I just finished a fun filled weekend in Dakar but, like always, I'm pretty happy to be back at site. I really like Dakar in small doses but when you're there too long it just gets expensive, loud, and annoying. That being said, I had an amazing weekend.
It started with the SeneGAD board meeting on Saturday, which went long but was productive. I'm the activities chair and this is our first year as a 501(c)(3) so there's a lot of work to be done. I like the GAD president's direction (it might help that she was in a sorority and she's basing the organization of GAD off of her sorority... at least as far as institutional memory and position definition go). Saturday night I didn't really do much because we had the regular GAD meeting early Sunday. Oh, there was, however, a marathon of America's Next Top Model... each regional house seems to have their favorite shows (Kaolack's obsessed with Glee more than any other region) and the Dakar region seems to be attracted to trashy TV shows (ANTM, Jersey Shore, etc.).
Jackie came in early Sunday morning and we had the GAD meeting with the board and all the regional reps. Afterwards everyone called their mom to wish them a happy mother's day. Elizabeth was sticking around the office so to kill time Jackie and I went to the restaurant thing near the office and tried to order iced coffee (we were copying another volunteer). After ordering "coffee... with milk... and ice.... cold coffee," the manager came over to our table and said, "You want coffee... with ice? You want it cold? That's strange," and walked away. Eventually we got our iced coffee and explained that American's really like it when it's hot. For dinner a group of us met up with Chris a COS-ing volunteer for Chinese. Chris speaks Chinese so he just ordered everything for us and it was amazing.
Monday morning Jackie and I had a meeting with Talla to figure out this camp stuff. He made some calls and wrote us an official request letter for the head of university affairs for all of Senegal (based in Dakar) and we delivered it. I'm supposed to call Thursday to find out whether we have approval to use the U of Bambey campus for the camp so we'll see! Afterwards we went to lunch and ran into some people from Wheaton (where we both went to high school) in town for something (a third volunteer went there for college and says they come every year). Finally, the best part of the weekend came around 3pm. Chris (same one who got us an amazing dinner) tried to teach Jackie and I how to surf. He took us out one at a time, dragging the board through the waves, then turning us around, and telling us which wave to try for. Neither of us did very well but it was really fun and something I want to do again. Afterwards we got dinner with Chris and Elizabeth then we all met with a girl from Google West Africa. She's based in Ghana but was in Dakar... she was able to give me some tips for the upcoming Ghana trip. At the end of the night I said goodbye to Chris... which is weird thinking that the next time I see him will probably be in America considering I know him only in the context of Senegal.
I tried to leave Dakar this morning but ended up leaving around noon. There was a Peace Corps car going to Thies which meant a free ride (with air conditioning and actual room for sitting) as well as a free lunch at the training center. As I was trying to leave the driver asked where I was going and told me he could take me back to Bambey. I thought he was just being really nice but it turns out that Peace Corps gets their seeds from the agricultural research center outside of Bambey and he was picking up seeds. No matter, I got a second free (air conditioned) ride and made it back to site by 2pm.
Tonight before dinner my host mom told me that I needed to eat a lot because I was starting to lose my jaayfonde (large rear end) which, of course, to Senegalese women would be a huge concern. I tried to reassure her that, due to genetics etc. it wouldn't be leaving anytime soon but she's still pretty worried.
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