On the way forward... |
During these past three months I scored a full-time direct
hire position at the USDA, met someone pretty cool, and bought a bike almost
identical to the one I had in Senegal. It seems like I climbed out of this
evacuation and THRIVED, but that’s not true.
lil' Booga. |
My life in Senegal was riding a shitty bike to work with a
chain that kept falling off through mud and rocks in 110-degree heat. It was 15
hour night bus rides with no air conditioning from Kedougou to the capital once
a month just to attend two-day trainings at the Peace Corps training center. It
was catching fire in my hut that led me back to the
capital to recover for two months. It was biking 5 miles to the nearest road town for cell service to check my email, and then a two hour PACKED mini van ride for WiFi. It was being an outsider that would never be able to truly integrate in a community I admired. It was questioning the Peace Corps mission and asking whether we are doing more harm than good. It. Was. Tough.
capital to recover for two months. It was biking 5 miles to the nearest road town for cell service to check my email, and then a two hour PACKED mini van ride for WiFi. It was being an outsider that would never be able to truly integrate in a community I admired. It was questioning the Peace Corps mission and asking whether we are doing more harm than good. It. Was. Tough.
Village "traffic" |
Soooo many onions |
I delayed coming back to the States. Growing up as a third
culture kid, I never identified this place as home anyways. Washington DC
especially is a difficult and lonely place because everyone is a stranger and
only here for work. I knew I would end up here sooner or later for a career,
but I was planning on delaying that as much as possible.
My delay strategy was awesome too. I was gonna go bike packing
with a peace corps friend for a month in Morocco and then spend Christmas in Germany. But the pandemic came rolling in in perfect 2020 fashion and threw
me back to the very place I’ve been avoiding for the past year and a half. My
time in Senegal was a dream.
Lonely DC. Photo cred: me :) |
All that being said, I have hope that this fog will lift in
the coming months. The Malinke phrase “dondin-dondin” (little by little) helped
me cope with life in Senegal and is applicable to my journey right now. I’m
just taking small, difficult steps towards my new reality.
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