　ｌｅｓｓｏｎ　ｉｎ　 Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ，　ａ　ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｓｈｅ　ｒａｎｄｏｍｌｙ　ｋｎｏｗｓ　ｈｏｗ　ｔｏ　ｓｐｅａｋ．　　Ａ　ｓｍａｌｌ　 ｇｒｏｕｐ　ｏｆ　ｃｏｕｎｔｅｒｐａｒｔｓ　ｗａｓ　ｌｅｄ　ｉｎ　ａ　ｂａｓｉｃ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｌｅｓｓｏｎ　ｔｏ　ｓｈｏｗ　ｔｈｅｍ　 ｈｏｗ　ｈａｒｄ　ｉｔ　ｈａｓ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｔｏ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｌｅａｒｎ　ａｎ　ｅｎｔｉｒｅｌｙ　ｎｅｗ　ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ　ｉｎ　ｓｕｃｈ　ａ 　ｓｈｏｒｔ　ａｍｏｕｎｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｉｍｅ．　　Ｔｈｅｙ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｉｍｐｒｅｓｓｅｄ　ｂｙ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｓｅｓｓｉｏｎ，　ｓａｙｉｎｇ 　ｔｈａｔ　ａ　ｌｏｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅｍ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｔａｋｅ　ｕｐｗａｒｄｓ　ｏｆ　５　ｙｅａｒｓ　ｔｏ　ｌｅａｒｎ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｅｎｔｉｒｅｌｙ 　ｎｅｗ　ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ，　ｗｈｅｎ　ｗｅ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｒｅａｃｈ　ｔｈｅ　”Ｉｎｔｅｒｍｅｄｉａｔｅ　Ｌｏｗ”　ｌｅｖｅｌ　ｂｙ　ｔｈｅ 　ｅｎｄ　ｏｆ　８　ｗｅｅｋｓ　（ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ，　２３　ｏｆ　ｕｓ　ａｌｒｅａｄｙ　ｈａｖｅ，　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｓｅｅｍｓ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　 ｃｏｎｖｉｎｃｉｎｇ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒａｉｎｉｎｇ　ｓｔａｆｆ　ｔｈａｔ　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｉｓ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｎｅｗ　 ｔｒａｉｎｉｎｇ　ｍｏｄｅｌ　ｉｎ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｗｅ　ａｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　”ｇｕｉｎｅａ　ｐｉｇｇｉｅｓ．”
　　Ａｎｙｗａｙ，　ｔｈｅ　 ｂｅｓｔ　ｐａｒｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｗｏｒｋｓｈｏｐ　ｈａｄ　ｔｏ　ｈａｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｆａｃｔ　ｔｈａｔ　ＢＯＴＨ　ｏｆ　ｍｉｎｅ　 ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ　ｃａｍｅ　ｆｒｏｍ　Ｋｅｋｅｒｅｓｓｙ！　　Ｉｔ　ｗａｓｎ’ｔ　ｌｏｏｋｉｎｇ　ｔｏｏ　ｇｏｏｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｄａｙ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ 　ａｎｄ　ｃｕｒｒｅｎｔ　ｖｏｌｕｎｔｅｅｒｓ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｅ　ｒｅｇｉｏｎ　ｏｆ　Ｋｅｄｏｕｇｏｕ　ｈａｄ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｄｏｕｂｔｓ　 ｂｅｃａｕｓｅ　ｏｆ　ｈｏｗ　ｌｏｎｇ　ａ　ｊｏｕｒｎｅｙ　ｉｔ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｂｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅｍ，　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｆａｃｔ　ｔｈａｔ　 ｔｈｅｙ　ｈａｄ　ｎｅｖｅｒ　ｐｉｃｋｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒａｖｅｌ　ｍｏｎｅｙ　ｔｈａｔ　ｗａｓ　ｂｅｉｎｇ　ｐｒｏｖｉｄｅｄ　ｆｏｒ　 ｔｈｅｍ．　　Ｂｕｔ，　ｓｕｒｅ　ｅｎｏｕｇｈ，　ｂｒｉｇｈｔ　ａｎｄ　ｅａｒｌｙ　ｏｎ　Ｄａｙ　１，　Ｉ　ｍｅｔ　ｂｏｔｈ　ｍｙ　ｍａｌｅ　 ａｎｄ　ｆｅｍａｌｅ　ｃｏｕｎｔｅｒｐａｒｔ　（ｗｈｏ　ｈａｄ　ｂｅｇｕｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒｉｐ　ｔｗｏ　ｄａｙｓ　ｅａｒｌｉｅｒ），　ｗｈｏ　ａｓ 　ｉｔ　ｔｕｒｎｓ　ｏｕｔ　ｗｉｌｌ　ａｌｓｏ　ｂｅ　ｍｙ　”ｍｏｍ”　ａｎｄ　”ｄａｄ”　（Ｉ’ｍ　ｐｒｅｔｔｙ　ｓｕｒｅ）．　　
　　Ｔｈｅｙ 　ａｌｓｏ　ｅｎｄｏｗｅｄ　ｍｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａ（ｎｏｔｈｅｒ）　ｎｅｗ　ｎａｍｅ：　Ｓａｍｂａ　Ｄｉａｌｌｏ，　ｎａｍｅｄ　ａｆｔｅｒ　ｔｈｅ　 ｃｈｉｅｆ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｖｉｌｌａｇｅ．　　Ｎｏｔ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｌｉｋｅ　”Ａｄｒａｍａｎ”　ｂｕｔ　Ｓａｍｂａ　ｈａｓ　ａ 　ｃｅｒｔａｉｎ　ｒｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｉｔ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｂｅｔｔｅｒ．
　　Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｓｏ　ｅｎｃｏｕｒａｇｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　 ｓｅｅ　ｈｏｗ　ｍｏｔｉｖａｔｅｄ　ｍｙ　ｃｏｕｎｔｅｒｐａｒｔｓ　ａｒｅ　ｂｙ　ｓｅｅｉｎｇ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｄｅｄｉｃａｔｉｏｎ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　 ｈｅｒｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔ　ｗｏｒｋｓｈｏｐ，　ｅｓｐｅｃｉａｌｌｙ　ｓｉｎｃｅ　Ｉ’ｍ　ｇｏｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ａ　ｎｅｗ 　ｓｉｔｅ，　ｔｈａｔ　ｈａｄ　ｂｅｅｎ　ａ　ｃｏｎｃｅｒｎ　ｏｆ　ｍｉｎｅ．　　Ｂｕｔ　ｎｏｗ，　ａｎｄ　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　Ｉ　ｓｐｅａｋ　 ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｌｏｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒａｉｎｅｅｓ，　Ｉ’ｍ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｖｅｒｙ　ａｎｘｉｏｕｓ　ｔｏ　ｓｗｅａｒ－ｉｎ　ａｎｄ　 ｓｅｔｔｌｅ－ｉｎ　ｔｏ　ｍｙ　ｎｅｗ　ｓｉｔｅ　ＡＳＡＰ．
　　Ｔｏｄａｙ　ｂｅｇｉｎｓ　ｏｕｒ　ｌａｓｔ　ｈｏｍｅｓｔａｙ　 ｐｅｒｉｏｄ，　ａ　ｓｔａｙ　ｏｆ　８　ｄａｙｓ，　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｎ　ｗｅ　ｗｏｎ’ｔ　ｓｅｅ　ｏｕｒ　ｈｏｍｅｓｔａｙ　ｆａｍｉｌｉｅｓ　 ａｇａｉｎ　ｕｎｔｉｌ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｗｅａｒ－ｉｎ　ｉｎ　Ｄａｋａｒ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　７ｔｈ，　ｉｆ　ｔｈｅｙ　ｃａｎ　ｍａｋｅ　ｉｔ．　　 Ｈｏｐｅｆｕｌｌｙ　Ｉ　ｃａｎ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｂａｃｋ　ｔｏ　ｖｉｓｉｔ　ｔｈｅｍ　ｓｏｍｅｔｉｍｅ，　ｗｈｅｎ　Ｉ　ｃａｎ　ｃｏｍｍｕｎｉｃａｔｅ 　ｍｏｒｅ　ｔｈｉｎｇｓ　ｔｈａｎ　”Ｙｅｓ，　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｈｏｔ”，　”Ｉ’ｍ　ｆｕｌｌ”，　”Ｉ’ｍ　ｇｏｉｎｇ”，　ａｎｄ　”Ｗｈａｔ　 ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｓ？”．
　　
En Ontuma,

Adraman Barry
Samba Diallo
Steve "Sully" Sullivan

Now a proud member of the "Gou-crew"!

On jaaraama!

I know it hasn't been very long since my last email, but I've been fortunate enough to get to the Internet twice in the past several days, and a lot of amazing stuff has happened that I wanted to report.
Probably the most exciting thing of all is that I just finished my trip to Kedougou, the region of Africa which I will ultimately be living in, where I got to shadow a current volunteer in the region and basically meet a lot of the people I'll be working with for the next two years; plus have one hell of an adventure! Needless to say, despite taking about 12 hours to get their from the training center, Kedougou is one of the most beautiful areas in all of Senegal, and I can now report that it's not just all hype; there's rolling hills, mountains, it's GREEN, and on the way there we needed to brake for monkeys about a dozen times.
It was awesome to actually see the Peace Corps regional house, which is the most rustic in the country being more village-style than house-style, and to finally have a feel for what I'm in for. We've also begun to develop some regional pride among the other volunteers as member of the "Gou-crew", arguably the most rugged and hard-working group of volunteers. It also doesnt hurt that the Country Director is our senior staff advisor and will be working closely with us to meet our goals as a region. It's nice to know that we have so much support amongst each other as volunteers since Kedougou is one of the most collaborative regions, which kind of debunks the myth of living along for 2 years talking only to villagers (though there will be plenty of that). I did get a bit of advice from the CD though to make sure I don't get "too skinny", because I'll be biking a ton and be in really good shape, but getting too thin can lead to illness, and I'm the most isolated site in-country, pretty much. I'm wicked excited!
I mentioned an adventure, and that is in fact what we got, even by current volunteer terms. One day, we went in a group of shadowers and shadowees to the biggest waterfall in the country, which required a 10k bike through the bush! It's so secret and secluded we were the only people there, we swam in and around the falls, hiked to the top, and camped out overnight! I have some amazing pictures which will tell the story of our trip much better once I have an opportunity to upload them.
I'm pretty short on time, so I can't get into detail about how incredible and challenging the last week has been, but hopefully I've painted a decent picture. If not, don't worry, I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again sometime soon.

One more thing; I was able to get my mailing address for the regional house, which will be where to send anything you might want to mail me for the rest of my stay in Senegal. I only have four more weeks of training, and it's not guaranteed that anything mailed in the near future would make it to me in time before swearing in and moving to Kedougou.

My mailing address in Kedougou:

PCV Steve Sullivan
B.P. 37
Kedougou, Senegal
West Africa

There's just one P.O. Box for all the Kedougou volunteers, and someone usually just stops by and grabs the mail for everyone periodically.

Also, many people have graciously offered to send me things, so here is a mini-"Wish List", based on some recommendations from current Volunteers about what's good to have:

Vitamin Supplements, esp. Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Electrolytes, Pro-Biotics
Cereals
Protein, i.e. peanut butter, protein bars, etc.
Granola Bars
Drink mixes, i.e. Gatorade, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, etc. (the individual packets work best)
Batteries (AA and AAA)
Candy!
Other "American" type snacks

Of course, all these things are mainly "nice to haves", or things to supplement my diet since I won't be getting everything I need in the village, most likely.

Thanks again to everyone for all your love and support!

Naade Goo (another day),

Steve "Adraman" Sullivan

Pics: Handstand pic on watertower in Thiokoy, the falls themselves, roasting "Spam" over an open fire, the guy who had to canoe our bikes across the river, and the picture of me in front of the falls that I couldn't get rotated, so just cock your head to the side.

P.S. "Adraman" is subject to change based on what my ultimate host-family decides to name me.

No wa'ii? (What's up?)

I'VE CONVERTED TO ISLAM!!

Just kidding, Mom. This picture is actually from yesterday which was the culmination of Ramadan, a festival called Korite, where after going to an outdoor service everyone spends the day, well, eating, where they couldn't before, and going around to the houses of friends and family asking for "forgiveness" - it's all a very cleansing thing, Ramadan.
In any case, it was also the culmination of our longest homestay experience to boot, 10 days, and I'm both proud and a little impressed to say that upon our return to the training center today, all 40 of our original "stage" are still present and accounted for. It really was a great 10 days, though not without it's challenges...as one of my fellow trainees commented, I'm already a pretty seasoned Peace Corps volunteer after only a few weeks, and I fought the urge to tell her that, no, my last name just happens to be Sullivan; I'd be more worried if everything had gone completely without incident.
My return to the homestay started out great, and I continued my record of being in Senegal upwards of three weeks without having any digestive issues. However, Friday night, my bean sandwich I had tried for the first time that afternoon for the "fast-breaking"fought back, and needless to say I was glad I had purchased some buckets a few days prior. My Senegalese parents came to check on me, and I attempted to sleep it off for what was left of the night; however, I wouldn't sleep for very long before a passing monsoon would reveal that my roof contained about 6 or 7 leaks from which there was no escape, and at 7am it became a mad dash to pack everything back up and find a dry spot for it until the rain passed. This is where I will give Peace Corps its due credit, because after I decided to call and let someone know what was going on in my room, it was within the hour that the homestay coordinators were at my door, apologizing profusely.
Unfortunately, it was their decision that I should move out until repairs could be made, and given the Senegalese sense of hospitality, my family must have felt terribly that they had failed me in some way. However, they still remain my family, as I was moved to another house in Pout where one of our trainers is staying, a mansion really, that had an extra room but no Pula Futa speakers, so I live in once house and then go to visit my family for meals and to practice language. Despite this inconvenience, it is more than made up for by the fact that my new house has Western-style toilets (meaning I can sit to poop).
The last few days, however, did pass without incident and were a lot of fun, especially getting to be the Toubab (foreigner) being paraded around by my family in his native Senegalese garb, and even getting to participate in the prayers in the AM. But, now I have an ear infection, which I haven't had since I was approximately 6. Peace Corps is again taking good care of me, and the same afternoon after I reported it, I have drugs on the way.
Today was also monumental in the Peace Corps trainee universe, because we were presented with our sites that we'll be spending the next two years working in! Despite how my description of my site might sound, I really am excited. First off, it's in the Kedougou region of the country, the South-East, which is the Country Director's favorite region and one where he has high expectations for his volunteers (but being the CD's favorites doesn't hurt). Second, I am in a village surrounded by mountains, which houses approximately 200 people, about half the size of my graduating class from high school. It's easily the most isolated site of nearly ALL the sites presented today, but I think I'm up for the challenge and I was honored to get such a distinct assignment...no one's been sent there for over 12 years!
We leave tomorrow for our visits with current Peace Corps volunteers in our regions for a week-long "shadowing" experience, which I'm very excited for since we'll be going to the Kedougou region and I'll be able to see some of what I'm in for.
Thanks to everyone who's been sending me their well-wishes and telling me about how things are going back in the States; I love hearing from you, so keep them coming. If you really are interested in sending me a package (which I got today - THANKS MOM!), I'll post a list of things that would be useful for me to have at site.

Talk to you again soon!

En ontuma,

Steve "Adraman Barry" Sullivan

Pics: my "classroom", and some of my siblings

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,