Tis the season... for sheep slaughtering

Happy Holidays and Happy New Years!

I have done a terrible job at blogging in the last month, so here goes what I hope will be an epic blog entry.

Tabaski... Cultural Overload
Deewenaati! Or happy new year! Tabaski, which celebrates the beginning of a new islamic year, was at the beginning of Dec, and as most holidays it was so so overwhelming. The day started as most holidays witha atrip to the mosque, I arrived at the house just as the men were returning; since I cannot go to the mosque. In the center of the family compound there was a sheep awaiting its doom. The men retured, changed into old clothes, pulled out a knife and began the slauhgtering. The sheep is laid on the ground next to a deep hole, and then they slice open the throat. The knives are very dull so it was a long painful task for the sheep. As the guest they asked me to cut the jugular. At first I politely declined, but after a lot of insisting , I did it. I don't think I have ever seen that much blood at one time in my whole life. After the slaughtering the sheep is cleaned meticulously until all that is left is a head on a tree. The organs are taken out and grilled in an onion sauce and then we all sat down to eat the "first bite". I'm not sure I know; or want to know what part of the animal I ate. I was tasy nonetheless, ands red meat is always a welcome addition to my diet.

After the initial bite, and a tour of family friends which undoubtedly inculded more food, we sat aroudn and watched TV and drank orange soda (a staple of the holidays here). I was both stuffed and tired, so a nap was just what I took. Ater napping we had a lunch of peas and sheep, and then continued our sluggish day with more napping. As night began to fall, e went on a tour to see familes and friends, which leads to more eatnig and more orange or pineapple soda. After this, we went home and had dinner and they sent me home with a full leg of a sheep! I had no idea what to do with it! I thanked them profusely and returned home with a huge chunk of meat.

The next morning we had a much more traditional Fatiquoise day which involves three meals of millet and a senegalese wrestling match. The match has been one of my favorite events in Senegal. Caxabal, or lutte in French, is a traditional Serere pratice of wrestling. To an outsider it is extremely simple. It involves knocking someone to the ground, simple and easy, so I found it simple to follow. One of the reasons I liked it so much was that it was the first event I have been to in Senegal were men, women, and children all partake in the fun. Everyone in the neighbrhood was there cheering on their favorite fighter and enjoying the fun. I also realized how jovial and unthreatening sporting events are when their is no alcohol. Besides the large crowds, there is nohing to make someone feel unsafe. It was really fun, and I can't wait to go to many more of these!

Christmas already?
Next thing I know, its Christmas! I could not believe it. In the holiday spirit, a gruop of volunteers and I decided to go to St. Louis for Christmas. The city is incredible in somany ways. The city is the first french city founded in West Africa, and was a hub for exploring the continent for many years after that. The city was not used for the slave trade and was mostly just a trading port of sugar and fish for a couple hundred years. The city, like most colonial cities in Senegal, is in serious decline, and the buildings look out of shape and a little rough. It is beautiful nonetheless. The city is also an artistic hub in WestAfrica and has many jazz bars and artists ateliers that make it a great place to be a tourist.

It was also cold! I wore a sweatrer for most of the time! St Louis is located on an island in the middle of the river Senegal. On one side of the river is the mainland and on the other is the Longue de Barbarie Peninsula tha is only about 200 m wide aith the ocean on the other side. We spent the days walkign aroud the city, sittign at cafes, and eating good food. It felt like being in Europe. We were staying at a PC-owned apartment with a fully functioning kitchen so we did some cooking, but no hot water or electricity, so it was still Africa! It is interesting how unimportant eletricity as becom and how adaptaple we are to not having it. For Christmas Eve we went to a nice dinner by the water (lamb!) and to midnight mass with an African choir, it was really nice, but not quite like home.

On Christmas Day we had a small gift exchange and baked cookies and cooked all day. We made mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, and sheep. It was really good and we all just enjoyed hanging out. Someone brought all the new episodes of the office, so I was able tocatch up on my favoriteshow. Awesome!!!!

Ringing in 2009... with Peace Corps Mauritania?!
After much hesitation, we decided to spend a few extra days and ring in the new year in St Louis. We went to the beach which was SO COLD (it is, after all, still the North Atlantic), ate some more good food and wandered the streets of the city. We also went out to anational ark and di some bird watching and spend the day out y the river plaing cards, ery fun! On the 30th we all noticed an influx of young toubabs (white people) in the city. We soon discovered that they were volunteers coming from Mauritania! Meeting them was unbelievably interesting, it is hard to picture another Peace Corps experience, but their's is so s different! The strong islamic law in the country makes alcohol illegal and female volunteers have to cover their wrists, ankles, and head. They also all have site mates, and they live with other volunteers, it was so hard for me to even picture their experience compared to mine. They also come to Senegal to let loose, making them a rowdy bunch to say the least.

With close friends, and whole lot of PCVs from Mauritania we rang in the new year! It is so overwhelming to think that I will spend the entire year of 2009 in Senegal, but it is also extremely exciting. The holidays also made me miss all of you back home and I want to wish you all an amazing 2009, and keep in touch!