Full Circle

Now that I'm in my second year here, I'm experiencing the repetition of life lived cyclically, following the seasons. While I was on vacation the women peeled and dried all the bissap from their field; now there are sacs stuffed full of bissap waiting for the government to come and buy it. The safest storage place, of course, is my backyard, which is now stacked high with fat plastic sacs. Out with last year's millet pile, in with this year's bissap! But thinking back, I remember how important it was to my village adjustment, those first few months of my being there, to sit with the women for hours, popping those bright red fruits off their seed pods, listening to their chatting as I gradually filled by bucket with bissap. And after that came peanut season. Now it is here again,and my fingers are re-learning the technique of snapping a nut against a stone or a wooden stool; the one-handed shelling which contributed to an ever-growing pile of nuts and shells; the taste of dried peanuts (the little shriveled onces, actually, are more flavorful than the perfect-looking ones.); the familiar flaking of skin off my thumbs from the constant friction of finger against peanut shell. Oh, peanut season! Of course here every season could really be called peanut season. Life revolves around peanuts, or the money they bring in. Now, too, people are building and repairing houses, and all the families are in various stages of latrine construction. There are three-meter deep pits all over the village, and some are already being lined with bricks. Then the masons will come to construct the seat on top. Everyone is thanking me for bringing the latrine project to the village, but I have to remind them that I didn't do a thing! It's all the people who each gave what they could, eventually funding the project in its entirety, who really need thanking. Without you all it never would have happened!
Being back in the village is wonderful. It feels so familiar to me now, almost as comfortable as home. I even welcome the flavor of millet "cere" with fish or leaf sauce. You can get used to anything, and even come to enjoy it! And I've got plenty of things I hope to do in the near future: a little nutrition seminar for the kids, through the school, to learn about the food groups. Continuing the library. Starting pepinieres. Teaching a group of young mothers how to make improved porridge for their children, with millet flour, peanut butter, some kind of fruit, a little oil and sugar, which can combat malnutrition (we learned that in Dakar). And encouraging everyone in their latrine work. There's plenty to do! And there are some things I'm working on out-of-town, too, such as the Bookmobile, and helping get a girls' group going in a town near a friend's site, and hopefully working with some other Volunteers to create a leadership camp for young women, to be held this summer.