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…