A brief update and movin on....
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for almost eight weeks!!! But it’s a true story… In the scheme of things eight weeks is nothing but when the first eight weeks are training and week seven coming and going means I’m going out to my permanent site soon it’s kind of crazy.
I think I’ll miss Thies (the city where I’ve been living/training for the past seven and a half weeks) and I’ll definitely miss hanging out with other Americans… some of whom I’ve grown fond of… but I guess that’s why they call this the toughest job I’ll ever love. I’m finally getting a solid grasp of Wolof and feeling independent here in Thies, and I’m up and moving yet again to a city I don’t know, just this time I’ll be alone. For these reasons and others (such as my discman dying!! Bastard!) I’ve felt bummed now and again but luckily for me the blues have not kept me from recognizing some of the ridiculous stuff that happens to me on a daily in this country (and how truly lucky I am for being able to take advantage of this opportunity). Enjoy!!
Hmm.. where to start.. where to start…… So, last week two trainees and I braved the mid-day heat in search of an open cyber café so I could get in touch with many of you fine people (since the occurrence my Dad has informed me it was only about 85 degrees here.. but mid-day or shall I say mid-sweat, in the direct sunlight right along the equator and somewhat dehydrated, I’ll just say it was about 110 degrees). Long story short, after about 40 minutes of walking to and from the one cyber open in town and one hour actually spent in the un-air conditioned cyber which smelled like the most intense b.o. I’ve ever experienced (p.s.- no one wears deodorant here, among other things, like shirts… but I digress) I’m around the corner from the training center when, I kid you not, a foot long lizard falls out of the sky six inches in front of me onto its back. At this point I was sure God must be punishing me for something… but to top it all off.. after the damned thing falls at least 40 feet from the tree it flips back over and runs away. Gross. After calming down I realized that my friends and family would definitely get a kick out of this crap happening to me.
ALSO, I HAD ONE OF THE BEST WEEKENDS EVER!! Well… here in Senegal at least… Last weekend was my friend Steven’s 23rd Bday so he and two of my girl friends decided to get some people together to spend Sunday night in Dakar (the capital of Senegal). We rented out a sept place (seven person cab/ burnout shell of a station wagon) to bring us from Thies to Dakar and upon arrival we found a place to crash for 10 bucks a night (totally nasty, SHOCKER!). You can’t beat it.. especially when you are broke…
We explored the city which proved to be really nice on Sunday because most things were closed and it was quiet and pretty, for the most part. Afterwards, we cleaned up and dressed in our best for drinks at a really nice French bar and bday dinner at this Thai restaurant Steven wanted to try (I even wore my stilettos!!! I was very excited). Unfortunately for Steven, but luckily for all of us the Thai restaurant was closed and our night took a turn for the AWESOMEST.
After the initial disappointment of Steven’s bday dinner plans being ruined had faded we ventured out into the city in search of food and stumbled upon a little Chinese restaurant that wasn’t Thai but we figured would do the trick…. Little did we know, they had karaoke…. And that is where the night began…
As we walked through the restaurant door I truly believe we left Senegal and entered any restaurant in Chinatown, New York City. I’ve loved my time in Senegal but being in this restaurant reminded me of home at a time when that’s just what I needed and it turns out we weren’t the only ones there to party!!
The restaurant was filled half with Chinese people and half with our party and then they whipped out the karaoke…. (ps- people here love Madonna!!! And apparently the Chinese are no exception) After a stellar (if I don’t mind saying so myself) performance of Like a Virgin with my friend Krystal and some mean Ace of Base classics it was clear we were in a karaoke sing-off of sorts with the Chinese. Tons of laughs and poorly sung songs later the Chinese won (bc the judges had a clearly Chinese bias) but we all had a great time and hopefully Steven had a great bday!!
Honestly, only in Senegal would this experience be noteworthy, but under the current circumstances with a group of newly formed friends it was better than I could have ever hoped for….
Sorry that this isn’t as long as I’d originally hoped it to be but I’m busy getting everything ready for my move this Sunday!! Craziness I know.. lots of stress… C’est la vie!!!
I think I’ll miss Thies (the city where I’ve been living/training for the past seven and a half weeks) and I’ll definitely miss hanging out with other Americans… some of whom I’ve grown fond of… but I guess that’s why they call this the toughest job I’ll ever love. I’m finally getting a solid grasp of Wolof and feeling independent here in Thies, and I’m up and moving yet again to a city I don’t know, just this time I’ll be alone. For these reasons and others (such as my discman dying!! Bastard!) I’ve felt bummed now and again but luckily for me the blues have not kept me from recognizing some of the ridiculous stuff that happens to me on a daily in this country (and how truly lucky I am for being able to take advantage of this opportunity). Enjoy!!
Hmm.. where to start.. where to start…… So, last week two trainees and I braved the mid-day heat in search of an open cyber café so I could get in touch with many of you fine people (since the occurrence my Dad has informed me it was only about 85 degrees here.. but mid-day or shall I say mid-sweat, in the direct sunlight right along the equator and somewhat dehydrated, I’ll just say it was about 110 degrees). Long story short, after about 40 minutes of walking to and from the one cyber open in town and one hour actually spent in the un-air conditioned cyber which smelled like the most intense b.o. I’ve ever experienced (p.s.- no one wears deodorant here, among other things, like shirts… but I digress) I’m around the corner from the training center when, I kid you not, a foot long lizard falls out of the sky six inches in front of me onto its back. At this point I was sure God must be punishing me for something… but to top it all off.. after the damned thing falls at least 40 feet from the tree it flips back over and runs away. Gross. After calming down I realized that my friends and family would definitely get a kick out of this crap happening to me.
ALSO, I HAD ONE OF THE BEST WEEKENDS EVER!! Well… here in Senegal at least… Last weekend was my friend Steven’s 23rd Bday so he and two of my girl friends decided to get some people together to spend Sunday night in Dakar (the capital of Senegal). We rented out a sept place (seven person cab/ burnout shell of a station wagon) to bring us from Thies to Dakar and upon arrival we found a place to crash for 10 bucks a night (totally nasty, SHOCKER!). You can’t beat it.. especially when you are broke…
We explored the city which proved to be really nice on Sunday because most things were closed and it was quiet and pretty, for the most part. Afterwards, we cleaned up and dressed in our best for drinks at a really nice French bar and bday dinner at this Thai restaurant Steven wanted to try (I even wore my stilettos!!! I was very excited). Unfortunately for Steven, but luckily for all of us the Thai restaurant was closed and our night took a turn for the AWESOMEST.
After the initial disappointment of Steven’s bday dinner plans being ruined had faded we ventured out into the city in search of food and stumbled upon a little Chinese restaurant that wasn’t Thai but we figured would do the trick…. Little did we know, they had karaoke…. And that is where the night began…
As we walked through the restaurant door I truly believe we left Senegal and entered any restaurant in Chinatown, New York City. I’ve loved my time in Senegal but being in this restaurant reminded me of home at a time when that’s just what I needed and it turns out we weren’t the only ones there to party!!
The restaurant was filled half with Chinese people and half with our party and then they whipped out the karaoke…. (ps- people here love Madonna!!! And apparently the Chinese are no exception) After a stellar (if I don’t mind saying so myself) performance of Like a Virgin with my friend Krystal and some mean Ace of Base classics it was clear we were in a karaoke sing-off of sorts with the Chinese. Tons of laughs and poorly sung songs later the Chinese won (bc the judges had a clearly Chinese bias) but we all had a great time and hopefully Steven had a great bday!!
Honestly, only in Senegal would this experience be noteworthy, but under the current circumstances with a group of newly formed friends it was better than I could have ever hoped for….
Sorry that this isn’t as long as I’d originally hoped it to be but I’m busy getting everything ready for my move this Sunday!! Craziness I know.. lots of stress… C’est la vie!!!
posted by Ashleigh | 8:34 PM
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