shoulda made a list

Oh how quickly the break is passing. I can't believe I'll be sitting in professional development meetings in one week. Oh my!

I've used this break to do something I love-read. I've read, read, and read some more. In between reading stints, I have had some "fun"

I have a big fear of snakes. Just the thought of them makes me shudder. As my friend and I were slowly jogging one day, I asked her if there were snakes around here. She told me she hadn't seen one in years. I'm sure you know where the story goes from here. A few days later we are jogging again when I see something emerge from the brush about 10 feet in front of us. This HUGE snake slithers across the dirt path. It's so big it covers the path which was about 3 feet long. Let me tell you-I did a "happy" dance and quickly turned around.

One tradition the "English" speakers have here is to sing carols while cruising on the river. There were about 20 people in our group consisting of Americans, Hondurans, Swiss, and Germans. Oh, and by cruising, I mean renting a pirogue for an hour. After being on the water for about 15-20 minutes, my friend leans over during a carol and whispers, "We're taking on water." She wasn't kidding either. I guess it's common and fortunately the boat guy didn't try to be a hero. We went back to the bank of the river and switched boats (without crossing over to land). You should have a great mental picture because my balance stinks.

What else?
I'v been out to a village where I climbed rocks in flip flops and a pagna. I've been in a car when it got a flat tire. I found Mt Dew in a boutique. I helped my friend make homemade marshmallows for our upcoming camping trip. She even had to make homemade corn syrup so that we could make the marshmallows.
Adventures? Naaaa...just life in Africa.

Catch ya in 2010. (Now is it two thouand ten or twenty ten? I've wondered this for a while.)

Crossing the Border

Alas, I finally have something to blog about. At this moment, I am sitting in Kayes, Mali. You may be asking yourself, "What is so significant about Kayes?" Well, my good friend Danielle grew up here. I had the opportunity to spend Christmas with her so I jumped at the chance. Oh, and Kayes' other claim to fame is that it is the third hottest city in the world (based on average temp).

Our journey:
We, as in Danielle, her two siblings, and myself, left for the bush taxi area in Dakar at 4 am. We arrived shortly thereafter where Danielle had the responsibility of bargaining for luggage prices, getting seats, etc. (If you've never been to a 3rd world country, you've never seen bargaining quite like this.) Anyways, we were off and running at 5:15 am. The "we" now included the driver and 3 other African men.

Now, you may be asking yourself, "How big is this bush taxi?" Good question my friend. Picture an old station wagon that holds 8. Roomie? No. Functional? Yes. We joked that this was a magic taxi because the gas gauge always read empty, the speedometer 0 kph, and the temperature 0.

I have heard Danielle's bush taxi stories and knew anything could happen. I was warned the journey could take anywhere from 12-18 hours to the Malian border. We were (hopefully) prepared for anything. We had food, snacks, money, pagnas to use as blankets, pillows, a bed if needed, books on tape, grading. Thankfully we had a great and speedy trip. We made record time and arrived in Kayes 13.5 hours after we left Dakar! (FYI-Dad, good thing I am used to not stopping much. See, I knew my abnormal way of traveling would pay off.)

Danielle's parents met us at the border with Coke. :) Shortly after crossing into Mali, we saw a couple packs of baboons. Danielle always claimed that Mali was superior to Senegal. haha

I haven't ventured outside the house yet so I don't have many things to write about Kayes yet. My credible source (Danielle's dad) said the ave temp right now is low 90s with 25% humidity. I can tell you that equals dry. :)

Over and out from Kayes.

finals week

It's finals week. It's kind of an odd setup for my classes. Most of my classes fall at the end of the exam slots so I'm free at the beginning and then have to cram to finish things at the end. It could be worse though. I could be grading essays. ;)

I am gearing up for my roadtrip to Mali. It shall be interesting. I saw the vehicles we will have to take. Eight people will be in a station wagon...hmm...adventure? Fortunately I will have good company, plus some motion-sickness pills.

I haven't been feeling well the past couple weeks-some stomach bug. It's weird to run through the progression of illnesses-virus, worm, parasite, etc. I'm hoping for the first one, but I have taken a worm treatment just to be safe. Gross I know, but it's reality.

I have had many Christmas parties and time to prepare for this festive holiday. I watched Miracle on 34th Street in black and white last night. It reminds me so much of my Grandma Pettit. We always watched that movie at her house. Remember Joe? ;)

It is getting cooler around here. The thermometer on my alarm clock reached 79 degrees for the first time all semester. The air is very dry and the cool breeze makes it feel nice. I do miss the seasons, but at least we have this change in the weather.

Not much else is new. Just treasuring the moments I have, the friends I've made all over the world, and the fact that it's Jesus' birthday.

Much love from Senegal
AP