HO HO HO!!! Happy Holidays!!! I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas again! I’ll be going to America for Christmas, and I’m super stoked. I’ve already put in a request for what I want my mom to bring me (food wise) to the airport when they pick me up. Woo!
Sooooo…..what have I been doing? Hmm. Good question. Well, the major thing that comes to mind is Emily’s visit! Emily is one of my best friends from college, and she made the trek from Boston to Senegal to see me. What a trooper. She was here for about two weeks and it was lots of fun. She got to experience a lot of Senegal. Highlights: We were on our way to a Halloween party on a car ride that’s supposed to be 8 hours. It took us 14. Not one complaint from Emily….thanks dude! It was a pretty miserable car ride, but it was nice having a happy friend there!
After the Halloween party we made our way to my site. We went to my tailor’s to hang out for a bit, and he winds up confessing his love for Emily. Keep in mind that he doesn’t really speak French, much less English, and obviously Emily doesn’t speak Pulaar or Wolof. He didn’t really understand how that would be a barrier in a relationship. Anyway, they compromised and decided that if my tailor ever made it to America he would call Emily and Emily would have to hang out with him. I hope that actually happens, it would be fun to witness :) After being at my site for a bit we went to St. Louis, which was amazing. We stayed in a nice hotel, ate lots of good food and hung out on the beach. It was a great way to end the trip. Thanks again for coming, Em!
I went to my regional house for Thanksgiving, which was pretty fun. Somehow people managed to cook really good American food even with our limited supply here! We even had pies. Mmmmm.
Other than that I've just been hanging out at site. Work with the Womens Group has been slow, but I started giving computer lessons to kids on my laptop. So far only a couple kids have come, but it has been really fun! These kids had never even seen a computer in person before, so needless to say they had no idea about anything. Im perfectly happy to start explaining the basics to them, but that was harder than expected in another language! I'm not sure they totally understood what i was trying to explain about things like the CPU and hard drive, but they keep coming! They ask some cute questions, too. For example, one kid wanted to know if it was possible to print the color green. At the school they only have black and white print-outs, so he didn't really understand that it was possible to print all colors from a computer if you have a color printer! He also wanted to know things like why the keys on the keyboard weren't in alphabetical order. I think that's a great question, and I don't know if I would have noticed that if I were him. Anyway, I started them on typing lessons, and they seem to be really into that. When they come they are super focused and try really hard. It's great! Hopefully when I get back from vacation I will be able to get more kids to come. We shall see!
Random Africa Moment
I have two today actually. They're related, and they also have to do with animals. Surprise surprise.
So Tabaski is just a few days away. Tabaski is the holiday when every family slaughters a sheep, which means during the weeks leading up to Tabaski tons of sheep are being transported. Well, a couple of weeks ago I was waiting in a minicar (which is pretty much like a minivan) for enough people to fill it up before we could leave. We were about full and a guy shows up with a bunch of sheep. Nothing abnormal about that, and they tied up the sheeps' legs and hoisted them up on to the roof. I had a window seat and had the window open with my elbow hanging out a bit. Not long after the sheep were hoisted up on to the roof I felt some wetness all over my arm. I looked over and realized that a freaking sheep had peed on me!!! Ahhh. I immediately slammed the window shut, which was kinda loud. The guy in front of me turned around kinda startled, but found me looking around trying to find something to wipe my arm off with. Comprehension spread across his face and he said to me in Pulaar, "Sheep pee?" I said "yeahhhh." Then he said, "Yeahh, we're in the Fouta!" Like yup, it happens, suck it up. Then he follows it up with "C'est bon!" Ha. I don't know how being peed on by a sheep could be classified as being "bon," but at that point after the inital shock I realized that it was pretty funny. I proceeded to text 2 other volunteers, and their responses were pretty funny, too. One said "Ha! gotta keep those windows shut during Tabaski season!" She didn't even have to ask how it happened. The other sais "Yeah you'll have that sometimes, bummer dude!" So I realized that being peed on by a sheep really isnt a bit deal, its just kind of an occupational hazard!
So then yesterday I was in an Alham (big, bus-like public trqnsport vehicle) and it happened again! Only this time it didn't come in through the window...it came in through a leak in the roof! I was kinda confused for about a half a second then realized No way!!! AGAIN? Grooooosssss it's on my head this time!! Eww. Luckily it wasnt crowded so I was able to move seats immediately.
And there you have it folks. I've been peed on by a sheep. Twice. Now I know that during Tabaski season I need to beware of open windows and leaks in the roof. Oh the things you learn while living in Africa...
Sooooo…..what have I been doing? Hmm. Good question. Well, the major thing that comes to mind is Emily’s visit! Emily is one of my best friends from college, and she made the trek from Boston to Senegal to see me. What a trooper. She was here for about two weeks and it was lots of fun. She got to experience a lot of Senegal. Highlights: We were on our way to a Halloween party on a car ride that’s supposed to be 8 hours. It took us 14. Not one complaint from Emily….thanks dude! It was a pretty miserable car ride, but it was nice having a happy friend there!
After the Halloween party we made our way to my site. We went to my tailor’s to hang out for a bit, and he winds up confessing his love for Emily. Keep in mind that he doesn’t really speak French, much less English, and obviously Emily doesn’t speak Pulaar or Wolof. He didn’t really understand how that would be a barrier in a relationship. Anyway, they compromised and decided that if my tailor ever made it to America he would call Emily and Emily would have to hang out with him. I hope that actually happens, it would be fun to witness :) After being at my site for a bit we went to St. Louis, which was amazing. We stayed in a nice hotel, ate lots of good food and hung out on the beach. It was a great way to end the trip. Thanks again for coming, Em!
I went to my regional house for Thanksgiving, which was pretty fun. Somehow people managed to cook really good American food even with our limited supply here! We even had pies. Mmmmm.
Other than that I've just been hanging out at site. Work with the Womens Group has been slow, but I started giving computer lessons to kids on my laptop. So far only a couple kids have come, but it has been really fun! These kids had never even seen a computer in person before, so needless to say they had no idea about anything. Im perfectly happy to start explaining the basics to them, but that was harder than expected in another language! I'm not sure they totally understood what i was trying to explain about things like the CPU and hard drive, but they keep coming! They ask some cute questions, too. For example, one kid wanted to know if it was possible to print the color green. At the school they only have black and white print-outs, so he didn't really understand that it was possible to print all colors from a computer if you have a color printer! He also wanted to know things like why the keys on the keyboard weren't in alphabetical order. I think that's a great question, and I don't know if I would have noticed that if I were him. Anyway, I started them on typing lessons, and they seem to be really into that. When they come they are super focused and try really hard. It's great! Hopefully when I get back from vacation I will be able to get more kids to come. We shall see!
Random Africa Moment
I have two today actually. They're related, and they also have to do with animals. Surprise surprise.
So Tabaski is just a few days away. Tabaski is the holiday when every family slaughters a sheep, which means during the weeks leading up to Tabaski tons of sheep are being transported. Well, a couple of weeks ago I was waiting in a minicar (which is pretty much like a minivan) for enough people to fill it up before we could leave. We were about full and a guy shows up with a bunch of sheep. Nothing abnormal about that, and they tied up the sheeps' legs and hoisted them up on to the roof. I had a window seat and had the window open with my elbow hanging out a bit. Not long after the sheep were hoisted up on to the roof I felt some wetness all over my arm. I looked over and realized that a freaking sheep had peed on me!!! Ahhh. I immediately slammed the window shut, which was kinda loud. The guy in front of me turned around kinda startled, but found me looking around trying to find something to wipe my arm off with. Comprehension spread across his face and he said to me in Pulaar, "Sheep pee?" I said "yeahhhh." Then he said, "Yeahh, we're in the Fouta!" Like yup, it happens, suck it up. Then he follows it up with "C'est bon!" Ha. I don't know how being peed on by a sheep could be classified as being "bon," but at that point after the inital shock I realized that it was pretty funny. I proceeded to text 2 other volunteers, and their responses were pretty funny, too. One said "Ha! gotta keep those windows shut during Tabaski season!" She didn't even have to ask how it happened. The other sais "Yeah you'll have that sometimes, bummer dude!" So I realized that being peed on by a sheep really isnt a bit deal, its just kind of an occupational hazard!
So then yesterday I was in an Alham (big, bus-like public trqnsport vehicle) and it happened again! Only this time it didn't come in through the window...it came in through a leak in the roof! I was kinda confused for about a half a second then realized No way!!! AGAIN? Grooooosssss it's on my head this time!! Eww. Luckily it wasnt crowded so I was able to move seats immediately.
And there you have it folks. I've been peed on by a sheep. Twice. Now I know that during Tabaski season I need to beware of open windows and leaks in the roof. Oh the things you learn while living in Africa...
posted by Sandy at
2:39 AM
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