The Quiet American

My Friend Schistosomiasis

Since returning from Senegal, my health has been relatively stable.  I may still have amoebas (sort of like parasites living in my gut), but they were pretty much a part of my body for the past two years.  The other day, however, I got a letter from Peace Corps Headquarters that I may have an early stage infection of Schistosomiasis.  "Schisto" as it is known around the ex-pat community, is a nasty little parasite that burrows into our bodies from snail-born flatworms living in fresh water.  Although the PC letter said that at this time I only need a second test to further determine if I am infected or not,  I am, to put it mildly, freaked out.   I am also freaked out by the fact that any of my treatment will have to come through worker's compensation, and I am now living outside of that comfortable bubble of PC medical care.

According to the CDC, over 200 million people throughout the world are living with a Schistosomiasis infection, which makes me wonder, what do they all do for treatment?  Wikipedia has a lot of information on Schistosomiasis, but not much on treatment.  Last December, our PC doctors informed us that the CDC found the regular treatment was becoming less effective, but I am not sure whether that includes early-stage infections or not. 

The Schisto Life Cycle According to the CDC:

Infection occurs when your skin comes in contact with contaminated fresh water in which certain types of snails that carry schistosomes are living.

Fresh water becomes contaminated by Schistosoma eggs when infected people urinate or defecate in the water. The eggs hatch, and if certain types of snails are present in the water, the parasites grow and develop inside the snails. The parasite leaves the snail and enters the water where it can survive for about 48 hours. Schistosoma parasites can penetrate the skin of persons who are wading, swimming, bathing, or washing in contaminated water. Within several weeks, worms grow inside the blood vessels of the body and produce eggs. Some of these eggs travel to the bladder or intestines and are passed into the urine or stool.

I was very careful to avoid swimming in lakes and stagnant water, even when I was very hot, and being in water would have been a great relief.  However, a lot of my work entailed standing in wet fields, and wading to collect water for plantings.  Contact with fresh water was unavoidable in my line of work, and schisto will continue to be a threat to Ag workers in developing countries.

It's a little unnerving, not knowing for sure whether I have the infection or not.  I have a doctor's appointment for this afternoon, but the test results may not be in for several weeks.  Until then, I will just have to wait and see if I have worms and worm eggs in my body - in addition to the amoebas already there.

UPDATE:

Yesterday I went to the doctor and got my blood test.  He surmises that it will be a month before I receive the results, so until then, I just sit and wait - and hope that I don't become symptomatic, because I would be in a grey area of coverage.  FECA (The Federal worker's comp) won't cover anything until they have a confirmed blood test.  On a happier note, I did not just infect half of Lake Don Pedro; apparently the lake is large enough so that I did not just create a public health emergency while I was up there last weekend. 

The New Kitten

Yes, I miss everything about my village.  Every minute, every day.  One of the things that I miss, that looms behind in my mind besides the people, are my pets.  A minor tragedy of my goodbye to the village was having my cat put down.  While I had her as a pet, I spent many hours worrying about her safety, and called many times during my month in Dakar to ensure she was feed enough.  All of that care that was put into her vanished the day I left.  I choose to have her die, rather than to stay alive in the village.  In my villager's eyes, especially during the long days of the starving season, she was just another source of food.  A shortened life was a better choice than one possibly involving tortue and Samba's lunch. 

Two days after my return home, a little creature showed up in my backyard.  Nothing of the sort had ever appeared before:

A brand-new, perky kitten.

I like to think of it as a sign of providence, that just when I needed kitty-ness in my life again, a new one showed up. 

Her favorite activites include:

• Chasing things no one else can see
• Eating and naping
• Sitting in my lap and purring
• Running away from me

While I do not intend to waste away all my time entertaining the new cat, she has been a welcome diversion from American Life, and a suprise comfort.

Since it may not be good for "Kitten #5" to continue with the same name, I am in the midst of finding a new one.  My mom thinkgs Honey is good because she is, "so sweet," but I don't think that is appropriate.  Any suggestions?  Should she be named in honor of Jerry the Wonder Dog, or have something more original?

Fun with Pulaar in America

Last Thursday, I got to meet up with a volunteer friend of mine, who was visiting Bass Lake for the day.  We hadn't seen each other since April, and didn't know when we would have the chance again, since she lives in the Chicago-area.  So, we did what any RPCV waits to do - we caught up on gossip, and then spoke our native languages to each other around other people.  This is the gist of our bathroom conversation:

• G: To woni debbo-o? (Where's that woman?)
• J: Debbo o famanni. (She doesn't understand)
• G: O famanni Cetto? (She doesn't even understand Mandinka?
• J: O famanni hidara. (She doesn't understand anything)

I don't know why we got a kick out of talking about people behind their backs in languages they couldn't understand.  Actually, maybe I do... because it's what happened to us for two years!  I knew very little Wolof, so whenever the Senegalese discovered this, they would switch into Wolof, and I would sit there, paranoid, wondering what it is they were discussing, and assuming it was about me.  It probably was.  I'm still waiting to hear an actual native Pulaar-speaker here in America; something tells me if I want to speak to Pulaars outside of the RPCV community, I will have to go to New York, where there is a Little Senegal.  Until then, I'm waiting until more people come home so we can gossip in Pulaar!

Little Black Sambo

My family and I have been going through my grandmother's things bit by bit.  Amongst all of her belongings are her schoolteaching aids - she was a kindergarten teacher for scores of years - and my father's old books and toys.  Last week, we came across Little Black Sambo, a book I read when I was a small child.  Nowadays, we know it has the reputation as completely racist and unjust, on the long list of un-P.C. books.  I just thought it had funny pictures. 

Those Damn (I mean Poor) Talibes

Peace Corps Volunteers Playing with Talibes in Kounghel, Senegal

Clare recently posted a CNN article about Talibes.  Talibes are the Koranic students who beg for money for their religious leaders throughout the country, but especially in Dakar and Kaolack.  The article reports that children are now being smuggled into Senegal, and has now become an entire industry of child trafficking. 

In response to the growing Talibe problem, Tostan, a Senegalese NGO I have written about in the past, sponsered a Talibe March in April, 2006.  The march aimed to raise awareness of, and improve conditions for, Talibes. In addition to the march, Tostan is working directly with the Talibe's religious leaders, or marabouts.  Tostan is helping to provide micro-credit for the marabouts, which would in turn improve their financial conditions, and place less of a strain on the marabout-Talibe relationship.  Most marabouts give their Talibes a quota, a certain amount of cfas the child has to raise each day, in return for their Koranic instruction.  It is widely said that Talibes who do not meet this quota are beaten.  For more information on Tostan's work with the Talibe's, see their latest report. 

Peace Corps Description of Service (DOS)

The number one question that people have asked me, besides maybe, "How did you live without running water?", is probably, "What did you do?"  So, for the sake of full disclosure, here is my official Description of Service, otherwise known as The DOS Report:

Description of Peace Corps Volunteer Service

Gretchen Eisenhut    SSN: XXX-XX-XXXX

                         Agroforestry Extension Program      Senegal

Training

Gretchen Eisenhut entered training on September 16, 2004 at the Peace Corps Training Center in Thies, Senegal, where she began an intensive 8-week pre-service training program.  The pre-service program in Thies included 125 hours of language instruction, primarily in Pulaar, and with some French and Wolof, 70 hours of agroforestry techniques including tree propogation and gardening, 40 hours of cross-culture, and 30 hours of personal healthcare and safety and security training.  During this training, Ms. Eisenhut resided in a Senegalese household in order to further her language and cross-cultural skills.

Following successful training, Ms. Eisenhut was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer on November 17, 2004.  She was assigned through the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of Nature.  She served as an Agroforestry Extension Agent for 20 months in the rural, agrarian village of Gourel Abdoulaye Diaw, located in the Tambacounda region. 

Primary Activities

Ms. Eisenhut’s primary responsibility was to promote the adoption of agroforestry technologies by Senegalese farmers with the goal of combating the effects of deforestation while positively impacting agricultural production. 

With the assistance of her counterpart, Ms. Eisenhut conducted natural resource management surveys of the local area, to establish community and environment needs.  She worked closely with individuals and the a women’s group to inform them about the potential of agroforestry and encouraged them to implement the agroforestry techniques.  Ms. Eisenhut trained villagers in tree nursery establishment and maintenance, as well as gardening techniques.  Through her work, she promoted capacity building and self-motivated projects. 

Secondary Activities

Ms. Eisenhut also participated in a number of activities unrelated to her primary project:

·        Helped establish weekly Arabic lessons for women to empower local women who are not typically taught Arabic.

·        Aided Tostan, a Senegalese NGO, with trainings on women’s health and human rights, and with surveys conducted in several villages.

·        Distributed quality garden seeds at low cost to farmers living in a 30 kilometer radius, which greatly increased farmers’ likelihood of gardening, and reduce necessity of to re-seed,, due to better seed quality and higher germination rates. 

·        Trained villagers to produce and use non-chemical farming, such as organic pesticides made with neem. 

·        Collaborated in construction of women’s health hut/birthing room.

·        Participated in women’s health training, addressing topics including pre-natal health and check-ups, nutrition, utilizing the heath hut, and family planning.

·        Worked with community health workers to promote awareness of first aid and disease prevention.

·        Created a study group, and promoted recreational reading, while encouraging the allotment of light sources to allow children to study after dark.

·        Conducted English classes to increase knowledge of the language and promote interest in adult education.. 

Additional Training

In February 2005, Ms.Eisenhut completed a three-week in-service training at the Peace Corps Training Center in Thies.  The program included intensive agro-forestry training, cross-collaboration, and French language.

Ms. Eisenhut assisted in training of new Peace Corps agroforestry volunteers in November 2005.  She also attended a cultural fair during which she presented the culture and environment of the Tambacounda region to new volunteers.

Certification

Pursuant to Section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act, 22 U.S.C. Paragraph 2504(f) as amended, any former Volunteer employed by the United States Government following her Peace Corps Volunteer service is entitled to have period of satisfactory Peace Corps Volunteer service credited for purposes of retirement, senority, reduction in force, leave, and other privileges based on length of Government service.  Peace Corps service shall not be credited toward completion of the probationary or trial period or completion of any service requirement for career appointment.
This is to certify in accordance with Executive Order 11103 of April 10, 1963, that Ms. Gretchen Eisenhut served successfully as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her service ended on June 23, 2006.  She therefore is eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee  in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis.  This benefit under the Executive Order entitlement extends for a period of one year after termination of volunteer service, except that the employing agency may extend the period up to three years for a former volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or engages in other activities, which, in view of the appointing agency, warrants extension of the period.

Pebble Beach V. Gourel Abdoulaye Diaw

I got a little inspired during my trip last weekend to compare the view in Pebble Beach (the world-famous golf resort near Monterey, CA) and the view in my old village of Gourel Abdoulaye Diaw.  Honestly, looking back on it, as pampering and beautiful as Pebble Beach is, it's not Africa.

The Ride in Pebble Beach:

The Ride in Gourel Abdoulaye Diaw:

A Raven in Big Sur:

A Monkey in Park Nikolo Kolba:

My Backyard for four days in Pebble Beach:

My backyard for two years in Africa:

And one last shot of the Pacific Ocean:

What do you prefer, coastal California or Africa?  Can it, or should it, be a choice?  Somehow in the midst of the facial and massage, the endless (free) meals, and the best customer service I have had in years, I found it relaxing, yet infuriating.  The short trip to the coast was worth more than my stipend for the previous two years.  There was a twelve-year-old girl at the resort with us, dressed in head to toe Chanel; her bag alone could have fed my village family for a decade. 

I am not complaining about resort life, honestly, it's enjoyable.  I think the thing that is still getting under my skin about everything is: entitlement.  People there believed they were entitled to a privileged life.  What lands someone into a life of privilege, beyond luck, location, and genes?  Do some people deserve to live an easier, more comfortable life than others?  Why is my beautiful, bright friend Cumba toiling around in her garden, and serving her husband, instead of, say, living in Big Sur?  What life is better, when they seem incomparable? 

Addendum:

So, my parents pointed out that in this post... I sound as if I am whining, and ungrateful.  My dad said that my reason for coming home to a nice, cushy life is, "luck".  I agree.  I went to a good university, have a car (a barely moving Volvo, but still more of a car than most), have a great family, live in a bountiful state (although the farmland is quickly turning into houses).  In a word, lucky, born into the right family in the right country.  I am not unappreciative of the opportunities in my life, I just still question the rightness of it all.  As my mom, and many others, say, "Life isn't fair."  I think that doesn't have to be true.