When I last left you, Ramadan was winding down and I was preparing for a long stretch of travel to both Thies and Ziguinchor. Now, I find myself on the other side of all that travel with a huge pile of laundry to do and a camera full of photos. Fortunately for you, I'll only be able to share one of those things with you, so let's get down to business and talk about my stay in Thies for PST2.
PST2 is the second of two main "pre-service" trainings that new volunteers receive. PST2 was formerly (and more accurately) called IST or In-Service Training as it takes place approximately 3 months after volunteers are installed at their sites. PST2 is typically a more technical training focusing less on language and culture and more on preparing for work. PST2 lasts about 2 weeks and I was there for all but one weekend of it this year. I lead a class on Business Etiquette and another on Marketing, but I suppose the bulk of my responsibilities there involved providing insight on how to teach the entrepreneurship training curriculum we use and helping grade the volunteers' practical examinations which involved teaching mock classes and writing fake business plans. The training went well, I suppose, but it's certainly not something I'd like to be in charge of. Regardless, it was good to get to know the newest group of volunteers and help them prepare for work in their communities.
After PST2 ended, I had 4 days in Dakar before embarking on a journey due south to a city few volunteers are able to see, Ziguinchor. This trip was completely paid for by the US Embassy through a program called Access English. Every summer, the Access English program holds 5-day summer camps for the best English students in particular areas. In addition to Ziguinchor, camps were also held in places like Thies, Louga, and several neighborhoods in Dakar. Camps are led by a combination of Peace Corps Volunteers and local English teachers and run campers through a variety of activities conducted entirely in English. For this camp, I worked with another Peace Corps Volunteer, a Fulbright Scholar, and 4 local English teachers and we accommodated about 60 students.
Our work began on Friday morning with a meeting in Dakar of all of the teachers and PCVs involved in the camps from all the regions. This camp involved some discussion of logistics, but mainly was our first chance to meet the teachers with whom we would be working. For most of the day, we shared ideas on what the camp would look like and heard about what the camp was like last year. By the end of the day, we had a solid idea of what to expect and had a rough outline of what each day of the camp would hold. We didn't have much time to relax and catch up with our friends in town for the meeting, though, as the boat departed that night.
The boat takes about 15 hours to get from the port in Dakar to the port in Ziguinchor and, as this one was scheduled to depart at 8pm, it was inevitably going to be an overnight trip. Fortunately, the Embassy purchased us a cabin seat instead of a regular seat which means we got our own bed for the journey in what can be described as a dorm-style room. There was just enough room for 2 sets of bunk beds and a bathroom. It might sound quaint for you American travelers, but for us used to traveling in Sengal, it was truly upper-class living. The night on the boat was restful and the morning was, sadly, dull and gray which meant no sunrise. With a slight amount of disappointment and a heap of eagerness, we departed the boat at about 10:30 AM on Saturday and quickly headed to the house of a teacher who would be hosting us for the week.
We had a planning meeting with the rest of the teachers the next day and prepared to begin welcoming campers at 9am on Monday. I woke up at about 7am on Monday and it was raining. I get ready, read a bit, and grab some breakfast and it's still raining. I get ready to walk to the high school at 8:30, but the teacher insists we wait a bit because it's still raining. At 9:10 we leave the house and walk over arriving 10 minutes later. Rain in Senegal, unlike rain in America, is impactful enough to cancel many activities and, at the very least, slows them down. As much as I didn't like being late, I just had to accept that I wasn't in control and grin and bear it.
Day 1 eventually did get rolling and we focused mainly on icebreakers, dividing the students into 5 teams, introducing the camp, and establishing the rules. We decided that we'd be able to get more done the next day since it rained so much on Day 1. I woke up at 7am on Tuesday and it was raining. Such is life in the Casamance. Day 2 was similar to Day 1 although we weren't quite as late. We played a Jeopardy!-like game with them and the teams made their first round of presentations which included an explanation of their team names and mottos. At the end of Day 2, we decided that we had better make 2 lesson plans for the next day. One if it's raining and one if it's sunny. I woke up at 7am on Wednesday and the sun was shining through the window. On Day 3, we finally got to leave the classroom and do some outdoor activities which were essentially the same activities that you'd see at a field day in elementary school. This day in the camp focused more on fun than English, but really both were important to this camp. On Day 4, it was again sunny, so we split the time between indoor and outdoor activities. On Friday (Day 5), it was time for the students to make 2 sets of presentations that they had been preparing. The first was a cultural presentation that talked about some aspect of the culture of Senegal or their particular ethnic group. The second was a talent show with the theme "He who speaks many languages is never lost" which is simply and English translation of a Wolof proverb. These performances were followed by a brief party and good-byes. By the end of camp, I know I was emotionally worn out from dealing with 60 kids despite the fact that I had a lot of people working with me. Looking back, that camp was one of the cooler and most fun things I've done as part of my Peace Corps work. I'm very glad that I decided to participate.
Our boat didn't leave until Sunday morning, so we decided to spend Saturday in a nearby touristy beach town called Cap Skirring. The ride to and from Cap Skirring is stunning as it's filled with little villages, rice fields, and tons of trees. Once we arrived, we set up shop at the beach in front of one of the hotels and spent the morning relaxing by and swimming in the water. We returned to the hotel for lunch and relaxed a little more discussing the happenings of the previous week. After a wonderful, relaxing day, we returned to Ziguinchor that night. Our boat left at noon on Sunday and we arrived back in Dakar early Monday morning tired from another long journey, but satisfied with how the week had turned out.
Overall, Ziguinchor is a nice little Senegalese city. I must say that there's not a ton to do there besides going to a hotel on the river and having a drink or a bite to eat unless you're staying with a host family. Those restaurants on the river are pretty nice, though, and I'd probably be willing to make the trip back from Dakar just to enjoy the ample foliage and beautiful river sunsets. Cap Skirring is on the ocean, which is a plus, but is also really touristy. I think I would certainly rather stay in Zig and take a day trip to Cap than the other way around. Anyway, that was my trip to Ziguinchor. I've thrown a few pictures at the end of this post to give you an idea of what I was looking at. After so much time away from Dakar, I actually found myself eager to return to the city and my room and eager to get back to work. We'll see how long that lasts. Talk to you soon.
A boat sails towards the sunset after a day at work on the Casamance River.
This is the neighborhood we stayed at while in Ziguinchor.
Class photo on the last day of camp.
Patio at a hotel overlooking the ocean in Cap Skirring.
The road from Cap Skirring to Ziguinchor.