23 and Counting

So my 23rd birthday was a success. I was a little nervous about my first birthday abroad, but everything went so well. I spent the morning doing absolutely nothing, which I feel is an important part of any successful birthday. Watched movies, cooked up some stir-fry and otherwise pissed around. Scott called after lunch and it was good to hear his voice, although it made me sad. Scott is my twin brother, and i don't much care for celebrating our anniversary without him. Unfortunately, the stubborn bastard won't leave the states and so I may never see him again. At least not for two years.

Late afternoon some friends and I went to downtown Dakar where we bought mini ice cream cakes that are sold in a fancy patisserie. Mine was a butter-pecan ice cream with a shortbread crust. Think that sounds amazing in America? Try after 10 odd months of living on the outskirts of the sahara. That alone made the day amazing. Then we wandered over to a rooftop restaurant where they show movies. They have an outdoor screen and an indoor one, with a pretty decent DVD collection. We picked out Cassandra's Dream, which came out after I left the states so it was like watching a new movie, and they even showed the english version for us! So we sat around in an air conditioned room eating vietnamese food (caramel pork for me) on super-comfy couch. It was perfect. The dinner was a bit expensive for a peace corps volunteer, so we headed right back to the regional house after dinner to avoid spending any more money. Still, a wonderful, wonderful day.

Returned to site Wednesday morning and have gotten right back into the groove of teaching computer classes. Have one more to go today before I get to go home, and only one more day until I go to Dakar for the english camp next week. I am really looking forward to it.