I have 2 Years to Live in Senegal and Try to Return with This Woman

This is Miss Senegal 2009. I'm assuming she was elected based on her answers during the interview period. Notice that she isn't in tears, which I think is interesting. This is significant because I received my Peace Corps invitation in the mail today. After a 9-month application process involving being fingerprinted, having dental x-rays to the point of bleeding, and painful periods of waiting patiently for the government to process my paperwork, they decided to send me to Senegal. I will be doing Small Enterprise Development, which means working with small and medium sized local businesses and teaching them marketing principles, basic accounting, and long-term business planning that will allow them to help their communities maintain sustainable economic growth (theoretically). I will also be allowed to develop my own secondary projects, which I might use as an opportunity to do something with what I've learned about globalization's affects on the developing world. I don't know any more specifics about what I'll actually be doing there. I will find out when I go to Washington D.C. for pre-departure orientation. Everyone going to Senegal gets a standardized training program for 1 day in D.C. the day before we fly out to Thies, Senegal. I will do 3 months of training in Thies, learning the Senegalese version of French and another local language, most likely Wolof, through immersion and classroom sessions. I will also receive some small enterprise development. At that point, I'll move to my actual posting, where I will train yet again, this time for seven weeks. From what I understand, I will do very specific training on my personal assignment. Finally, I will spend 24 months working directly with a local government office on my project. Interesting fact, "the developing world" is the current politically correct way to say "the third world," but according to my professors it will soon be out of style.

I will not be leaving until August, likely the 23rd if I believe what I have read on the internet. This is exactly what I was hoping for. I was a little anxious about the prospect of leaving in early June, which is when I was told I would be leaving when I was nominated back in October. I'm glad that I will be around for the summer, and I plan to be an active audience participant in The Tempest. I will also get a chance to visit Noah in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where he will be doing an internship again this summer. I hear it's nice there, and the accommodations for his program are pretty over the top. Also, he might get an assistant.

I plan on starting a blog about my experience. Because Senegal is one of the most modern and developed countries in Africa, and because the small enterprise development program will probably mean I live in a city or large town, I hope to have access to enough power and internet to Skype or videochat as frequently as I can. I will be spending the next few weeks filling out the big packet of paperwork that came with the invitation, applying for a visa and a fancy diplomatic (not really, but I'm pretending it is) passport. I also have to successfully graduate. I will be focusing on schoolwork and spending time with my friends at school.

I tried to answer as many questions as possible, but if you have any other questions let me know. Here's a list of uninteresting facts about Senegal:

1. Senegal's official name is Republique du Senegal

2. Senegal gained it's independence peacefully from France in 1960, though it initially became part of the Mali Federation. Mali declared its independence from the Mali Federation later that year, and Senegal and Mali split. Mali, by far, came out on the worse end of that deal.

3. None of Senegal's presidents have had a name that is particularly interesting.

4. The country's largest religion is Islam, but African cultural influence has made it a much different religion than that practiced in the Near East.

5. The Senegalese soccer team has not made the World Cup tournament since 2002, so if you're looking for a West African team to follow you'd be much better off with Didier Drogba and the rest of Cote d'Ivoire's national team.

6. Senegal is way better than Kirghizstan in terms of its location, weather, music, cuisine, geography, language, government, economy, infrastructure, art, educational system, and virtually every other area other than in the category of countries that I wanted to go to least.