i have giardia. it's gross. i have diarrhea and it's painful. i have a douche. it's a square cement structure with a porcelain hole.i squat. so to flush it, i pour water down the hole. i don't use toilet paper anymore but i do wash my hands very thoroughly with soap. as the for giardia, i'm super sick but i think i'll get better in the next couple of days. feel free to feel sorry for me and leave comments on my blog and/or write me a letter.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
MOVING TOMORROW
Hi guys. Moving into my new village tomorrow. Won't have internet for a few weeks but you can continue to send emails, comments, letters, packages and love my way.
Jessica Goza
c/o Stephanie Shumsky
BP 325
Kaolack, Senegal
West Africa
also my phone number is on facebook. i can text and you can call through skype or google voice. love ya'll.
Jessica Goza
c/o Stephanie Shumsky
BP 325
Kaolack, Senegal
West Africa
also my phone number is on facebook. i can text and you can call through skype or google voice. love ya'll.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
it looks like an outdoor kitchen. Do you cook on the ground?
yes the kitchen is outdoors. people generally cook in a pot on top of three rocks. they use wood for the fire. everything is on the ground. i have never seen a table in a senegalese home though maybe they exist in urban areas. in the villages we eat on the ground, on a mat, sitting around one of those giant bowls. we all share. some people use spoons and some use hands.
why your name is Mari Bop? They do not like your name?
my name is mari b/c it's easier for the people here to remember and say my name if i have a senegalese one. it also helps me to integrate into the community and show that i am a part of a family here.
so I got a package to send you. should I wait until you get that new place or send it now?
you should send it now! i am moving tomorrow and packages take about four weeks to get here. its best to send things in flat rate boxes b/c it's cheaper and also when i pay the tax on my end it's cheaper.
Friday, May 14, 2010
I'M A REAL VOLUNTEER
i haven't done anything yet but today, my and my new friends swore in as official peace corps volunteers. we took an oath and everything. here's how it went:
I, Jessica Goza, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
So here I am supporting and defending the Constitution and stuff like that. Don't forget about me out here. I'm moving to my new home on Tuesday. I'm excited and scared for my new job, my new family, speaking my new language and hopefully, eventually making new friends. I was 16 when I decided I was going to be a Peace Corps volunteer one day and 8 years later, after blood (literally), sweat (in my eyes) and tears (probably more often than necessary), I exist as a real live volunteer! it's time to get some work done!
you can bet your ass i'm going to be posting some photos of my awesome senegalese swear in outfit as soon as i get five minutes and a comfortable chair. love you guys!
ALSO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST BOYFRIEND I COULD EVER ASK FOR. I LOVE YOU!
I, Jessica Goza, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
So here I am supporting and defending the Constitution and stuff like that. Don't forget about me out here. I'm moving to my new home on Tuesday. I'm excited and scared for my new job, my new family, speaking my new language and hopefully, eventually making new friends. I was 16 when I decided I was going to be a Peace Corps volunteer one day and 8 years later, after blood (literally), sweat (in my eyes) and tears (probably more often than necessary), I exist as a real live volunteer! it's time to get some work done!
you can bet your ass i'm going to be posting some photos of my awesome senegalese swear in outfit as soon as i get five minutes and a comfortable chair. love you guys!
ALSO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST BOYFRIEND I COULD EVER ASK FOR. I LOVE YOU!
Monday, May 10, 2010
What does "Mari Bop" mean?
It was my name in Ker Sadaro, my training village. Mari was my first name. Bop was my last name. When I moved next week I'm getting a new last name and maybe a new first name too.
photos from the village
So the first picture is of my training village at sunset. the whole thing is just along that road. it was so tiny! the next picture is of the lunch i helped to cook! senegal's favorite dish: ceebujen. after that is a photo the chicken coated in buffalo wing sauce that i cooked over beach weekend. the adorable little girl in red is my favorite little friend, ndiayejoop. she's the best. when i first met her she wouldn't talk and by the time i left she was so chatty. her laugh sounds like angels from heaven. the next photo was taken at a baptism. in the morning we had millet couscous with a thin yogurt. this dish "lah" is served at every baptism. after that there are prayers from the imam and the baby naming ceremony. immediately following a goat is killed. i have a video of that if anyone's interested. haha. then we eat the goat for lunch with rice. in the afternoon when it cools down, people start to dance. the baptism was a huge affair complete with enormous speakers and a DJ! the dancing here is hilarious!
so i hope you enjoyed the photos! i can only had five at a time but i'll try to make this as regular as possible! leave comments so i know you love me! :)
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Last Week Before Swear In
Hello Fans!
Today, I said goodbye to my training host family that I have been staying with on and off for the past two months. It was hard to leave such a loving, welcoming and warm family and I definitely cried. All the kids just surrounded me as I loaded my things into the Peace Corps car and my two sisters that take care of me were just standing there. People here don't cry and they aren't very affectionate so I'm sure the children were all alarmed. Ha Ha. I tried to load my favorite kid, Matar, into the car but he wasn't having any of it and he started crying too. I told him I was taking him with me so I don't know what he was so upset about. :)
Now I'm back at the training center for five days, I have to pass a language exam, then I'll be sworn in at the capitol as an official Peace Corps Volunteer! Finally! Training has been draining. Learning this crazy new language has been intense and the pressure to perform is so high. In addition, I'm missing my family, Armand and all of my friends at home. In general, I'm just missing my life. Things are so different here, obviously. The pace of life, the gender roles, the way I wash my hands and get ready for bed, the way I eat, even my name. Oh by the way, my name here is Mari Bop. Next week, when I go to my new village, I might get a new first name but I'm hoping to just keep the one I have. I'll also get a new last name to match the family I'll be living with. I also got some new Senegalese clothes that I will have to find some pictures of. They are ridiculous by American standards and I can't wait for you guys too see them!
As for things back at home, I'm disappointed that I had to miss Mother's Day and that I will be missing Jennifer's graduation and 22nd birthday! I will also be missing Armand's and my dad's birthday. This causes me enormous heartbreak which is a phrase I would never have ever thought of using in America. But hey, things are different here. I want to be around for my friends and especially, my family but I realize I can't be the same daughter, friend, sister, girlfriend etc. they way I used to be and it really really really upsets me. I hope that the work I do here is meaningful and fulfilling enough to make up for the fact that I'm really lacking in the relationships department.
Overall, I'm glad that I'm here and I'm happy to only have a mild case of diarrhea. I earned my first gold star in country just yesterday! what a disaster that was. there's no way i'm explaining what that is here so if you don't know, use google.
Thanks for reading this far! More later!
Today, I said goodbye to my training host family that I have been staying with on and off for the past two months. It was hard to leave such a loving, welcoming and warm family and I definitely cried. All the kids just surrounded me as I loaded my things into the Peace Corps car and my two sisters that take care of me were just standing there. People here don't cry and they aren't very affectionate so I'm sure the children were all alarmed. Ha Ha. I tried to load my favorite kid, Matar, into the car but he wasn't having any of it and he started crying too. I told him I was taking him with me so I don't know what he was so upset about. :)
Now I'm back at the training center for five days, I have to pass a language exam, then I'll be sworn in at the capitol as an official Peace Corps Volunteer! Finally! Training has been draining. Learning this crazy new language has been intense and the pressure to perform is so high. In addition, I'm missing my family, Armand and all of my friends at home. In general, I'm just missing my life. Things are so different here, obviously. The pace of life, the gender roles, the way I wash my hands and get ready for bed, the way I eat, even my name. Oh by the way, my name here is Mari Bop. Next week, when I go to my new village, I might get a new first name but I'm hoping to just keep the one I have. I'll also get a new last name to match the family I'll be living with. I also got some new Senegalese clothes that I will have to find some pictures of. They are ridiculous by American standards and I can't wait for you guys too see them!
As for things back at home, I'm disappointed that I had to miss Mother's Day and that I will be missing Jennifer's graduation and 22nd birthday! I will also be missing Armand's and my dad's birthday. This causes me enormous heartbreak which is a phrase I would never have ever thought of using in America. But hey, things are different here. I want to be around for my friends and especially, my family but I realize I can't be the same daughter, friend, sister, girlfriend etc. they way I used to be and it really really really upsets me. I hope that the work I do here is meaningful and fulfilling enough to make up for the fact that I'm really lacking in the relationships department.
Overall, I'm glad that I'm here and I'm happy to only have a mild case of diarrhea. I earned my first gold star in country just yesterday! what a disaster that was. there's no way i'm explaining what that is here so if you don't know, use google.
Thanks for reading this far! More later!
If you won a $1,000 shopping spree for any store, which store would you pick?
sephora, obviously. if any body wants to send me catalogs or actual makeup that would be awesome. seriously, catalogs of any place would be great.
will you go to prom with me? circle one: yes/no
i went to prom once and it was okay. if i go to prom again i'm wearing senegalese clothes so if ya'll are cool with that i'm down too.
What is the goats name, does it have milk, have you made goat cheese? Is ketchup available. You handle the bottle like an old pro.
The animals here do not have names! even the horses that go to the fields and do work all day! every time i get looked at like i'm crazy and they just say (in wolof) "girl horse" or "goat" or "baby chicken"
no goat cheese. and yes ketchup is available though today at dinner it was not available despite the dry potatoes and strange meat.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
i don't really know how to format these pictures so i will just leave them like this. i feel lucky to just have them up here. so the top one is a picture of the goat that takes his afternoon nap in my room. here he is eating my carpet. below is a sideways picture of me with water on my head. i swear it's full. during my village visit where i stayed with someone near my future site, we had to carry water from the well to her house. it wasn't too far and i only hurt my self once pulling water. the photo next to that is of my two closest friends here. mikael and eric. we are enjoying beverages after a long day of training. the photo below are some of the children that live in my training village family. this is about half of them. i didn't realize how blurry the photo was before i uploaded it so too bad.
anyway, i hope i get better at this photo thing. i should be getting internet at my site and maybe if i don't collapse into bed at night i'll be able to blog. more pictures soon i hope, in exchange, i'm crossing my fingers for some comments. they are really uplifting and mean so much more to me here than they ever would in america. i miss home a lot and of course, speaking in english, santa cruz, mexican food, hugging my mom, and not being covered in scabby mosquito bites at all times.
love, jessica
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