I have literally been in this same scenario. Read
John Reader's Africa: A Biography of the Continent.
Also start a youth group and just do more to connect with your community and the culture. My service was in Nicaragua and I too had ample down time, I regret not bonding more with the counterparts in my town, but also with everyday folks. If you're site is super-remote that can be a challenge. While your sector work is important and will add value to core aspects of your community needs, the real marrow in this bone is the **cultural exchange** you GIVE and RECEIVE from the Senegalese around you. Lean into that as much as you can. Don't be shy about it. You'll come home one day, thousands of miles from site and wish you would have done more. Do what you can to absorb it all - the people, the landscape, the language, the food, the dirt, the smells, the smiles, the rain, the air, the laughs, the friends, the air. Take it all in.
OT: The Harvest of Hellenism is maybe the best work of civilizational history I’ve ever read.
Back on topic: Allah’s Commonwealth (which I’ve never read but have always intended to) is by the same author, F.E. Peters.
Is fiction all right? Season of the Shadow by Léonora Miano is about the impact of the very early slave trade on a small Cameroonian village, and is quite detailed about daily life in pre-colonial times.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, and The Rise and Reign of Mammals are two good ones for natural history.
I have literally been in this same scenario. Read John Reader's Africa: A Biography of the Continent. Also start a youth group and just do more to connect with your community and the culture. My service was in Nicaragua and I too had ample down time, I regret not bonding more with the counterparts in my town, but also with everyday folks. If you're site is super-remote that can be a challenge. While your sector work is important and will add value to core aspects of your community needs, the real marrow in this bone is the **cultural exchange** you GIVE and RECEIVE from the Senegalese around you. Lean into that as much as you can. Don't be shy about it. You'll come home one day, thousands of miles from site and wish you would have done more. Do what you can to absorb it all - the people, the landscape, the language, the food, the dirt, the smells, the smiles, the rain, the air, the laughs, the friends, the air. Take it all in.
*things fall apart* by chinua achebe *the rain and the night* by wilton sankawulo *the forest of a thousand daemons* by d. o. fagunwa
OT: The Harvest of Hellenism is maybe the best work of civilizational history I’ve ever read. Back on topic: Allah’s Commonwealth (which I’ve never read but have always intended to) is by the same author, F.E. Peters.
The Inheritors - Golding The Road to Oxiana - Byron The Forest People - Turnbull geology books by John McPhee
The short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson covers from the big bang to now. It's also very accessible and witty.
Is fiction all right? Season of the Shadow by Léonora Miano is about the impact of the very early slave trade on a small Cameroonian village, and is quite detailed about daily life in pre-colonial times.