It's my last night in TubaniSo before going to my host village. We leave here at 8am tomorrow... got med kits, a bike, a helmet, and a mosquito net. Apparently there is a trunk waiting at my homestay site filled with all sorts of goodies. Oh yea, the bike is wicked nice cause it's a trek. I am charging my ipod now so i can bring some tunes with me to help fall asleep at night. My days are going to be real busy... about 6 hours of language training 7 days a week. The village that I am going to is a fishing village, so I figure I am going to lose a lot of weight real fast! I can't stand fish, but I have cliff bars and beef jerkey to eat! I should have brought more M&Ms.
I am really excited to get to my homestay village just north of Bamako and start learning Fulfulde. Fulfulde, also known as Fulani, will be very beneficial to learn because it is spoken throughout Western Africa in different dialects. Because I am an Agroculture volunteer, I will be living in a very small rural village (basically, out in the sticks!) so I will not really have the opportunity to learn French until later... and that's if someone in my village speaks any French. I'm bummed out about that, but excited for the Fulfulde and over experience, nevertheless. I met a representative from my homestay village today and we were trying to communicate with each other, but it was so hard! She has laughing and repeating things while I was drawing pictures and pointing. I drew all sorts of musical instruments hoping they would have them. She gave me the names for them and put her thumb up... we'll see if anyone plays them! After the 9 weeks of homestay are up I will most likely be moving north to the Mopti region.. I have sand in my future! I can't wait for it though. It is the Sahel region that comes up towards Timbukto and Gao... not quite desert, but close. I really hope there aren't as many flies and mosquitoes there because they are insane here! Sleeping in my mosquito net tent is just like camping. We've been calling this place summer camp or africa-light haha. I can't wait to get out into the real world by moving to my village! Look for more posts in a few weeks, as I will be without internet for 2 1/2 weeks.
Dave
24 July 2007
21 July 2007
I made it!
After about 30 hours of travel, I have finally made it to the training center in Mali known as TubaniSo (too-bawn-ee-so) and it is awesome. I am staying in a little hut with two other guys. There are actually 81 of us here... we're the biggest volunteer class ever! I am having a great time and learning tons and I will move into a village with a host family on the 25th. I'll live with them for 9 weeks until I am ready to go out on my own! Woohoo!
06 July 2007
Hey I'm famous!
Cool... someone found my blog and put it up on www.peacecorpsjournals.com. That's pretty awesome. People can find me now.
I guess that means I should put up some info so people that don't know me can have a little bit of an idea of who I am.
My name is Dave, I'm 22 years old, and I graduated from Syracuse University in May 2007. In just under two weeks I will be heading to Mali to volunteer with the Peace Corps as an Agriculture/Gardening Extension Agent (the "Agent" part is definitely the coolest aspect of the title) for the next 27 months. I was originally set to volunteer in Tanzania, but something happened with the Peace Corps (not exactly sure what...) and half the program was cut, so I was moved to Mali and have had an extra month at home to see family, friends and make some money before I go. It has been great to be home for this extra time, but I am real antzy to get going and start the next big chapter in my life. Look for more updates once I get to Mali after July 20.
I guess that means I should put up some info so people that don't know me can have a little bit of an idea of who I am.
My name is Dave, I'm 22 years old, and I graduated from Syracuse University in May 2007. In just under two weeks I will be heading to Mali to volunteer with the Peace Corps as an Agriculture/Gardening Extension Agent (the "Agent" part is definitely the coolest aspect of the title) for the next 27 months. I was originally set to volunteer in Tanzania, but something happened with the Peace Corps (not exactly sure what...) and half the program was cut, so I was moved to Mali and have had an extra month at home to see family, friends and make some money before I go. It has been great to be home for this extra time, but I am real antzy to get going and start the next big chapter in my life. Look for more updates once I get to Mali after July 20.
26 June 2007
Alright Then
Well, quite a bit has changed since my last posting. It would seem like I should be in Tanzania by now, but due to changes I was switched to Peace Corps Mali and will be heading out July 20 (I start staging in Philly on July17). I am wicked excited for this and can't wait to go but definitely enjoying my time at home while I have it.
Look for more posts once I actually get to Mali!
Look for more posts once I actually get to Mali!
08 May 2007
Whoaaaaaaa..........
Ok, so I just finished college... or at least the work aspect. I finished up my catering job two nights ago, turned in my last paper, and finished my final exam a few hours ago. All I have to do now is show up and look good for graduation on Sunday. I guess it is time to rock out for the next few days until the family arrives in 'cuse.
Graduation = 5 days
Red Sox at Fenway = 7 days
Peru= 9 days
Staging/Tanzania = 34/36 days
Counting down.
Graduation = 5 days
Red Sox at Fenway = 7 days
Peru= 9 days
Staging/Tanzania = 34/36 days
Counting down.
25 April 2007
Yeaaaaaa it's coming down
Where to even begin? College graduation is in a mere 18 days away and my life is about to undergo the most tremendous change I could ever imagine. Since beginning kindergarten some 17 years ago (1990), I've always looked forward to the end of the school year and the beginning of summer break. Life was simple; I always had the fall to look forward to when I would return to school. Yes, there were changes in schools, and some as big as entering high school or even going off to live the college life. I always knew I would be attending classes come fall, but now that is no longer inevitable. For the last four years I have lived and breathed college. Friends have come and gone, classes have filled my head with incomprehensible amounts of knowledge, I traveled Europe and studied in Madrid for 5 months, and I've rocked out the fraternity life back in Syracuse. My time at 'Cuse has been amazing and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've realized that, although it is cliche, nothing lasts forever. It has taken a lot of soul searching, but I think I am finally ready to move on. College has been one hell of a milestone in my life, but the next holds so much more for me.
In 22 days I will be heading off to Peru with my father for 10 days in search of a South American adventure. We've booked hostels in Lima and Cuzco, as well as a 4-day hike where we'll be camping along the Quarry Trail en route to Machu Picchu to explore the ancient ruins. I am so pumped for this and cannot wait to share the experience with him.
But the real big news is that in 49 days I will begin my "staging" for the Peace Corps and in 51 days I will fly to Tanzania where I start my training and work as a Village-Based Extension Facilitator for the next 27 months of my life. Tentatively, I will be returning in August 2009! Seeing it in text, it seems so far away! On the other hand, I remember looking at my year book in 5th grade and seeing class of 2003 written on the front. 2003 seemed like it would never come back in 1995. Now, that time period appears just to be another drop in the bucket. 2009... Bring it! I ask myself daily, "Am I seriously doing this???" The answer is always, "Hell yea!" I am going on an adventure... no one gets to go on adventures anymore. For the most part, my friends from college will all be making good salaries out of college, but they will be confined to teaching, accounting and business jobs or going onto further education. I am not ready for that. What would my answer be if I was taking a job working behind a desk in an 8'X8' cubicle and asked myself daily, "Am I seriously doing this???" If you guessed "Hell yea!" then you'd be completely wrong. I can't settle down at this point in my life. Put me in a mud hut! Tell me to grow my own food! Give me a task to help out a village in a developing country! I want to learn through this experience!
I couldn't be luckier having received an invitation to volunteer in Tanzania. When I found out that I would be serving in Africa, I was nervous that the Peace Corps would send me to a country located somewhere in the Sahara Desert. I did not want to live in a desert where water, the essence of life, is extremely scarce. Apparently, someone must like me! I'm being sent to real-life "Lion King" country! Tanzania is surrounded by Africa's largest animal reserve and is home to the Serengeti Plains, Mt. Kilimanjaro, borders Lake Victoria, and is situated on the East Coast of Africa and the Indian Ocean. Almost any animal you can associate with an African safari lives in Tanzania... Elephants, lions, flamingos, crocodile, wildebeests, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, etc.... the list just goes on! I really just have to worry about the tennis ball size tarantulas and poisonous snakes. I'm definitely going to keep my mosquito net pulled tight around my bed at all times!
There is this excitement for my future growing in my eahc and every day. Although I love college and everything it stands for, I am ready to move on to the next stage of my life. I want to see what else is out there. What Africa has in store for me is a big mystery. At this point, I know that I will live and work in a rural village in Tanzania. My work will be focused on agriculture and forestry, including sustainable development farming, environmental protection, and HIV/AIDS awareness. I will learn Swahili (Kiswahili), live at the same level (economically and socially) as the villagers, and learn things about the world and myself along the way. I am nervous to leave my family, friends, and everything I know behind for such an extended amount of time, but I know these are natural feelings. I'd be afraid if I wasn't nervous to leave everything. For the time being, I mind as well get my fill of American culture and do the things I enjoy with my family and friends because my future is taking me along a route that is unimaginable to most. I can barely even believe I am doing it! Still, I can't wait to see what is in store for me over the next 27+ months. Rock and roll.
In 22 days I will be heading off to Peru with my father for 10 days in search of a South American adventure. We've booked hostels in Lima and Cuzco, as well as a 4-day hike where we'll be camping along the Quarry Trail en route to Machu Picchu to explore the ancient ruins. I am so pumped for this and cannot wait to share the experience with him.
But the real big news is that in 49 days I will begin my "staging" for the Peace Corps and in 51 days I will fly to Tanzania where I start my training and work as a Village-Based Extension Facilitator for the next 27 months of my life. Tentatively, I will be returning in August 2009! Seeing it in text, it seems so far away! On the other hand, I remember looking at my year book in 5th grade and seeing class of 2003 written on the front. 2003 seemed like it would never come back in 1995. Now, that time period appears just to be another drop in the bucket. 2009... Bring it! I ask myself daily, "Am I seriously doing this???" The answer is always, "Hell yea!" I am going on an adventure... no one gets to go on adventures anymore. For the most part, my friends from college will all be making good salaries out of college, but they will be confined to teaching, accounting and business jobs or going onto further education. I am not ready for that. What would my answer be if I was taking a job working behind a desk in an 8'X8' cubicle and asked myself daily, "Am I seriously doing this???" If you guessed "Hell yea!" then you'd be completely wrong. I can't settle down at this point in my life. Put me in a mud hut! Tell me to grow my own food! Give me a task to help out a village in a developing country! I want to learn through this experience!
I couldn't be luckier having received an invitation to volunteer in Tanzania. When I found out that I would be serving in Africa, I was nervous that the Peace Corps would send me to a country located somewhere in the Sahara Desert. I did not want to live in a desert where water, the essence of life, is extremely scarce. Apparently, someone must like me! I'm being sent to real-life "Lion King" country! Tanzania is surrounded by Africa's largest animal reserve and is home to the Serengeti Plains, Mt. Kilimanjaro, borders Lake Victoria, and is situated on the East Coast of Africa and the Indian Ocean. Almost any animal you can associate with an African safari lives in Tanzania... Elephants, lions, flamingos, crocodile, wildebeests, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, etc.... the list just goes on! I really just have to worry about the tennis ball size tarantulas and poisonous snakes. I'm definitely going to keep my mosquito net pulled tight around my bed at all times!
There is this excitement for my future growing in my eahc and every day. Although I love college and everything it stands for, I am ready to move on to the next stage of my life. I want to see what else is out there. What Africa has in store for me is a big mystery. At this point, I know that I will live and work in a rural village in Tanzania. My work will be focused on agriculture and forestry, including sustainable development farming, environmental protection, and HIV/AIDS awareness. I will learn Swahili (Kiswahili), live at the same level (economically and socially) as the villagers, and learn things about the world and myself along the way. I am nervous to leave my family, friends, and everything I know behind for such an extended amount of time, but I know these are natural feelings. I'd be afraid if I wasn't nervous to leave everything. For the time being, I mind as well get my fill of American culture and do the things I enjoy with my family and friends because my future is taking me along a route that is unimaginable to most. I can barely even believe I am doing it! Still, I can't wait to see what is in store for me over the next 27+ months. Rock and roll.
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