PST: Pre-Service Training: Part I

March 17, 2010
Thies, Senegal

PST: Pre-Service Training: Part I

On Jaaraama! I think that means, like, a combination of hi, goodbye, god be with you, peace, I’m sorry, etc. I’m still not really sure but everyone keeps saying it to me and it is now past the point of asking what it means so I guess I’ll have to go for a little longer without knowing since the language I’m learning has no dictionary. In summation, the first few days of PST, which consisted of our orientation, stage bonding games, language interviews, technical interviews, language placement and drop off at our family homestay, have been pretty good. I am currently in a village in between Dakar and Thies called Sangalkam. You may or may not be able to google earth it. The area of Sangalkam is quite large but our homestay area is very small. It is a village of about 5,000 people and there are 6 of us, including myself, that are living here and learning the same language. My family is wonderful and I’m loving it. But I’ll get to them in a minute.

The first few days in Senegal were a little anti-climactic – not in a bad way just nothing really happened. Prior to leaving I tried to keep realistic expectations so as to avert disappointment. Also, the promptness of my departure kept things moving at the speed of light and I don’t think it’s hit me that I live in Africa and will be so for the next two years.

We had technical and language interviews to determine where we will be placed for our volunteer service. My language interview went extremely well. Samba, one of the language and cultural trainers (LCF) asked me a bunch of simple questions in French. I understood every one of them and rightly answered them…in Spanish. As a result, I am learning the easiest language in Senegal. It is called Pullo Fuuta and is a dialect of Pullar. It is spoken in the south–eastern regions of the country such as Kolda, Tambacounda and Kedegou. It is suppose to be the prettiest, friendliest and least conservative area of the country which bodes well for this American girl who likes to wear shorts and show her knee caps (that is such a no-no in most areas here). I am the only Environmental Education focused volunteer learning Pullo Fuuta, which actually means nothing yet as none of us have a clear idea of what we are to do during our service. But I am very excited to learn my placement, which should happen in week 4, and am enjoying my time so far with my new family.

We arrived in Sangalkam on March 20 and met our new families with whom we will be staying with for the next 9 weeks. There are 6 people in my group learning Pullo Fuuta and we all live within a few blocks of each other. The people in my group are Mike, Charles, Meera, Eric and Amanda (I’m not using last names because I’m not sure of privacy issues and whatnot). Either way, we all received new names. Respectively, Baba Saidu Diallo, Mamadou Gabi Ba, Fatou Kaitou, Hamadou Joga Ba and Kani Ba. And, again, my name is Mariama Sadio Diallo. I have a huge family and all are incredibly nice except for my sister Katiatou, whom I guess no one likes, even my mother here b/c she said that they weren’t even friends, so no matter. Above is a brief family tree: