Still time for fun...

It's been a bit since I've updated! Massa! Anyway, things have been going great (big surprise). I'll try and get my biggest news out of the way first. Last friday, we all got our site placements! We finally know where we will be spending the next two years of our lives after we swear in! I will be living and working in.....drumroll please........DAKAR!!! The capitol of Senegal! I was a little surprised, but I'm really excited. I guess I won't have to live the "rough" life after all. The moment I found out, I was excited but a small part of me was sad I wouldn't have the "village" experience. Living in Dakar, however, will be quite an experience.

Other updates. Last weekend all of us trainees decided we needed a break from shoving so much information into our brains, so we decided to go to the beach. We rented 3 beach housed in a small village called Popenguine and left the second our classes were over saturday afternoon. I had no idea what to expect, but when we arrived I was amazed. The houses were beautiful and right on the water of a fantastic beach. I can't tell you how great it was to just sit on the beach and let my brain rest! Though I did practice my wolof a bit when I sat with these two old men playing a game in the sand. Another highlight of the trip was hiking up to the top of this cliff over looking the ocean. Up at the top, we found some old, abandoned forts that dated back to french colonial time. Sunday morning supplies were bought in the market for an amazing breakfast of eggs and vegetables. It was nice to have a change in diet and to actually eat some vegetables.

There is so much to say, and every time I sit down to blog I feel completely inarticulate. I'm gonna try and upload some photos on here too. Maybe that will help.

This is my defandekko (neighbor). He has one of the only camels around and was insisting that I ride it. Yea right.


The two on the right are two of my many siblings, Babacar and Rokhoya, I love them to death.


Nols, Sundance, Cobalt......this one is for you! Sometimes on the weekends, I walk to the market area of my village and play foosball.


My other favorite thing to do on the weekend is go out to the cashew orchards and climb the trees to pick the fruit for my family. This is me, my nephew Baybas, and my brother Matar. (Yes, we have the same name)


This is me and Patrick waiting apprehensively to hear our site placements!


Some friends walking in Popenguine. Beautiful.