But first:
- Christmas! I did things like go to brunch with friends passing through Dakar, attend karaoke gatherings and tear up while singing Lisa Loeb, totally miss Hanakkah Harry stealthily leaving cookies under my Christmas tree on Christmas eve, using a stick of butter in my attempt to make bake-free cinnamon rolls and then feel really sick as though I had just eaten an entire stick of butter, cut about three vegetables for a massive Christmas dinner, celebrate Jesus’ birth with fireworks, visit Dakar’s famed amusement park, and watch Christmas movies with lovely people.
- I also threw a Christmas party for my family. I made stockings and stuffed them with care, aka oranges, candy, and stickers, then whipped up some hot chocolate and forced them to sing secular carols. My sister is still talking about the party, but what she seems to remember is that we danced to Rihanna and Wiz Khalifa at the end. This may be how she understands Christmas for her entire life.
- New Year’s! I traveled to St. Louis, a city on the water, and it was fabulous! Lots of dancing, lots of wonderful food, and I got to meet up with many friends I hadn’t seen in a while.
- Transit strike! Ahh! And then there was a strike! So I was stuck in St. Louis for two extra days, which I found fun because it allowed me to explore the city in non-touristy ways, like going to another volunteer’s house for Senegalese meals and sleeping on his rich family’s carpeted floor. The strike was also just very impressive.
- Disease and large conferences! We had some gigantic Peace Corps meetings, but unfortunately, I missed a lot of them because I got really sick. When I say really sick, I mean that I woke up in the night, thinking a growling, dangerous animal was in my room, because I kept hearing scary noises. These noises turned out to be my own stomach.
- WAIST! Then we had a big softball tournament! We stayed as guests at a lovely family’s home and danced to American music. I made a dress that looked like a French flag and heckled insults in a German-Cockney accent at opposing teams. We won the tournament!
- We didn’t win the tournament. Ha. That was a lie.
- I got elected as a communications coordinators for Peace Corps Senegal’s gender and development sector, SeneGAD, which is exciting! I also attended a two day training for our new Peer Support Network, which is also exciting!
- My host mom had a political rally at our house one day, which surprised me. My sister also had a baby and didn’t tell me for a week, which also surprised me. It has been a surprising month.
- It’s also been so cold! I can’t stop talking about the cold. I sleep every night wrapped up like a cocooned butterfly (but more beautiful) in six meters of fabric and a blanket stuffed over my head like I’m about to rob a bank. On the up side, I’ve started heating up my water for my bucket baths, and it is so fantastic that I don’t think I’ll ever go back to room temperature bathing.
- And the now: I’ve been working on mad projects ever since, and it has been great. Adapting the Life Skills manual for peer educators, starting an English class with integrated lessons/a cultural bent with Clare and two other Americans, starting to plan our girls’ camp, attending random local events and lunches such as this Martin Luther King Jr. presentation. I find this photo hilarious.
I've also received so much mail lately, it's made me so happy. Wonderful letters, wonderful music, wonderful books and pieces of news. You guys are wonderful!
Ughh see? It’s already too long. That’s what happens when I become a blog slacker. That’s what happens when you live your life like a hare, not a tortoise. Now I’m too tired to write about transportation.
I will take a moment for some observations about Senegal’s elections. Perhaps you have seen things in the news about the tumult surrounding the current President and the decision that he is eligible to run for another term. Everyone anticipated riots and tire burnings in lieu of the announcement. The reality? I hear vague rumors of those things happening around the country, but here, in my neighborhood and my very large city, I have neither seen nor heard nary a thing. Life has continued as normal. In the words of one of my Senegalese friends, “Yeah, most people here are like me, and we’d rather just stay home with our wives instead of protesting.” Alhamdillilay.
On that note, I’m going to go play with my little host brother. He’s started speaking and has special name for me: Baby. If it wasn’t so adorable, I’d be offended. But it’s adorable.
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