FASJOM and a Thank You

Thank you. Before my parents came out to visit back in April, they started a little appeal for pens and pencils for the small group of girls in the area that we teach. With the help of so many people back home, as well as radio Shropshire, it turned into a huge campaign! I expected a small a bag of left-over pencils and pens, but instead was presented with 2 suitcases full of amazing stationary and teaching equipment, and I can’t tell you how grateful we’ve been! 

So, FASJOM. This is the name of the group that was set up just over 2 years ago by two of the previous Project Trust Joal volunteers with help from a wonderful lady serving with the American Peace Corps, Connie, whom we also had the pleasure of meeting whilst we were here. In Senegal, by law, all girls have the right to go to school and to have equal educational opportunities to the boys. In reality however, many still aren’t attending. The reasons for this vary from early marriage, (some girls are married as young as 14 and most drop out of school at this point) lack of funds (as culture dictates that it is the men’s job to solely provide for his family, poorer families, if having to make a decision about who to send to school, will tend to favour the boys)  an attitude of religious education over French-system schooling and a need for mothers to have someone to help around the house and learn how to cook and clean (a lot of women will spend their adult life doing this.) As a consequence, many of the girls in our neighbourhood do not attend school so, on  Monday and Friday, we teach them basic French and Maths. Whilst boisterous and unpredictable at times, these girls love to learn and put an amazing amount of effort into their work. Despite knowing we have FASJOM twice a week, they still run up to us in the street saying ‘nungui jang tai? Est-ce que dinanu jang tai?’ – ‘are we going to learn today?’ 

Running FASJOM is the most difficult part of our project, but by far the most rewarding. Both work-load wise and money-wise this project comes from us. This is where you came in. Trying to balance buying good stationary and not blowing all of our money was proving tricky and we weren’t able to provide everything for these active and visual learners. Your donations were overwhelming, I can’t believe how many people, suppliers and businesses gave  so generously. It was so touching and has been so useful! We were able to give the girls new (sticky back plastic-ed) books which survive more than 2 lessons, new pens which they take great pleasure in owning, teaching them maths using the counters and number squares and French verbs using the whiteboards so that they can rub out their mistakes and distracted scribbles. They have responded amazingly to the new learning styles, and wil be able to benefit from the donations for we hope, many years as we are passing it all on to next years volunteers. 

All that’s left to say is thank you. Thank you from Charlotte and I, and an even bigger thank you from the girls at FASJOM, Mame Diarra, Mame Kane, Ami, Mame Diarra, Soda, Sira, Khady, Jenaba, Anna and Ndeye and I’m sure, the girls who wish to join in the new school year. FASJOM is not as ideal as school would be, but it gives these girls the opportunity to learn where there wasn’t one before. We really can’t thank you enough. 

I’d like to say a special thank you to the Ruyton XI cafe, who took in the majority of the donations! 
(Our internet isn’t strong enough to upload photos, so photos to follow) 

A throwback with only 10 days left!

Hi! I can’t believe I’m saying this,  but we now only have 10 days to go until we leave Senegal.. I don’t really want to think about it, so here’s a throw back to April! You’ve heard about some of my experiences here, but it gets more and more difficult for me to write, as the things we do are no longer novel but simply part of everyday life, so here is our parents’ visit from my mum’s perspective! Enjoy!

My Holiday – by Claire Bushovic

Passports shown, visa paid for, passport shown, finger prints given, passport stamped, passport shown, proof of hotel reservations shown, details of return flight shared, details of occupation shared, teacher, teacher of what, to whom, where, that sounds good, do you like it? ( is that an entry question or are we chatting now?) passport checked, queue joined, passport checked. 
My first piece of advice to parents arriving to visit their child in Senegal is don’t rush to put your passport away!
My second is don’t even attempt to leave the airport without your child’s supervision. Nothing about living here prepares you for living there. Remember that sweet innocent you packed off 7 months ago? Do as they say. 
I blame myself for our daughter signing up to Project Trust but after that I take no responsibility. I suggested she had a look in the gap year room before we left the 6th form progress evening. She never looked back. She chose Project Trust straight away and she researched and organised it all.
Looking back, the selection course should have prepared us for what we were going to find at Dakar airport. The journey to Coll was meticulously planned with times, connections routes between Glasgow stations discussed and rehearsed with Google street plan. The return journey plans were abandoned and decisions made on the hoof. She was already not the dependent we sent to Scotland.
Just before Christmas I had run out of people who wanted to listen to my stories of having a daughter in Senegal. Fortunately Charlotte’s mum and I had exchanged numbers at Gatwick and kept in touch by text, phoning each other when really desperate for reassurance. We agreed to meet at Birmingham Christmas market so we could chat unhindered about our girls. Within an hour we were in Thomas Cooks’ looking at flights. 
Two weeks later we met again with husbands, siblings and iPads, flights were booked and the Bushovic’s were born!
We had wondered about the wisdom of allowing 2 teenagers who haven’t seen a hot shower for 7 months choose and book our hotels, but although they are truly excited by taps and toilets that flush they have clearly also learnt the value of money and they chose well.
I’m not going to try to describe everything we saw and did, this is a recollection of visiting our daughter, not a travel guide to Senegal, although it is a wonderful place, it really is.
Somebody asked my son whether he noticed a difference in his sister, his reply, “she’s more aggressive”! I prefer assertive. Everything from haggling – for everything – to fending off marriage proposals. Charlotte’s Mum and I listened fascinated to Beth chatting away with a guy in Wolof. As he walked away cheerfully Beth turned round beaming and announced she had just got Charlotte a Senegalese husband! 
Seven white people all together do attract a certain amount of attention. One of the joys was seeing the huge pleasure on people’s faces when the girls surprised them by speaking to them in Wolof, exchanging their Senegalese names ( Charlotte is known as Coumba, Beth as Aita). After a particularly vigorous round of haggling one lady told us, with some national pride “these Senegalese girls now!”
Stories about the commitment to vehicle maintenance are untrue. The Senegalese spend a lot of time maintaining their cars and taxis. Often mid journey, often with duck tape. It’s just the way it is. It works. 

Our itinerary included a couple of days in the town where the girls are living. We were so warmly welcomed by the family into their home and very well and generously fed. They had had families visiting before but never both volunteer’s families together – it was Amadou who named us the Bushovics! I guess it might not work for everyone but for us seeing the very close relationship the girls had formed was as hilarious as it was reassuring. 
I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about eating with the family, it is a very different culture. Well it couldn’t have been easier, everyone just told us what to do! After dinner the Bushovic men were presented with handmade shirts as gifts and Karen and I were given beautiful colourful lengths of fabric. The tailor arrived… measured us up… and returned the next day with our very own boubous! I love mine, and yes, I have worn it at home.
Beth asked me to say what I thought of Senegal, whether it was what I was expecting. In a feat of double thinking I had thought that Beth wouldn’t be actually living in what I imagined Africa to be like. But she is, it is sandy, it is colourful, it is busy and a bit chaotic. The people we met were friendly and welcoming and very generous.  
Beth and Charlotte live here. This is their home. They are not visitors, they are part of the community, they greet friends, friends greet them, they have a tailor, a coffee vendor and a friendly taxi driver. They are Aita and Coumba Wone.

A very overdue blog post

I’d like to start by apologising. At the end of my last blog I said ‘I promise to keep you all updated on March very soon.’ It’s now July. July isn’t soon even by my standards, but anyway, that’s that, and I hope you’ll forgive me after I fill you in on my exciting adventures!

March was busy, but very fun! When our Desk Officer, Dave rang us to say he was in Joal it hit us that we’d reached a very big mile stone in our Project Trust journey. Back on our training course we were told about this visit, and it all sounded wonderful, but so irrelevant considering it was going to mark our half way point. But we’d arrived, danced, spoken some Wolof, blinked a few times and he was here already! As it is Dave’s first year in charge of Senegal, it was fun to show him around our house, our projects and Joal! Being so involved in our projects, but working in a country where nothing happens quickly, we were starting to feel like we hadn’t yet achieved all that much, so it was great to hear from Dave that from what he had seen, we were doing a fab job here, and to simply keep doing what we had been doing. I think that the problem is that at the same time as we are trying to teach and to help the people of our project, they have also taught us many things, without really meaning to. So, amongst that, it is hard to understand what difference I could be making, and how Joal could be benefitting from having us here. Although Dave tried to convince me that this was not the main purpose of his visit, we were also treated to a few restaurant meals with him, which, after eating Thiebudienne everyday (lovely just repetitive) was a very appreciated treat!

Another reminder of how far into the year we were was making the trip up to Dakar to renew our visas, despite feeling like we only did them a few weeks ago, on Christmas Eve! Even though we gained a 6 month visa, which was an achievement, we also had, between the 6 of us, quite a bit of money stolen, which was not quite as big a joy! It was nothing scary, just a good conman, but it serves as a good wake up call. A realisation that even though we can navigate Dakar, hold a conversation in Wolof and haggle a good price for a taxi, we are not immune to scams, as is anyone else!

On the 27th of March, we were invited to Toubab Dialaw by our friend Connie, American Peace Corps volunteer and founder of our girls group, FAS JOM. After having been stationed in Joal for a few years, and then returning to America, she is now back out here doing wonderful work near Yenne, where we spent our first 3 weeks in Senegal! Charlotte, Rosie (from Ziguinchor) and I were lucky enough to spend the ‘beach and teach weekend’ doing just that, with 2 more peace corps volunteers who have been in Senegal for a 3 years, and who fairly easily put my Wolof to shame!

My parents at le monument de la renaissance – Dakar

I really do apologise, I’m jumping through all this at quite a pace, but the next bit is very exciting.. It was for me anyway! Our parents arrived! It was so good to see them again, if not a little strange. For me, it’s my parents who usually take control on holidays, sorting out where to go and what to do around a new area. This time however, they were arriving in a country where they didn’t know the language or how things work. Charlotte and I realised how much we’d learnt since being here. We know what costs what, the best material markets and how to sort transport for our two families, but we don’t know how to be tourists! We found it difficult not to want to find the cheapest meals and spend half an hour searching for taxis for the lowest possible price! Even in a culture so unfamiliar, I was really impressed by the way my family adapted to the Senegalese ways – Dad being ready to get in and jump

My wonderful family and I at the famous pink lake, Senegal 

out of a taxi when the driver changed the price, my brother picked up Wolof surprisingly quickly over our stay in Dakar, Joal and Saly, managing to haggle an absolute bargain in the market, and Mum totally pulled off the traditional Boubou! My real family meeting my Senegalese family was amazing. It was funny to see how they interacted, but brilliant how well they all got on. My next blog post will be written by my Mum. I thought that it was probably more interesting to hear a xbout the visit from someone who is new to the country, the smells and the driving! The holiday was fantastic, giving us the opportunity to catch up on what was happening at home and to see the sights of Senegal that we hadn’t yet had the time nor the funds to see! Lac Rose (the pink lake) was definitely my favourite visit – somewhere I’d wanted to go since we arrived! The salt levels mean that you can float in it any way you want to!

The next few months were spent concentrating on daily life. Teaching, learning Wolof, meeting up with the girls from Kaolack and using any spare day to explore Senegal even more. Life here is supposed to be slow paced, but somehow, our days just got busier and busier, although I have no complaints about that!

I really will post another blog soon! See you all in a month!

B xxx

Exams, Catholic Mass and a wedding, why not – Feb.

Wow. We’re half way in. How did that happen?! The months are speeding up at an incredible rate now, each day busier than the last. 

February has consisted of tests, marking and travel. Much like mocks in England, all schools had a few weeks off-timetable, so that the students from every year group could sit tests in every single subject. Whilst preparing and teaching a lesson takes a lot more effort and preparation, I’d now happily do it over solo invigilating tests of 2 or 3 hours for 2 weeks. Invigilating has got to be the most boring activity on the jobs list. Since being here, I definitely have a new found respect for teachers (especially having taught my 4emes for 5 months, and whilst their banter is better, their concentration level is not) but this month, I’ve found the biggest respect for invigilators. Whilst some tedious activities may warrant the phrase ‘it’s like watching paint dry’ nothing warrants the phrase ‘it’s like watching a 4 hour histoire-geo exam all alone when you’ve forgotten your notepad’ except the job itself. It’s made even worse when, no matter the level or the subject, the students scowl at you both throughout and on finishing the test, because, even if they’ve never seen you before, you probably wrote the test, and specifically picked out the most difficult questions that they didn’t revise. 

As we had less regular lessons, and less regular preparation however, we were able to have a few weekends away during February. At the start of the month (after I’d got over a sickness bug) we had a visit from the Kaolack girls here in Joal for 2 days, and then went to stay with them for the weekend. It was lovely to spend time with the girls and to see the education centre which they both work and live in, in full swing. In kaolack, the only way to travel is by Jakartas. These are like small motorbikes, most of which are still covered in bubble wrap due to the fear of scratched paintwork! So yes, of course we had a go! I wouldn’t say that the drivers are the most cautious I’ve ever come across, but none of us have been hurt yet! So fun once you get over the fear of dying (sorry mum) On the Sunday we were able to spend the morning at Kaolack market – the second biggest market in Africa! I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t even cover 1/6th of it! Despite our Wolof not being impressive at all, it’s enough to haggle, which comes in very useful when you are being charged the ‘very cheap real price totally not just for Toubabs!’ Once we tell the venders our Senegalese names, where we live and show off a bit of Wolof, Serer and Fulani (rare to find someone who doesn’t speak at least one of these) they tend to be very excited, even giving us deals because their mother is called Aita, or their sister is called Coumba! For those who don’t give in, it comes down to our go-to phrases of ‘hamna le prix, mangee dekha fe’ (I know the price, I live here) ‘defa cher, wan nyeeko’ (that’s expensive, make it cheaper) ‘bulma nackt’ (don’t lie to me) and the universal, huff, kiss your teeth and storm away, hoping they change their mind and call you back over! 

The following weekend, Charlotte and I attended a celebration for the church’s birthday or saints day or something. (we’re never really 100% about what’s going on.) Since November, we have been singing in the church choir, on Amadou’s polite but clear hint that ‘maybe we should sing somewhere else, somewhere where it’s useful.’ It’s been lovely to feel like such a part of both the choir and the church congregation (whom we had to introduce ourselves in front of one very busy Sunday!) and, despite neither of us being Catholic, or as devout as they are here, we have been very welcomed, and so we were honoured to be asked to help out at this big church event. After singing with the choir during the 3 hour mass, conducted in Wolof (yes, a little difficult I have to admit) we went to the local primary school where people from all over Joal had a lovely lunch, with drinks and music and dancing from those in all age groups. Charlotte and I then helped out on a stall for the remainder of the day, which was tiring (children are so demanding and do not rest ever) but an experience! With our boubous matching every one else’s who was helping out, and being recognised and greeted from people we know all day, it really made me realise how, even though we aren’t great at Wolof and we still get called ‘Toubab’ we are starting to be seen as part of the community, not just as strange outsiders. When, slowly but surely the shout of toubab from children in the area change to Aita and Coumba and taxi drivers, street vendors, shop owners and post office workers recognise us and ask how everything is going, it makes it all worthwhile. It’s nice to know that, now that we reach the half way mark, as well as Joal now always being a part of us, we might, for a small time at least, be a part of Joal. So that’s all very lovely and emotional, but on a serious note, as fun as the Kermass and lunch and feeling like part of the community bla bla was, I did unfortunately chip my tooth in a sprite bottle…I mean…er…fighting a bear. Disaster. 

Apologies, all this and we’re only on February 14th

On Valentine’s Day, we made the journey back to Yene – the village just outside of Dakar, where we spent our first 3 weeks. It was fab to see the family again, even if it did take the twins a few hours to remember us! We spent most of our time with our friend Khade, catching up on her gossip and having a girly weekend! And of course, what girly weekend isn’t spent at a wedding…

We arrived around 5pm, and by 10, we were pretty tired, but then there was mention of a party. It being Senegal, we of course didnt know any more than we weren’t to sleep just yet. As it approached 12.30, we enquired again, and were told we were going to meet the bride and groom, but that they had not yet returned from their marriage ceremony in Dakar. We were then awoken at 3.30, hurried out of bed, (from having a quick nap) and went next door. There, we waited some more, with a group of women. And waited. And waited. Just as we were starting to lose the will, we were rushed into a room full of women sitting on the floor. In the corner, the husband and wife were eating together under a large cloth. The husband then got up. And left the room. That was it. What we’d been waiting for. We then got fed the milky grainy thing, called lakh which I cannot explain. And then we returned to bed. This part of the ceremony is the first time that the newly weds eat together. It is common for the bride and groom to meet only a few times, if at all, before they are married, so this is supposed to be a big step in the relationship! 

The next day was the proper party. For the bride and bridal party, it seems like the most important part of the whole event. Usually, the marriage itself does not involve the bride at all, as all of the paperwork is done by the men at the mosque, as well as the paying of the dowry (which I wasn’t really aware still existed,) where the women are not allowed to go. To me this is hard to understand, and seems more like a father signing off his daughter without allowing her much input in her own wedding day, but it has been explained that they are allowed to refuse the marriage at some point in the process. However, the party day was a mass event. I’ve never seen dresses, hair, make-up and shoes done to such an extent! We attended a Saba in the day time (a dance with extremely loud senegalese music playing through massive speakers) and then further dancing and singing and drum beats played on pots and pans all over the house continued for the rest of the evening! Charlotte and I are now pretty convinced that we’ve got some of the moves down to a T, so clubs of England better watch out in August! 







The whole trip to Yene didn’t last long, but was so fun, we’ll definitely be heading back there soon! 

In order to celebrate National Mother Tongue day on the 21st February, we let our shared 6eme class take over. We explored which languages our students speak, and let them teach some of each to us! Here in Joal we have a large range of languages, although the majority seem to speak either Serer or Fulani as a first language. Even though Wolof is spoken by everyone, it’s most people’s second language. It’s not difficult to understand why they find English hard, when for most, it’s their 4th language after a local language, Wolof and French! 

So that’s it for our February excitement. The rest of the month was spent marking 3 classes of 70 and 2 classes of 40’s mocks (such a lot of marking, see below for only one class worth!) and catching up on all of our washing that got pretty neglected with all of our travelling! 



Promise to keep you all updated on March very soon! 

B xxxx









Just a bike ride…

On Saturday I went on a bike ride. I went further than I have done before, past a tiny church and into a fairly remote, but busy little village. As I cycled along, I waited for the normal call of ‘toubab‘ or ‘donnez-moi ton velo‘ but surprisingly, none came. Instead, the children, who seemed to be everywhere, all stopped, smiled, waved and said ‘allo!’ From the older children I got ‘Madame‘ or ‘Mademoiselle‘ – This was such a change from the usual reaction! So refreshing! Having been in Joal for almost 5 months, we’ve got used to shouts of ‘Toubab’ coming from voices here, there and everywhere! On my way back out of the village, past the elderly Serer man herding his cattle (‘the Serer measure wealth on the number of cattle you own, not in money or possessions’ -Amadou) I came across two boys who were playing with a bike along a small stretch of road. As I came alongside, they raced me, one on the bike, the other running along behind. Mustering up all of my Wolof skills, I started a little conversation with them. One was called Antoine, he was 10, and the other was called Mohammed, and he didn’t know, but he didn’t seem to mind…

The Serer don’t measure wealth in money or possessions, but in the number of cattle you own.

Early morning bikeride back in December

When you live in a Serer area..

Birthday, travel, a posh party and the end of term! – December

December: Birthday, travel, party, birthday, travel, visas, travel, a lost passport, Christmas, crocodiles and a coup. Get it?

Maybe not. I’ll give you some better explanations! December has by a long way been the busiest, but most exciting month of the year so far. I’m not even sure how we managed to squeeze it all in!

At start of this crazily busy month, (the 6th for those who didn’t know – and if you didn’t, why not.) was my birthday, and it was a great day from the offset. I woke up to cards and balloons from Charlotte, and my presents that she hadn’t let me open as they arrived in the post! I’d never felt so accepted into the Wone family, as when I opened the door to a pile of presents from Amadou, Aicha and the children! Taking this opportunity to thank everybody for the cards, presents and messages I received, I’m still amazed you hadn’t all forgotten about me by now! (Also shout out to my 4eme class, who the day before, managed to trick me into telling them when my birthday was, and singing me happy birthday in both English, and then, in what they told me was going to be Chinese, but was in fact just noises, but still greatly appreciated.) Charlotte and I then headed out to our favourite new find (see previous blog) where we treated ourselves to a day beside the pool, a ‘Tequila Sunrice’ (accident or pun we don’t know, either way I think they’re obsessed with rice) and got filmed for a tourism video. (This has happened to me before, in Belgium, and I’m not entirely sure how it happens!)

The 10th was a very exciting day! We all woke up (reasonably) early, and headed out to the other side of Dakar, and onto a ferry, to the historic Isle de Goree. I hope to write a blog post on this visit alone in the near future, so I won’t tell all now! Isle de Goree is an important part of Senegalese history. Located on the island is a slave house – the last place where the slaves from West Africa were housed before they made the long journey to America during the slave trade period. As a history lover, the visit really appealed to me. Seeing something like this, kept in almost original state, and learning about its background really brings history to life, and it was such a fascinating insight into a period which shaped the world as we know it today.

We were delighted to be invited to the home of the British Ambassador in Dakar, for his annual Christmas Carol party. I know, how fancy. And yes. It was the single most fancy event that I’ve possibly ever had the honour of being invited to. We were 6 teenage volunteers, surrounded by what must have been politicians, successful businessmen and their families and even a professional tennis player who had to leave early so he could play in the semi-finals of the open the following day! The night was the first reminder that Christmas was nearing that we had had, so we all fully embraced the tinsel, Christmas trees, cheese, champagne, biscuits and piano-accompanied Carols!

Making the most of these few days off in Dakar, we followed a recommendation of a friend, and took the pirogue ride (finally!) to the tranquil Island of Ngor. We spent the day exploring the amazingly decorated buildings, andchilling on the gorgeous beach – even joining some of the locals for Attaya after they found we could speak (and haggle!) in Wolof! Later that evening, we found a huge Western supermarket, where all of the posh ‘Toubabs’ who can afford to live in Dakar do their shopping. Despite not being able to afford a lot, we treated ourselves to a few favourites from home. Needless to say a trip to a supermarket has never been so exciting!

Due to a few visa, erm, complications(?) the girls from Ziguinchor came to check out our crib in Joal. It was lovely to spend more time with them, and show them around the town (which in fairness, didn’t take up even nearly half of the week that they stayed for) We feel so at home in Joal, and are beginning to really appreciate it’s beauty, (underneath all of the litter, and the smell of burning rubbish) – we felt so proud to be able to show it off to the girls! We were also able to celebrate Susie’s birthday with her whilst they were here! On the subject, she managed to, in the week that  she was here, make me excited to wake up at 6am, and go on a bike ride for 2 hours, before attending the long, all-day meetings with all of the English teachers in Joal. We saw some lovely scenery, and met some people to chat to along the way, but 6am. 6. 6am, and then school. 6.

The last week before the holidays was filled with teaching Christmas songs in Christmas themed lessons and wishing our students a Happy New Year! (whilst also gently reminding them to please glance at their English books at least a few times during their break.)

Having realised that it’s now getting late, my blog is getting long and the water has just come on, that’s it for this post. The end of term was not what I would normally expect of the start of the Christmas holidays. No films, hot chocolates and lie-ins for us, but so much much excitement. I think, however, that our adventures over the following 2 weeks warrant a post of their own!

It seems like ages ago now, but Happy New Year – see you all this year!

B xxx

Ngor Island – Dakar

The 6 of us Senegal volunteers at the British Ambassador’s Christmas Carol Party

La Maison des Esclaves – Isle de Goree

A late blog post for November!

After requests from various family members and a reminder from my Sixth form French teacher that some people do actually read my blog, I am finally getting round to posting this blog! So much has been happening that I haven’t been able to finish it before having to add new things, but what better time to get it started than during the routine midnight bucket-fill duty (a treat that the water has come on this early!)
The last few weeks has been crazy. A whirlwind of birthdays, marking tests, discovering Joal and even a few trips away! The weather (starting with this like a true Brit) is actually getting cooler. As in, some mornings, I’ve actually woken up a little bit chilly. I can actually function in the day time without searching desperately for cold water or the fan. (All fantastic news, apart from the cold water bucket showers becoming increasingly unwelcome!) It’s got to the point when, despite it still being about 27 degrees outside, I’m actually wearing jeans sometimes. Jeans.
Throughout November we had 3 birthdays to celebrate, Marieme’s (our now 7 year old sister) Charlottes, and our friend Zara’s, who is volunteering about 3 hours away in Kaolack. For Charlotte’s birthday, we decided to go all out, put on some make up (for the first time in a good few months) and head out for lunch. We explored a suggestion made by Aicha, our host mum. The taxi dropped us off at the place we asked, but it looked like the middle of nowhere. He pointed us down a dirt track, where, for what looked like miles around, there were only baobab trees, sand and cows. Walking down, we were sure he had done half a job, and just turfed us out before our desired location. Then, suddenly, a huge complex stood. Surrounded by ‘hut’ communities and the wild, was an American grill bar, take away, restaurant, gym and swimming pool! So random, but so lovely! Our pizzas had cheese on. Actual real life cheese. Cheese.
For Zara’s big 18th, we went on a little girly holiday, branching out into a really touristy area called Saly, only 45 minutes away! On entering our hotel room, we sounded like a group of pre-school aged children at biscuit time, running around exclaiming ‘THERE IS ACTUAL RUNNING WATER’ ‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S HOT’ ‘WHAT THERE IS AIR CONDITIONING NO WAY!’ Needless to say that the hotelier had seen this much appreciation for her hotel! We spent a lovely couple of days in Saly, enjoying the pool, the restaurants and even the clubs! The night we headed out to the club (accompanied by the waiter!) was… Different. We went for dinner early(ish) so as to ensure we had preparation time, but on the walk back, found ourselves ‘gatecrashing’ a big birthday ‘Saba!’ (Dance) Although we really weren’t supposed to be there, watching all of their moves, so fast that even my camera on sports mode couldn’t hack it, and the wonderfully colourful boubous was amazing! At 11.30, we ran into the hotel and yes, were all ready to leave for the club at 12am! It was the first time that charlotte and I had been to a nightclub since we left, so we made sure to enjoy every minute of dancing! The clubs here definitely differ from those in the UK. Most of those on the dance floor, and especially those with the most impressive dance skills (and who weren’t afraid to show them off in front of the mirror!) were the guys! I’ve picked up a few, so you better brush up your game if you’re coming out with me when I’m back!
As well as our trips away, we have also explore Joal more this month, now that we can walk around in the day time without becoming too hot to function! On our way back from Fadiouth, we decided to take a random turn, just because. Who knew that Joal had its very own tranquil mangrove plantation!? Okay, doesn’t sound that exciting, but the experience is enhanced when a random man offers you your first ride on the back of a horse and ‘cart’ (so much more unstable than it looks!)
Our time away from Joal this month has really made us realise how much we love the place, despite the rubbish and constant smell of fish, it really is beginning to feel like our home, not just somewhere we’re volunteering. Our classes are feeling like our own, and teaching the children to shout Aita and Coumba as we pass in the street instead of ‘Toubab’ has made us feel so much more accepted into this wonderful community.
I’ve had so much to write about, that to keep you up to date, I’m splitting it into three blogs, so this was November!

Ps. This month, I let charlotte give me a haircut. Partner trust right here.

7 weeks and a good number of days in?!

I’ve lost count of days and weeks now, so if someone would care to do the maths..! We’ve now been in Joal for almost a month. We arrived in our new home town after an unnecessarily early start (seeing as, even though we arrived at 10am, our host family had planned to return from visiting family in the evening – slight miscommunication there!) and a 2 hour car journey along the coast, which Charlotte and I spent attempting to undo the worst of my plaits. On Tabaski, and the day after, some girls volunteered to give me a new Senegalese hairstyle. After 7 hours, it was complete. As cool as the style was, it wasn’t me, and we decided that it was probably not best for me to meet our new family looking, well, odd.

After putting up our pictures and emptying our suitcases into the wardrobe, our little bedroom felt like home, and we really started to settle into our lives here. The family are lovely. We now have 2 sisters, Marieme aged 6 and Khadesa aged 1, and a brother, Mohammed, aged 13! They’re all so funny, and have really made us feel like part of the family! As well as us, Aicha and Amadou and the children, we are joined in the house by 2 resident bats, who live under the stairs. We normally have a fairly good arrangement, which is the classic, we can walk around the house in the day while they sleep, and they, in turn, can fly around at night, when we’re asleep, our only encounters being any late night runs to the bathroom, or when rising several times during the night waiting for the water to turn back on. Last week however, one bat, whom we have named Stupid Sid, forgot he was nocturnal. We spent 2 days at war with Sid, as he decided that his new favourite ‘hang out spot’ was our shower. In our bathroom. We thought it was all over when, when home alone one afternoon, I stood behind the door to the ‘ bat room’ and Charlotte by the door to the bathroom, and, after shouting when Sid was incoming, we managed to trap him in his room. Whilst I showered however, he escaped, and was waiting for me to open the door. It took him several days to realise that he was in the wrong, and you’ll be glad to hear that we are now back to normal.

For our first two weeks in Joal, the bikes which we now use to get to the further parts of the town, including one of our schools, needed repairing, leaving us with no option but to take a ‘taxi’. For 100francs you can get a ‘taxi’ to anywhere in Joal from the ‘taxi rank,’ which is fab, until you realise the risks involved. (It’s not all that serious, don’t worry mum!) It’s hectic. Cars drive, it seems, on whatever side of the road they fancy, at any speed, taking corners as wide as they like and sometimes go off road altogether, randomly, regardless of what or who may be walking in that space. Charlotte and I live in constant fear of being run over by cars, donkeys, horses, lorries from the port, public buses, mini buses and children on mopeds. Once you get in the taxi itself, the risk level isn’t decreased by much! We’ve not been in a single car which has looked like it has ever even considered an MOT! Some cars have holes, some have seats with the springs showing, and one driver spent the whole journey sipping his coffee with one hand, whilst leaning his elbow out of the window so that he could hold the door shut!

Our first few weeks were spent attempting to get our timetables sorted! The pace of life is slow in Senegal, and it was then when we started to realise that this could ever be a frustrating thing. Everyone, pupils and teachers alike, have a very laid back approach to the start of term. As we are teaching in 3 schools, trying to a) get someone to give us a timetable and b) attempting to juggle them was a task. Now it’s all sorted, I am teaching a 4eme class for 3 hours a week (I’ve been asked to revise all of the tenses with them, so I’m not sure I’m their favourite person at the moment,) a 1ere class at the sixth form for 3 hours a week and co-teaching at a private school for 4 hours a week! Private schools here are not like private schools back home. The conditions are the same, if not worse than the state schools, and resources are limited. The class sizes are much smaller (about 15 instead of over 40, or 60 at the sixth form) but other than that, it’s hard to see a difference!

When we have not been teaching or lesson planning, we’ve been exploring the area. We are so lucky to be living in such a lovely area! Our side of town is the port end. The working end of town! We are constantly popping up the road for watermelons (we are getting better at haggling for them in Wolof) and have even established our own doughnut lady, who always gives us one extra for free (May be kindness, may be a maths problem!) Either way, we aren’t complaining! It’s exciting discovering what kind of things we can get for what prices! One weekend, we planned to make banana pancakes for everyone for breakfast. We went to our classic banana man, who pointed us in the direction of an egg man. After purchasing our ingredients, we hurried home and got cooking. On breaking an egg, I was confused to discover that the contents did not, in the classic manner, flop into the cup. We had bought 8 boiled eggs! It was beyond us why anyone would assume we wanted to buy 8 boiled eggs over 8 normal ones, but welcome to Senegal! At the other end of town is our regular market, which has everything, even a stall selling winter coats, which is also beyond me, as we spend our days in a constant sweat!

Fadiouth is beautiful. This little island is at the very far end of town, and we’ve already visited a number of times. It’s a much more touristy end of town, as the island of Fadiouth is home to the only graveyard where Christians and Muslims can be buried together, and visitors come from all over to see it. We have seen a lot more ‘Toubabs’ there!

You’ll all be pleased (or maybe nervous) to hear that I’ve been trying to help with the cooking! Okay, so it’s been very supervised, but I’ve learnt how to dice onions without a chopping board, so I’m regarding that as a fairly big achievement! Charlotte and I have also volunteered to cook for the family on a few occasions! It’s been tough, for someone who it would be easy to believe has never cooked a successful dish in their lives, to then have to cook without an oven and with both lacking and unusual ingredients, but it’s worked so far! Our – just whack it all in and see what happens, if they don’t like it simply exclaim ‘well, it’s what we eat in England, it’s not bad, it’s just different for you’ – approach, has been a good one!

Last night (the 4th November) was the Muslim festival of Tamkharit, which some have described to us as ‘our Halloween’ and others as ‘Islamic New Year.’ From what we could gauge of the evening, it was new year, celebrated like Halloween! The problem that we are having with Senegal at the moment is that we have to force explanations out of people, and that we spend most of the time wondering what on earth is going on! In the evening, Marieme came in and explained. Finally! During the evening, it is traditional for the boys to dress as girls and the girls to dress as boys, and go around the houses in the neighbourhood singing and dancing! Marieme told us to wear pretty dresses, so we put on our Boubous from Tabaski (swapping to keep it fresh of course) and headed out with the children! Everybody was so happy! We came across some wonderful groups of dancers and drummers, and some crazy cross dressing! When we visited our friends house, a woman from the village came in enthusiastically dressed as an old man, with a white face! We felt a little awkward, as she didn’t make eye contact with us, but carried on as normal! We laughed, as it could quite possibly have been that the one year she decided to dress up as a white person, there happened to be two real-life white people in the next house – what are the chances!

Overall, my initial impressions of Joal are fab. It’s really lovely, especially being on the coast, and we are already feeling really at home! It is exciting that things are really starting to pick up speed, and that soon we can continue with a fantastic project called FAS JOM, which Project Trust volunteers have set up and run brilliantly for the past two years. The project aims to educate girls who can’t go to school in basic French and Maths. We are so excited to get this started for this year. We are so glad to be finally settled in and are really looking forward to the rest of our time here!

I’ll try and keep you all updated a bit more often, so as to avoid you having to set aside a good hour to read it all!

Botchikanam (not spelt like that, means see you later!)

BV xxx

25 days gone… Boubous, Colin, Wolof and Seven Dead Sheep.

Our last day in Yene has arrived! Whilst we are excited to get to our project, we’ve had such a good time here that it will be really sad to say goodbye!

I was planning on updating my blog about once every week, but as some of you may have worked out, I’ve already abandoned that plan! This will now be updated ‘when exciting things happen’ as you may not be so interested in ‘this week I washed all my clothes, hooray!’ This is going to be a long one, I apologise.

After two weeks of teaching 2nd and 3rd form at the summer school in Yene, which has helped to ease us into teaching and that we really enjoyed, we got a very welcome week off! We took the time to really explore Yene, go for walks on the beach (not as pleasant, we found out, if you walk in completely the wrong direction, get lost, have to climb over rocks to finally realise that you have left Yene altogether and ended up in the outskirts of the next town) and even had a girly meal at the restaurant with Rosie and Susie, the other volunteers. A weekend trip to Rufisque with our friend Khade resulted in the four of us buying the most funky material, and ordering a boubou each (traditional ‘Wolof’ dresses!) I must admit, it has been my coolest purchase of all of the purchases I have made in my life so far. The only down side was having to wait two full weeks until Tabaski before we could wear them!

Towards the end of our second week we learnt how to use our mosquito net. It really was a revelation. For our first two weeks, we had, with what we thought was a degree of skill, pinned down our net, such as with the outer lining of a tent, with a number of filled and half filled bottles of varying size, a rucksack and a hold-all. As our friends came in to say goodnight to us one evening, they looked at our creation, laughed and showed us, which now seems obvious, that you simply tuck the net under the mattress. We felt stupid, but at least we know now!

A few nights ago we had a visitor in our room, a small, orange coloured lizard! Once we found that he had moved from being under our mattress he became really cool. We named him Colin and took selfies with him. Then some of the girls who live in the house came in for a chat. A few minutes in we pointed out Colin to them on the wall, a few ran out screaming… Not the effect he had on us! Apparently Colin was dangerous. We all spent the next 20 minutes attempting to get him out of our room (our aim)/killing him with a broom handle (the others’ aim.) He survived.

Throughout our stay in Yene we have been having Wolof lessons with a semi-pro rapper from the area. Despite trying to practice Wolof around the village, when lost and when buying doughnuts (our favourite treat, they are tiny so we think it’s okay to have 3 at a time) or fataya, (kind of like Cornish Pasties) it’s fair to say that Wolof is not coming naturally to me just yet. I’m trying, but not with much success. Thankfully my French (the back-up language here) is improving, so we can still be understood by most people! 1 phrase has stuck so far though.’Amna Jekka’ (almost definitely not spelt like that but that’s how it sounds) which means ‘I have a husband’ has been very useful, proposal count is up to double digits!

Our amazing stay in Yene finished with Tabaski. The build up to and importance of this religious festival had much the same feeling as Christmas in the UK. For days before we saw girls having their hair done, weaves put in and beads everywhere! We knew it was going to be a huge and glamorous event! As we woke up on Sunday and, on hearing funny noises, looked out of the window, the day momentarily lost its glamour! From our bedroom we were in perfect view of the killing, hanging and skinning of two rams. This festival is in celebration of the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son. Each household sacrifices a number of rams, depending on the number of males in the house. Where me and Charlotte were staying there were seven! We did, however, get to wear our new boubous on this day, and everyone dressed up! We had the opportunity to help prepare some of the seasonings for the meat, which was cooked and eaten just like we were having a big barbecue, with chips on the side! We had been warned continuously about getting ill from this fresh meat, so, delicious as it was, ate in moderation – no complaints to report as a result!

The next day the festivities continued! In the evening we got dressed up again and headed to the square with two of our friends. Here, the majority of the town stood around the edge and women would run in one or two at a time to face a group of drummers, dance along for a few minutes and run back out! The dancing was amazing and so fast, even sports mode on my camera couldn’t keep up! When our friends told us we should run in and have a go we assumed they were joking, but as they pushed us through the crowd and persuaded us to take off our shoes, we realised they weren’t! Me, Charlotte and our two friends Khade and Fifi ran in! It was so fun, we’re so glad we did it! As we danced we heard shouts of ‘TOUBABS, LES TOUBABS DANSENT! YAAAAAAY!’ Such a good way to celebrate our last night in Yene!

We are looking forward to our time in Joal now, but we honestly will be sad to leave this little town!

If you’ve read this far well done, this was a long one! I’ll try to keep you all updated on the next few weeks!

B x. (Aka Aita – my new Senegalese name, Beth is apparently waaaaay too tricky to say!)

-8 days to go…

Hello! As my first week in Senegal draws to a close, I thought that, since I now have both internet and can use punctuation on the computer at the same time, it is best to update you all on my first week!
Our flight from Gatwick was pretty eventful, with our first flight delayed resulting in us 6 being escorted by airline staff for a super quick transfer, and eventually my bag being left in Lisbon! Anyway, an hour late, we arrived in Dakar, to be greeted by our country host, Mr T, and the heat. Even at 2am, we were sweating as we walked off the plane!
After spending two days all together in Dakar with Mr T, four of us, Charlotte, Rosie, Susie and I have moved to the small, rural fishing town of Yene. The past week has been a blur of meeting new families, teaching in the summer school, singing on the beach with a semi-professional rapper and attempting to learn Wolof. (How successful we have been remains to be seen!) Mine and Charlottes classes have been lovely and enthusiastic, and a few of the girls even walk us to and from school everyday!
After a week of staying in Yene, we are finally becoming accustomed to the powercuts, water shortages and bucket showers, and are really enjoying the friendliness and beauty of the country! Whilst I am looking forward to getting to Joal and starting our actual project, it will be a shame to leave here!
Thank you all so much for your messages and letters and support both during my fundraising, my leaving and my settling in for the first week, it has been much appreciated!

B x