Turkey Day on fire!

Hello All! Once again, I cannot believe two weeks have gone by so quickly and I have not updated my blog. I guess that is a good thing.

Birthday
First of all thank you to all who sent birthday wishes my way, I really appreciate it and it really made me smile. My birthday was the first real holiday I have had since coming to site, and I truly expected the worse. It turned out to no be so bad. I realiwzed how much the people here had become my own suport network, but also how much I missed everyone back home. It was full of ups and downs, but my famlily was extremely kind and we had a special birthday dinner complete with orange soda and the gave me a new outfit. This is a big deal in a country where birthdays aer not celebrated and gifts are unheard of. It was a great day and also helped me notice how much Fatick already felt like home.

Senegal's Development Strategy
I've been lucky that in the time I have been here, I have been able to see NGOs, womens groups and gocernment agncies, and I have come to some interesting conclusions.
The government, through many small agncies has incorporated all NGOs and womens groups without providing funding or assistance; they siùmply pile on more paper work and force nation wide stratgies on their already tight budgets. It is evident from talking to eladers of these organizations that this policy is meant to augment the scope of the government, but it reduces the impact of the individual organizations. It has some positive effects in that it has formalized women's groups and encouraged bookeeping amongst microfinance institutions. But it has also given overworked institutions more work that has little or no benefit. It is an interesting strategy which in theory is supposed to umbrella all NGOs into a common goal wih government support, but without their independence, how are these institutions effective. Its difficlt to strike a balanc between government control and independence.

Thanksgiving
In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, alll of the volunteers ni my region came together to make good old fashioned american food, with a few adaptations. We butchered a turkey ourselves (with the help of the guard) and were going to bake it, but the oven was too small and we were forced to roast it. Turkey, being so greasy, caught on fire and was essetially a huge fireball (not a butterball!). After dousing the fire, the turkey was ok, and turned out to be very good. We had mashed potatoes, green been casserole, and spinach dip! We also made cranberry sauce with hibiscus flowers and apple pie. It was so amazing all the food you can make ni Senegal! The only things that were sent to us in care packages were pumpkin pie filling and cranberry sauce.

It was a great day and it was also a lot of fun!

Well, all else is calm on this front. Next week is Tabaski (Muslim new year) and the goats are lining up for slaughter, literally. It should be an interesting day.

Ba beneen samay xaarit! (until next time my friends)