I Bless the Rains Down in Africa: Fuki Jay, Everybody Dance!

Can you believe that I've been in Senegal for 1 month? Sometimes I can't that's for sure.

I've made it back from the longest stint at our PST homestay. I think that bodes well for me. I keep hearing that the two week stretch is the hardest to deal with and adjust too. I think I've finally nailed down most of my family, including names and how everyone is related to me. I say mostly, because we've had some turn over in the past few days. A few days ago, I had two little sisters and then all of a sudden a few days ago, they were gone and now I have two little brothers. I hope this change isn't permenant, because my sister Ami (she's 10ish) is totally awesome and very patient with me and my lack of language skills. This leads me to answer a question that I've gotten several e-mails on over the past two weeks, I know this may come as a shock to you but no, I am not yet fluent in Pulaar (please see previous post for clarification). Shocking I know. Especially with my amazing ability to learn languages in the blink of an eye (just in case it wasn't clear, that was a joke). We have our first language exam on Wednesday morning and I am super nervous. By the end of PST we need to be at an Intermediate-Mid level, hopefully I can make it.

There were some high points and low points of the last two weeks (as their usually are in life) but I'm happy to say that I made it through none the worse for wear, just a little dirtier than my usual NYC self. I've received some e-mails over the past several weeks asking me what the hardest part of this whole experience is and I will now address said question. Dirty feet. I know that sounds ridiculous, but i'm only being honest. The dirty feet are a low point. As I'm sure many of you know, I'm not a fan of clean feet (and that is putting mildly) adding on sand and dirt and lack of showers just exacerbates the entire thing. It will definitely take some getting used to.

Now for a high point. Sidy (my LCF) and Sahir (the LCF for the other language group in my CBT site) finally gave in and took us to the beach. Man, being so close and yet so far was such a tease, but we finally wore them down. I will preface the rest of this story with a warning. Do NOT take Doxycycline on an empty stomach. You will get nauseous and you will vomit. I won't give any more details on that particular subject. But I digress. After a harrowing sept-place ride (we almost hit a goat) we had lunch at a restaurant near the beach. It was unfortunate for me that I was not able enjoy what I ate. However, I perked up once we saw the ocean. I love the waves! It was fantastic! The beach was not crowded and very clean. I've come to appreciate clean so much since I've gotten to Senegal because there is trash almost everywhere here. Apparently Senegal does not have any sort of trash collection system. The beach was followed by pizza and soda, so pretty much just your average day in LBI. Sort of.

Here's a cultural note for everyone reading. Most of the markets here in Senegal have what is called a "fuki jay." I'm pretty sure the literal translation is, "dead white man's clothes." It's essentially Senegal's version of the salvation army. Let me tell you, there are some amazing finds here (just make sure you wash before wearing, no one wants scabies) for about 500 CFA or $1. The t-shirts specifically are fantastic! Some really amazing finds. I also like to think of "fuki jay" as a kind of awesome Senegalese dance. They do this one dance here called "Youssa," I'm going to try and film my two little sisters doing it. They are too cute.

I'm trying to upload some pictures, but the internet connection here is pretty bad. I'll keep working on adding more.