Back in Bambey

A very delayed Happy New Year everyone! I had a wonderful trip home and got to spend a quality time with my family, friends, and boyfriend. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season!
The adventure (which I say with neither a positive or negative connotation) began on the plane: it was 3 seats per row I was seat F the window seat. When I got to my row there was a guy in the aisle seat and one in the window seat who I made switch (no way I'm giving up my window seat for an 8 hour flight). A few minutes later another girl came along and said she was in the aisle seat... whoops... 4 people for 3 seats. The flight attendant quickly saw the problem and came over to discover that both of those men had been issued tickets with the same seat. The flight attendant put the woman who was supposed to be in the aisle in another seat and left. He came back a few minutes later and explained that the two men had bought their ticket at the same agency and, because they have the same name (which happens all the time in Senegal), the agency sold them the same seat. He explained that they would both have to get a refund from their ticket agency and buy new tickets but that they would have to get a new ticket immediately if they wanted to be on that flight. It blows my mind that two people were able to get ALL THE WAY ON A PLANE with the same ticket.

Anyway - once I was back in Dakar I went to the office and got some stuff taken care of. I wasn't feeling very well so I went to med and stayed for a day. I'm better now and back at site!

Yesterday morning I gave my host mom the 6 pounds of candy and 3 pounds of oreos I brought back for the family (she said "this is too much!!"). Then I gave her the gift I brought back for her which she really liked and seemed really touched by (she kept saying "but we didn't give you anything to give your parents!"). I was waiting to give everyone else their gifts until Mor got his but he was gone all day and in the evening I finally decided that, though I'm normally quite culturally respectful - they were my gifts and I would hand them out as I wanted to. While everyone was sitting in the dark (we haven't been having power between 7:30-10:30pm so we sit in the dark outside), I grabbed presents. Everyone was really appreciative when I handed them out and they took turns looking at each others gifts. Youssou kept using his new pump to pump and deflate the soccer ball. Khady was the best though, she danced around with the cabbage patch doll she got saying "Fatou gave this to me!"

I'm still trying to motivate myself to go see other people and get work started. I had a class I was supposed to teach yesterday but the principal forgot to remind people (I had asked him to right before I left) so no one showed up. The most frustrating part isn't that I spent all morning prepping or that I walked to the high school to do this but it's the principal's nonchalant attitude regarding wasting my time and delaying the start of these classes. He doesn't seem to care if the classes actually ever happen which doesn't help my motivation problems.

Today right before lunch, Ndeye (one of the high school girls) asked Khady if her baby was hungry and Khady said "yes!" ran into her room, brought out her doll, and then strapped it to her back (like all Senegalese women). Last I saw her she was still carrying the baby doll on her back.

KO