Diourbel to Kaolack - Day 184

Date: February 18th, 2010
Distance: 77km
Country: Senegal
Song of the Day: Living the Dream - Sloan

I rode out of Diourbel today. I am still getting calls of "toubab" from kids along the road. One kid ran over and gave me five as I passed. That felt pretty good. Like I say, my first theory on people is: People are bored. So in some ways I feel like me passing through the little villages is the highlight of their week.

Once I got to the town of Gossas I tried to get in touch with Stephanie, a girl I met at WAIST. Her site is somewhere around there. I was hoping to visit her and see what life is like in a small village. I realize that fundamentally I am a tourist, but I didn't come here to do the tourist stuff. I am in Africa, and I want to see everyday life. Not just in the cities, or the beaches. I also want to see life out in the villages too. Sadly the number she gave me wasn't working. One too many digits. Ah well.

I headed down to Kaolack which is the next big city along the road. Byron had said there were a number of PCVs down there and a regional house that I might crash at. He also connected me with Shelly, a girl who lives in town. She met me on the main road and we headed back to the apartment she is staying at.

I guess the government of Senegal provides the apartment for Peace Corps use. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but inside it is probably the most western style apartment I have seen in this country. It has a big living room, which is weird here. In Senegal people usually hang around outside under a shady tree. It also had a large kitchen. Okay, not large by American standards, but it had a freestanding stove with an oven, a rarity. A fridge too. Plus a large double sink. The most amazing part was the bathroom that actually had a bathtub. According to Shelly it didn't work and there might be a rat hiding in there, but still. A bathtub!

Shelly also took me over to the regional house. There we met a couple of other volunteers who we headed to dinner with. One of the guys, Rithvik, also lives around Gossas. Since I told him that I hadn't gotten to see Stephanie's village, he invited me to his. So tomorrow I will head back up there for that.

After dinner, Shelly and I headed back to her place. We spent a couple of hours talking about experiences in Africa. She is in her third year here in Senegal. I am now getting a better impression of the development problems in Africa. She mentioned that a lot of the NGOs that come in do a short project, build something, then leave. The people are excited at the time, but their is no follow up money. So no maintenance is done and soon the project is abandoned or crumbles. I guess she and other volunteers here try to do smaller project, but something the local people can continue with after they leave. It is hard though because often the culture here is only concerned with today.

Oh, the people also believe in djinnis, apparently. I guess Shelly was told by people in her previous villages that there were places, like bushes and trees, where djinnis would hang out. Religiously, the country is Islamic. But culturally there is still a large amount of local superstitions. Then again, in Iceland many people still believe in the Hidden Folk. Back in the U.S. far to many people belive in UFOs. So take that with a grain of salt.

-Dravis