During a long-distance trip between rural towns, a taxi I was riding stopped in the middle way because the car got a flat tire. Flat tires are so rare cases in Japan, but in Senegal, it will occasionally happen several car troubles, includ…

I came to Dakar, which is the capital city. It is only urban areas where are lively relating to Christmas. Big supermarkets and restaurants are decorated with lights and trees. I saw a Santa Claus alone in a shopping mall, so I approached …

The first semester is done. It starts the winter break. Now is in December, but I'm still taking showers with cold water in my house. I'm feeling cold, but only cold water comes out from the faucet because it doesn't have a funtion to warm…

When I come home after my work at elementary schools, I always feel incredibly sleepy. Then I take a nap for sure. Why do I feel incredibly sleepy? My view is that my brain is tired because I'm talking to a lot of people being energetic an…

I walk only on sandy paths every day. This walking activity helps to strengthen muscles I never use in Japan. In December, the first semester ends in Senegal. The semester test was held at school. This exam takes two days. There is only on…

Senegalese school have subjects including French, math, science, social studies, arts and crafts, music, physical education and Arabic. French and math lessons are given every day. In some schools, the main language is Arabic. Other subjec…

Saturdays and Sundays are my day off. I have basically been invited to Senegalese homes on national holidays, but it was the first time that I was invited to a Senegalese home on a normal day. I was happy and said immediately, "I'll go!" T…

During the break time between lessons, elementary school teachers gather in one place to take a rest, sitting closely each other on wooden benches. There is no staff room. There is only a roof. At that time, four female teachers start some…

In December, watermelons are still in season in Senegal! The daytime temperature is more than 35 degrees Celsius. This is a story when I lived in Tokyo. I stood in front of a small station. Three Japanese men, I thought they were 50s, were…

Students in elementary school carry backpacks every day. They always have notebooks, pens, they rarely use the pencil case, though. And then, there is an "ardoise". What's that? When I first heard about it, I had no idea what it was. It is…

I like to walk every single street when I start living in new place. So I walk around many different streets every day. In the neighborhood, there are many similar sandy roads lined with similar houses made of bricks. It is not so common s…

This happened when I went to the water department to pay my water bill. I hade a conversation with a Senegalese who was sitting next to me in the department. I said, "I'm from Japan." He excitedly answered, "I like manga!" I was curious wh…

In elementary schools in Senegal, student grades are called differently from ones in Japan. Students go to school for six years at least. There is a final test at the end of each year, and if students do not reach the standard score, they …

Compared to a month ago, plants have died and disappeared in one fell swoop! Currently I am in the "Dry season" with no rain. I recently bought and started using a blanket. I had been sleeping without anything over my body until recently. …

Living abroad, I have to remember lots of names of people and events that are written with alphabet. Japanese don't use alphabet very much, so it's hard for me.. The date of the 20th of November is named "Gammo," which means the birth anni…

When traveling long distances from city to city in Senegal, volunteer members basically use "7 plus (sept plus)". 7 is written "sept" in French, which is the same pronounciation as "set" in English . It is almost the same as a taxi. It is …

There is a drum in front of my house. (Left) This drum is a trash can, which was often fallen down and trash was scattered. That's why it had been removed for a while. (Right) The drum has returned! What a surprise, the red lid was install…

Students in elementary schools start learning French, which is the official language in Senegal. I'm in charge of math, but sometimes I see French classes and I practice pronunciation with children. As far as I can see, the teachers don't …

One of the rules for volunteers of JICA is the "Three-month rule." One states, "Volunteers must not move between cities for the fisrt three months after volunteers start living in each region (for me in Louga) ." This rule is designed for …

I enjoyed giving a 4th-grade math class. I taught the unit of grams and milligrams to teach "weight". In Senegal, teacher also have to teach "decigrams" and "centigrams" that Japanese usually don't use in Japan. In schools in Japan, there …

In Senegalese classrooms, teachers are not punctual very much. Sometimes a lesson extend the time over an hour. It is difficult for children to concentrate on. One of the reasons is that there are no clocks in the classrooms. Also there ar…

The 1st of November was a notional holiday called "All Saints' Day." It is a Christian day to pray to the saints. And the night before the All Saints' Day is Halloween. I was invited to a home of a Christian of my friend and I had a feast.…

Here is a schedule at an elementary school in Senegal. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays: 8:00 - 11:00 Classes 11:00 - 11:30 Breaking time 11:30am - 1:00pm Classes Tuesdays and Thursdays: Schools reopen for classes from 16:00 to 18:00. Children…

There is a festival named "Magal Touba", which is a Muslim festival on the 28th of October. Touba is the name of a region in Senegal that is a holy place for Muslims. On the holiday, people from all over Senegal gather at a large mosque in…

I gave a class of math to first-year students. Recently I've been going to two elementary schools, teaching mainly to first-year and second-year students. The theme this time was, "Big and Small." In the middle of the lesson, I said, "Let'…

The official language is French in Senegal. All public documents are written in French. Despite this, there are many Senegalese who cannot speak French. Especially, most women usually speak in the local language "Wolof". I rarely meet wome…

An elementary school I go has about 60 children in a classroom. At the most, 70 children are packed tightly into a small classroom. In Japan, the maximum number of students per class is 40, so the difference in numbers is obvious. Teaching…

Physical punishment still remains in Senegalese schools. In Japan, these kind of punishment by teachers are immediately in the news nowadays. Recently I started teaching math and have been to several classes in elementary schoos. I can und…

When I looked at the list of the first grade in an elementary school, the youngest was 5 years old and the oldest was 8 years old in the same room. When I asked the tallest boy in the second grade how old he was, he told me he was 11. In S…

Finger snap. I have one of my memories about finger snap when I was a child in the elementary school. I remember that when I practiced for about an hour to make a big sound with finger snap, the skin of the finger was peeled off. It was so…