more than just peanuts

I've been pretty tired the last few days and very much annoyed with being called "toubab". Luckily I've found a few ways to combat the situation.

1. Drinking more water -- the heat here is sneaky, I don't realize I'm parched till I have to drink a whole 1.5L bottle. I'm in the air conditioned lab for most of the day (its for the good of the reactants) and when I'm handling blood, urine, or worse, I'm not likely to have a water bottle around to grab.

Number 2 and more interesting, I'm learning how to greet people first. Greeting here is so important -- walking down the street it is expected that you greet anyone you pass whether they're sitting by a tangana (senegal's own version of fast food) even if you don't know the person you're expected to say hello. So by greeting first, they're happy to see that I care enough to say hi and slightly impressed with my Wolof skills, making it easier to say no to invitations to sit down and talk with them.

3. Making jokes. Lots of jokes here, i could write another blog post about it but basically if I can manage to make a joke out of the situation then they're even more impressed and I can move on knowing that I wasn't a jerk for ignoring them and trying to just stay on my own path.

4. Old women selling peanuts on the street make great conversation partners. For example Racheol whom I met yesterday buying peanuts. I sat down to talk with her today and she offered some great advice. Of course she asked if I had a husband (no) and then if I wanted a Senegalese husband. She agreed with me that I should find a man that will help cook. Concerning the young men, she told me to stay away from the guys who are after me-- they will refuse to cook or clean and I need to own myself, protect myself "buroom" --if I understood correctly she was alluding to no sex. She was happy to hear that I wasn't looking for a boyfriend and called me her child. It was a wonderful conversation, we connected, we joked, she was like a mother. Of course I will be going back to sit with her again and munch on some fresh roasted peanuts.
 (*Disclaimer that not ALL the guys here are unsuitable to hang out with, I have made some good guy friends)
 

Conclusion -- avoiding conversations doesn't mean they won't start or I won't be asked to sit down and talk, on the other hand if I say the first words than its much easier to politely decline an invitation. More is less.

starting anew

Recently packed up and moved to a new city -- left all my friends in Dakar and stepped into a new adventure in Thiès. I'm interning with MissionInter Senegal and have already spent a whole week here which is hard to believe.

Caution: If you don't like gross details you may want to skip this section.  I'm working in the lab -- with blood, urine and stool samples. I've learned how to do blood typing, test for malaria and salmonella, pregnancy, glucose, parasites, sickle cell and more. I'm a total nerd in the lab -- got really excited on thursday doing a test for sickle cell anemia because I could finally distinguish between red blood cells on their side versus sickle cells. What's most incredible to me is that what I'm working on comes from real patients -- these results go to doctors who will make decisions for treatment based on what I did.

While I love what I'm doing and am so excited to be putting some of my science skills to use I don't think I'd ever be happy working in a lab like this long term. I'm constantly asking myself or bothering the lab tech I work with what implications the results have, what the treatment will be. I'm feeling more and more convicted to become a doctor -- a decision I've been cautious about making.

On my day off I joined the surgical team to watch a C-section and hernia incision. Gotta say that I preferred the C-section -- so amazing to see a baby come into the world. I managed to help in a few minor ways -- I handed the PA some betadine and helped grab this giant band-aid to cover the sutures. Big stuff I know. Even cooler was helping to breath for the patient while the anesthesiologist was turning on the machine that breathes automatically. I'll be an expert in no time.

Plenty more to share but its bedtime. I plan on using my last half of the weekend to catch up on sleep, go to a new church (conveniently across the street), take down some notes from the week and try to finish a good book I just started.

summer in Thies

big news: I'm staying in Senegal for ten more weeks.
unfortunately it doesn't fit in my budget to fly home for graduation (sorry to all my senior friends!) or to see the fam but I've found a great internship and am really excited for a whole new experience in Senegal.

I'll be working with MissionInter Senegal (MIS) a nondenominational private Senegalese organization that works in development and evangelism. I will be working at Hopital Barthimee in the lab - hematology, parasistology, and bacteriology. So fun right! I'll be learning the techniques to test for diseases here like sickle cell anemia, malaria and parasites. At the same time I'll be doing research on the epidemiology of these diseases in Senegal. But don't worry I won't spend all my time in the lab-- I'll also be able to accompany a mobile medical team to a rural village and visit daaras in Thies to raise medical awareness.  I'll be living with a new host family -- either French missionaries or a Senegalese family -- yet to be determined. A big thanks to DePauw for the Howes Grant which is financing this endeavor. Bigger thanks to God for leading me through the whole stressful process and opening doors.

From what my guidebook and Senegalese friends have told me, Thies is like a mini Dakar. There are still places to see some live music and a big tapestry museum(?) and of course markets. I'll definitely miss the beach and it will be a new experience to be away from the other 50 american students that are in this program. I'll also be leading research myself. I'm looking forward to going to one church over the summer -- I've tried many different churches since being in Senegal which has been a great experience but I miss having fellowship within one church community. Also looking forward to the chance to see how this branch of a Senegalese church works in terms of development and evangelism. Senegal is 90% Muslim so churches like this are rare. If you want to see more visit the website : http://www.missionintersenegal.org/

Random

Things I miss:

Cold milk from a cow, not powder

Taking naps and waking up 10 minutes before class starts

Why does Microsoft office dictionary only work with Internet connection?
Wifi internet everywhere

Cheese

Things I love here:

Fruit stands and boutiques on every corner

Half frozen papayas and mangos

Working out on the beach

Music during worship at church

I’ve finally learned how to eat all the meat off of the chicken bones

Millet in my yogurt

Fresh fish and oysters on the beach

Obama in Senegal:

Not only on cotton t-shirts but traditional fabric as well

Backpacks

Duffel bags

The “Obama cut” is offered at a nearby barbershop

Pencils

Obamania mints

On the back of a horse cart

Malnutrition Survey

Spent the weekend in the Fatick Zone – southeast of Dakar – with my public health class. In groups of four we conducted a malnutrition survey in a village and are now analyzing are results in preparation for our final presentation. It was definitely a nice ending to a semester spent learning about the health system in Senegal. Our survey consisted of a series of questions that could be possible explanations for malnutrition such as the number of children in the family, if the child is currently sick, and the education level of the parents.

In this area most speak Serer, another local language, but I was still able to put my Wolof skills to use to ask the questions. Even when the subjects spoke little Wolof, our translator would translate my Wolof questions into Serer. I really enjoyed being able to make that connection through Wolof and appreciated how we were welcomed despite that we were often interrupting the work being done. Having a translator work with us who is from the village was especially helpful as he also directed us through the community and introduced us to the families.

Our professor who also works for IRD: Research Institute for Development, gave us a tour of the compound in Niakhar, the small town where we spent the weekend.  There are multiple projects being conducted including a study financed by the CDC in Atlanta Georgia on a new flu vaccine and a study on meningitis. It was the first time I’ve spent time in a lab since classes back at DePauw. There are a few trucks financed by CDC and small huts where researchers can stay when they visit to perform research, as well as a central kitchen and offices. This observatory has been here for over 40 years and is really well established -- power outages are common but there are 4 back up systems to ensure that no data is lost. There was also a data protection vault that was added after 9/11 to protect the data in case of a disaster. It was a great opportunity to see a glimpse of where a study financed by CDC is performed.

 I really enjoyed asking questions and collecting data and the process of analyzing data is much more exciting when you collect it yourself. We found 7 malnourished children out of 19 (ages 1 to 3). Many of them had parasites while other factors may have been the large number kids in the family or the poor transition between breast feeding and eating solid food. While I don't think I'll go into a career in research I can use this experience to start thinking about a post-DePauw independent study/research project

What is the best way to spend your time when class is cancelled?
Watch an episode of House.
I'm not particularly attached to american tv shows but this was an extra special treat

Mar Lodj

Was lucky enough to spend my weekend on a small island called Mar Lodj in the Sine Saloum Delta where the Saloum river meets the Atlantic ocean. The entire program traveled by bus to Ndangane where we took pirogues to the island of Mar Lodj. We were greeted by a French couple and quickly settled into our bungalows. All of our meals were delicious with fresh fish and shrimp caught just nearby our campement. Hammocks and a sandy beach were more than enough to encourage some genuine R&R.

Friday night we took a pirogue tour through the mangroves. The mangroves have been depleted since they’ve been used as fuel for cooking but there are several initiatives led by women’s groups to replant the mangroves. We saw quite a few species of birds at their nesting sight and some giant pelicans.  We returned home with the sun setting behind us and a three-course meal ahead. Fresh tomatoes and tapalapa – a heartier bread than the plain baguettes we’re used to, followed by cous-cous and chocolate cake to follow. Being used to simple meals in Dakar, the variety offered to us here was almost as wonderful as falling asleep in a hammock reading a good book.

Saturday morning I woke early to take a run across the island. I had a staring contest with a few cattle as they stood directly in our path. The ground was dry and cracked under my feet and the crisp wind greeted us as we doubled back. The landscape was much preferable to that of Dakar where I breathe in pollution and my land markers are buildings instead of a giant baobob tree. After breakfast the whole group – 52 students - took horse drawn carts around the island for a tour. It felt slightly uncomfortable and overly touristy to drive through villages on the carts. We took a brief stop to see the church and walk through a few streets but I much preferred the tour outside of the villages seeing the vast fields of sand spotted with trees and herds of cattle. I wondered how much the dry landscape must change during the rainy season. 

I filled my afternoon with some Frisbee, swimming and reading. After dinner was the main event, a wrestling match in the village nearby. They set up tarps in a big circle for crowd control and the ring was quickly filled with supporters. A group of drummers kept the rhythm and large speakers ensured everyone could hear the singer. There are many rituals surrounding wrestling and the whole ring was filled with wrestlers and their crewmembers warming up, drawing figures in the sand, and pouring specially prepared concoctions on themselves or around the rink. As opposed to the ring in the stadium in Dakar, which was neatly partitioned, this ring ended where the crowd began. The match was set up tournament style, single elimination and 2 or 3 pairs of wrestlers could be competing at a time. Before the semi finals, we were offered the chance to lutte (wrestle) each other. They helped us wrap the pagne properly and we paired off. I have had the chance to lutte against the kids that live next door and their tips helped me win the match against my opponents. It was really fun to watch some of the guys wrestle each other and realize how much more exciting the lutte would be if we new the wrestlers. The lutte is really popular in this region and they will quickly boast that unlike the lutte in Dakar, which can include some punching, this is authentic wrestling. It is the main form of entertainment and a tournament like this is held each month in a different village in the area.

On the way back to Dakar Sunday morning we stopped a large baobob, big enough to crawl inside. Outside the tree, vendors clamored for your attention while inside, bats fought for space to cling to the underbelly of the giant tree. Amazing but didn’t feel inclined to stay inside for too long.