Am I still in Africa?

Last time I left off with leaving my village for an extended amount of time. Well, I am headed back to village tomorrow, just in time for the start of Ramadan. I am attempting to stay in village for the entirety of Ramadan and not come to Kolda until the new stage's demyst (I'm going to be a sophomore!). So, here are my adventures after leaving village...

**Note: I'm really in Africa, I wasn't able to post this a month ago due to unreliable internet

**Note #2: HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIVI! I hope you have a splendid 27th B-day (haha!) Miss you big sis.

Kelly's Birthday
I came into Kolda the morning of the 14th to celebrate Kelly's 23rd birthday! How do you celebrate a birthday Africa style? Chinese food and Jello Shots....Obvi! I made fried rice and chicken spring rolls with what we could find in the Kolda market. It worked our surprisingly well and turned out fantastic! Amanda made two delicious peanut sauces (one sweet, one spicy) from scratch and it turned out really well, considering that we didn't have hoisin sauce.

It turned out to be only 5 of us in the house that night, so we ate until we were all stuffed. We were in mini food comas for the rest of the night. It was great to celebrate a birthday and have a mini girls night rolled into one.

Road to IST
After our Chinese food binge, Kelly and I headed out to Jenae's village for the night. It was so nice to see her and to see her village. It's funny how much things vary from village to village. Jenae's village is super patron compared to mine- they were watching TV when we arrived. As a pre- dinner snack, we made popcorn with Cinnamon and sugar- yum! Then we had a potato and fish dish with bread for dipping. Delicious! Then we had couscous with milk- It was strange, but good. Jenae told us about how her family has a bunch of cows and how she has milk every day (jealous!), while I'm convinced that I'm calcium deficient.

The next morning, it was off to Sarah's site, near Mbour. Six of us crammed into a sept place (actually, it was quite comfortable, since it usually seats 7), and off we went. We passed through Tamba and Kaolack and I was reminded how lucky I am to be in Kolda. Kolda is small and clean compared to the other regional capitals and everything is within walking distance. We arrived at Sarah's site around 5pm and proceeded to not be able to greet anyone. Sarah lives in a Serre village and all the Kolda residents speak Fulakunda. Getting to Sarah's awesomely painted hut, we found a trio of Tambaites lounging around- mini stage reunion! That night we had yassa poulet prepped by Sarah's family and followed it up with baked potatoes and banana boats around a camp fire. Seriously, am I still in Africa?

We woke up for beach weekend (at this point, I'm not sure if it was actually the weekend, but who cares...)!!! The 11 of us Toubabs went to Mbour, to campement Ndalli. Ndalli is owned by the counterpart of a eco-tourism volunteer and a campement that we frequented during PST. This was the first time we saw the huts and they were amazing! There was hot water in the shower- HOT WATER. I haven't taken a hot water shower since DC. The simple pleasures in life. It was a glorious two days of lounging at the beach, good food (pizza!), and great company.

IST
IST was a flurry of information ranging from permaculture to chicken raising to grant writing. Originally, everyone was staying with their PST host families except for the the two furthest sites, Mbour included. So, we were assigned new host families within Thies. It was strange having a new host family, with yet another new name (I'm at 5). My host family spoke no Pulaar and I had to communicate via French. It was very difficult for me (although, I remember more french than I gave myself credit for), and I wasn't the only one. We asked our Country Director if we could stay at the center for the duration of IST, and he agreed! It was nice to be able to stay at the center and I was able to explore Thies.

There was one night where it poured and the streets of Thies literally became rivers (I'm NOT exaggerating). Oh adventures of Senegal... I returned to the center and bathed in Hibiclense, convinced that if I didn't, I would get creeping eruption (google it). Speaking of diseases, the leprolis came back =(. The dermatologist said that it is microbial eczema and to prevent it, I should wear pants, long sleeve shirts, and shoes (HA! not going to happen). Anyways, it's gone now and hopefully it never comes back.

English Camp
After IST, we had English camps! The US Embassy sponsors a number of English camps in Dakar, Thies, and Fattick. I was assigned Thies and it was a blast! Mika and I had a group of 15 kids that are in the equivalent of 8th grade. Basically we played icebreakers all week and had Olympics. It was summer camp where the goal is to practice English. The most difficult part was getting the kids to not speak Wolof. They understood most of what we said, but they refused to speak. Frustrating! Other than that, we danced and sang, and had a good time.

Dakar
"Dakar is a magical land." - Meera. This is not an exaggeration when you've been living in village for two months. Friday night, we went to the American club for Trivia night! My team won the tequila round and continued to win that night (yay!). This means we get the honor of hosting next month. The next day, the girls went to breakfast in preparation of shopping day! I had a cappuccino and was reminded how much I miss real coffee (sigh). Shopping in Dakar was highly amusing. I bought Gucci Flora perfume from a street vendor for $3 USD (probably fake, but it smells like the real thing). The best part is bargaining with people. It's expected and fun to see what outrageous price they throw at you. At every vendor, I asked them if they spoke Pulaar. Dakar sees so many tourists that people really responded when you spoke to them in one of the local languages. Even if the vendor himself didn't speak Pulaar, he would summon one of his friends to talk to us. Thanks to this tactic, I was able to successfully talk down the price of a belt from 6 mille to 1 mille (victory!).

We then continued on to the Fukigai, an open air thrift market. If you are patient and willing to shift through mountains of clothes, you can find some real treasures. I found a French Connection Dress in my size, which I purchased for $2 USD (among other items). I love this city! That night, after a delicious dinner of pesto gnocchi and veggies, we (as in half of PC Senegal) went to Kreul Graoul, a dance party that occurs once a month. I miss going dancing and this was a perfect remedy.

The next day we lounged by the pool followed by dinner at a chinese restaurant! I miss Chinese food, and they had some of my favorites. It was hilarious- the owners were Chinese and spoke mainly Mandarin, so my friend Maddy and I ordered for the group. We forgot so much of our Chinese. We stumbled through and had difficulty remembering words for certain foods. It all worked out in the end and we went home happy.

I had my follow up dermatologist appointment (which is why I was in Dakar) and then I had to say goodbye to my site mate who is returning to America. It was sad, but I'm excited for her!

Phew...I really am in Africa, even though it didn't feel like it these past three weeks. I'm definitely ready to get back to village though, I miss them lots!

--Peace Out

P.S. Ramadan post coming soon