Toublog

Meryl's blog address

2005-12-21T04:32:00.000-08:00

Now that I've officially had a Wolof woman pat my crotch and ask me "if the cheikh is pleased with how this affair is going" I decided I'm integrated enough to share my own experiences. You can visit my blog at www.merylguyer.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas and can't wait to see you!

Meryl

Letter to Stage

2005-10-30T07:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Stage,

First let me apologize for the ranting you are about to read. I just wanted to share with all of you my thoughts about our PST. I also want to make sure that all you have some idea of where I am coming from and what my intentions are. I would first like to say that I have no desire to push the so-called homosexual agenda. I simply want discussion and dialog about the topic. I feel it is essential for the safety and well being of volunteers who may fall into the LGBTQ category. I apologize if I may have stepped on anybody's toes. I do not want to offend anyone or criticize anybody's personal beliefs. I respect all of you and your own individual beliefs (just as long as they don't involve violence or harm against another) I also wanted to write all of you an email to tell you about a presentation that I am working on with Curt and Nicole. I have spoken to Awa, and she has agreed to set aside some time for a presentation on American diversity.

Before I accepted my invitation to Peace Corps Senegal, I was well aware and informed about the political and social conditions regarding homosexuality. For me, I had always wanted to be a volunteer in Africa, long before I even questioned my sexuality in college. My motivation for coming to Senegal was not only to give something back and use my degrees to aid in development, but it was to challenge myself. If I was not here in this stuffy cyber center in Thies typing this email, I would probably be studying for midterms in a well air-conditioned library so that I could graduate in the top of my law school class, which would catapult me into a respectable law firm where I would work non-stop, make enough money to have 2.5 kids and a nice house in the burbs and finally retire. I didn't want my entire life to be predictable. I wanted to be challenged in a non traditional way. Living near my friends in the Marina in San Francisco, enjoying weekends on the bay with my family, hikes on Mt. Tam, season tickets to the Giants, late-night dinners at Delfina and concerts at Davies seemed like the ideal life, but just not the ideal life for me.

My decisions to be very open with my sexuality was not even a question in Philadelphia. For me, I felt that it was important to represent that part of my life to all of you. I also hoped that by being visible, I could be a resource to other gay volunteers or people questioning their sexuality. By being open, I have no intention of putting pressure on other gay and lesbian volunteers to be open about their sexuality. Being open is a very personal decision. I respect people's decision. I also respect people's privacy and discretion.

For the past several weeks, I have been overwhelmed with the assimilation process, the culture differences as well as the training. Personally, I have felt uncomfortable here at the training center. I was frustrated at first that no one ever discussed or mentioned anything about homosexuality in Africa. I am sure a lot of you noticed my frustrations and anger about the situation. My initial instinct was to make a loud protest and stir up some waves. I have never really been so passionate about a political cause in my life, nor have I been on the front line. I do not have prior experience being a political advocate, so I was a little unsure about how to express my frustrations. The censorship in the Sabor and the critic of my Mohawk escalated and intensified my frustration.

After being here for over four weeks, I have realized that Senegal operates in a particular way. If you want to introduce something new or advocate change, you must abide by their rules. It was arrogant of me to expect sweeping changes overnight. The Senegalese seem to be very passive. They are very reluctant to express their opinions directly. Instead they prefer to use indirect methods to convey their thoughts. It was quite frustrating when several of the trainers told me that they wanted to let me know that other trainers were a little concerned about my Mohawk. Not a single person actually said they were offended. Instead everyone said that they wanted to let me know that someone else was offended and that I should shave it off. It wasn't until my discussion with Awa that I realized that these suggestions were actually direct orders for me to shave my head. It has taken me several days and many deep breaths to accept the way people here communicate. The lack of direct communication is very annoying and frustrating. Nonetheless I learned that I must be patient and learn about these people before I can expect to achieve anything here.

During several discussions with other volunteers, other issues surfaced. From my experience here so far, I feel like we have not really been fulfilling one of the goals of the Peace Corps. It does not seem that we have really shared enough about our American backgrounds. Yes we have been swarming around the market place, making ourselves cozy in our homestays and supporting Flag and Gazalle, however I feel like this has not really been fulfilling the Peace Corps goal. Yes we have shared on our backgrounds to our own families, but we should go beyond that. I know that the staff at the training center has tried to teach us and prepare us for site. In doing so they have created a very rigid and conservative environment. In their attempt however, I have felt like they have forgotten about American cultural sensitivity. We have spent the last four weeks learning about the Senegalese and how to respect their culture, yet it feels like some of the staff has forgotten about our feelings. It is important for all of us to know how to communicate with people at our site, but I also feel it is important for the staff to know how to effectively communicate with us. Of course I know that the staff has been training volunteers for over forty years, however that doesn't mean there is not any room for improvement. Some of you may think that the surveys and evaluations are the appropriate place to voice opinions. However from my site announcement, I think their might be more effective ways of expressing our opinions.

After much thought, I have come to the conclusion that panel on American culture would be a good way to share our backgrounds to the staff. It would be an indirect way of letting the staff know that we are Americans and that we come from a different place where things are done differently. Having this sort of panel discussion and presentation would be a great way to start dialog. There will be plenty of time in the future to push my lgbtq issues in the future. I feel like dialog is the first step of many steps. The goal of this session will simply be to share our backgrounds with the staff and answer any of their questions they may have about Americans. I have no desire to put any pressure on the staff to accept our beliefs or way of life. I simply want them to hear about us. The more they know about us, the better they will know how to work with us.

In addition to the panel discussion that I am putting together, I am also working on some lgbtq projects which includes the new list serv that I formed this weekend. BJ and I are going to work on a letter to Malcolm have more resources available to LGBTQ volunteers. I think a mentoring and referral service would be a good tool to help new volunteers. I also think that more discussion would be useful other than hearing the classic "c'est comme ça au Senegal." It was not until my discussion with BJ that I realized my quote in teh Sabor was not the best idea. As volunteers here, we do not have diplomatic immunity. If a Senegalese official calls the embassy and requests that a volunteer be forced to leave, that volunteer will have to leave. It seems rather unfair, but we have to realize we are not in the US. If someone had taken the time to really explain this, I would not have been as upset.

Thank you for taking the time to read this rather long email. I apologize for the errors and scattered thoughts. I just felt it was important to let all of you know where I am coming from. My worst fear is for people to misread me. I know that many of you will not agree with some of the things I have said or plan to do. I respect that opinion, just as you should respect my opinions. I hope all of you who went to the beach had a great weekend. I wish I could have gone, but I wanted to spend the free time in Thies working on my projects.

Please let me know if you want to participate in the panel or have any ideas. So far Curt and Nicole are the only volunteers signed up.

Cheers,

Connor

Oh Yeah

2005-10-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

I'd rather be dead than SED.

That's just to secure my copyright on the phrase.

Cell Phones and Sanitation

2005-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

I find it somewhat strange that a technology such as the mobile telephone is so prevalent, while other advancements such as regular garbage service, clean running water, and a working sewer system, are absent. Perhaps it has something to do with the difference between individual and community needs brought up in the Ecology lecture. I would hardly say that people here are more indivdiualistic than in the US, but the balance of individual vs. community falls closer to the side of the individual in some areas (see above) and on the side of the community in others (for instance, the closeness of families and neighbourhoods.

Hey crazy cats

2005-10-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all
I so happy that Kate told me where the apostrophe was on this friggin' keyboard. Get ready for a great, fun-filled week. To maybe help you get through, I found a pool that is open most of the week, my fam went today. It's at the Polytechnique Institute, it's a little pricey but clean enough, and is sure a nice cool break from this weather.

Ba Suba!
Becca

The weekend has come

2005-10-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I hope that this week of training in Senegal has been extraordinary and that enthusiasm remains as time goes on! Ha!
Let's not forget that favorite senegalese dish of ceebujen! I dont know about you all but I can never get enough rice and fish, who else needs to work on thier jayfunde! (for those in america...just know that it means big ass).
these 2 years have the potential to be amazing!
love y'all! sarah
p.s. know that Pedro offers you his protection!

howdy

2005-10-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

So this is my first post to the Toublog. I have another blog that I update regularly which you're all welcome to visit (provided you're open to reading about how much I hate you all). It's a livejournal account... huzzah...

Lauren and the Big Wide World. I don't know if any of you have ever seen Peep and the Big Wide World, but it's a children's cartoon I highly recommend. It's about a chicken and his eggplant friend. Actually I think he's supposed to be a duck, but he's really dumb and looks like an eggplant.

Could I make a request of everyone? I don't actually know who everyone is with just their nicknames up, so if you're not posting with your real name, could you at least put it in your first post? Thanks. And does anyone else mind if I post a link to this in my regular blog? I hope not, because I already did.

Other than that, since I see you guys every day, I have nothing new to report. Except that I found out today that Meghan K. is quite possibly the most indecisive person I have ever met. Oh, last night I found out how much all us Toubobs must really look alike when Meghan K.'s (we need some good nicknames for the Meghans, by the way) brother said I looked like Mariah Carey in one of my photos that I was showing them.

Fin

Connor's First Posting!

2005-10-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I just thought I would join the blogging band wagon. I apologize to everyone if I may have come across as being antisocial lately. Like all of you, it has been difficult adjusting to all of these new changes; good and bad. Being one of the few minorities in the group as well as being one of two openly gay volunteers has been rather tough. I am grateful for everyone's acceptance and understanding. I hope that by being out to all of you, I can be a resource as well as a representative. I am hoping to create a support group for gay Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa. I feel like a support group would be beneficial, since there are so few of us in the program. I understand that being open about one's sexuality is a very personal and private choice. I just want everyone in our stage or any other stage in Africa to know that I am here if you need any support or advice. Take care and good luck to all of you!

Kari's blog

2005-10-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hey guys
My blog is www.livejournal.com/users/kbsenegal.

Creative, I know. Peter, you are a creative genius with the name of this one. For reals.

Cinema

2005-10-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Has anyone been to the Cinema in Thies, or is it closed for Ramadan? Does anyone want to go to the beach this weekend? I'll ask my bro about logistics but maybe the best way is to meet somewhere Samedi apres-midi at the coast....

Welcome Toublogs

2005-10-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

This is Toublogger Paul Powers from Iowa. If you feel like reading stupid stories about MY time in Senegal, visit www.paulshaft.blogspot.com Enjoy yourselves in America, Senegal and around the world.

Automobile Transportation

2005-10-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

Lest anyone back home complain about potholes, I will tell you now that the 'major' roads in Senegal make the ones back in RI look as if they're paved with gold. Luckily we were rolling in the Landcruiser, or else the road - which resembled the dark side of the moon - would have put a stop to our day-long journey.

As luck would have it, the car had problems anyway. Avoiding a fallen tree brought us off-road and eventually stuck axle-deep in mud (or, if you will, a plague-ridden swamp). Luckily a local village lent its entire male population to push us out (and, given the late hour, a place for me to stay the night). Of course, the only reason we got stuck in the first place was that it was too dark to see the area: had one of the passengers, who had had some refreshments the night before, woken up on time, we would have arrived two hours earlier at the swampy impasse, and perhaps would have avoided the four-hour stay in the morass.

Oh yeah - the best joke ever told in a Landcruiser is as follows: 'If it keeps raining like this, they're going to have to call this a SEAcruiser.' The joke becomes exponentially funny if told repeatedly to each passenger in the car.