On March 5th, we had our staging training (preliminary phase upon entering the Peace Corps. Eighty-four volunteers attended the event (Gambia and Senegal combined). It was an eye-opening event because we had to play roles of different situations volunteers face during the service. Essentially, we are here to take care of one another because Peace Corps service is not meant to be esay and will be challenging at times. It was great to know that all of us had the same concerns (primarily safety and living in a community) which reassured me that we are all in this together. We flew to Senegal on March 6th at 5: 40pm and arrived to Senegal on March 7th at 6:00am (7 hour flight).
As soon as I arrived to the airport in Senegal with my group, I experienced immediate culture shock. I felt familiar with certain aspects of the country and other facets were foreign to me. I felt I was going back to the Haiti I left when I was eleven years old. The only difference is that the women and men wear long dresses because about 90% of the population practices the Muslim faith. I also couldn't help notice that the women used ONLY the bristles of a broom WITHOUT the handle to sweep the floor. Thats when it finally hit me that I was in another country with different norms. As we were traveling to the Peace Corps Training Center in Thies which is 2 hours away from Dakar, I was still trying to acclimate to my environment because I felt disoriented moving from an urban area to a rural area. The Peace Corps staff is very friendly including the Senegalese people. We also had training the same day we arrived on Safety and Security (12 hrs during entire orientation) and Pre-Service training protocols, criteria for swearing in, the provision of Nokia cell phones and were told that we had series of interviews the next day (language training (Assessment in French), Technical training (Asssessment of where we want to live and what type of projects we want to do), medical training (shots and the provision of anti-malerial pills) and take our ID photos. We also had a brief overview of the Food Security Framework which was mentioned by my professor in Nutrition 150. The Food Security Framework presents core crierias to assess how families either have and/or do not have access to food. On March 8th, we were introduced to the Medical Team and given our water filters and medical kits. We will have 20 hours of of medical training during our stay at the center in Thies.
I only had one day in Thies and the gender role differences are VERY apparent. Women tend to be the ones working all day while the men sit around and chat all day. The work pace is much slower than the United States. Also, I observed that there was a lack of diversity within the Peace Corps. There are 4 Black volunteers in the program: Three for Senegal (includes myself) and one for the Gambia. Nevertheless, I was happy to hear from the Director of the Civil Rights and Diversity mention that this was a progress from past programs. Usually, there are 1-2 volunteers in most programs. She is working on broadening the recuitment of Peace Corps applicants in the U.S. and educate future applicants and parents about serving in the Peace Corps. She also intends to increase diversity in the Peace Corps. In fact, there will be a cross-cultural (40 hours total during 2 and half months of orientation) and American Diversity orientation on Saturday March 10th by a current Black volunteer in Senegal.
The training will last for 2 months and a half and then we will be heading to our respective villages or towns. We also must be at the intermediate level of French and the other respective dialects before we are sworn in as volunteers. If a trainee does not pass the intermediate level of the language, they will not be sworn in as a volunteer. Tomorrow, we will be having an introduction to Wolof and French and given a rotation on Risk Mitigation and a review of the Peace Corps Model of Development and to the Corps Expectations of the Peace Corps. I also find out more about the program I was accepted to (Health/EE Project Plan PROSPERE). I like Senegal so far and feel like I am revisiting some parts of the life I lived in Haiti. Im keeping my mind open to new perspectives from volunteers and Senegalese staff to add to my own and taking this experience one day at a time.
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