Update on the Ebola virus in West Africa

For those of you concerned about my safety (in relation to the ebola outbreak) here is information that may provide you some comfort.  

This Q&A from the NYTimes is very thorough. If you have any other questions, please ask me, as I have been keeping close tabs on the outbreak.  

Senegal closed its borders in March 2014.  

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/31/world/africa/ebola-virus-outbreak-qa.html

Welcome!

Welcome to Sustainable Senegal Vermont!

I am hoping that this blog will provide you, my friends and family, with as much information as I can provide you about my time in the Peace Corps.  My aim is to give you information on what my life is like, what my day-to-day experiences are, what my work is, and what my feelings surrounding the entire experience are.

This blog is meant to be as user friendly as possible.  You can see that there are five links to various pages at the top of the page.  If you click any of these titles, the link will bring you to a separate page with more information.  At any time if you click the large banner that reads "One Vermont woman..." you will be brought back to the home page with the blog roll of posts.

The About Me section is, well, just that.  Information about myself for anyone wondering what I am about.

The About Peace Corps is a section that provides a brief background/history of the Peace Corps and a number of statistics.  These are quick facts, but it will give you some information and allow you to look up any other details that might interest you.  On this page is a link to the Peace Corps website itself.

Keeping in touch is also self-explanatory. I love mail!  As many of you know, I am pretty good at writing letters back and forth and keeping in touch while overseas.  I would greatly appreciate any sort of mail you would like to send me.  It may take awhile to get to Senegal, but eventually it should arrive.  For those of you interested in sending letters and/or packages, please number your letters and packages so that I know if any of them have been lost along the way, particularly if you will be sending more than one item of mail during my tenure in West Africa.

Photographs, a link to my photo site.

And finally, Peace Corps Senegal has information on Senegal and a bit of history on the Peace Corps' involvement in Senegal.  This page also has a link to the Peace Corps Senegal site which is recently updated and quite interesting.  I am hoping to be able to point out other things on this site as I begin my training and continue with my service.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment on a post, or email me.  I looking forward to keeping in touch with you as I continue on this exciting adventure.

Starting out: Future Peace Corps Volunteer

As many of you know, I decided that after I finished college I would do something.  I have thought about what I would do once I graduated since I began my undergraduate career about four years ago. Joining the Peace Corps had always been in the back of my mind, but I only seriously considered it as a post-graduate job when I spent a summer at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia and met many amazing RPCV.  Once I decided that I would apply to something I only applied to the Peace Corps.  I applied in October and made no other inquiries for a job prospect.  I was convinced I would get it, and luckily I did.  My application process was surprisingly fluid and speedy.  Peace Corps describes the application process as a 9-12 month commitment (although recently they have changed this.  I applied in October of 2013 (the fall of my senior year) and I was accepted at the end of March 2014.

After the initial interview, I got to choose my top five placements and I was then funneled into the Agriculture program in Senegal which was my top choice.  I knew I wanted to be in a francophone country and having the opportunity to do sustainable agriculture in Senegal was terrific.  After the interview process I received my official nomination for Ag in Senegal and then after my legal pre-clearance I waited for my final and official invitation.  Many other people that I know that applied had many tasks to complete in order for their application to be more competitive.  I think that my fluency in French definitely helped speed up my application process.

After receiving my invitation, I immediately accepted the position.  I was given a position was a sustainable agriculture extension agent in Senegal.  Most likely I'll be placed somewhere rural and my guess is that I'll have three or four communities (small villages) within some sort of small radius (maybe 20 miles) and those I'll bike to.  After that, I'll be working with farmers, women's market garden groups, community gardens, etc and helping to improve their sustainable practices.

The Sahel (which is an ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone that stretches across the continent) experienced almost fifty years of drought (off and on) that has changed what the Senegalese grow and how they grow it.  These practices will include improving seed extension, extending erosion control and water catchment techniques.  I will also be working with individual (and community farmers) in improving field crop management such as soil preparation, seeding, pest control, timely planting, timely weeding, and timely harvest.  These practices will hopefully help to improve food production in Senegal and develop an independent and productive system for the Senegalese population.

One of the things that I have become most aware of is my position as an American volunteer in Senegal.  I have studied African politics for 6 years and I understand the implications of Americans doing work in countries in the Global South.  But having never been to Africa (but knowing a number of people and having done lots of work on Africa/with Africans) I am aware of how I should position myself as a volunteer, visitor, and as a community member.