Fight or Flight?

I think that I have officially become a part of my Senegalese homestay family. On Thursday night, there was a knock on my door and my Neene called, "A daanoto?" In english that means, are you sleeping? To which I replied, "no." In came my Neene and 3 of my sisters (Binta, Ami and Aggi). And why did they need me, you might be wondering. Well, because they wanted to give me the awesome complet (traditional Senegalese outfit) that they had made for me! I was so moved and so overwhelmed that I almost started crying. They made me put it on right away and my whole family was so excited to see me wearing it. It's a long skirt (known as a pagne), with a long tunic-like short-sleeve shirt to wear on top, complete with a head wrap. The head wrap is definitely my favorite part. There is a strong possibility that I will be wearing one every day for the next 2 years of my service. What's even more adorable about this situation/gift, is that one of my little sisters has a matching outfit to mine. I will make sure to get a picture of the 2 of us together before I leave. 

Do you like my head wrap?

Aminata (my aunt), me, baby Fatimah, Aggi (my sister), Binta (my sister) and my Neene

On a slightly less happy note, last night I fell and twisted my ankle. Apparently I am just as much of a klutz in Senegal as I am in New York. In my defense, I was fleeing from a direct threat. The human mind must decide between fight or flight, and last night my decision was clearly flight. You see, at the training center we have an animal known as a "bush-weasel." We more commonly refer to it as the "cat-rat." It has the head of a rat, the body of a cat but is low to the ground, and the tail of a rat. It is also the size of a cat. In short, while most likely not dangerous, it is terrifying. 

After my very satisfying skype conversations with SWK and Natasha last night, I was on my way to meet my friends where they were watching "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" on a big projector screen. As I was walking, I couldn't but help get the disturbing feeling that someone or something was following me. I could hear the creature getting closer and closer and once I looked back to investigate and saw the cat-rat, I began to run. I ran past the med hut (while I heard the cat-rat increase its pace behind me) and through the garden beds, and that is where my downfall occurred. I tripped over a cactus and caught my right ankle in one the trenches that we had dug to protect our garden and down I went. I know have a scraped up left knee, some cuts on my right palm and a bandaged and swollen right ankle that hurts when I try to bear weight on it. I think I may see a call to the Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO) in my future. 

This morning, Chelsea, Emily, Meredith, Larocha, Emma, Hailey and I all went for Sunday morning brunch to one of the restaurants in downtown Thies. While not quite as satisfying as a four flower mimosa and the lemon ricotta pancakes from Sarabeth's on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, it certainly did the trick for what we were looking for. Also, the cappuccino was excellent. The first decent cup of coffee I've had since I've been here. After that we did a little shopping in the marse (market), where I picked up some pink elephant fabric that I plan on turning into some short of tank top. I think tonight we will see if we can finagle use of the kitchen to cook some sort of a healthy and cheap dinner for ourselves. I'm hoping for pasta with a tomato sauce that has lots of veggies in it. 

In the meantime, I will nap and ice and elevate that darn ankle. I will also do my best to stay away from strange African rodents. 

Asalaa maalekum,

Rachel