“You know you've really done it well when you're just emotionally drained at the end of the experience, because you've really reached in and you've transferred some emotion from another part of yourself, and put a different set of clothes on it.” - Randy Goodrum
Over the last few weeks, life in village has been pleasantly broken up by the unusual influx of visitors and hut guests who have been passing through. Since it's the hot season, work is at a minimum for most volunteers, so traveling around to other sites is finally a possibility. Unless you're me, in which case, projects that have been in the works for the last year are finally getting moving at a startlingly rapid pace.
One of the hardest things to adjust to in Peace Corps, for myself as well as for most other volunteers, is the drastic reduction in the pace of life in Senegal. I think it's especially difficult for volunteers in my age group, 22-30, who are accustomed to constant stimulation in the US, whether it be work, school, social, or the mere fact that we're constantly plugged-in and overachieving to the best of our abilities. The lack of input, combined with the fact that you're pretty much constantly off the grid and on your own in village, tends to make you a little stir crazy anyway. Which of course leads to the need to develop seemingly inordinate amounts of patience and the ability to stare blankly at the wall of your hut for hours on end.
Personally, my biggest challenge in Senegal has been to remain objective about the work that I can actually get done, without feeling completely stagnant and ineffective. Again, it's the little things that account for most of what you accomplish as a PCV, and being able to recognize the difference between harrying yourself with busy-work just to feel like you're doing something and actually accomplishing something, albeit at a much slower pace. Much slower. When it comes to getting work done, you find yourself more often than not waiting for months on end before seeing the results of all of your planning and frustration. Prime example, I've been working on the same community garden project in my village since my first week in village, over a year ago. Due to the seasonal community work calendar in my village, the project needed to wait until after the harvest, once the rains had ended - last October. After a series of meetings, delays, promises, etc, we're finally breaking ground on the project - a year after the project was originally discussed, six months after submitting the budget for the project. Among other things, the lack of community organization has proven to be the most consistent obstacle in the way of the project's progress. I constantly find myself torn between wanting to scoop the project up and do it all myself and actually doing what I'm supposed to be doing, which is to facilitate the project's implementation and allow the village to take ownership of the project. Swooping in and taking control is so tempting... SO tempting... but it's completely counterproductive in the long run. So, as your average volunteer, I end up struggling with what to do when everything seems to be going wrong. But when so many things don't go according to plan, you're completely beside yourself with joy when things finally start coming together. Which is where I am right about now :)
So this month's note to self and the void: development is gradual and a group effort. It also has to start from the bottom up. Once you get the village behind a project, all of the little pieces start falling into place, and it's only because you've been consistently, tirelessly, patiently lining things up for months, explaining the details to people in the village, reiterating the fact that it's not your pet project, it belongs to the community - if they don't want it, it won't happen. If it matters enough to them, you'll be surprised at the enthusiasm that the mere mention of the project can bring. Yesterday, my host dad and I marked out and measured the fence line for the community women's garden. Tomorrow, we start digging two new, desperately needed wells in my village. Yettaare Allah, things are finally coming together....
Over the last few weeks, life in village has been pleasantly broken up by the unusual influx of visitors and hut guests who have been passing through. Since it's the hot season, work is at a minimum for most volunteers, so traveling around to other sites is finally a possibility. Unless you're me, in which case, projects that have been in the works for the last year are finally getting moving at a startlingly rapid pace.
One of the hardest things to adjust to in Peace Corps, for myself as well as for most other volunteers, is the drastic reduction in the pace of life in Senegal. I think it's especially difficult for volunteers in my age group, 22-30, who are accustomed to constant stimulation in the US, whether it be work, school, social, or the mere fact that we're constantly plugged-in and overachieving to the best of our abilities. The lack of input, combined with the fact that you're pretty much constantly off the grid and on your own in village, tends to make you a little stir crazy anyway. Which of course leads to the need to develop seemingly inordinate amounts of patience and the ability to stare blankly at the wall of your hut for hours on end.
Personally, my biggest challenge in Senegal has been to remain objective about the work that I can actually get done, without feeling completely stagnant and ineffective. Again, it's the little things that account for most of what you accomplish as a PCV, and being able to recognize the difference between harrying yourself with busy-work just to feel like you're doing something and actually accomplishing something, albeit at a much slower pace. Much slower. When it comes to getting work done, you find yourself more often than not waiting for months on end before seeing the results of all of your planning and frustration. Prime example, I've been working on the same community garden project in my village since my first week in village, over a year ago. Due to the seasonal community work calendar in my village, the project needed to wait until after the harvest, once the rains had ended - last October. After a series of meetings, delays, promises, etc, we're finally breaking ground on the project - a year after the project was originally discussed, six months after submitting the budget for the project. Among other things, the lack of community organization has proven to be the most consistent obstacle in the way of the project's progress. I constantly find myself torn between wanting to scoop the project up and do it all myself and actually doing what I'm supposed to be doing, which is to facilitate the project's implementation and allow the village to take ownership of the project. Swooping in and taking control is so tempting... SO tempting... but it's completely counterproductive in the long run. So, as your average volunteer, I end up struggling with what to do when everything seems to be going wrong. But when so many things don't go according to plan, you're completely beside yourself with joy when things finally start coming together. Which is where I am right about now :)
So this month's note to self and the void: development is gradual and a group effort. It also has to start from the bottom up. Once you get the village behind a project, all of the little pieces start falling into place, and it's only because you've been consistently, tirelessly, patiently lining things up for months, explaining the details to people in the village, reiterating the fact that it's not your pet project, it belongs to the community - if they don't want it, it won't happen. If it matters enough to them, you'll be surprised at the enthusiasm that the mere mention of the project can bring. Yesterday, my host dad and I marked out and measured the fence line for the community women's garden. Tomorrow, we start digging two new, desperately needed wells in my village. Yettaare Allah, things are finally coming together....
