Holidays

I know that it's been awhile since I've been in touch with many of you, and I'm sorry about that… things here have been quite hectic lately. At the beginning of December there was a big holiday here called Tabaski… It's a Muslim holiday that celebrates how Abraham was told to sacrifice his son, but then an angel appeared and allowed Abraham to slaughter a ram in place of his son. Tabaski is probably the biggest holiday in Senegal, and for weeks before the holiday people were scurrying about in preparation; buying new clothes, purchasing rams to slaughter and organizing the meals that they were to prepare for the event. This preparation is really quite a sight to see, especially the transport of rams from one town to another… on one occasion I was traveling in public transportation (a 'sept place'- a car that holds 7 people), and two massive rams were tied to the roof of the car, and as I was sitting in the front seat of the car, I was lucky enough to have ram poop and pee spill through the open window and onto me as we were driving. Not too fun… only in Africa will you get pooped and peed on by a ram while sitting in a car!

The actual event of Tabaski was also quite interesting to witness. The men dressed up and went to the mosque in the morning, and then when they returned they dug a deep hole in the sand, laid the ram on a rice sack and slit its throat, allowing the blood to spill out and into the hole that was dug. The women then dipped their hands in this blood and smeared it onto their chests- as a sort of protection against any harm that may come to them. The men then proceeded to take machetes and knives and butcher the ram right there on the rice sack in the sand. At one point my father insisted that I grab one of the ram's legs while they were trying to skin the animal… I tried to duck out of doing this, but he insisted. "When in Rome do as the Romans do" I suppose!
Then we grilled the meat, and the men broke their fast with the liver- which was delicious by the way! I helped peel several kilos of onions and potatoes as the grilling was going on. Then, several children came to our house holding plates of meat- they would give us some of their choice meat, and we would give them some of our choice meat in return. I was told that this was to ensure that everyone in the neighborhood had plenty of meat to eat, and that no one would go hungry.
When it came time for lunch, my sister instructed me that I was to go to our neighbors house to eat a little before lunch… so we went, ate some ram with onion sauce with about 8 other women, then we went to another neighbors house, followed by the people that were at the first house and we ate some more ram with onion sauce…. We eventually ended up going to approximately 4 houses doing the same thing- eating ram with onion sauce, as the group of women grew increasingly larger going from house to house… and then we ended it all by having everyone at our house to eat the same thing. (the men did the same thing as the women, but separately)
I was STUFFED with meat and onions by the end of the day!
About 3 hours after lunch all the females in my family dressed up in fancy Senegalese clothing, and I went around with my sisters (they're on average 25 yrs old) to various houses in the neighborhood… this act seemed a bit odd to me, I believe that we dressed up and walked around only to show off our new clothes and shoes.
SO, that is basically what we did for Tabaski. And I surprisingly had a great time doing it all!
As for my work, it has been slowly picking up. I am in the process of helping a small ornamental/fruit tree business to relocate to a location that will increase his business. Currently his business is tucked away in a small corner of his house, and there is very little traffic that could enable him to sell his plants. So, we are moving him to my large demonstration garden. The space is large and will easily support his business, there is easy access to water (he had a problem with this at his previous location), and he said that he was willing to work from 8am until 6pm, at least 5 days a week. This man is highly knowledgeable in plants and he's YOUNG(er)… so not only will this move be beneficial to him, but also to our demonstration garden. His expertise and youthful vigor will be greatly appreciated by both me, and my two colleagues.
I am also working on a fruit drying project with my site-mate Jessica.
We are working with a GIE (Groupement Interet Economique) called Skippy Ndef Lang. This is a center that helps train girls that have dropped out of school early for various reasons (childbirth, early marriage, financial difficulties etc…). They are trained in sewing, jam and syrup making and soon enough fruit drying! Sokone has hundreds of fruit trees, and these trees produce vigorously for about 6 months of the year… This project will help prevent the waste of fruit due to the extremely high yields during 6 months, it will provide a source of vitamins for the community during the off-season, and it will aid the economy which is largely supported by tourists (mostly Westerners who happen to LOVE dried fruit!). Jessica and I will help to train the women in fruit drying, packaging and labeling and marketing of the finished product.
I am also in the works of starting a community garden in my neighborhood. Approximately twice a week I attend a Women's Circle which has about 30 members. This circle is sponsored in part by Action Aid, and they discuss several issues, they make syrups and jellies, they make artesianal products and they study Wolof literacy. Often I hear the women of the community complaining because they do not have enough money to buy fruits and vegetables, so we have decided that if we open make a community garden where all the women participate in the upkeep, it will be beneficial to help eradicate poverty (one of the main goals of Action Aid, and one of the purposes of the women's circle).
I have so many other things that I would love to talk about, but I do not want to bore you all with the details. Things here in Africa are going REALLY well for me. I LOVE it here, more and more everyday.
The weather has been cooler in the mornings and evenings (I often need a long sleeved shirt), but the afternoons are still as warm as ever (at least 85 degrees). I have become friends with a group of drummers that perform for tourists in the area, and they are so much fun to hang out with.
As for Christmas, I will be spending it on a beach called Popenguine with approximately 13 of my friends. We will rent out a house and spend the night of the 24th and 25th there. We are going to do a small "Yankee gift exchange" game, and just hang out and relax. As for my birthday (the big 2-6) and New Years Eve, I'm not entirely sure yet- I may end up going with my friends to an old colonial town called St. Lewis, which is in the north of Senegal. This town is known for its yearly Jazz festivals. But my host family has been trying to guilt me into spending the New Year with them… so we shall see what happens with that.
I hope that you all have a fabulous Christmas… I am so envious of all of you who will be spending the holidays with family and friends! I would give anything to be home for Christmas! But, I am sure that I will have fun here too- it just does not feel like Christmas at all, and I think that's the only thing that is keeping me sane during this time of year! The Senegalese celebrate the night of the 24th, but there are no Christmas trees, no annoying advertisements for unnecessary toys, no pictures of Santa Clause or frosty the snowman, and definitely no snow.