4.27.2008

Am Na Beneen Muus, Quoi

In Wolof that means i have another cat. Lisa found a kitten at her house and I couldnt say no so no I have a roommate. Her name is Ellie, she is tiny and adorable and my host family is terrified of her. Senegalese, for the mostpart, HATE cats and my family is horrified that I have one living with me. I pretended to throw her at my host brother while he was making fun of me and he screamed like a little girl and ran. My host mother also ran and hid behind me when Ellie went to nuzzle up aginst her. So funny. I know I get a lot of people talking about me, but that happens anyway and now I have some company in the house.

Work is going really well at the moment. I finished the first round of interviews for the scholarship and these girls are aweomse!!! Next round of interviews next week...Still teaching various computer and english classes. More news about them when I have more time on the internet.

4.21.2008

Moving On Up

After two joyfully miserable weeks, Ive recovered from this whole strep ordeal. Alhumdulillah as they say here in Senegal (praise be to God). In Dakar at the moment to do some work related stuff at the Peace Corps office here and to talk with my supervisors about my projects, but more importantly to celebrate Daniel (one of my closest neighbors and friends here) turning 23. Last night we made chili cheese burgers (which are a big deal for us pcvs and expensive to make). Erin and I made a double layer chocolate cake with a cream filling and fudge frosting. Yes, it tasted just as good as it sounds. Nothing like not being able to bake at site to make you want to do it. We made the first cake, which obviously didnt last very long, and when Kira got back she was really mad that we had made one without her so we made a second.

So Im just finishing things up here and then off to the garage to get a car home where I have work to do. I had to cancel all my meetings when I got sick and it was so disheartening. I am really looking forward to getting the ball rolling and actually having something to do besides lay in bed all day feeling sorry for myself. I am headed to the middle school to have a meeting with the girls that are eligible for the Michelle Sylvester scholarship program and am really looking forward to beginning that application process. There are 12 finalists from the school, 4 from each of three grades, and each will write an essay on what they want to do when they grow up and why. Then I will visit each of them at home and interview them and their family to see if their family supports them going to school and also to assess financial need. After the interviews I will pick the three finalists and send their information to Peace Corps in Dakar who will select the winner. I am looking forward to meeting the girls and getting to know them. I would love to start a girls club at the school, but one thing at a time. Right now, its time to go home.

In other exciting news, the mangoes have started coming and its glorious!! They are so beautiful and delicious and cheap! And my site is the heart of the Senegalese mango production. Hurrah!!

4.16.2008

Visitors, Strep Throat and Other Fun Things

So its been awhile since Ive actually written anything on here and I apologize to both of you who read this regularly (dont think anyone else noticed). As you can see from the title a lot of fun has been going on down here in Senegal. I got back to site last Saturday and everything went really well. Ive been doing a lot of greeting and giving people their suriche (gifts) that I brought them from England. Everyone except for one person has been so excited and grateful and its gone really smoothly entering back into life here. I dont know what I was worried about.

Monday an American student studying abroad in Dakar for the semester showed up for a week long visit so that she could see what life was like elsewhere in Senegal and it went really well. She was super cool and we cooked a lot and I showed her around the town, we went to Thies for a day and to the beach at Popenguine. She had been told that she would be going to a small village with no electricity or running water and was kind of dreading the experience, so imagine her surprise when she shows up in my "village" of 25,000 with running water and electricity, then gets to my house where she gets her own room and I have my own shower. She wasnt prepared for all that Pout had to offer, but I think she had a good time. It was really nice to have a guest, especially one who has been in the country less time than I have, because I got to see just how far Ive come these last seven months. She was really impressed with my Wolof and I was flattered and thought, you know, my wolof really has improved.

Halfway through her visit I woke up with a really sore throat. One thing led to another and I had a full blown case of strep throat. Suck. Its kinda weird getting what I consider normal diseases here. You come prepared to face malaria and parasites, and then when you come down with the common cold youre a little surprised. I guess there are still ways that I myself am unprepared for life in this country. Moral of the story is that Ive spent the last 6 days in bed with my fan blowing on me drinking anything cold I can get my hands on and taking copious amounts of ibuprofen to deal with the pain. Getting sick here sucks. What I would give for a pint of Ben & Jerrys and a Law and Order Marathon. Oh well, at least I dont actually live in a village, right?

4.02.2008

And Im Back

My vacation in England was perfect but like all good things, has finally come to an end. I arrived in Dakar at 3am Monday morning and have been hanging out here ever since. Tomorrow I will be attending a SED conference where all business volunteers in the Dakar region will get together to discuss the projects we are currently working on as well as how we can work together on future projects. It will be good to see everyone when they come in. The past few days have been spent watching movies back to back, eating the rest of the chocolate easter eggs Terrys mom sent back with me and trying to convince myself not to just turn around and head back to England. So far so good and I am planning on heading back to site on Friday, which Ive just discovered may be more difficult than I originally thought since tomorrow is the Senegalese Independence Day and everyone has the day off work. I am hoping for an overdedicated driver that will be heading in my direction....

I have ideas of work to be done when I get back to site, but no guarantee that anything will actually get done. I will let you know how things turn out.