Today was the day that we would all be leaving for our internships throughout Senegal. We were to be at the WARC at 7:00am so I set my alarm for 6:00am, although I didn't end up getting out of bed until about 6:20am. I wanted to get up a little early because I had to finish packing the clothes that I had washed last night, but unfortunately they had not dried over night so I had to put them in plastic bags. Finishing the packing took me a little longer than I thought, although I also woke up 20 minutes later than I planned, so I was not quite ready until 6:45/6:50. I was a little worried that I would be the only one late but I was zipping my bags up Brittany called to see if I had left yet as she and Jack were also still in Mermoz. I brought my bags downstairs and my mom helped me out the door. When I walked out Brittany was also in the process of bringing out her bags with her host mom watching and Jack was ready with his large hiking bag. The three of us waved goodbye to our moms and began walking to the main road to find a taxi.
As we were walking with our suitcases and bags a taxi honked at us from behind as he knew we could not be walking that far with all of the luggage we had. We greeted him and negotiated 1000CFA for the ride to the WARC, which I think was too much because we usually pay 600CFA. We had a lot of bags so I was skeptical from the beginning about the possibility of everything being able to fit in this small taxi. When the taxi driver opened his trunk there was a large tire in there so I knew at that point that we would have to take two taxis. We were able to make it work as he fit Jack’s large hiking bag in the front seat with his backpack and our two suitcases in the trunk with the tire. Our suitcases were hanging out of the trunk a considerable amount, more than I would ever feel comfortable doing on my own, but the taxi driver assured us that it would be fine. During the entire ride to WARC I was looking at our bags through the back window because they looked like they would go tumbling out the back if we hit any small bump on the way. We made it there without any problems which was astonishing to me, so I was fine with paying the extra 400CFA in the end because I would have gladly paid for another taxi.
We were not late at all as they were still preparing the bus for us when we arrived and other students were also still on their way. Some of the student’s families came to the WARC to send them off which I thought was very kind of them being that it was 7am in the morning. There was only 12 out of the 14 participants in the program who met at the WARC because two in our group were staying of in Dakar for their internships. When everyone had arrived we loaded our luggage by order of who was getting dropped off last to who was getting dropped off first and we were off. The trip would last two days as about half the group would get dropped off today and the rest would get dropped off tomorrow. The last person to get dropped off was Courtney, who would be in Saint Louis for her internship, which is located at the north west corner of the country. She would have the opportunity to see a large portion of the country in the next two days, however she would also be in the bus for the next two days. We hadn't been driving for any longer than 15 minutes when we heard a pop and we realized there was a problem with the front left tire. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and we exited the bus so that he could could change the tire. When he finished he returned to Mermoz, where we had started our day earlier that morning to replace the spare tire that we were now using because it wasn't safe to drive without one. We were then finally ready to leave Dakar.
The first stop was the village of Sessene, the location of AGRECOL, the organization for which Brigid would be working. Waly and Marie got out with Brigid to introduce her to the supervisor and so that she could take a look around the site, while the rest of us stayed in the bus. When they returned we continued in the bus further into the village to drop her off at her host family with her luggage. Unfortunately while on an unpaved path the front left tire, the same which had been replaced earlier in the trip, got stuck very deep in the mud, immobilizing the bus. Waly immediately realized the severity of the situation and asked us all to descend from the bus. Over the next two hours we tried a number of different strategies to get the bus out of the mud through sheer manpower. When we started off I was impressed by how many of the people from the village came out to help. There was a group of kids who also emerged and stood watching us work on the bus for some time too. We began by digging the mud out from around the front tire hoping that this would allow the wheels to rotate and get the bus started. Then a large group of us tried lifting the bus from out of the mud by rocking it from side to side, but when we would lift from one side the other side would just sink deeper into the mud. Then they tried sticking large sticks and branches under the wheels but above the mud to try to create little runways for the wheels so that there was something to create traction, which I thought was pretty innovative. However, after many valiant attempts by the men in the community we realized that we would not prevail and that a tracker was necessary.
Everyone who had come out to aide us in our efforts as well as all those who had come to watch the spectacle dispersed back into the community and we returned to the bus to wait for the tracker. Although many of us had wished he had requested the tracker from the beginning I enjoyed experiencing the support of this community as getting this bus out of the mud had truly turn into a community effort. Many of the men appeared to be more dedicated to the task of removing the bus from the mud than the students were and it was our bus that we needed and were depending on for our trip. Some of the students thought that the villagers weren't doing it the right way, but they felt that we students did not have a place to say anything. I thought was an interesting dynamic because Waly was leading the charge and we were all quite comfortable with him at this point as he had been our go to guy for MSID since the we arrived here. Finally the tracker arrived and successfully pulled the bus out from the mud. We clapped as we were all happy to able to be on our way again. In reality Brigid's host family was only a few steps away from her host organization, however we took the long way with the designated road because we were in the bus.
After dropping Brigid off we continued to the city of Fatick to drop off Amanda, which was about 30min away. We stopped at her host organization first as well so that she could meet her supervisor, but she quickly returned to the bus because her supervisor was not present. We then went to drop her off at her house which was just a few steps away down the road. I was next to get dropped off but we stopped to eat at a restaurant in Kaolack before we headed to the Chamber of Commerce to meet the Director. Waly, Maria and I waited in the lobby area for about 20 minutes until the Director, Monsieur Thiam was ready to meet with us. When we walked into his office it was pretty nice as there was a conference table in the middle and a leather couch as well as a set of leather chairs to the right of his desk where we sat with him to talk about the internship. Waly began with providing a general outline of the MSID program; how I had been studying Micro-finance during the first 7 weeks in Dakar and how this internship was the second stage of the program. He explained that we had reached out to the Chamber of Commerce in Thies, but they retracted their offer and the Chamber of Commerce in Kaolack was the one who responded positively to our request. My placement in general was very last minute as we had just finalized the details last week, which was in part due to my change of mind after Waly had found me an internship in Dakar. Monsieur Thiam then asked me for my reasoning for wanting to work with the Chamber of Commerce and I explained that I wanted to know more about the role that the Chamber of Commerce plays in the management of the Agricultural production, which is vital to Senegal’s economy. Monsieur Thiam was noticeably a very busy man as he had two phones which he answered three times during our meeting, although each time he apologized and was very respectful of our presence. Overall the meeting went well as I left even more excited and ready for my internship.
Afterwards we headed to APROFES where another student Krishna will be working, the both of us will be in Kaolack for our internships. After she went to go speak with her supervisor Waly returned to the bus to retrieve me because supervisor and the director of APROFES was going my host mom. She was very kind and welcoming. She explained that I would be staying in the APROFES hotel for the first few nights because there was still someone in my room in her home and the ceiling fan was not working either. We returned to the bus and they dropped me off at the APROFES hotel which was literally just around the corner. Waly and Marie helped me with my bags to my room, gave me hugs goodbye and wished me a good stay in Kaolack. The hotel I was in actually serves as a training center for Senegalese women for a majority of the time during the year. APROFES hosts forums and conferences there to train, education and support Senegalese women with their business affairs in the villages and cities throughout the country. My mom explained that sometimes women will stay at the hotel for up to two weeks to participate and benefit from their training programs. The organization also has an office in Thies.
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| APROFES hotel room |
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| Essential mosquito net |
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| I didn't know that bathroom was there behind the curtain for the first day |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL-j8cVo2b8
He pretty much read every verse word for word and would also ask me to explain any words that he didn't understand, which was a good exercise for me as well because I could practice my French. He asked me what Teflon was? Who was Frank White? What was Swayze? And he asked me to explain what the course meant by "Why am I fighting to live, if I'm just living to fight?" I thought it was funny how my host brother in Senegal was learning the English language through the words of Biggie Smalls and Tupac. I definitely approved of it.
After my mom called me into the room adjacent to the living room for dinner I sat down to eat with her and another older woman named Louise. I remembered from my earlier visit to APROFES as she was working in the room next to my host mom’s office. So far I am sure that Louise as well as my host brother Amadou live in the house however I am unsure of who else lives in the house as we have numerous visitors who stop by the house and sit in the living room throughout the day. After Dinner I returned to the hotel to sleep. I was initially sleeping in the larger bed in the middle of the room without the mosquito net because it was cooler as it was directly under the fan. However I got bit all over my body within the first hour despite the fact that I had a cover over me so I moved in the bed in the corner with the mosquito net. I learned my lesson quickly, the mosquito situation here in Kaolack, and just insects in general is very serious.
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