OK, so I just finished 2 weeks with my host family. It was a looooong time to be with people whom you do not understand and live in a small town. We came back to Thies today just to return to our host families tomorrow. They want us to spend Korite (the end of Ramadan) with our host families. I'm excited about seeing how the Senegalese celebrate because so far it's been pretty boring here. I would almost use the word quiet but that's not the correct word because the mosques here call people to prayer (over loud speakers) at 4:30am, 2pm, 5pm, 7:30pm, and 9pm so it's not quite quiet. Also, I got to experience their night of prayer where they start to pray at midnight and continue till 6am. Now those of you who have been to church I am sure think that this would be a quite time, but no, once again they pray over loud speakers AND have drums to accompany them. Also, I had the added benefit of living right in the center of town so they decided to set-up shop right in front of my bedroom window. It was a very long night.
While I was in Sangalkam for two weeks I got to experience a horse drawn carriage ride to the Pink Lake, sounds nice doesn't it? But no it was a totally different experience. We did have a horse pull us, but it was more like a board on two wheels where I had to hold on to dear life lest I be thrown off of it. Also, our driver did not feel like taking the night paved roads and decided to take shortcuts through mud drenched alleys. This is not a pleasant experience when your legs are hanging off the side and they are sprayed with mud every 30 seconds. I think it took me 2 days to get the mud off my legs, but I looked at it as a natural mud mask for my legs, people pay hundreds of dollars to lay in a mud bath and I got one for free courtesy of our horse and carriage. We finally got to the Pink lake only to discover that it is not pink but a brown color. Apparently the lake is only pink during certain times of the year when it's not raining, you'd think someone could have told us that before trekking all the way out there. However, it was interesting to find out that this was a fresh water lake up until 1986 and then it some how turned to salt water. When I asked the guide why that happened he said "It was the hand of God". The lake is actually 50% salt and you can float in it a la the Dead Sea. I did not have a bathing suit with me so I did not get to experience that.
After walking around the lake I had the honor of driving the donkey led carriage. this one was even more fun because not only did I get to go through all that mud again but I found out that if the donkeys do not run in sync then the ride becomes quite bumpy. A few times I was afraid I would be thrown off the carriage because it was so bumpy. However, I will admit that I did this all with a smile on my face and a few times I even cried because I was laughing so hard. When you're in a situation like that what else can you do? So that was an interesting experience. Other that that it has just been language classes in the morning and sitting around my room in the afternoons.
Today I found out where I am going to be spending the next two years of my life. I am going to Kedougou which is the southeast of Senegal. it wasn't a huge surprise for me because I knew that I was going to this region because of the language I was learning. I am however in the "city" of Kedougou which hopefully should make the experience better because this region is the most rural in all of Senegal. I am told though that it is also the most beautiful because of all the lush greenery, the waterfalls, and the wild like. i have been told that I will get used to seeing hippos bathing in a local watering hole or I might even get to see a rare Senegalese lion. So that seems pretty cool, but I just hope that the city has some small creature comforts like electricity and running water so I don't have to take bucket baths anymore, one can dream!!! I will get to see my region on Monday, I come back to Thies on Sat, after Korite, have classes that day and then get up early on Sunday to start my haul through all of Senegal, I am on the complete opposite end of the country so it takes us about 14 hours to get there. I will then spend 2 days there and then return on Wednesday. I am excited and nervous to see where I will be living, I promise to take picture. A propos pictures, I will hopefully upload some pictures of my homestay and a few new additions to the family once the internet speeds up here so check back often!!!
Here is the welcome sign you find welcoming you to my regional house (a place where all volunteers in the region can come hang out with internet and running water)!! NOTE: through the doors is NOT my regional house, there are actually no walls to the house because it is a series of huts
Here is the pet monkey one of the volunteer's family has. I'm actually thinking about getting one of these as a pet for me!
This is the Gambia river that goes through Kedougou. I took this picture as I waited for my warthog sandwich to be prepared.
Here is my delicious warthog sandwich. It's got onions, tomatoes, and BBQ sauce (don't get excited they don't have BBQ sauce in Senegal. This was a gift from one of the volunteer's family's in the States). This sandwich is a MUST when visitng Kedougou!!!
