It has been incredibly hot. I know I joke that I live on the Sun, but it is really hot. It feels like this past month has had more days above 110 degrees than under it. While that is incredibly unbelievable to myself, still, it is the sad-am-I-crying-no-that-is-just-sweat truth. I live my life now in different levels of moistness. No matter what, I am moist. I am either just damp from walking home from work and just trying to get water or I can’t feel the difference from being under the shower to just sitting there.
But that is not the point of me writing this. The point is to give a little background of peace corps and how I am doing in this area that fans blow hot air most of the time. There are three goals of Peace Corps that as a volunteer you are in pursuit to do.
1.) To help the people of interested countries meet their needs for trained men and women
So each country chooses to have peace corps present. This is not an organization that just sees from the outside and infiltrates to make “repairs” to a system that Peace Corps view is flawed. The host country communicates with Peace Corps the issues and possible problems in country are. Peace Corps provides the outside look, if wanted, and the volunteers are there to be the voice of “not later, now”
2.) To promote better understanding of the American People on part of the people served.
This is kinda a fancy way of saying that it is an educational experience to learn about the host country. We are encouraged to engage in local culture as much as possible and share what we have learned to America. Just because Peace Corps is present in the country does not mean it is a “developing country.” I think “developing” that puts a negative spin on many countries in our world. It applies to the poor narrative and says that they need our help, they are less fortunate, or they are just not ready yet. That thought process restricts the ability to learn so much more about the country. So many people who live in Senegal explain that they feel safer in Senegal than in the states. Also, Teranga. Teranga is just a giving philosophy. No matter what people will invite you to eat with them, and not as a manner’s thing, they will feed you. The fact that these families are taking in 270 volunteers. I mean I in an earlier post I explained that I was given two complete outfits, I got another one.
3.) To help promote better understanding of other people on the part of the American people.
Again, a fancy way of saying teaching your host family and maybe your town about American culture. In my experience, people assume that I have a lot of money and my life is easy because I live in America. There is some truth to that matter, because while I can afford to buy a computer and some people around me can’t, or my concerns where about what my future education possibilities and not where can I enough nutrients if my market doesn’t have a lot of options. It is a different culture and takes time to explain that not everyone in America is rich, there are problems as well as good things. However this explanation with my host family mostly consists of my wonder of animals that I see like camels and giant cows and my family ask if there are any in America.
I have also taught my family some phrases in English to explain myself. Especially with this heat the phrase “dafa tang lool” (which means “it is really hot”) I don’t think exclaims my desperation and exhaustion from being moist all day. One day I was just tired of saying “dafa tang lool” so I said I would teach them the phrase in English, when my sister (who knows some English) said “it is very hot” in a very proper way. I agreed, and then went on to say that it is also “SOOOO HOT” is another way to explain it. Now, when I am exsausted from the heat I say the correct phrase in Wolof and then “SOOO HOT” and I hear the echo from the 3, 5, 7, 23, 30, and 70 year old in my compound. If that is not goal 3 then what really is?
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