Christmas Food

Food details: chili and broccoli cheddar soup for Christmas Eve dinner. Eggs and hash browns for Christmas breakfast. Appetizers throughout today. And CONSTANT COOKIES! Eating well, no worries. 

Christmas in Senegal

For Christmas in Senegal we have chosen to descend upon the PCVL apartment in Theis. Most of our work zone is here to enjoy some American company, comfort, and food. This is certainly my most interesting Christmas I've ever had. The food is surprisingly similar, the conversation is mostly concentrated on homely memories, and the weather is COLD!  Overall I am in good spirits and enjoying these relatively new friends. Of course I miss church, home, family, and friends but the deeper I get into this adventure, the more my commitment to these two years is enforced. My only wish is that all who miss me enjoy themselves and shoot me a txt or email to say hi. Much love and wishes of a blessed Christmas coming from Senegal. 

The Championship

Two days after I installed the all-Mboro futball league championship game happened in the stadium right next to my house.  I have been amazed over the past few months by not only the amount of talented players there are in the league but also by how much the town rallies behind these games. This one in particular must have had half the town there. Try to imagine 15,000 people cramped into a space maybe the size of a high school stadium and half the seating. The entire dirt field was lined with spectators, many sitting on top of the walls. Kids were running around everywhere, crowds of them waiting to get in for free when they can. There were groups of drummers, dancers, and sellers making so much noise. This combined with the boisterous spectators and an announcer on huge speakers made a collective sound that could be heard all over town. 

So far I've not seen anything like it. I saw a local youth group there the day before putting up tarps for shade. The Senegalese Red Cross was there for medical support. Even the mayors office provided a tractor to transport the speakers and provide other logistical support. I'm starting to see that futball is going to be crucial to work here. This is not just a hobby in town. People expect young men to play and seldom understand why anyone wouldn't want to. Work must be planned around it and opportunities may even present themselves within it. I can see that it gains people respect off the field if they can perform on the field.  For me, I'll have to find some other way to gain that respect. 

Home-sweet-home

I'm in Mboro, installed with my new family and a whole new setup. I've got a lot to do and not too much time to do it. PST2 (Pre-Service Training 2) is only a few weeks away and I have a large report to write by then.  But actually the past two weeks were very exciting so I will recap and take a step away from that. 

I think the last time I wrote here we were leaving our CBT families. The next day we had our Wolof exams. Luckily I passed. The day after that we had a little field trip to Popenguine for Thanksgiving. To say it was gorgeous would be an understatement.  So if you really want to know, come visit and you can buy me dinner at a nice French restaurant on the beach there. We cooked our own meals which was beautifully hectic. We had a very American spread with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken (turkey is extremely expensive here), and even chocolate/pumpkin/apple pies. Altogether the two day stay made for the most memorable (and warm) Thanksgiving I've ever had. 

After that we had our swearing-in ceremony in Dakar. We were all dressed very well in local attire. It was an extravagant ceremony with many in attendance. Coincidently this year is also the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps Senegal.  This made it a huge party with three artists performing including Baba Mall, one of the biggest in Senegal. Throughout the whole party the Wolof words "Lu Yagg, Degg La" were repeated. It's a Wolof proverb used as the motto of the 50th anniversary. It means "If something lasts long, it is true."  And I can tell this has been true for PC Senegal. Of course our goal is to eventually leave this country, but right now i can see how this hard working staff has created a respected organization in Senegal. Upholding that reputation and working hard with Senegalese citizens is a hope of mine now that I am in my site. Now starts my two years of service!

Swearing in picture

Before our swearing-in we had a little picture session at the training center. I will have a lot to say about this and our thanksgiving on the beach very soon! Stay updated! 

Blog-exclusive pic

Unfortunately I lost my camera recently so I am limited to the pictures I already have and the ones I can take on my iPad. I will do my best until I find an alternative. But here is a picture of the huge sheep my permanent site family has in their back yard. 

There are no interruptions

My very last night with my host family. It was very significant and very insignificant in different ways. Significant because it was the last night I would officially be contracted to live with them. They had been such good hosts and I found it hard to properly express myself with my broken Wolof bumblings. This last night would somehow represent the cumulation of all I've experienced with them so far. Insignificant because I will actually be installing one kilometer away from them. I will see them often and hopefully eat many more beautifully cooked cheb u gens and ginard frites with them. So despite this "just like any other night" night we did fortunately get to have a great conclusion to CBT together by going to the church concert in which my mom was singing. 

It was supposed to start at 10 but it didn't actually get going until 11. It was SO loud. But weirdly I enjoyed it SO much. At first my senses were overloaded by the dust filling my chest, the stench of burning trash devastating my nostrils, and the deafening screech of feedback from the mics. Once the music started though it was easy to be overcome by what I was seeing and hearing. The rhythms sounded like something straight out of The Lion King. The only other way I can think to describe what I heard is beautiful elevator, gospel, stomp, and acapella-esque. Which brings me to the title of this post. During the singing, many people from the audience were coming up to the singers, the choir director, and the musicians to put scarves on them. People were totally interrupting the show and distracting the performers in this way. But that's how it went. For the whole concert. People would dance, cheer, and holler as if they were just as much a part of the performance. I've never seen such a rich example of Senegalese culture. There are no interruptions. Everyone's time is shared. 

Fast Internet

I am at the Theis training center which now means fast Internet! As a result here is a blog-exclusive picture of beautiful lemons from the master farmer's field in Mboro. 

I'll never look at chicken the same

This year bought a Halloween unlike any other for me. There was some real killing, real blood, and a real zombie...chicken. If you didn't know me previously it is important to know I used to be pretty squeamish and blood averse. But since I'm in the Peace Corps and things are constantly changing for me, when offered the opportunity to slaughter a chicken, I accepted.  I decided to learn how to process a chicken from catching it all the way to eating it. I'm not sure I totally appreciated the appropriateness of this taking place on Halloween but looking back I'm almost glad for the timing. 

So more about the slaughter. All I really care to share is that it was killed humanely, with my knife, and by my hands. It breathed its last breaths hanging from the compound's clothes line. The chickens were then gutted on the tables where I (used to) do my laundry. I learned that preparing a chicken is actually a very complicated, labor-intensive process and that some of my fellow trainees are uncomfortably good with a blade. The chickens were cooked over an open fire in the middle of the training center for all to see. Also cooked were the gizzards, livers, and even a testical "Kentucky style" by Jake from Knoxville. There were many leftovers which made the night guards pretty happy. 

So just when I thought I was becoming a calloused butcher and fearless outdoorsman, I had a hard time falling asleep that night due to the image of the slaughter playing over and over again in my head. I thought I was going to escape the mental torment for a little while when i went to my CBT site. Unfortunately this was not the case as my family chose this as the day they would slaughter their 30 chickens for sale. I helplessly looked on with my 6 year old host sister as one-by-one they were effortlessly passed to the reaper. I think this may be God's way of saying I wasn't cut out for killing. 

Quick culture note about chickens: they are relatively expensive here so they eat them about as much as people typically eat fish in the US. As suggested previously my host father raises and kills chickens. We just got a new freezer here which is now full of 30 chickens. This means we have chicken a little more often than the typical family. My first experience was fried and stuffed chicken with spaghetti; by far my favorite meal here so far. For the past two days we have been having different mixtures of chicken parts and left over sheep meat from Tabaski (which was two weeks ago).  Here they eat almost any edible part of the chicken. I like particularly the heart. I just now had rice with chicken feet, intestines, liver, neck, and some other mysterious components. This makes me wonder what happens to those parts in the US...Hot dogs?  Anyway I have become very fond of chicken dishes here. It's a good break from fish and rice. I feel very spoiled every time the dish is uncovered and I see some tough white meat. And now that I've been on the other side of preparation, I have a whole new appreciation for the meal. 

I'll never look at chicken the same

This year bought a Halloween unlike any other for me. There was some real killing, real blood, and a real zombie...chicken. If you didn't know me previously it is important to know I used to be pretty squeamish and blood averse. But since I'm in the Peace Corps and things are constantly changing for me, when offered the opportunity to slaughter a chicken, I accepted.  I decided to learn how to process a chicken from catching it all the way to eating it. I'm not sure I totally appreciated the appropriateness of this taking place on Halloween but looking back I'm almost glad for the timing. 

So more about the slaughter. All I really care to share is that it was killed humanely, with my knife, and by my hands. It breathed its last breaths hanging from the compound's clothes line. The chickens were then gutted on the tables where I (used to) do my laundry. I learned that preparing a chicken is actually a very complicated, labor-intensive process and that some of my fellow trainees are uncomfortably good with a blade. The chickens were cooked over an open fire in the middle of the training center for all to see. Also cooked were the gizzards, livers, and even a testical "Kentucky style" by Jake from Knoxville. There were many leftovers which made the night guards pretty happy. 

So just when I thought I was becoming a calloused butcher and fearless outdoorsman, I had a hard time falling asleep that night due to the image of the slaughter playing over and over again in my head. I thought I was going to escape the mental torment for a little while when i went to my CBT site. Unfortunately this was not the case as my family chose this as the day they would slaughter their 30 chickens for sale. I helplessly looked on with my 6 year old host sister as one-by-one they were effortlessly passed to the reaper. I think this may be God's way of saying I wasn't cut out for killing. 

Quick culture note about chickens: they are relatively expensive here so they eat them about as much as people typically eat fish in the US. As suggested previously my host father raises and kills chickens. We just got a new freezer here which is now full of 30 chickens. This means we have chicken a little more often than the typical family. My first experience was fried and stuffed chicken with spaghetti; by far my favorite meal here so far. For the past two days we have been having different mixtures of chicken parts and left over sheep meat from Tabaski (which was two weeks ago).  Here they eat almost any edible part of the chicken. I like particularly the heart. I just now had rice with chicken feet, intestines, liver, neck, and some other mysterious components. This makes me wonder what happens to those parts in the US...Hot dogs?  Anyway I have become very fond of chicken dishes here. It's a good break from fish and rice. I feel very spoiled every time the dish is uncovered and I see some tough white meat. And now that I've been on the other side of preparation, I have a whole new appreciation for the meal. 

Sports

So I think I now have at least a beginners feel for how many Senegalese interact with sports. There will always be more to learn about the complex fascination with athletic prowess here but for now I I can explain the basics. 

Futball (soccer):

It is ingrained in every neighborhood of every city I have seen so far. Especially young men are so interested in playing and watching futball. I asked my neighbor Djia Djia what his favorite thing in the whole world is and he said "to watch the futball highlights on tele."  Most cities have formal or informal stadiums and many players organized into leagues to fill these stadiums. At any time of day where the temperature is bearable you will see kids in the streets playing futball with anything from an actual ball to a rolled up wad of cloth. And most often three out of four are wearing futball jerseys. In a country where pre-made clothing is much more expensive, one takes notice of such things.  These are only the informal observations anyone can make walking around Senegal. Apparently there are some much more serious themes behind their love for the sport. 

Many young men train so hard to play futball at a high level. If someone is running or exercising it is safe to assume they're doing it for futball. For many this effort is in the hope that they will make something out of themselves as a professional athlete. This has taken many of them out of the workforce and away from household duties. In many cases this prolongs the poverty cycle for those families. Many people think they can make the Senegalese national team which in 2002 made the World Cup and defeated France to earn a spot in the quarter finals. It may be hard for many Americans to imagine this as anything but a marginal and trivial cultural trend but I recently found out something tragic from two of our Wolof teachers. Not long ago a group of hundreds of past-prime idealistic futball players realized that they would not be contributing members of Senegalese society. They had not gone to school, picked up a trade, or had any sellable skills. They all got into fishing boats (which are more like large canoes here) and tried to navigate to Portugal or Spain. They all died during this pursuit of a better life. The massive amounts of deaths from these journeys drew a lot of attention to this problem for a short time. This has brought new meaning to the futball obsession for me. The obsession is beyond an athletic release for them. So many men my age feel that they can become professionals. In a country where so many families are struggling to put good food on the table, it is hard for me to find any kind of legitimacy in their fantasies. 

Lamb wrestling:

I have not seen this sport practiced nearly as much but informal and sometimes impromptu matches spring up all over the place. This is a huge national sport and the most prominent figures are printed onto many popular products. The season has not started yet but I will surely see the extent of its allure soon. 

Basketball: 

Not too many people play or enjoy watching basketball. At least this has been my experience so far. It seems like more of a hobby sport in many cities. There is a school called the Seeds Academy near the Theis training center where students learn typical curriculum and get good formal teaching but go there for free since they are so talented in basketball. Some students have even been drafted by the NBA. They come from all over Senegal. I don't have too much more information than that but some Peace Corps volunteers do work there so I will find out more soon. 

Surfing: 

So far I have only witnessed this as a sport for tourists and Rastafarians. Many Senegalese cannot swim since the only place to learn is in really choppy oceans and life vests are hard to find. I would love to do some work with surfing programs in the future so it may be an uphill battle. The waves here are beautiful, especially in Mboro. Apparently the only surfing can be found in Dakar however. 

Running:

Many people do not run for sport. They just call it exercise or training for futball. There is a marathon in Tamba every year though so there may be hope for me yet. I do plan on running consistently when I am at site so this could possibly create some interest in Mboro. Time will tell. 

For now this in-exhaustive and poorly researched report will serve as my baseline. I hope to learn more about new and culturally exclusive sports as time goes on. I also hope to report more about how these sports reflect and idealize their culture. 

Tabaski

For those if you who don't know and are too lazy to look it up, Tabaski is a holiday celebrated by Muslims all over the world but it is only called such in Senegal. It is a celebration and sacrifice in remembrance of God's provision to Isaac when asked to sacrifice his son. Every family who has the financial means buys or raises a sheep to slaughter on this day. In. Our neighborhood in Mboro some families slaughtered as many as 3 or 4 sheep. 

Personally I had a great Tabaski. I was invited to many houses since my host family is catholic. I went to my friend Sarah's for the first meal and spent most of the morning peeling potatoes and slicing onions. After having some garlic barbecued ribs and onions I moved on to Austin's. There I was fed roasted and seasoned sheep with onions bread and lettuce. It was really a treat and I was so grateful for the family graciously letting me eat so much of their food. I was invited to Daniel's family's meal also but they put it in a bowl for me to enjoy later. The rest of the day was filled with digesting and celebrating Austin's birthday with others. 

I had sheep for every meal about 5 days afterwards so I've eaten enough bone fragment filled meat for at least a year. I really enjoyed this holiday. It combines elements from Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Yom Kippur for them. They really look forward to it and really go all out. The whole neighborhood brought my family meat since they did not slaughter a sheep. I'm learning more and more everyday about the traditions and celebrations here. More to come soon!

Naps

One more thing I love, we can take naps anywhere we want, whenever we have time off. 

Quick picture of training camp in Theis

Staying in Mboro

Yesterday we found out where our permanent sites will be. They performed a ceremony-like procedure where we were all blindfolded and guided to our respective locations on a large map painted on the basketball court. As I stood there in anticipation of the reveal I remembered the prayers I prayed back in January after my initial interview with my recruiter. I had asked her what my chances were of getting an assignment and she told me basically it was only a matter of time. I began thinking about my community at that instant. I wondered what they would be like and I wondered what they would need. I started getting excited then and it has not stopped. I didn't know the process would take so long and the decision would be made a few weeks before I found out, but here I am. And I am so happy. I love Mboro and I'm very excited to start working there. It is very hot right now but apparently it cools down after October. There is a Catholic Church there which is fun to attend. I don't understand anything yet but the music is worth the language barrier. I have already made a few friends and learned the basics. I have a lot to learn about my community and how I can contribute but for now I am thrilled to be (almost) a part of Peace Corps Senegal. I have many steps to take over the next month to be sworn in. I will continue to pray for usefulness and patience. 

Some Pictures from Tabaski

On our way to take our official Tabaski photos. 

Djia djia and I dressed up. 

The sheeps all cleaned up and enjoying their last supper. 

TTC

Chillin in Theis Training Center. 

Mboro

I found an Internet cafe in Mboro. I am here for my hose stay learning Wolof and acclimating to the Senegalese culture and food. I am still waiting for time to write an extended post but for now I can say I am healthy and happy. The people here are great. I just received my first evaluation and I'm still here.  I have been running a little more but right now it is still just too hot to do it safely. Right now the priorities are eat, sleep, speak Wolof. I am missing America but I have a long time here and I want to enjoy it in solidarity so I am patient with these feelings. Overall a good report from here. 

   Much love

                    -Leon

Leon Baba Ciss

This is my new Senegalese name. I have met my family who will teach me how to speak Wolof and Senegalese living. They feed me the best food and treat me way to well. I still feel like I'm on vacation but there is some definite pressure to pick up this language. This post will be short but I hope to get a longer one in later this week about what I've been up to. I will hopefully be able to get in a few pictures by then too. 

Nanga def?

      The dominant sport here is soccer, well...futball. Many Americans have heard about lamb wrestling from Senegal (which I will get to later) but futball is king.  Arriving in Senegal the first things noticed were the people everywhere not necessarily doing anything in particular, the goats walking around freely, and the tons of people playing futball.  There were many fields along the highway; made of dirt and utilizing buried tires as boundaries. The biggest structure I saw was their futball stadium. It was something you would expect to see in the US. The PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader) in my van told us that futball games are huge events here and they also use the stadium occasionally for lamb wrestling tournaments. I fell asleep after that so the next thing I knew we were pulled over on the side of the highway with our driver taking a knee in the bushes while we waited for the other Peace Corps vans. We soon pulled into Theis and arrived at our compound. We are on lockdown until we get our safety and security briefing tomorrow. Many of us are getting stir crazy but I'm sure it would be worse if everyone here weren't incredible. Monday we are free! (Almost). We will go explore a little bit and try our hands at bargaining in Wolof. 

        Personally I am doing great. Sleeping has been a little hard because of asthma and trying to adjust to the new allergens. My immune system must hate me right now but I have not gotten too much grief for the abuse. The food is great! A lot of rice cooked with oil is typical. Meat is available for lunch and dinner. There is bread, salad, and coffee all the time. None if this will last for long.  When we get to our CBT (Community Based Training, with a nearby family to learn the language) there will not be so many options. The WAY we eat, which I actually love, is crouching around one large bowl and everyone eating with a spoon. At our sites this will be pretty typical, just without the spoon. There are countless more things I could say about this culture, it's nuances, and why I love it but the power and wifi might go out by then. I will get this post through while I can. 

    Pictures to come soon!

Good luck Stonehill XC at CodFish Bowl, do great!

       All is well,

                     -Tim

       

Made it!

      We landed yesterday in Dakar, took an hour bus ride to Theis, then ate, danced, and napped. Really feels like a vacation at this point. We have started culture training and we will soon be doing language courses. Overall things are good. I am safe, healthy, and very warm. I will post more extensively later when I have more time, inshallah (God willing). 

     -Tim

Tourist Haze

         I am writing from JFK but I do not know when I will have wifi to send this post. We have successfully made it to JFK and through security..I think.  I am amazed by my fellow trainees. I am in freshman year of college all over again. Nobody knows exactly what they're doing but a lot of people seem to know better than me. I think there are 68 of us but I have not gotten a thumb on the exact number. What I DO know is that these people amaze me. I thought I was prepared for this journey but every person I meet in our group has already done phenomenal things with their lives. There are those who did their undergrads at Cornell and Georgetown, someone works on a fishing boat in Alaska, and another was raised in Tanzania. That's just the beginning. There are two married couples in the group.  Many of us speak a different language fluently. Everyone is incredibly positive and excited to lose all of their American comforts. I'm learning that these people are going to be the physical support that will get me through hard times over the next two years.  They have the same worries and they have similar aspirations. It is easy to see that amazing volunteers are the engine that drives the Peace Corps. 

       I am in a haze because I'm not nervous. That might be bad but it feels pretty good. It is probably because of all the warm thoughts coming from everywhere I have friends and the support of these people around me now. I'm sure it will change soon and I'll write about it here.  Hope you're ready. 

       In relation to running, have not done much since my weekend at Stonehill.  I have been mostly mentally training to conquer the inevitable culture shock. However, I have met other runners in the group who want to run!  One just got 9th place in a Wyoming North Face trail marathon. Another ran for Western Colorado, a DII power house in cross country.  We will all have a great time exploring Senegal by foot. I also met someone who is as excited as I am to explore the wrestling culture in Senegal. Soon we'll be tapping into our macho instincts. 

       Finally, thank you all for the warm thoughts and support. Girls, thank you for taking Lizzie out for cheesecake, you know her well. Thanks to everyone else involved in our lives supplying much needed support and writing nice things about me. You are all as always too kind and exaggerate too much.  Updates will come soon and they will be from Senegal!  Bisimillah!

     Much Love,

                        -Tim

Next stop: Philadelphia

I am at Logan and getting ready to leave. Next stop is Philadelphia. I wanted to get in a quick post while I still have reliable Internet. Plus a lot of you have been asking for my address. Here it is:

PCT Tim Johnson

Corps de la Paix

B.P. 299

Thies, Senegal

West Africa

If you send mail to that address, I should eventually get it. Packages are not so certain. Thanks everyone again for such an amazing weekend with friends, music, and great food. Much love.

Bon Voyage,

         -Tim

Exodus Adventurous

My blood is vaccinated, My bags are packed, and My family is sad. It's time to go to Senegal. 

If you're reading this it most likely means you know me. And if you know me then you know where I'm going, why, and what this blog is basically about so I will skip those details for now. What I am posting about today is a little of my personal reservations about leaving and more importantly the concept overriding the theme of my blog. So let's get at it:

I've never been this emotional about leaving Thomaston (my home town in CT). It's not that I don't usually like it here, but rather because it is literally my favorite few days out of the year for weather. The leaves are just starting to turn, the air is crisp but not chilling, and it smells like apples everywhere.  It also doesn't ease my exodus that I have been having so much fun lately seeing everyone and saying goodbye. This has given a lot of my friends opportunities to see each other and I'm so happy about that.  The whole object though, which makes it all a bit ironic, is that I leave and don't come back for a while. So ultimately i must put my attachments to the past away and cling to a new and exciting future with the Peace Corps. 

About this blog: aside from my weekly (maybe monthly depending on Internet access) stories and grumblings from Senegal, I want to write about the world I see through an athletic lens.  Similar to the way many writers explore the world by food, I want to use running as a base to encounter many local and national sports. My background is running (I guess the metaphorical hamburger/hotdog meal in this situation) but I am really excited to see both how people run and perform other sports customary to their areas.  I hope to find this as an influential part of their culture and maybe it will, after all, lead to some great food experiences too. If this doesn't make sense quite yet we will just have to see where this  literary voyage takes us.

Thanks for readying and Bon Voyage!

      -Tim