"It has decided that the volunteers have to go back to Japan.” I was so shocked that I could not believe it when I got the message. Right after hearing that message, I came up with the next thing I have to do. I immediately started moving …

Since living in Senegal, I had many opportunities to meet Japanese people living in Senegal. They were volunteers, travelers, international students, people working in the companies, interns, etc. Remembering back to when I was 20 years ol…

During the break time in an elementary school, children crowd around the only one faucet. Everyone comes to drink water. In addition, boys bathe water on their heads. They look like they feel really good. There was a sandstorm this week. T…

I was having a conversation with a Senegalese colleague. In the conversation, there was a point when I said, “Little by little.” in French. At that time, I said, “Graduellement", which means little by little in French. But I guess my pronu…

An acquaintance told me about the dairy life of the children called “Taribe.” yuta7watanabe.hatenablog.com Taribe children ask for money from pedestrians on the street. Even if they are strangers, they do not hesitate to ask for money. Eve…

Calling in a foreign language is more difficult than talking face to face because I cannot see the people's reaction. I once called to inquire about the reservation of a restaurant and the staff could not get what I wanted to tell at all. …

The houses we volunteers live are decided by the conditions designated by JICA (Japan International Cooperative Agency). Especially, the security aspect has strict criteria. Volunteers in Senegal should live either in an appartment or in a…

For two months, there has been no Japanese other than me in the town I live in. Recently, new Japanese volunteers arrived in the town. When we volunteers return to Japan after finishing our works, we usually take over our furniture to next…

It has been raining every day recently, so it is difficult to know when to hang the laundry out to dry. I can't predict how the weather changes. The sunny could turn into the heavy rain shower suddenly. My way of thinking changed since las…

Paintings on glass are sometimes sold in shops in Senegal. I heard about the workshop of glass paintings where artisans were working, I went to the town three hours away from the town I live in. There was a number of shops of artisans work…

I call a certain person "Farm master." At the Teacher Training Center where I am assigned is open from July to September. July to September is during the summer vacation at elementary schools. I commute the center on weekdays. The center i…

The camp for children in a rural area ended. We had to leave the quiet campsite in a countryside. I could make good relationship with children I had never met before by greeting each other every day. We remembered names first, and we were …

The Africa Cup of Nations was held. This is a football tournament in which countries of Africa participate and determine the number 1. It is called "Coupe d'Afrique des nations" in French. This tournament seems to be held once every two ye…

I am the only Japanese in Louga where I live now. However, the wisdom of Japanese volunteers who lived in the town before me has helped me to improve the standard of living. In Louga, there is a place where fish is sold. It is a fish marke…

It was 11PM at night. I was about to go to bed. I went to the kitchen without thinking. Cockroaches always appear in the kitchen at night. Since they are small, I was used to them and didn't pay attention. On that day, I saw a cockroach cr…

I had an opportunity to give a lesson at the "Teacher Training Center." I had taught classes at elementary schools so far, though, this was my first opportunity to give a lesson for teacher candidates. This was a big step for me. The "Teac…

We Japanese volunteers basically live in the countryside. When I go to the capital from Louga where I live to Dakar, I have only had an option of enduring long hours in small taxis. After a year of living in my town, a Senegalese in the ne…

At 4 AM, it was in the early morning. I felt a strange feeling and woke up. It was from a sound. And I noticed the sound was the rainy sound. It is in July now. This is the first time since last October that we have had any rainfall. That …

I went to a dentist in Senegal for the first time with my own silver tooth covering, which fell out a month ago. As I live in a rural area, I have to go to the capital, Dakar, for treatment. It takes about 5 hours to get to the capital fro…

I visited a slaughter place in an area further away from the town where I live. I had an appointment to visit at 8AM. When I arrived there at 8am, most of meat had been slaughtered and hung. The animals slaughtered that day were goats and …

A fire was braking out in an area a short distance away from the center part. The house made of straw was burning at once. Black smoke was rising up to the blue sky. It shows a house called "Khas" made of straw in Senegal in another area i…

The day of 5th of June in 2019 was the festival of "Korite", which was the end of Ramadan (fasting). I was invited to a my colleague's house for the celebration. The main dish was chicken. My collegue shared his food with neighbors. On the…

The end of Ramadan (fasting) which lasts for 30 days is almost there. However, I am not fasting. Even if I could stop food to some extent, it would be very hard to spend time without drinking water! I have to have a strong faith of the rel…

"There is an education convention in Louga that a minister will attend." I heard about this two weeks ago. The event appeared in front of me suddenly. That week was "Education Week" in Senegal. Louga is the town where I live. At the conven…

My silver tooth came off. I was eating a meal when I felt eating something like a small stone. When I took it out from my mouth, the silver tooth came off. I have had my wisdom teeth removed and cavities cured for living in Senegal, but th…

Now is the period of Ramadan. Muslim in Senegal is fasting now. Despite Ramadan, trainees of teachers came to elementary schools for taking traning. In Japan, in general one studen learn teaching in each class. But there were 8 or 9 traine…

It was on the 4th of May in 2019 in the capital city of Dakar. I helped with an event for "Nihongo club", which is a Senegalese organization. The event was a cultural festival. I found out on the event day that the main things I had to was…

A big business in Senegal is tailors, which make clothes. The patterned clothes that Senegalese wear every day are made by tailors. Everyone has tailor-made clothes that fits their body. The fact that a tailoring industry is developed mean…

Now I live alone, and I cook for myself usually. The main reason is to get vegetables and I'm missing Japanese food. I tend to eat Senegalese food almost every day. It is delicious, but it is really oily and I can hardly get any vegetables…

There are many "Banabanas" in the capital. What's banabana?Bananabanas are merchants selling goods on the street. I can sometimes see them in the countryside, but they are many ones in the capital. They are especially numerous on the sides…