Changes in the wind

I'm not really sure how all these next few weeks are going to go. At this point, I'm not worried about it (for a change, but we'll see how long it lasts of course).

Just a few updates:

1) August till 10th of September (roughly): everyone is now mostly on vacation. I am glad that I had ideas for going down to the villages for this month. I wouldn't necessarily know what to fall back on if other plans currently being planned don't go anywhere.

2) There is talk (if only between myself, my Cdn supervisor, and 1 main supervisor here) of extending my internship. Here are the issues:

i. everyone is on vacation until early September.
ii. Harvest season will probably come in around the middle to end of September.
iii. More importantly, however, mid September till mid October is Ramadan. Meaning very few people in my villages will be eating food during the day.
And I want to run workshops during the day when people haven't eaten and therefore their ears and minds are floundering? . . . unlikely.

So, we wait until after Ramadan. Mid October. I leave on the 31st. And so I will do the workshops in the first week right after Ramadan and then jump on my airplane and go home? What will that serve?
. . .

The other problem with all of this: the schedule, believe it or not, is too rigid. How am I supposed to look at activities going on outside of the villages if I'm going to run from village to
village, then workshops, then follow up, then home?

So, if it's possible to extend the internship by 1 month, that gives me the freedom to go to the villages this month, go visit other projects and explore other 'ways of doing' by other organizations, and other 'ways of thinking' (hopefully) by other people in villages in the country during the month of September. Also go talk with international organizations more indepth about their work, their discoveries. Perhaps go look at the villages they work in. Or look at villages of other WV project areas even. There are possibilities that can be discussed and figured out later.

October is undecided (for the first half), but that might simply be a time to plan the workshops (village discussions). But even the idea of the workshops has never rested. It has always been changing. Always never been confirmed. They might be village dialogues meant to get beneath the surface of answers people typically give. Problem solving. Empowerment exercises.

And perhaps if the examples from other villages where other organizations are working are useful, we might be able to bring some of the villagers from our villages to talk with these other villagers, to learn from their experience. To encourage them to consider how they can improve their own lives. "Let's build our lives". I'm beginning to realize that more than anything else, development will be about empowering people to become or to arrive at improved futures by their own means. Helping people to help themselves, essentially.

Pretty crazy, eh? Lots going on, and nothing getting nailed down. And I have to figure it out. For a change, though, I feel like I might have the time and leads to figure some of these things out. But, we'll wait and see.

3) So, nutshell recap: schedule of events is being changed. Return date is being questioned. Purpose and method of workshops is never settled and constantly changing. Village visits as an absolute goal is slowly eroding away.

And yet there is always too much information to learn. We'll see where the string of information leads, if anywhere.
. . .

Mostly, though, I act alone for the next month. That, I guarantee you, will be pretty interesting.
. . .

How are things otherwise?

Dakar is cooler (in both senses) than Fatick (even though Fatick is cool). I enjoy being here, being connected to people, places, and options of things to do. I enjoy my hostel room where I can access the internet in the evenings. I can be more productive with my work.

My head still bothers me at times. Not sure why that is, but as I've said, and will constantly say, I won't go home until I stumble out of bed one day with the same problem I had mid-January.

I've discovered the joy of watching a TV series called "Heroes". Got it from the American family in Fatick. They're a good connection to have . . .
. . .

It's the weekend. I leave work this week not really knowing what's happening next week or how it'll work itself out. I go only with ideas. But, at least these ideas have some sense of direction. At the very least, they have been confirmed as being okay ideas to pursue (whereas before I was questioning the validity of everything I was doing).
. . .

There's still a long ways to go. If I have another month to work with, I think that would help out a lot. I'll just have to tell my Parisien friends that I'm now not coming in November but rather in December . . . I'm still waiting to get my tent back from Paris . . . (they still have it, surprisingly enough!)
. . .

NEwho, I'm going to go enjoy my evening. And I'm going to enjoy my day tomorrow in the city. I didn't successfully get to the Cdn Embassy during open hours. I've been here two months, and I have yet to set foot inside my own Embassy . . . (whereas I was in the British one over Christmas. Borrowed a nativity sheep from the Embassy. It's a cool souvenir). Alex (my British colonizer) and I have had some good laughs over it!
. . .

K, I'm out. Write me. (email, phone, snail mail, responses to posts. All are cool)