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 …

I heard that a friend of mine who is an elementaly school teacher gave a class about "JOCV= Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers" at his classroom. And I heard that that material is now included in textbooks as a content . I first recogni…

I am in a town in the region of Louga, Senegal. The day expected high temperature of 42 degrees Celsius is coming soon. I live alone in a rented room. None of JICA(Japan International Cooperation Agency) staff members live in the town. Alt…

Today was a Muslim festivalis in Senegal, which is called "Tabaski". Its festival is the same meaning as "Sacrifice Festival." In Senegal, it is a national holiday. I heard that there is a story about the origin of the name "Sacrifice Fest…

2 weeks has already passed since I started the homestay and the language training. The next assignment is to teach children using the local language, Wolof! It would be a quite difficult task. I had my idea which had already corrected by t…

It's been a while since I took a day off. I decided to go to the market named "Marché". Shops are lined up on the street. Goods Senegalese are selling are clothing, shoes, electrical appliances, food, furniture, etc. The feature of the mar…

Too many wild pigs outside. I'm studying Wolof, which is a local language via French. I've only learned French for about 2 months just before leaving Japan, so I have to concentrate on hearing French in the lessons. I'm going to school alm…

This road leads to the language school I'm learning Wolof language. It takes about 10 minutes on foot from my homestay's house to get to school called "Adeshina." This road is not paved, just dirt road. Depending on the street, the road is…