In case you didn't know..

FYI...The blogspot only shows the most recent posts on the loaded page you are looking at. You can access earlier postings, arranged by month, under 'Archives'. I mention this only because I know it would have taken me an embarrassingly long time to figure out if I were new to the blogworld :)

Deep thoughts, by Me

Over lunch last week with Anne at a roadside sandwich shop (where you can also get homemade Cebugen, or rice and fish, just like mom used to make), we enjoyed the company of a talkative Frenchman who asked us what our biggest surprise about Africa was. Not having really thought it over before, I mentioned the first thing that came to me: the presence of infrastructure and large, sophistocated buildings, in not only the cities but also some smaller towns. He nodded and added that people often come here, imagining that it is impossible to have a good time; they come expecting miserable conditions and survival-minded lifestyles. While that certainly is (unfortunately) the case for many people in Africa, especially in rural areas, priority is just the same placed on personal relationships and health over work. Now, this may be a generalization, and I'm certainly not in a place to generalize only having been here for 6 weeks, but many Yoffois I've talked to are the first to offer up that opinion. Marian had a roof-top soirée for the CRESP employees last Sunday night, and I was able to talk with an employee who has a Masters degree in English. We were comparing notes about society when he explained that the downfall of Africa is just that they prefer to have a good time over working. I certainly feel some pressure to hang out all day here and even have to remind myself at times that I have to be my own boss and tell myself to get to work, because no one here would dream of it. Well, some of my friends at CRESP who have my best interests in mind would, I hope. So far, I feel like my life has been a comfortable balance between work and necessary rest and recreation. It's been hard to know whether I'm working too little or too much. My body tells me when I'm working too much in the way of little alarms like fatigue, dehydration or stomach problems. As far as working too little, I suppose it's not as much of a concern, as everything I do here is a significant learning experience (insert corny music).

Have I forgotten to mention that I have a Senegalese name, given to me by my host dad? Indeed, my name here is Aminata Gaye. Aminata is a common name here, and is the name of Mamadou's mother, my deceased host grand-mother. It is also the name of the mother of the Grand Marabout of the Leyen brotherhood of Islam (most of the Yoff community). A Marabout is a spiritual leader, and the Grand Marabout is a reincarnation of the prophet Mohammed, according to their beliefs. There are 5 main brotherhoods, all varying in beliefs of who has direct contact with Allah or who their spiritual leaders are.

This week we are learning SPSS, a statistical analysis tool, with Marian. It's been an informal class in the mornings open to the interns and the Senegalese they work with. I'm happy to say that there are two master's students from the University of Dakar who are interested in the solar oven project. They'll certainly be an invaluable resource for collaboration throughout my time here, but even better would be for them to use the results of this summer's research for their thesis. This link benefits both CRESP and the U. of D. in terms of networking as well. One is named Daouda and is from Senegal, while the other is Briy from Chad, who offers the point of view of a foreigner like myself. We're piecing together the conceptual framework of what we hope to achieve this summer. I have presented to them my plan, including collecting data for an energy audit and demographic information from the village so that we can better understand the population that uses the oven. So far, they've been extremely helpful in developing those ideas and correcting my broken French.

We'll head back to Mékhé perhaps the week after next, when a suitable questionaire has been made.

Solar oven

This is the 3rd generation solar oven design from Dakar. Among its features include a recycled-plastic frame from Transtech in Dakar. Its predecessor is that used by Mékhé, made primarily of wood and lacking recycled elements, except for recycled aluminum sheeting from a printing press, used to line the interior of the oven. Ideally, the price of this oven will drop and make it a marketable product. Currently, the oven would sell for around 100 US dollars, although I couldn't get a straight answer from the engineers at University of Dakar. It's hard to know the price because Transtech is a private corporation out to maximize its profit, while the university and CRESP, its non-profit partners, are the opposing force. For now, the remaining 2nd generation ovens will hopefully be sold to Mékhé and should demand increase, the 3rd generation will be an even better option on the market. 

France v. Italy

Second half of the World Cup finals at the house. Papa Gaye is in the brown shirt directly in front of the tv. That's his spot. Don't take it! Other worthy viewers may pull up plastic chairs for a decent view. Lower on the chain are children and stragglers who must grab wood benches from the back yard for peripheral viewing. My loving family often offers up a bench or even a chair, secretly hoping I won't accept it I'm sure!
Everyone here was cheering on Italy. When asked why, a couple of my host brothers explained that the French have big mouths and talk too much. Plus, the family has a sister living in Italy, making the result very sweet. 

Maimona and her friend Fatou- Maimona is fantastic and adorable. 

Mantou and Libas enjoying mangos 

Here we are having lunch at Libas's home, the charming lad in the front. His mother Khadi is on the left, continuing with Maimona, my younger sister, her friend Fatou, me, and a friend from the Ivory Coast. Libas spends part of the time living with our family the rest with his mom. Maimona is spending the rest of her summer at their house, too. 

Aisha

My sassy younger sister Aisha, slightly disappointed in discovering that my portable music player was only a radio :) 

Gorée Island houses

Very vibrantly colored homes and buildings. 

Gorée Island garden

Jenous, me and Anne in the cactus garden on the island. This place is beautiful! 

Gorée Island

We took a trip to Gorée Island this past Sunday. From the left: Anne, me, Fatou and Jenous. It's a beautiful, small island off the south east coast of Dakar, about 15 minutes away by ferry. Well known for the slave trade that occurred here, there is a 'Slave House' museum where slaves were kept before being shipped off. There were rooms for women, young girls, men, babies, and rebellious slaves (extremely small closet-like rooms), all with no or tiny windows, ressembling a dungeon. Otherwise, the island is vibrant and the houses are brightly colored, with flowers dangling from window boxes and sidewalk vendors everywhere you turn. We hiked to this plateau for the view, then ate and took in the beach. 

Fatou, Anne and I took a taxi to Dakar today to visit the Ministry of Energy. As was suggested by the folks at the University, there was likely to be pre-existing energy audit data for Senegal, on some level, usability questionable. We spoke with a few employees there who were eager to help us, and we loaded up with documents. We still hope to bring on a Senegalese student to help conduct an energy audit in Mékhé in a couple weeks. Marian has been kind enough to offer to teach us SPSS- a statistical program for social sciences- to analyse the data.
We hope that the energy audit will produce a compelling case for the promotion of solar ovens in reducing fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Ouzin and Fangaye hanging out. Ouzin didn't want me to take this because he thought his hair looked bad. Not so! Fangaye's always ready for a pic! 

My new traditional African duds! I felt like a queen. 

Kodé, my handsome older brother, trying to 'show less teeth' than in the previous photo. 

Mantou, Coday (or Kodé) and Aisha snuggled on my bed, lookin' good. 

Aisha, Mantou and me in traditional African garb. The girls took me to the market to buy fabric because tailors are very affordable here. My entire outfit was about the price of lunch in Boston. Not too bad. The girls were eager to go to a Senegalese soiree that night and I had this made just hours beforehand. 

Two close family friends hanging out upstairs. 

Mantou reads the Wolof workbooks I've been using. She's a ham and a half. 

The annex building office. Marian lives upstairs and uses this floor for CRESP. 

The CRESP building has a cyber cafe downstairs and office space upstairs. An annex building is across the street, and that's where I spend most of my time. 

CRESP is the building with the tropical plant oasis in front of it. It is the white building to the far right. 

A side street that we use to get to CRESP to avoid the auto route. I prefer this way because there are fewer cars and people are friendlier. 

The view of a walkway through the neighborhood. There are lots of goats walking around. 

A view from the rooftop of our house of the 'anything goes' landfill across the street. It's unfortunate that almost all household garbage winds up just sitting on the surface of a huge, barren field. Once in a while, someone sets piles of it on fire, and black smoke waifs across the road toward us. Sometimes people do not taketheir garbage to the dump and instead leave it in front of our house or in our alley. 

Our house is the white building with the car in front. There is a cinderblock producer just around the corner, pictured here. This is the view from the auto route, which is one of the ways to get to CRESP. 

Leelah and Fangaye posing in the backyard. Fangaye spends a lot of time at our house. 

Our backyard is open air and usually doesn't have a tent in it. It was put there for a baptême, when a baby reaches it's 7th or 8th day it is given a name and truly accepted into the family. The celebration was held here for a neighbor's child. The toilet is to the far left (hidden) and the wash basin is toward the back of the yard on the left. A lime tree sits in the middle!