Where's MY bed net?!?

With only a couple more days left of Ramadan and about two months into the rainy season, I’m finding myself finally ready to write another post. There are quite a few updates I've been putting off, but it’s only because I've been so busy and productive in village…ok so maybe that’s only half true.

UPDATE 1: My mid-service crisis is transitioning into a sort of “get your life together” panic. Talking to other volunteers who were in the same training group as me, I feel as if we’re all starting to think about what’s going to happen in eight months when our service is over. It makes me feel better knowing that we’re all in this similar state of mind and that I still have a little time until I need to worry about these things.

Digging the well at the middle school.

UPDATE 2: My well project is well underway. And despite previous worries about not being able to dig this well during the rainy season, my well digger has proven me wrong (thankfully)!!

UPDATE 3: I've booked my ticket home for Thanksgiving! I’ll be home for three weeks and have already started a list of places I want to eat at. I’m also excited to drive a car, go to a movie in a theater, sleep on my memory foam mattress, and blow dry my hair…just to name a few things.

UPDATE 4: Ramadan in village has been quite pleasant. Maybe it’s because I only fasted for one day, although my intentions were for five. My host mom refused that I fast and insisted that she cook lunch for me. Of course I couldn't disobey her, so now I’m actually eating more than I normally do because on top of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I also break the fast with my family at sun down. It was endearing to see how much my host mom cared to see that I was comfortable, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever eat enough to please her. I swear I could eat a meal made for four and she would still tell me I didn't eat anything.

But the main reason I wanted to write this blog was to talk about the universal coverage campaign of bed nets that I recently helped with. This campaign is put on by Senegal’s Ministry of Health, and plans to distribute bed nets over all of Senegal, region by region. The region that I live in, Kedougou, has the highest rates of malaria each year, and for this reason was the first region to get nets. Just to paint a picture, in my village of about 1,300, there have been about an average of 5-7 cases of malaria per day just in the past week. And that’s just accounting for the people who are actually going to the health hut to be treated. The other day I literally had to walk my neighbor to the health hut because she refused to get help. Malaria here though is just something they've all come to expect and learned how to deal with. For those who don’t know too much about the disease, it is only spread by one type of mosquito that is active at night. This is one of the reasons that sleeping under a bed net can be a huge factor in eliminating this disease. Of course it’s going to take more than just sleeping under a bed net and it’s much easier said than done.  I’m not sure how many of you have tried sleeping in a hot room, under a mosquito net that even further restricts air circulation, but sleeping outside in the open air is much more comfortable. You also have to take into consideration that people stay up way past when the sun goes down and aren't going to hang out all night sitting under nets. That being said, bed nets are still important and if used properly and regularly can help to prevent the spread of malaria.

So my village was the distribution site for three villages, mine and two neighboring ones. I attended a two-day training with my work counterpart, who is the community health worker, and we were instructed on how the distribution would take place and all the logistics involved. A few days before the actual distribution, ten HUGE bags arrived carrying over 1,500 nets, and the task of labeling each and every net was set before us. It took us two and a half days to finish labeling and organizing the nets by village and family compound. By the end of the third day I never wanted to touch another bed net again, and my face was burning form the insecticide that covered each net. But nonetheless, I felt accomplished and ready to hand those suckers out. 

Just a fraction of what we distributed, with nets labeled with name, date, and village.

So the day of the distribution came and I was excited to finally give the nets away. I had been telling my family for weeks that mosquito nets were coming and I was anxious for them to see all the hard work I had put into this campaign. What I wasn't expecting though was the ungratefulness, for lack of better words, that I felt from people in my community. Some people were upset that they were receiving fewer nets than others, even though my counterpart had done a census in the village. He and another community worker had gone around the village to count every sleeping space available and mosquito net available to assess how many nets each family actually needed. The thing I found was that everyone just wanted a new net, even though they already had perfectly working nets at home. And when I came home from the long day of distributing nets, I was greeted by an astounding, “We didn't get enough nets!” It was indeed discouraging and upsetting. That night I talked to a neighboring volunteer and she told me that she saw similar behavior in her village too. Her counterpart explained it simply by saying that there aren't any problems when people have to pay for things; it’s when things are handed out for free when problems arise. This statement resonated with me for a long time and actually made me feel a lot better. And among all of the hustle and bustle of the distribution I had forgotten the meaning behind the distribution, and it wasn't until one night sitting out with my family. My brother was tired and had been laying outside when all of sudden he jumped up and asked where the new mosquito net was. In that moment I realized that people were appreciative of their new nets, even if they didn’t outright say it. So this one goes out to my little bro in village…thanks Amdiatou. 

My Mid-Service Meltdown

Written May 3, 2013 (Yes I understand I’m a little behind)

As I was heading back to village yesterday, my friend asked me if I thought my vacation helped or hindered my mid-service crises. The “mid-service crises” is a term volunteers coined to explain the feeling we get a year into our service.  The feeling where the cup is no longer half full, but half empty. Even though we've completed a year of our Peace Corps service, we still have an entire year to go and we know what’s coming. We know how muddy the rainy season gets, how “fun” fasting during Ramadan is, and how many campfires we have to sit through during the cold season. And I don’t think it helps that our mid-service crises just so happens to fall during hot season. So when my friend asked me this question it got me thinking. Before leaving Senegal for my month long European extravaganza, I hadn't left Senegal for a whole year. I had gotten accustomed to the food, climate, and way of Senegalese life pretty well, so it was surprising how quickly the developed world became “normal” to me again. The novelty of constantly having hot running water and access to Starbucks quickly wore off and I was soon in full vacation mode. I ate tapas on the streets of Barcelona, walked the beaches of Valencia, toured the beer halls of Munich, saw the red lights of Amsterdam, Topshopped in London, danced the night away in Paris, and even saw the one and only Beyonce in concert, something I never thought I’d do during my Peace Corps service. So how has re-entry been for me? Difficult would be an appropriate word, especially coming back from such a big trip. I tried to ease my way back into Senegal by scheduling my mid-service doctor and dentist appointments upon my arrival so I could spend a few extra days in Dakar, the “big city”. But I knew what was waiting for me back in my region of Kedougou, and that was the infamous hot season I had been dreading.

Photos courtesy of Lindsey B. and Allie R. taken in Barcelona, London, and Munich (L to R).

And so the day came for me to go back to village, and a hundred things ran through my mind. Would my family be excited to see me? Were they upset I had been gone for so long? Had something big happened in my village? Would I still be able to carry on a conversation in my local language? Had mice taken over my hut?!? I soon realized that my anxiety was, as always, over exaggerated and things for the most part seemed to be the same.  That being said, it still didn't make the heat any more tolerable. I left for vacation right before hot season hit as to avoid much of the season as I could. And if you've never experienced hot season in Senegal, I don’t recommend it. The last time I checked it was 108 degrees in the shade, and sure, in a place with electricity it isn't that bad. But in village the heat is everywhere, all the time. It’s like you can’t escape it. Occasionally there will be a hot breeze to cool off your sweat drenched body and there are a few hours at night when you’re not constantly sweating, but only if you’re lying outside. Besides those few glorious moments you need to be sure you’re drinking enough water, which is also warm seeing as the shade can only cool it down so much. I could go on and on about how wonderful this time of year is, but I’ll spare you the drama because I’m sweating too much just writing this all down.

Moments like this remind me of why I came to Senegal. This was taken just outside of my family's compound.

After finishing that last paragraph I took a two week break from finishing this blog because I felt like it was coming from a pretty negative place. Angry, hot, cranky Chip had taken over and was ranting. Since then the rains have slowly started and dramatically cooled things down.  Re-entry back into village life was slow, but after a few days things started to feel more and more normal. While away on vacation, my grant to build a well at the middle school was also passed. So I started, and am still trying, to get everything together for that project. I’m hoping to have the well completed before rainy season comes into full swing because I’m not sure if the ground will be stable enough to dig. Things are looking up, and even though I may still be in my mid-service crises I’m trying to stay busy and focused on the work at hand. 

Chip and Allie Take Senegal

Riding Camels in Lampoul. Photo credit: Allie R.

 It was brought to my attention that my last post was perhaps a bit depressing and under the weather. I apologize. But rest assured that my holidays were far from depressing. I think I was just nervous that the Mayan’s prediction was going to come true and that I would never see a grande iced coffee again…and it was apparently reflected in my writing. My first Christmas away from home was quite enjoyable in fact. I spent the day lying out on the beach with a few good friends getting haggled by beach vendors and that night my best friend from high school flew in to visit me. It was both exciting and nerve wrecking to think of introducing someone from back home to this crazy new life of mine here. Back in 2010 we traveled throughout Southeast Asia together, so I wasn’t worried that we might not be compatible travelling together. I just knew that the travelling conditions here are far worse than anything we experienced in Asia. But she handled it like a champ, possibly even better than I did. I thought it best to slowly introduce my friend to Senegalese life. So instead of taking her directly to village, we started with the more touristy attractions. Our first stop was Lampoul with its impressive, and somewhat out of place, sand dunes. We spent the night there in Mauritanian tents and rode camels through the dunes at sunset. For a second it felt like I was taken out of Senegal and transported into an episode of the “Real Housewives of New York,” just a little let glamorous and a lot sandier.

Sunrise in St. Louis and Faidherbe Bridge. Photo Credit: Allie R

From Lampoul we moved north to St. Louis, a lively city with the center of town situated on a small island in the middle of a river. We arrived in St. Louis around Near Year’s Eve and found ourselves in good company with a handful of other volunteers from around Senegal. The ringing in of the New Year went off, for the most part, without a glitch. That was until someone came into our hostel room and stole a handful of cash and two laptops…mine included. But that’s another story all together. We left St. Louis feeling a bit discouraged but ready to leave the debauchery behind us as we traveled the next 15 hours down South to my region of Kedougou. I was hesitant to do this journey all in one day, but another volunteer we were travelling with insisted that we power through.

Allie hanging out with kids in my compound. Photo Credit: Allie R.

Relaxing after an exciting two weeks of travel. Photo Credit: Allie R.

In Kedougou I got to show my friend what my daily life is like. We spent a couple days at the regional house where we were able to walk around the market. Another day we were lucky enough to visit my language facilitator’s garden that sits directly on the Gambian River. The garden was beautiful and lush, and I think it was a great way for my friend to see a type of sustainable project here in Senegal. It was also just a peaceful afternoon that we got to spend under a tree, drinking the “oh so sugary” tea, and watching kids jump off of trees into the river. Bringing my friend to village was exciting, but at the same time it was a trip to see a face from home sitting around with my Senegalese family. The highlight of our village visit was definitely introducing my family to s’mores. At the time of my friend’s visit, my family was still making fires every night so I thought it would be a good idea for my friend to bring marshmallows and graham crackers with her from home. My family went crazy for s’mores! They were definitely hesitant at first, but after the initial s’more was made, they couldn't roast the marshmallows fast enough. It was a marshmallow frenzy as I was trying to distribute the marshmallows fast enough and my friend was trying to keep up with the Hershey bars and graham crackers. My host sister was so excited that she would just set the marshmallows on fire to get them done faster! Overall our village visit was a success, but we were both getting over a cold at the time, so we were both ready for some R and R back in Dakar.