First weekend at site

Well, it appears that I might have internet access more often than I had anticipated. Right now I am sitting in the apartment of my closest neighboring volunteer (who has internet) typing up this post. I am about 25 km from her site, but it's not too hard to get here; either I take an hour-long bike ride, or I can take a mini-bus. Either way, it should be fairly easy.

I was installed at my site on Wednesday. During the morning, before we went to my site, we went and met the local police chief, the local governmental administrator (prefect), and the local hospital (whom I might be working with). Then we drove to my village. When we arrived, there was already a bunch of people sitting in the village center, and gradually, the entire village came. The attendees included my local counterpart (who works at the local health hut and is my next door neighbor), my official counterpart (who oversees the nearby health post and is the boss of my local counterpart), the village chief, the representative of the marabout (religious leader), and the president of the village's women's group. Everyone made a short speech, but the best one was given by my official counterpart who outlined the purpose for my being here (in much better Wolof than I can currently muster). After the speeches, I moved into my hut, which is in the compound of the marabout's representative.

My village is lovely- there is a large mosque with tall minarets in the village center, and looking out from my hut, I can see the minarets. My hut is made of cement, with a thatched roof. Behind it is a small backyard (though it's all sand) with a covered latrine and bathroom (both brand new). The village has a lot of trees, the majority of which seem to be neem trees or palm trees. The only problem is the dust and the heat. Between now and the beginning of the rainy season, it's only going to get hotter. The lack of electricity will make things more difficult, though it turns out that my village has a faucet in addition to a well, which should make retrieving water easier.

My goals for the next 2.5 months at site are to assess the situation, and to get to know the community. With that in mind, I spent yesterday morning greeting the neighboring village (with my local counterpart). I hope to do the same at my village on Sunday...

Anyways, I should be able to make posts at least once every 2 weeks, if not once a week.
So until the next one,

Ba benaan yoon!