Michael Goldman
BP 157
Velingara, Senegal, West Africa

Friday, June 22, 2012

Rams

So, there I was just leaving my house to go buy some cheap mangos down the street.  the sandy ground was still moist from yesterdays rains.  I look up as I close my front gate and find before me a young boy  herding a young ram along.  The ram followed after the boy as he made clicking noises.  Then the ram saw me.  I am no friend of sheep or goats, because they have eaten most of everything that I have planted in this country.  I stared at that ram as he passed by, and then the ram stopped moving forward. He dug his feet in and turned his body towards me.  I knew what was going to happen.  the ram suddenly sprang at me like a jack in the box and rammed me in the thigh.  I grabbed him by the horns and said some very inappropriate things to it.  The boy came and apologized for his rams aggressive behavior.  Then I ate a mango.


-Mike

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Something Different

So, First I would like to apologize for the lack of writing.  Things here are not as exciting as they were in the beginning.  Events in the past that were strange are now normal to me, and I pay no attention to them now, and I have had no more troubles at the bank.  My days have gotten routine where I wake up early with the sun and water my nematode infested garden, trying to get back home before it hits 100 degrees.  I stay at home during the hottest parts of the day hiding from the ever glaring sun; reading, studying for the GRE, checking e-mails and taking lunch.  Sometimes I snack on mangos all day long.  when it cools down in the evening I water my sad excuse for a garden then go out to a restaurant for dinner (usually at the greasy spaghetti place or the meat sandwich place)  then I head home to watch a movie on my laptop, or listen to Pam complain about whatever it is that bothered her that day.

Yesterday was a little different.  It started out the same; nematodes in the garden, 120 degree heat.  but lunchtime was different.  As a suburbite of Cleveland, I do not know the ways of a barnyard.  once my mother took me to Hale Farm, and I was terrified of a cow mooing at me as i tried to milk it (I was 2 y/o).  Anyways...I walked into my friends house where I usually have lunch.  In the corner was their goat licking some wet sand.  I thought to myself "hmm thats a strange behavior for a goat", and so continued to observe the strange goat.  After a minute of starring at it one of the girls told me to stop looking at the goat, she sad it was bad to stare at it.  It seemed very peculiar for her to say such a thing, after all its only a goat.  Then they told me that it was pregnant, and thats when I understood.  It was in labour.  the goat was walking all over the compound with its baby juice leaking out of its backside, and then licking it all up.  I couldn't believe it!  then it got really gross cause placenta or something was sticking out of its baby making parts. And this goat would just not sit down.  There was baby juice all over the place, right where we all eat too (in Senegal everyone eats from a single bowl on the ground).  Eventually the goat gives birth to twins in the back of the compound, but sadly the baby goats didn't make it through the night.

So, the other part of yesterday that was so "pas normale" (not normal) was that there was a sandstorm!  not a very big sandstorm, but big enough to write about.  So all day there had been these ominous clouds in the distance.  I figured it would rain that night but didnt really pay much attention to it because its rainy season, and it should rain.  by evening I was sitting at home watching Sweeny Todd on the laptop and all of a sudden a huge burst of wind tore through my house.  my curtains were flying like crazy, papers and flashcards all up in the air.  I look outside and it was as if I were back in Beijing with all of the air pollution.  I grabbed my scarf and wrapped up my head as I ran out to bring in my bike and anything else I had left outside.  the wind was so strong, I could barely close my windows, and the sand getting kicked up stung my eyes.  eventually I closed up the windows and doors, made some mac n cheese and continued the movie.  Unfortunately it never rained.


-Mike

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Changin It Up!


So, This is my first blog post in quite some time!  Since changing meds, things have become much more clear to me, and I have been feeling more motivated about doing stuff here.  I have also found myself going out into the community more.  The Demo garden in town is almost ready for digging in, all im waiting for is the well to get finished.  In December some guys dug out the well, but after a few weeks it dried up.  I am just waiting on them to come back and finish the job, which should happen on Saturday.  My radio shows are getting great reviews.  Lundi Science is a real hit, maybe one day ill take over for Science Friday!

So, when I’m playing guitar in town, it is usually at one of the fine drinking establishments here in Velingara.  I just like to play guitar (poorly), and have a beer. 

So, Today I decided to change things up a little.  Instead of drinking with the nuns, I decided to go out and see the hospital they keep telling me to go and see.  I packed up my guitar, found my clown nose and headed out.  It was a great bike ride only 3 km.  When I arrived there I realized that I had forgotten my music at home.  That didn’t really matter much, as I was very interested in touring the hospital and people were very happy to see a new smiling face.  I introduced myself to many children and their mothers trying to get a laugh out of as many people as I could.  At this point I need to point out that I am a city volunteer and so I don’t see much malnutrition, or undernourished children.  This was the first time in my service that I saw babies like the babies you see on the really sad Africa fund commercials.  When the nuns showed me some of the babies in a special room of the hospital she used the phrase “this is where we take the children that have no more body” There were only two babies there, but they looked like skeletons.  They had an IV attached to them and I can only assume that they were better today than they were yesterday.  It was a really weird moment for me.  The skin on those babies was just falling off of their bones.  There really was nothing there. I greeted everyone and told them to stay strong. 

So, Then the nuns showed me the rest of their amazing hospital Le Centre de Recuperation Education Nutritionelle (CREN).  48 beds, they admit children up to the age of 5, and they have solar panels a deep well pump, a water tower, a hotel, a conference room, wifi, and they have a huge agricultural space.  There were pigs, and goats, and sheep, guinea fowl, turkeys, ducks, chickens, bananas, mangos, Moringa, lemons, citronella, and they were only just starting it.  They told me that all the profits they rake in from selling the animals, and fruit, and renting out the hotel rooms and conference room go straight into the hospital.  They also use some of the animals and fruit to help feed the children that stay there.  They also provide healthy meals, which is not normal for an African hospital. Usually, someone in your family has to bring you food from home, or you wont get any food at all.  The prisons are also like that from what I hear.  Anyways it was an awesome experience.  I plan on going back on Monday with my guitar and music and clown nose to entertain all the little kids and their mothers.  Try to get their minds off of being at a hospital.  I might even bring candy and bubbles!!! The nuns also told me that they would buy me a beer afterwards.

So, I plan on writing some very basic songs for next week.  One of them is “I like to eat oranges” it goes to the tune of “if your happy and you know it”.  I need some ideas though, so if anyone is reading this and has an Idea I’d love to have it.

Go Cavs

-Mike