Venturing Out: Tales from the Bush

Early in January a team of staff and students from DA went on Outreach. Various groups spent the days doing work projects in different locations, some traveling around from village to village. In the evenings we hosted presentations including drama, music (in local languages), and then showed the Jesus film.

The senior boys left the night prior to our arrival to set up camp. We were fortunate to be staying in a compound that facilitated a relatively comfortable stay. This is the dining tent/boys sleeping quarters. Large mats were laid out for everyone to sit on at mealtimes, but later this was also where the boys slept.


These are the girls sleeping quarters. The tent I shared with three other teachers is on the far right. We chose not to put the fly on our tent which created an open concept. It was often comical when people walking around the compound happened to glance in and greet us as we woke up in the morning or lounged in the late afternoon after a hard days work. The girls facilities were just behind the tent city. There were two toilet stalls and two shower stalls for approx 30 girls/women. It was my first experience using the squatty potty AND my first experience taking bucket baths. The first time I 'showered' using a bag with a hose designed to pour water like a traditional shower. This didn't work out very well. I ended up quite sudsy, but learned from the experience and was much more successful the next day.


One of the vital crews was the 'camp crew'. These guys spent their days hauling water for bucket baths (aka showers), and pumping water for drinking and cooking.


This was the "line-up" for the medical team. They served hundreds of people who came for medical care. Each patient received the attention they needed and were prayed for by a DA staff or student.


Another team constructed benches for one of the two churches being built by the outreach teams.




My team dug the foundation for a church and made bricks. It was hard work and the days were hot. I was grateful that this was the "cool season". We had a tent for shade where we all took turns resting. We made good progress and finished ahead of schedule both days. Three of us female teachers worked alongside over a dozen guys, but we held our own. They busted their butts, but had a blast doing it.















The brick making is like preparing cookies with shovels. You mix the cement, and then fill a mold, pat it in, and flip it over. Technically the brick crew was separate from the foundation crew, but there was a lot of back and forth on the second day as the number of people needed to help with the foundation lessened. I spent a good portion of day two carrying water for the cement.














We gathered quite the audience as our work progressed. The group included the village chief and other leaders.




This is the a nearby family compound where we were supplied with water. There is one pump for the four houses. After we asked permission from the adults, the kids were eager to help. They found a hose to attach to the pump and though it had a few holes, the youngest kids (who were maybe 3 or 4) helped by holding those parts of the hose into a bucket. The older kids helped by making a line with out buckets and moving them as the buckets were filled. They wanted to help carry the water as well. There was a teenager who showed us all up carrying a full laundry tub on her head. She did the work of four of us from DA in one trip. While we waited our turn to have our buckets filled we joked with the kids and were entertained by the chickens and goats that wandered freely around the compound. Later, when we had an hour of down time, we played soccer with the kids. I even scored a goal!














The local pastor's wives prepared our evening meals. We ate traditional senegalese food around the common bowl. The first evening we enjoyed mafe, a peanut sauce with meat and vegetables served on rice. The second night we ate cheb o yep, a red sauce with meat and vegetables served on rice.






The evening presentations we hosted for the villages were extremely well attended. At least a thousand people each night. The first night the crowd was so enthusiastic about the drama and singing that the 'choir' (most of the DA staff and students not involved in other components of the presentation) had to leave the stage area because the people were not respecting the boundary lines. A local pastor gave a talk about God's immense love, and His willingness to sacrifice His son Jesus to cover the debt of our sinfulness. Over a hundred people raised their hands to show that they want to learn more about God's love and Jesus' sacrifice for them.










The drama team, in addition to performing at the evening presentations, also traveled from village to village during the day presenting their dramas. They were one of the most hard-working teams, and a huge crowd pleaser for both children and adults. They visited close to 20 villages over the two days.












The second night's presentation was also very well attended. The crowd was still enthusiastic, but more respectful of the stage boundaries. The presentation was exactly the same though it was in a different location, for different people. A huge baobab tree created an artistic backdrop for the stage. Similarly to the first night, there were more than a thousand people who came out to enjoy the presentation and more than a hundred who raised their hands to show that they wanted to know more about God's love for them.

Adventures in Madrid Travel Log: Day 5,6 & 7

Day 5 in a nutshell:

This morning I sleep in and when I eventually drag myself out of bed I go exploring in the city on my own. I enjoy a leisurely breakfast at Starbucks with my book. Shortly before noon I head over to the Prado to continue my visit only to find the museum has closed early being that it is New Years Eve. I am not too bothered, instead I decide to take a city bus tour. Sadly, this too is closed for the holiday. Not to worry, plan C is also an agreeable option. I spend the day creating my own walking tour. I enjoy reading and a picnic in Parque del Retiro, formerly the royal park grounds. I even discover a walkabout Nativity display sponsored by the city.


















The girls and I celebrate New Years at the apartment with appetizers and a movie, 'Nanny McPhee Returns'. Just before midnight the girls dress up and we take the metro to the main square and buy grapes to join in a New Years tradition. If you are from Madrid (or visiting), you eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, one for each bell toll. We run into a few small difficulties as we join in the tradition. Number 1: The grapes we buy are not seedless. Number 2: We can not clearly hear the bell as it rings in the new year. Number 3: Once we do distinguish the chimes they sound very quickly and it is a challenge to keep up as we stuff the grapes into our mouths. I persist and am proud to say I have rung in the year 2011 in Madrid.



Day 6 in a nutshell:

After a late night welcoming the new year, we enjoy a quiet morning at home. We eventually make our way to a restaurant called 'The y Café' for a New Years Day brunch. Being that it is New Years Day shops, with the exception of souvenir shops, are closed. Needless to say, I shop for souvenirs. We also enjoy a long walk in Parque del Retiro before dinner at the James Joyce, an Irish pub. We head back to the apartment earlier than usual as Megan and Amy must pack and be ready for their airport shuttle.


Day 7 in a nutshell:
I sleep late, pack to leave, eat one last meal at 'The y Cafe', buy one last pastry and manage to spend every last euro in my possession forgetting to save enough to tip the airport shuttle driver. Fortunately I have US money and avoid being mistaken for a cheap North American tourist. As we take in one last look at Madrid on the way to the airport my calm exterior hides my childish internal temper tantrum. My heart is screaming "Don't make me leave! You can't make me leave!" But alas, we check-in and I am appeased to find a Starbucks near our gate. I drown my sorrows in one last caramel macchiato and board the flight home to Dakar. After several delays we arrive home at 3am and I am content to fall into bed.

It is much harder to come back to Dakar after having appreciated the conveniences of Madrid. I am surprised by how aware I am of cultural differences now. When I arrived in Dakar in August everything was new and exciting, now as I return to Dakar I know what I am coming home to, I know the comforts that we don't have, and I am aware of the luxuries that I will miss the most. That being said, it doesn't take long to feel at home in the familiar surroundings of Sandcastle 32 and DA. It is reassuring to be back among friends and it is blessing to have had the opportunity to see another corner of the world.

Adventures in Madrid Travel Log: Day 4

First stop this morning is Dunkin’ Coffee which is, as you might expect, the same as Dunkin’ Doughnuts. It is Kari’s favourite coffee place so we enjoy coffee and breakfast sandwiches before heading to the Prado Museum.


At the Prado the wait is only 45 minutes which feels like 2 minutes compared to the wait for the palace. We all seem to be more awake which also means that we are more entertained while we wait.




The Prado Museum is famous for its collection and is one of the most visited sites in the world. Only a fraction of its collection is on display for lack of space even in spite of the recent addition of a new wing. I pay for the audio guide which gives both historical information, artistic insight, and context to certain featured works. The girls and I split up and have two hours on our own. I take my time, but when I realize I only have 45 minutes left and am half way through the first floor I only stop at the paintings featured on the audio guide. When I realize I only had 15 minutes left I prioritize to only the art listed as masterpieces. I still miss four rooms on the main floor and do not make it to the other two levels. Having done a history major and taken a course called Art as Propaganda I am very interested to hear about the inspiration for various works, to see paintings that I have learned about in my classes, and to revisit familiar historic events.

Afterwards we wander around the city stopping in various shops recommended by the travel books. A major souvenir shop, a candy shop featuring Madrid’s famous almond nuggat and a boutique feature products made from violet flowers.






We buy groceries for a New Years dinner from El Corte Ingles, it reminds me of a less fancy Herod’s or a fancier Bay Store (plus grocery/food section).

My favourite shop of the day is a store selling rope-bottom shoes. It is another hidden shop that Amy found in her travel guide that ends up being a very fun experience even aside from the shopping component. The shop owner and his wife are very friendly and we enjoy their company. The store has been featured in an article in the New York Times and their shoes were worn by Penelope Cruz in the movie Volver (which I haven’t actually seen).








We take a break at the apartment to drop off our purchases and freshen up before heading out to Café la Catedral, a fun restaurant just off Puerta del Sol. Our wait staff is very entertaining and we are pleased with the cuisine. We share paella, a rice and seafood dish, and croquettes, a small fried food roll containing mashed potatoes, cheese and ham, for an appetizer. I order steak and fries as my main course followed by profiterole for dessert.
We have gotten into the Spanish habit of eating late, even later than other European countries in my opinion, so by the time I get home it is already 1:30am and time for bed.

Adventures in Madrid Travel Log: Day 3

We head to El Palacio Real first thing in the morning. Well, first thing in the afternoon is probably more accurate. We get a bit turned around on the way, but our confusion leads us to a really neat 3-D Christmas display occupying the length of the entire storefront of a prominent department store.

We admire and continue our search for the palace. It's not a small palace, we wonder how we could have missed it. Once we find the palace we pose for a picture to prove we have indeed found it.

I pose with a fountain outside the palace gates.

We find the royal residence in time for the changing of the guard. Apparently the actual ceremony only happens once a month so the version we see is a less official form for tourists.


We then join the line up and wait. We wait. We move forward at a very slow rate. We wait some more. We wait two and a half hours for admission.
Amy and Megan are sad to be waiting so long.

Kari is also unimpressed, but I laugh in the face of frustration.

The line is the entire length of the palace. When we do (finally) pay, go through security, and gain admittance we tour the palace for about 30 minutes. The site was originally a fortress, but a palace was built in the 16th century. In 1734 the palace was burnt down, King Philip V had a new palace built on the same location. It is now the official residence, but is only used for state ceremonies. The royal family lives in a more modest palace on the outskirts of Madrid. The palace is very beautiful and ornate. There are some distinct differences between this palace and others I have visited. There is one room where the walls are covered in ornate porcelain décor that has been attached to the wood paneling in such a way that you could not even see the panel seams.

The palace was built facing this cathedral.

Lunch is Starbucks and McDonalds and another chocolate pastry from the famous pastry shop at Plaza del Sol.

We enjoy a bit of down time at the apartment before heading out to a small, but well-know ceramics shop; Antigua Casa Talavera. There is a variety of ceramic goods that are all handmade from different regions in Spain. Kari and I buy a matching teacup and handle-less mug.


Dinner is both a historic and a culinary experience. We eat at Casa Alberto, an old restaurant in the city.
It opened in 1827 and was a converted house inhabited at one time by Miguel de Cervantes author of Don Quixote. It has been visited by many famous people, there is a picture of Martin Sheen just over my right shoulder.

I order one of the house specialties, oxtail stew. It is quite tasty, but a lot of work to get a little meat off the bones.


The main evening event is a Flamenco show at Café de Chinitas. We have close to the best seats in the house for a very entertaining presentation of the cultural experience of Spanish dancing. One of the performers even dances on our table.



We pose like celebrity guests at the show. Maybe they'll put our photo on the wall of fame.

After the show Megan and I reenact our favourite dramatic dancer. He is a man who takes himself VERY seriously and is the "star" of the show. Regrettably we do not get photos of him, so you will have to trust our interpretation.


After the show we top off the evening at the Chocolateria San Gines for their specialty, churros dipped in chocolate.
The churros (long thin fried doughnuts) are served on a large plate for the table, and each person gets a mug of chocolate for dipping their churros. Apparently this chocolateria ia a late-night tradition in Madrid and has been frequented by people such as Richard Gere, Penelope Cruz, and Naomi Campbell. Who am I to snub tradition?!? The churros and chocolate are delicious.


The city is getting pretty quiet as we head back to the apartment. Fortunately we catch the last train back to our place. I’m proud I have lasted so long. It’s definitely the latest I’ve stayed out since before I moved to Senegal. Hopefully this doesn’t bode ill for the remainder of the trip.

Checking In

I know some of you have begun to wonder if I'm still alive. Good news...I am! There are moments when the busyness of life threatens to overwhelm me, but thankfully I have not yet succumbed to death, neither figuratively nor literally.

I have tried (and will continue to try) to post my Madrid travel log from back in December. My grandmother always told me that patience is a virtue.

In addition to my adventures in Spain, I have since ventured out to the bush a.k.a. 'rural' Senegal with a large group of staff and students. Pictures and thoughts to follow, fingers crossed.

Olympic Days at D.A. were held at the beginning of February. Students from kindergarten through to 12th grade participated in track and field events. I enjoyed cheering them on from the sidelines. I was also assigned broad jump duty (measuring and recording jump distances). Initially I was confused by the term broad jump because I had always known this event as the standing long jump. I guess it's true what they say, you learn something new everyday. In spite of my puzzlement I still managed to convince a few middle schoolers that I had been assigned this particular event because I was a broad jump champion in Canada. Don't worry, I fessed up, though I think it would have been fun to see how far the rumour spread.

As the Middle School class sponsor I helped the students host their first major event, a tournament day, last weekend. The senate decided on a three-hour soccer tournament played on the soccer court we affectionately call the Petits Poteaux. We paused for a one-hour supper break of subway style sandwiches, chips, and cookies before continuing the day with a three-hour dodge ball tournament. 7 hours, 40-some sandwiches, one broken arm, 3 hours without power, and a broken flip-flop later, the day was an overall success due to the committed planning and willing leadership of the middle school student senate and a handful of high school refs. The tournament was scheduled to end at 10pm, I was home with my feet up by 10:20pm and the delay was mostly due to the fact that I had to walk home barefoot after my flip-flop malfunction. Kudos to the kids for an event well-planned! I would go so far as to say it was practically effortless on my part.

Valentine's Day came and went without much hubaloo, as per usual.

Wednesday was my 28th birthday, gasp! I know what you're thinking..."How can she be 28? I've known her since she was 'this' big. She can't be 28, she could barely pass for 16." It's true ladies and gentlemen, I'm 28 years old and I have photo ID to prove it.

My birthday was great from beginning to end. Kari sacrificed her sleep to get up early and make me french toast and Starbucks coffee for breakfast. The staff sang happy birthday at our morning devotional and there were birthday treats in my honour. Kari's second grade class delivered a signed balloon midday, I also received cards, messages, and a beautiful bouquet of roses. The girls took me to a Brazilian restaurant for supper. It was a restaurant I have been wanting to try since my visit last year, and it was delicious. We enjoyed cake back at the apartment and to finish the day I spoke to family and friends back home. Thank you for all your birthday wishes, I feel very loved.

This past weekend was W.A.I.S.T. (West Africa Invitational Softball Tournament). The school had 6 teams playing so we were at the ballpark morning 'til night Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It was so much fun to watch a sport I love, to cheer on friends and students, to eat North American junk food, to bask in the sun without melting in the heat (yes Nichole, I wore my sunscreen), and to get a day off school to do all of the above.

Today, regrettably, it was back to reality. More adventures to follow.

In case you are still unconvinced that I am indeed alive, I have attached a recent picture as proof.