Metropolis

I join the Peace Corps expecting to live in a small town with little access to modern conveniences and familiarities then I get placed in Dakar, the big city.  Typically, Dakar is reserved for Urban Agriculture volunteers or 3rd year volunteers working on specific projects with NGOs for example.  I'm only the 2nd Community Economic Development volunteer to ever be placed in Dakar.  Luckily, the first CED volunteer to ever be placed in Dakar has been showing me around the town over the past few days, teaching me how to take the bus, how to navigate the various neighborhoods, and how to survive in such a big and crowded city.  My main takeaways from our few days together are that I have big shoes to fill, I need to learn the bus system, and I need to set a strict budget.  Dakar is a town of many distractions and, while these distractions might be fun or give you the comfort of home for a time, they are expensive and, ultimately, not the reason why I am here.  Balance between work, relaxation, and indulgence is key in the big city.

I will certainly have luxuries and conveniences that most volunteers do not have at their sites, however, I will also face challenges that other volunteers will not.  My house is in the neighborhood of Diamalaye and about a 2 minute walk from a pretty nice beach.  My main work partners will be a women's group located in Grand Yoff, which is one of the poorer neighborhoods of Dakar.  All of the comforts of home are available to me at arm's length.  The only problem with that is that I can rarely afford them on the salary that I'm receiving (which is by design).  I can't take taxis everywhere, I need to learn the bus system.  I can't go out to eat every day, I need to eat with my family, cook for myself, or learn where locals eat.  Of course, one of the perks of Dakar is that if you budget well and save up, you can afford ice cream or a burger or pizza every now and again. 

As I mentioned, one of my main work partners will be a women's group located in Grand Yoff.  They make a variety of products including juices and soap, have a garden, and have a micro-financing institution.  The previous volunteer in Dakar worked primarily with the juices group and they've made a lot of progress.  They are currently working on getting their packaging up to par to carry their juices in supermarkets around town.  There is still, however, plenty of work to do with the juice group in terms of product formalization and distribution, but the soap group could use some help with packaging and costing.  It will be up to me to analyze the situation over my first 2 months at site and decide where to allocate my time.  I have the freedom to make any projects that I want with any work partner and I'll receive plenty of invitations to attend events in Dakar and help out with other volunteers' projects, so I will have plenty of options.

I will return to Thies in a couple days and return to Bayax a few days later which will represent a stark contrast to my site.  I will spend 16 days in Bayax continuing to study Wolof, going on field trips, and completing the technical requirements of pre-service training.  I'm starting to see the finish line of training and feel ready for the two year challenge that awaits.