First here is one of my stuff at home in Atlanta before it got all packed up. It was very early in the morning.
Yeah, I have way too much stuff... yeah.
This is some of us before training enjoying our last night out in the states. Wonderfully chilly America and all its wonderful food...
Traveling can be very exhausiting. Yep.
We drove from Phili to New York, then flew to Brussels and from there to Banjul and THEN finally to Dakar where we were then bused to Thies.
This last one here is of us finally making it to the Thies training center. It was after midnight and it was kinda like most of s wernt sure whether to be giddy and excited or completely and utterly exhausted at the thirty something hour journey we had just finished.
Well, thats it for now. More pictures to come including my home near Thies and my hut and village here. For some reason many of my pictures appear to be very dark and so I didnt put up a bunch, or maybe this monitor just sucks bad, I'll have to figure that one out i guess.
Oh right, so maybe a post.
So this week was... interesting. As all weeks tend to be. I went to Dakar last weekend with Mbour neighbor, Jen, and we had a quick little tour of cool places by Jared. It was a cool weekend, spent quite a bit of money, but I figured I would and I think my budgeting is going rather well. I only really prchased two things besides meals and transport and all. I got a big jar of apple sauce from this rediculously large grocery store that is in the downtown area of Dakar, I think. And I got a jug of bissap syrup that you add water to to drink. It is very tasty and very very strong. I did the recomended 4 parts water to 1 part syrup and it was unbelievably sweet. I had to keep adding water as I drank it and hoped my teeth wouldnt fall out.
Getting back home Sunday night was also... interesting. I dont think I will put all of the reasons for that here in type, but I will say that I was rather disgrunteled and didnt even really know who to be pissed off at. Also, steps 34 through 78 appear to involve 'fence repair'.
Tuesday brought me back up again when my birthday package from my older brother, David, finally arived and I took the morning to go to Mbour and get it. It is undescribably excellent and has tons of great sugary things to get me through a day! Jen also came and visited me for that afternoon. I was excited to finally have a visitor for once, it was the first time anyone has visited me with either of my serere families or villages. It was the first time that I saw the language thing from the other side and for once I knew more of what was being said than another volunteer. That being said, I wasnt really sure what to do once she was here, I mean my village is not Dakar or even Mbour, only one boutique and some gardens and goats and thats about it for excitement. Well, after lunch with my family (though my moms were up at some wedding in a neighboring village), we walked around a bit and made our way to the village chief who live a fairly good ways away from my compound. It was really crazy how windy it was that day, there was dust and sand everywhere and the wind, which blows fairly constantly anyhow, was rather fierce.
So, lets see, yesterday it was overcast all day and fairly cool, and this morning it really looked like it wanted to rain in the morning. It might, for all I know, rain while I am gone this weekend.
Oh, right, this weekend. So I am off to Popinguine to flit away more money and see some folks from around my region, including some that I havent seen since training ended a month ago. Err, thats it i guess. Eventually I will really pretty this blog up too. It is just kinda hard from a cyber cafe to get a whole lot done at one time and with out many programs, and in French...
Boo jaf lakas!
I get to see you soon and I can't wait!!!!!!
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