Michael Goldman
BP 157
Velingara, Senegal, West Africa

Monday, March 21, 2011

The Donkey Ride

So, the much anticipated donkey ride happened.  For those who do not know what I am talking about let me explain; The Moringa Donkey Rally was the official name (sometimes known as the South of the Border Donkey Show For Kids)  Was an idea inspired by our fallen friend David Shamis (he literally fell from the top of the Kolda house, and had to be medically separated).   The idea was to ride donkeys from village to village along a 90 km (55.9 miles) mainroad and give a small presentation about the nutritional benefits of Moringa Oleifera.  Why on earth were we riding donkeys you ask?  excellent question.  We rode them because it is hilarious for senegalese vilalgers to see a bunch of white people riding donkeys.  it brought more people to the event.  At first we also believed that we could actually ride the donkeys the whole time and thought that it would be easier than walking.  We were wrong. So, here is the story of the Donkey Rally...for kids.
It was a fresh cool spring morning.  Only a mere 85 degrees when Curtis and I left from Velingara.  We get to the garage and eat an egg sandwich and hop into a car and we go a whole 3 km before a wheel falls off the car.  The driver fixes the wheel enough and drives us all back to the garage.  Curtis and I then have to get into an Al-ham.  (for those outside of senegal, its like a tiny bus but still can fit the same amount of people as a big bus because you are squeezed inside like sardines)  instead of the usual 30 minutes it would take in a car, it took us 2 hours to get to Kounkane, the beginning of the donkey ride.  Once we stepped off the bus we went to grab some cold water, and as we start walking over the Geoffs place where the donkey's are we notice an Al-ham with a cow tied to the roof.  now we have seen chickens, sheep, and goats on an Al-ham before, hell I've been peed on by a sheep tied to the top of a car I was in.  I had never seen a cow before.  Naturally as all Americans do Curtis took out his camera and started taking pictures of the scene.  No more than 2 maybe 3 pictures in we are surrounded by 5 large senegalese yelling at curtis about how he did not have authorization to take the picture of the cow.  I just stood next to him and laughed.  Curtis didn't even flinch.  he just put the camera into his bag, and we started walking while they yelled at us from a distance.  We got to Geoffs and I was finally introduced to my Donkey.  I named her Princess Sparkles, which turned out to be a great name for her.  She was a really bitchy, like a princess!  Geoff had bought her a few days before for 38,000 (I went for 45,000 in the date auction).  As I went up to pet her and tell her how beautiful she looked she turned her back to me and tried to kick at me.  We waited there with the donkeys for the rest of the crew to arrive.  in total at the beginning of the ride, we had 4 donkeys, 4 riders, 3 bikers, and 2 senegalese to help with donkeys, and talking to the villagers.  at about 5:00 we rode out to the center of Kounkane and did out first meeting (in french/pulaar we called them sensibilizations, or formations). It started off great with some dancing to attract more people which kind of worked.  The sensibilization went kind of long and we went back after dark walking the donkeys.  I helped to feed the donkeys, and charlene and I gave them water.  it was a quiet night, and we all fell right to sleep.
 The next day we woke up at around 7:00 got the to the main road by 7:30 on donkey back.  the bikers had gone ahead and bought some sandwiches and water.  after breakfast we started the long journey.  After about an hour of riding it started to hurt.  I had thought ahead and brought a blanket to sit on, but still the pain persisted.  we arrived to our first destination.  it was some town between Kounkane and diaobe.  i made friends with the children, and we played music and did our sensibilization.  then we got back on our asses and continued for about another hour or two until we got to Diaobe.  We hung around the health post and did another sensibilization, and a few of us went to the market.  I bought my Obama President of Space '08 hat there.  Staying overnight at the health post was great.  There was a robinete (water tap) and best of all was that it had a shower instead of a bucket and a hole in the ground.  we all went to sleep a little early, and the next day we woke up bright and early around 6:00

              After spending the night in Diaobe we continued on to Medina Cherif.  The villagers there really enjoyed the presentation and filled the health post.  It was there that one villager asked us if we can eat cucumbers because her mother said that if you eat cucumbers you will get river blindness. Geoffs relais took that question.  After that, we filled up on water and began what is now known as the death march.  We walked 10 km in the sun to the mampatim checkpoint.  I kept the group entertained by telling some of my excellent Native American fables about turtle and beaver.  At the first boutique we collapsed and drank a lot of water.  After the small break we made our way to the Mampatim health post.  The health post there is very nice, but it didn’t have a shower like at Diaobe.  Lets just say, I’ve seen better bathrooms.  Before the presentation began there were lots of children staring at us as if we were animals at the zoo.  I decided to take the initiative and I chased them all away for a good 5 minutes.  They were terrified at a white guy running after them.  Then the presentation began.  I stayed back for a moment to gather my things and drink some water when suddenly there was a bee near me.  Me being the smart guy that I am decided to swat at the bee.  That didn’t really work to my advantage because a few seconds later I was running like a headless chicken trying to get away from the bee that would not stop chasing me.  Eventually it stung Cara in the forehead.  Her face swelled up.  That was the end of Cara riding her donkey Shackleton.  Charlene took Cara’s place.  Dinner was late that night.  The next day I woke up full of energy. 
We had to get up at 6:00 because we didn’t want another death march.  We made our way all the way to Temento, we were in luck because it was luumo day!  We were able to get lots of water, and crèmes, and dibi.  Unfortunately we weren’t doing the sensibilization there, we were doing it way in the village at the chiefs house.  So we all had to walk another 2-3 km into the village to do the sensibilization.  After the sensibilization we went back to the market and ate at a not very good or filling cheb shack.  Then we backtracked into dabo another 3 km to Glovskys house.  That was a good place.  We were finally able to sit down and eat some Biscreme.  Geoff however did another sensibilization because he is somehow never tired (rumour has it that he never sleeps.  I was with him for the whole donkey ride I never once saw him asleep).  Martin joined us here, and we had a good time.
The next day wasn’t too bad.  We started the day off going to bagadadji.  I got into a wrestling match with the children there.  They won (there were also 20 of them and they teamed up on me).  At this point it was finally realized that we had all become slap happy.  Geoffs relais was dancing and saying silly things through the megaphone.  We had an excellent turnout for the sensibilization, and the health post there gave us some really great food.  We then went on to the most beautiful village in Senegal, Mamadou Badeifa.  It was Wilmas village, and all week she had been hyping us up for her place.  It was just beautiful there, and we got lacciri for dinner!  It was delicious!  If you have never gone to Wilma’s village I highly recommend it.  There is a baobab forest, and tiny bridges, and she has a really nice puppy.  I had a small problem with her bathroom though.  As an Urban volunteer I am used to using a western style toilet.  I am generally ok using Turkish toilets, and most holes in the ground.  Her hole in the ground however was soo small!  I don’t know how she uses it everyday.   It was like a two-inch diameter!  Mamadou Badeifa is also were we had to leave Princess Sparkles.  The last couple of days she had been getting a little sick, and she had been just getting bitchier and bitchier.  She was kicking at me a little bit, and I wasn’t able to ride her at all.  She would just stop, sometimes in the middle of the road.  It was sad that we had to sell her.  I cried a little bit (but only on the inside) she was my everything.  I might have cried myself to sleep…
The next day we started off a little on the late side.  We stopped at Wilma’s dad’s boutique for some delicious egg sandwiches.  We stopped first in Sare Lountang, and had an excellent sensibilization.  We continued on to Martins village Sare Sara, did a sensibilization and had an expensive lunch there.  We walked on in the heat to Jason’s village.  I chased children around there too, and Curtis tried teaching them American songs.  We were all exhausted.  Geoff did another sensibilization.  I rested, talked to the girls and ate cookies.  Dinner at Jason’s was excellent, I think we had lacciri again.  We had a good time at Jason’s.
The next day we woke up early at 6:00.  It was the last day of the ride Kolda Day!!! I think I forgot sunscreen that morning.  We were making really good time probably 5 km an hour.  Jason’s dog decided to follow us.  I ended up walking his dog 10 km into Kolda once Wilma showed up with the leash.  But at about 12:30 we made it! We lost one donkey, only minor injuries, and we had completely lost our minds.  A few hours later we were sippin beers at the Kolda pool.  To my knowledge Shackleton has been sold to a Chinese man in Kolda as meat, and the other two donkeys were sold as well, but to people that want to use them for work…not food.
Although this might have been a terrible idea, and we will never do this again.  We all had a lot of fun.  

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Sheep

So, today is the beginning of that wonderful month, Moustache March.  I hope everyone had a good fuzzy february to lead into Moustache march.  yes I do have a moustache, yes I do look a little creepy.  when I first shaved down to just the 'stache I thought that i would look very similar to the brawny man, or Tom Selleck.  this was not the case.  instead I think I look more like the character Mario, from Super Mario Brothers nintendo games.  I look very italian.  hopefully the "stache will grow in a bit more and by the end of the month I will have something to be proud of.

So, heres a funny story.  I am on my way to Kolda on official PC business (I have to meet with a guy about doing a workshop at a garden of mine). and I am sitting in my car, minding my own business when suddenly I feel something wet on my arm.  I think to myself "oh thats strange" since it had not rained for many months, and is not supposed to rain for many months.  but then I was getting wetter, and noticed that the wetness was dripping from the roof of the car.  I started to scream, as I knew what was happening.  As I was getting into the car an hour before I noticed that they had tied some sheep down to the roof, which is a very common practice, after all how else are you supposed to transport your sheep? (roof is really the only way to travel nowadays, with the price of gas rising and all...) so you guessed it, one of the sheep decided that is was time to pee and was pissing on me.  great. so I started screaming at the driver and he freaked out a bit cause all of a sudden the white guy is yelling about piss, and everyone else in the car is waiting to see what happens.  I roll up the window, and the pain was finally over...or so I thought.  after about an hour of sitting in the hot car, now with my window up (no AC, this is senegal) I figure I am in the clear, and I don't have to worry bout anything, but then it happened...I look out the window to see what looked like a waterfall of sheep piss, cascading down the outside of the window.  I freak at first, but then I realize its outside and do not pay much attention to it.  To my surprise however there was so much piss, and the car was in such bad shape that between the door and the car, sheep piss started trickling through onto me again.  I start to scream again, and cause a scene (after all, this is now the second time the same sheep has pissed on me, in the same place) I was given a rag and I clean up what I can and just try to forget, but the nightmare I am sure will never leave me.

-Mike