Highs and Lows

Highs and Lows

Anybody reading that from RWU, remember that game? Granted, probably anybody who has gone to college recently or been in any sort of club knows highs and lows- you say the high point of your day and the low point.

Today: I went to Saloum Diane to meet up with my counterparts there and prepare for moringa tourney and our women’s outplanting formation. Went to the school to check up on the intensive beds. My low for the day: Some kid actually broke open the side door of the schoolyard to let their livestock in so that it could eat the grass and destroy the intensive beds, which are all now pretty much grazed to the ground. We (and by we I mean the school director) yelled at some kid walking by with his donkey, who the school director had seen grazing yesterday, and the kid just mumbled some stuff, looked away and continued walking. Real respectful. If it was me, then much as it would anger me I would understand more than the school director himself. Anyway, we met up with the chief of village and some other people, and explained the project and the upcoming follow-up nutritional tourney that we are planning, and they are all on board with it, so that redeemed it little.

The high of my day, though, was when we went back to Mbaye’s house so I could go through all the parts of the project so that he could present it better in native Wolof, and during the conversation he said how he liked the project and actually started a moringa bed himself. We walked behind the house to the garden and voila! A tiny little rudimentary moringa intensive bed was germinating away, complete with trees off to the side to provide seeds for replacement in the future. That was one of those very rare times that I actually get to see our skills applied and carried on.

And on a more personal note- one more high and low. High: I started jumproping in my hut since it is hard to get out and run when it is raining all the time, and I needed exercise. Discovered that it is really effective way of avoiding gawking Senegalese while the Toubab girl runs around in shorts first thing in the morning.

Low: I don’t remember the time my calves hurt this badly.

~E