li nga begg dafa yomb

"li nga begg dafa yomb" is a sarcastic comment that when literally translated, means what you want is easy.

This weekend I went to Toubacouta with the program; from saturday until tuesday we travelled with a group of local university students around and between villages. They, the UCAD students, were all guys. This really changed the dynamic of our group, but I liked it. Ive never been the type to hang around as many girls as I am right now with MSID. I guess guys are just more easy going.

Anyways, a melfoqine update: I took my pill Monday and it fucking drove me insane from that point on in the trip. That is actually a horrible exaggeration, but I basically was high when I didnt want to be. I was feeling especially bad that first morning which unfortunately coincided with our visit to rural villages. We were going in groups of four to six to talk with womens groups about their projects and to write grant proposals for them. I guess my eagerness to do this somehow mustered up the energy and concentration to function for a few hours... thankfully.

Jappam Ma Jaap is what theyre group name is called, which stands for solidarity between us. They are a group of forty women who work three months of the year cultivating peanuts and selling them at markets and to the government to raise money for their village, Keur Moussa Seny. Everything that is raised goes towards chairs for community meetings, towards building fortified structures (which they have exactly two of that i saw), and towards funding community events. They need more funding to more adequately or efficiently farm; unfortunately, they do not have the human resource to write out a proposal--- they speak Wolof and the official language in Senegal is French. And thats where we came in! With the help of a translator, we asked them questions that would help us write the proposal. So basically, we would ask the translator a question in French, he would ask the group that same question in Wolof, and then get a response. It was a long but, for a lack of better words, interesting process.

We also visited a lot of different resources in the community like a health clinic; we also talked to an official who administered the village's fishing industry. The man at the clinic told us about how mosquito nets have decreased the number of Malaria cases each year; this has been achieved especially so because of NGOs who help supply a great portion of the cost of each mosquito net so that the villagers can afford it. Also, to see the doctor, one has to pay what I remember to be aroudn 300 cfas, which is a little over 50 cents USD. Often, when someone doesnt have that amount of money, someone in the community will help them or the community will pool together the money.

Speaking of people helping people, apparently the Japanese do a lot to help the fishing industry over here. They provide boats and necessary machinery as well as education concerning fishing. From what I gathered, I dont think that the Japanese benefit (monetarily) much, if at all.

In our down time, we hung out with the university students and talked, made attaya, and played card games. We taught the university students how to play ERS. Every time a sandwich would come up, they'd scream out "hamburg!"

On another note, so far, a bottle of bug spray (100% deet) and a banana have exploded on my moleskin. Its not in good shape, whatsoever. The outside binding is already starting to tear apart, major league sad face.

Aside from this weekend, Ive been up to my normal routine. We have a ton of papers due in the next week or so and "exams" as well, but not enough power or internet access to prepare for them, as usual.

The other day in Wolof class, the professor was telling us about English phrases he'd learned from peace corps volunteers. One went, "Hows it hanging?" to which you respond "like a trumpet. Wanna blow it?" Oh, Americans.

In the public health class that Im taking, the professor referenced using armbands to measure children's health to see if they are malnurished. I got, of course, extremely excited when I heard this because these were the same arm bands that we (Grinnellians for Global Health) were handing out last year to promote Doctors Without Borders.

While Im throwing out random "stories"-- once again, my English vernacular has greatly diminished-- I usually fall asleep and wake up to the sound of three goats. I know that there are three because they have all very distinctive "baa"-ing sounds. After Korité (which I will update on in a later date when im feeling ambitious), I woke up by the sound of two. Major leauge sad face, number two.

Amy is awesome.