March 30th, 2013 – Smore S’mores

Woke up this morning in my new houseJ Of course, I was covered in red bumps all over my body. Typical. Could be an allergy, could be some kind of bed bug, I’m not sure. Trying not to think about it. Went with two of my friends to the biggest statue in Africa, which was just built a few years ago and is a few minutes away from where we live. It was so beautiful and very cool to see. Then we went shopping at a really cool artisan market, and ate delicious Ceebu Jën for lunch (which is the national dish of Senegal). Then I came back home, changed, and headed to the beach for a little bit. After, I came home to shower, and then attempted to get a bracelet made in Mermoz, which I have to pick up later next week. Then I came back home to eat dinner, and then went to Lucys to make ataya and s’mores with her host brother and his friends. We taught them all how to make s’mores, which was so cute. They loved them!! …I mean…who doesn’t??

Friday, March 29th, 2013 – New Home

Ana and I had to bring all of our stuff to school this morning because we were going to move into our new homes later in the day. We took a taxi to school and moved our luggage into our country coordinator’s office. Then we had case study presentations all day. There were five presentations and they were each an hour long. After three of the presentations, we had lunch and Ana and I had to go meet our home stay family during the lunch break and move all of our stuff in. The home stay is in the same neighborhood right down the road from our old home stay house, so it is still close to everyone. The house is so beautiful, and our home stay mom speaks a little bit of English! There is also internet here!! So far so good. Dinner was great, and we talked to our mom for a while after dinner about her family. Such a tiring day, but I’m glad the move is over. 

Thursday, March 28th, 2013 – The End of the Middle

So much happened today. So I went to school and had to tell our fellow that my family did not lock up the dog like they said they would. It is such a scary dog. Then we filled out evaluation forms for each of our classes because it is the middle of the semester already. So crazy. Then we had free time for the rest of the day to work on our hour long case study presentations the next day. Our group walked around and interviewed people, and put together our presentation for the majority of the day.

Our fellow called me to tell me that Ana and I were going to be moved into a different home stay because the dog is unsafe to live with. So in addition to preparing this huge presentation, we had to pack up all of our stuff and somehow find a non awkward way to say goodbye. It was such an exhausting day, both mentally and physically. The last night in our home stay was so much fun though because a bunch of her friends were over and the dog was locked up. Oh well, hopefully it will just get better from here. 

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 – Bread Run

Went to school today after eating breakfast as usual. Bought a new phone card and some post cards along the way. At school we had a further debrief about the village visit, then a lecture on decentralization in Dakar, and then a faculty politics and development lecture. After lunch we had site visits, and a group of us went to see people who worked for one of the local mayors. Not the mayor of Dakar. There are 19 local “mayors” of different parts of Dakar, and we met with a man who works with one of them.

After that, I picked up a shirt that I ordered a while ago at the tailor, and then went for a run with Ana. We ran along the beach and it was beautiful. Except for the fact that I’m completely out of shape and filled to my brim with bread. That wasn’t so beautiful. But the run felt great. Then I showered, ate dinner, came to Lucy’s. 

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 – Jerejef ci seen teranga

Back to a normal schedule today. Went to class in the morning. Had our last Wolof lesson and a debrief about the village trip. Then we had a lecture about urban planning in Dakar, and then a faculty urban planning and sustainable environments lecture. Then we had lunch. I ate a sandwich that was made under a tarp on the side of the road…so yummy. Then we had site visits. A group of us went to see government officials that work for the ministry of transportation. They were very interesting to talk to. They talked about all the changes that they want to make to transportation in Dakar to make it a more “town” like city.

Then I came home, did some work, danced with my little host sister, and ate dinner. After I went to Lucy’s and taught some of her host brother’s friends about Passover. Apparently, I’m the first Jewish person they have ever met. So for the second seder I did some teaching. I ate bread at every meal, because if I didn’t I would have nothing to eat, but I did teach other people about Passover…so I guess that’s a good thing…?