Andrew in Senegal: Sangalkam

I have returned from my week in Sangalkam staying with a host family. So far I've been able to communicate in French but I study Pular every day. I also work with two volunteers to set up a garden at the local school, when we arrived on the site all we saw was sand and dead grass. It was a bit discouraging to learn that we were starting the fourth garden on the site. The local kids seem to love working in the garden so hopefully they'll maintain it after we leave, or maybe not...

The family I'm staying with lives on a compound with a lot of their extended family. So many people came and go that I'm still not entirely sure who lives there. When I'm around the family we drink copious amounts of tea, practice Pular and eat fish and rice out of large communal bowls while sitting on the floor. I'm not quite used to the eating situation yet, I'm given a spoon at every meal but some people use their hands. Often people break the food apart with their bare hands and throw pieces to you across the bowl. Hopefully I'll get used to it by the end of my next stay, which begins tomorrow afternoon, and will last for two weeks. I'll be sure to take more pictures and update as soon as I get back.