Work Updates

I have two main types of projects, Junior Achievement (aka business classes at the high school, middle school, and elementary school) and then the Artisan Network. So here are some work updates:

I taught my third class at the elementary school. We talked about government services and how it pays for those services (taxes). When I asked the students if government employees had to pay taxes too they all said no - that was clearly corrected quickly. That group has two classes left (the next two Tuesdays) then I'm totally done.

Today I was supposed to hand out certificates to the high schoolers who had finished the program. Last year I printed the certificates but I decided to class it up a little this time around. There are pre-made Junior Achievement certificates that look a little more official so about two weeks ago I requested those certificates. I kept double checking that I would be getting them yesterday when I was in Thies for another meeting. I was assured that OF COURSE I would have the certificates - so I didn't prepare any of my own. Yesterday came and - no certificates... the woman in Dakar hadn't signed them. Which meant that I had to go today and tell the kids to come back another week when I may or may not have the certificates. Though it seems like something small it is truly infuriating that something so simple couldn't be accomplished. Had I known that these certificates weren't going to be there - I would have printed my own yesterday when I had access to a color printer. It drives me nuts that this type of disappointment happens so often that the kids have come to expect it from their teachers and other adults. I was really hoping to show them throughout the class that you could defy the norms and succeed - that a creative business could do well - that when I set a meeting it would happen... and it didn't happen. On my way to the class I bought two liters of soda as an apology. While I was walking under the burning sun and being have racial slurs thrown at me by kids - I just kept getting more frustrated. These students have finals coming up, they live really far, and as if their lives aren't hard enough just being in Senegal, two of them have physical handicaps. It was eating me up that I couldn't follow through on such a simple thing. Everyone was really appreciative of the soda and the students that won were excited and proud of themselves. I told them I would give the certificates to the principal and they could just stop by and pick them up when they were around the school. Tomorrow I have to go through the same thing with my middle schoolers. Here is a picture of the high schoolers and me.

In artisan news we had our second official Artisan Network meeting yesterday. I think there were about nine artists there (that includes the two that showed up after the two hour meeting ended). We talked about preparations for Jazz Fest and Network membership regulations. Because Alyssa and I don't want to force any of our ideas on the group everything has to be done leadingly as in, "If I was someone who wanted to join, what should I have to pay?" "Really, so I would have to pay the inscription fee AND dues for when I wasn't a member... oohhhh ok so just the inscription fee then dues moving forward... great." After two hours of that (including an artist mocking the way I said, "ok, are we good, can we move on?" I was exhausted. Sure, running a two hour meeting isn't actually THAT mentally draining but add on the complicated layers of language and it's a lot. Amongst the volunteers we all speak English - and that's including during the artisan meeting... if we had a point to clarify or double check, it's just easier for us to speak to each other in English. And we speak to the artists in French, Wolof, or Frolof (the combination of the two) and they respond in Wolof which was then translated to us in French for total comprehension. It was draining.

The new business volunteers (aka my replacement and their new best friends) have 20 days left in the US! If any of you are out there reading - enjoy a burger or, even better, a salad with good dressing, for me! I'll be posting more summation type things soon, but I'll leave you all with this impressive tibit: I was bored today (shocking) and calculated that, during the past almost two years I have eaten approximately more than my own weight in rice - about 125% my weight in rice. Yum.

KO

And the winner is...

This week I finished teaching the business classes at the middle school and high school! Each group sold their business idea to me as if I was an investor and then answered some questions about the general topics they've learned. Some groups gave mediocre presentations but there were a few groups who really seemed to have learned a lot. In the high school I was particularly impressed by the group who's business idea was to open a pool. I told them to dream big and, without a model business to go on, they came up with a pretty good plan for their pool. They had the most unique idea overall and they seemed to really understand the material from the class.

In the middle school there weren't any ideas that were just leaps and bounds above everyone else but my favorites were: a library, a dairy products factory, a clothing line. Sure not the MOST original ideas in the world but those groups worked really hard and understood the lessons well.

This week I also started teaching at the elementary school my 12 year-old host sister attends. I'm working with 30 students in her grade (including her) on a 5 week program that introduces really basic business and community structure ideas. Last week we did the first two lessons (what are communities/jobs within a community and unit/assembly line production) and I'll be teaching every Tuesday for the next 3 weeks.

The girls' camp is moving along but I'm just the liaison between the University and volunteers running it so I don't know much of their plans. I know it's in the works and I'm sure it's going to be great.

Work with Matar is also coming along - there's a meeting for all of the artists in the Artist Network Tuesday in Thies. The Network also paid for two booths at the big Jazz Fest in St. Louis at the beginning of June.

Oh! How could I forget! I had my first meeting with my scholarship girls yesterday! I'm doing it at a different school from last year (I wanted to spread a wealth a little). One of the girls was in my business class and overall they all seem very pleasant. We're meeting next week so they can write their essays (what do you want to be when you grow up? and what's the largest problem facing girls in education?) then they'll each have a really basic interview with me and I'll visit their houses. They all already won $10 towards their school enrollment fees and 3 of them will win $30 to buy all of their school supplies for next year. I'll be doing all of the paperwork and submitting the applications to the volunteer committee but it'll be my replacements job to go school supply shopping with them and actually distribute the money/certificates. I had such an amazing time last year shopping for school supplies with the winners so I don't think my replacement will mind that I've lined up some work for them already. I'll keep you posted on this new batch of impressive young women!

That's all that's been going on here work-wise. The power outages have been very frequent and long (I think, recently, the longest one was 18 hours). Sure not having power is annoying but not having water (the water cuts about 45 minutes after the power) is HORRIBLE. I have 6 gallons of water stored in my room and my host family has another 20 in huge plastic drums downstairs. We have power this morning, though, so I'm taking full advantage of it.

One final note - congratulations to everyone who just graduated! I have many wonderful friends who finished undergrad or completed classes for their masters - hats off to them! Good luck conquering the world!

Cheers,
KO

Timing...

Today started out pretty uneventful, I had things I wanted to get done but nothing set. My hostdad, however, has decided it's time for me to start working (something I'm mostly fine with) and planned a busy morning. I had a really long, great conversation about the importance of theater and its role in Senegalese culture. The friend who we were talking to, an inspector at the school and someone who has his own theater troupe (we'll see as far as that goes this Saturday), explained because Senegalese history is an oral history, retelling history is really important to keep it alive. Even more so because when the French came they reorganized and rewrote (mostly just ignored) Senegalese history. There are still remnants in some pretty recent texts on African history, a discipline that is kind of being re-discovered because so much of it had been ignored before. All of this got me really excited to get something going, not that I wasn't before, but I had no idea what the potential benefit would be and now it's starting to form. I have a friend from freshman year who gave me some great advice on community theater, they have to put on a show about what they care about, which is kind of how I feel about all of my work - it could be the best project there is but I can't be the only one invested in it. The friend said he'd call the troupe together for a meeting this Saturday.... which is when I was brought back to reality:
Friend: What time Saturday works for you? 3pm?
KO: Um, whatever time works best for you... I'm always here.
Friend: So 3pm? 4pm?
KO: (thinking if we say 3 it won't start until 4) Yeah. 3pm.
Friend: oooohhhhhhh I don't think the Senegalese (he's Senegalese) will come, it's hot then.
KO: Ok.... 4pm?
Friend: It's still really hot. What about 5pm?
KO: yeah. that's works.

So that kicked off what today's theme seemed to be "timing."

Next my hostdad took me to the high school because I'm trying to set up correspondence with a sociology class at my old high school and a teacher I'm paired with through the Peace Corps World Wide Schools system (basically I was given a penpal class and they want to talk to Senegalese people too). So my hostdad and I walk into the principal's office (walking ahead of the huge line of students of course).
Secretary: He's really busy.
hfdad: hmmmmmmm....
Sct: Look at all the students.
hfdad: hmmmmmm
Sct: can you come back this afternoon?
hfdad: hmmmmmm we're here now.
Sct: ok after these two girls you can go in.

Obviously if it was just me I would have believed him when he said "come back this afternoon" (a habit I need to break) so thankfully my hfdad was there to get me in to see the Principal. A quick note on that, if my ancienne (the girl who was here before me) is reading, thank you SO SO SO SO MUCH. Not only do I have patron living conditions but Mor (my hfdad) is really invested in helping me and he's taken me around to meet people and summoned people to our house. You are amazing, you have an outstanding reputation here (which is why I don't mind when people call me by your name). Thank you.

The rest of my day followed pretty normally: lunch, some internet time, talked with Matar about what he's selling at the upcoming Artisan Expo, hung out with the family that runs the boutique that sells killer bean sandwiches (unfortunately I'm not a morning person and usually miss out), came home, sat with the family, watched some Mexican soap opera, ate dinner, and came to my room.

Overall, a good day in Bambey (that could be because I also ate some donuts aka fried millet balls but they're really good)! Tomorrow I start wolof tutoring we'll see how it goes!

Ba suba,
KO