HI GUYS! I AM BACK FROM MY VOLUNTEER VISIT. i saw my village! it's not the most beautiful place in the world but i know the work is going to be good and i'm going to have electricity and a robinet just outside my door! so lucky, right? my family seems really laid back and i'm looking forward to moving there in the middle of may.
HERE IS MY NEW ADDRESS:
Jessica Goza
c/o Stephanie Shumsky
BP 325
Kaolack, Senegal
West Africa
the c/o stephanie shumsky only applies until may 15 when i can officially get my name on the box! so of course, feel free to start sending mail over there!
Today we visited dakar and we saw the new huge statue and all the cool expat spots that i one day hope to frequent. we had chinese food for lunch and gelato for dessert! crazy! haha. anyway, it was a nice change from the usual and even though we were basically a gigantic toubab tour bus, it wasn't so bad.
i'm trying really hard to upload photos and once i do that i will feel less guilty about my future blog entry in which i ask for lots of things and give specific instructions on how to mail me stuff. well, i love all my fans. thanks for the comments! they are really quite encouraging and i love the pop culture updates. i wish you could see the stupid smile that appears on my face as i read them. actually, i'm glad you can't. it would be embarrassing.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
site annoucements
hello!
i don't have internet, a post office, or barely even cell phone reception where i live. yesterday, i found out where i am going to live for the next two years! it was a very exciting and emotional experience for all of us. first we were blindfolded then we were led to a spot on a map on the ground where we are going to live. i can't say exactly where i live for safety reasons but it is near the top border of the gambia. more news when i find out more! haha
i don't have internet, a post office, or barely even cell phone reception where i live. yesterday, i found out where i am going to live for the next two years! it was a very exciting and emotional experience for all of us. first we were blindfolded then we were led to a spot on a map on the ground where we are going to live. i can't say exactly where i live for safety reasons but it is near the top border of the gambia. more news when i find out more! haha
Monday, March 22, 2010
BACK FROM THE VILLAGE
i just got back from five days in the village. not gonna lie, it was totally scary and definitely challenging. my family has about thirty people in it and we spend most of our time hanging out in the center of the compound. i have my own room and electricity. actually, that's a lie. i share a room with a giant spider. his name is sir legsalot and he eats other bugs.
in the morning i get up at about 7:30 but roosters start crowing at about 5:30. i take a bucket bath and my host sister makes me half a baguette with butter and really really milky coffee. then i go to language class for about four hours. i go home for lunch at 1 and we usually eat at 2. for lunch i eat around a giant bowl with my family. most days they make me eat twice at the different bowls around the compound. everyday we have rice with fish and vegetables. it's called ceebujen. after lunch i take a nap, wake up sweating and head back to class at four. in the afternoon my language group (2 other people) and my teacher work on our garden. two days ago, i was going from house to house collecting manure and sifting out the chunks with an onion sack. at seven we have some tea and i usually sit around with my family until dinner. i have dinner with my family and its usually cous cous or rice with a thin fishy sauce. they also make me a special dinner because i'm a guest. i'm always stuffed and super full.
okay, i'm tired of blogging now so i'll try to do more later. no pictures yet b/c i didn't bring my camera to the village. i'll be there for nine days next time and there is no internet so i'll ttyl. love you guys.
in the morning i get up at about 7:30 but roosters start crowing at about 5:30. i take a bucket bath and my host sister makes me half a baguette with butter and really really milky coffee. then i go to language class for about four hours. i go home for lunch at 1 and we usually eat at 2. for lunch i eat around a giant bowl with my family. most days they make me eat twice at the different bowls around the compound. everyday we have rice with fish and vegetables. it's called ceebujen. after lunch i take a nap, wake up sweating and head back to class at four. in the afternoon my language group (2 other people) and my teacher work on our garden. two days ago, i was going from house to house collecting manure and sifting out the chunks with an onion sack. at seven we have some tea and i usually sit around with my family until dinner. i have dinner with my family and its usually cous cous or rice with a thin fishy sauce. they also make me a special dinner because i'm a guest. i'm always stuffed and super full.
okay, i'm tired of blogging now so i'll try to do more later. no pictures yet b/c i didn't bring my camera to the village. i'll be there for nine days next time and there is no internet so i'll ttyl. love you guys.
Friday, March 12, 2010
HI GUYS
day three:
hi you guys. i'm having lots of fun here in africa. i only have three mosquito bites. we're all holed up in a peace corps training center and it feels like camp! we sleep dorm style in converted barracks, have three meals a day, meet underneath an open hut thingy and break off into training sessions! it's great. today, we learned a tiny bit of wolof and i learned how to make a garden bed using double digging. we also learned how to make a moringa seed bed. moringa is a very nutritious plant. that's all i really know about it so far. yesterday i tried traditional tea, kola nut, all kinds of juices, and tooth sticks. for lunch we sit on the floor and eat around a gigantic bowl. very exciting. leave me some comments! bye!
hi you guys. i'm having lots of fun here in africa. i only have three mosquito bites. we're all holed up in a peace corps training center and it feels like camp! we sleep dorm style in converted barracks, have three meals a day, meet underneath an open hut thingy and break off into training sessions! it's great. today, we learned a tiny bit of wolof and i learned how to make a garden bed using double digging. we also learned how to make a moringa seed bed. moringa is a very nutritious plant. that's all i really know about it so far. yesterday i tried traditional tea, kola nut, all kinds of juices, and tooth sticks. for lunch we sit on the floor and eat around a gigantic bowl. very exciting. leave me some comments! bye!
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