mas/more (I wonder what it is in French)

I am finally using my laptop with the wireless at school. Woohoo. I'll keep this post short, but I wanted to share more pics with y'all.






Okay, so my computer is being really weird and not letting me see the images so the captions are down here.
1. My lovely tent/bed.
2. a lizard at school; There are a lot of them, and they are surprisingly quite quick.
3. a flame tree; I love the color.
4. the soccer field and track at school; I guess this is as green as it'll get.

More things I've learned and haven't shared:
1. You pay for a taxi ahead of time and it's rude for them to ask for more money (although Danielle and I have had it happen). It costs around $5 for a 10 minute ride (I think).
2. Surprisingly we can do a lot without electricity. It has gone out every day, but it isn't too bad unless you're trying to updage a blog or sleep. :)
3. Too much bleach is definitely a bad thing! We filter our water and we add bleach. My first batch was fine but my second was not. Ouch!

Until next time...

48 hours

First off, I guess I sent the wrong address so if you need my correct one, please let me know. :)

Now onto the good stuff. :)

I don't feel like I'm doing a good job of portraying my experiences here so sometime I hope to take videos. I mean, right now I hear the call to prayer from the Mosque, am sitting in mid80s at 8:15 pm, and yet am using the computer to write this blog. I am getting used to the idea of two showers a day, always having sandy feet, daily power cuts, and greeting everyone in French and hopefully soon, Wolof. The taxi rides (and bartering) are crazy. Luckily I don't do it, my friend does. No words can describe the driving really. I mean, how do you explain to most Americans that part of the "interstate" here has no lines, people walk alongside and across it, and that playing chicken on smaller roads is part of the driving process. On a side note, the prices here are comparable or more expensive than the US. It may be hard to believe but it's true. Fortunately I haven't bought much but taxi fares and a camel key chain.

Culture shock has not set in yet. Fortunately, I have been welcomed by several ladies who have taken me under their wing so I haven't had to really venture out alone (except to walk to school).

Here are the details of my last 48 hours in case you're interested:

I have been hanging out with one of the other teachers, and Danielle has been kind enough to show me around. Yesterday we went downtown. It's quite a place. Lots of stands selling things. People of course, tend to approach us, but luckily Danielle speaks French very well. She went to high school at DA so she knows how to handle situations. Yay! We ate at a local restaurant where I had chwarma (sp?). Basically it was a tortilla/flat bread with meat, french fries, tomatoes, onions, and sauce inside. (Good but different Hannah. ;) )

I went to an international church today that is in English. It was awesome. Most of the people that attend are from other African countries: Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. It lasted over two hours. (We never know when it'll end, just like HAC. Just kidding Pastor Ray) :) The vibrant singing and dancing were beautiful.

After church we went to the beach. I love the ocean and could get into the habit of going every weekend. The water was warm and not too rough. There were lots of guys playing soccer, people selling things (again asking us all the time), and music blaring. If I closed my eyes, it almost felt like an American beach as hip-hop and rap blared through the speakers. Then I'd be jolted back to reality by lots of voices speaking languages I don't understand: French and Wolof. Everytime someone approached, I would look blankly at Danielle who would answer. The people next to us offered us juice so we couldn't refuse. It was sort of a maalox consistency and taste with a bit of fruit. Interesting but that's life abroad.

I hope to start running tomorrow. That may be an adventure. My goal is to hopefully be able to run the sandhill with the soccer players but we'll see what happens. I was huffing and puffing walking up a teeny-tiny incline from the beach. :)

More to come...

by popular demand

I took some pictures this morning from my apartment.
This is a view from the roof. There are a lot of unfinished buildings in Dakar. People invest their money in buildings so when they can afford a wall, they build it. It may take several years before they can build another wall, but this is how they slowly build their houses.
This is looking the opposite way, more towards the neighborhood. It's pretty green right now because we have had a lot of rain.

Notice that our neighbors have a trampoline. I thought that was cool. :)
This is basically the view from my bedroom window. Unfortunately the goats were not there yet, but they like to climb on this old jail. Soccer players also come and run this hill.

Things I've learned so far:

1. How to flame bread to get the bugs off. (Some people don't flame it, but I'm new so I thought I'd better.)

2. Power cuts are much better during the day. We had two last night so sleeping in 85 degree heat at night (according to my alarm clock) with no moving air can be difficult.

3. Ca va (how are you) can be used as a question, answer, all around term. (Thanks Anne for teaching this to me and having me practice.)

4. Eggs can be left on the counter. That's where we keep ours anyway.

5. There are not as many mosquitos as I thought there would be. Yay!

Well I better go work in my classroom. More pics and updates to come.

Stay tuned. :)