Senegal 2007 Spring

Advice to newcomers part two

I had a bit of trouble sleeping last night, so I figured I'd jot down some more words of wisdom. However I ended up jotting down a lot more, so here's part two of yesterday's saga. It's a bit more advice for once you're here, than a packing list. I feel like this advice is much more insightful of the lifestyle you'll be adjusting to, and a lot more fun to write. So here goes...

Advice to newcomers part 1

Sorry about being such a shoddy blogger. It�s been a while since I put up some substantial text, and this will likely be the last hardcore post. I�ve heard that there are a number of students already signed up for the fall semester, which is really exciting. I�ve also noticed that I�ve been getting some more views lately, so I�m sure one trend has a direct relation with the other. So this issue of the Amy saga goes out to all you aspiring travelers. In addition to posting about my...

photo dump2

miche and i got some excellent weaves by the teenage chicks...

photo dump

This is the fabric market, HLM. All the rest are the paradise school, Dior, where I did my final observation. This is what I think of as the Garden of Eden. I have dozens of pictures of it, but don't think anyone else quite shared my deep seeded passion so I spared...

Problems and Difficulties

They can�t all be good days. I thought it might be a good idea to write some of the not so wonderful Senegal experiences, in order to paint a more accurate picture of life here.

Keur Gu Mag

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A Great Weekend

After this weekend I think I�ve gotten over Stage 2 of culture shock according to Sam�s travel book. (Stage 1 is euphoria, Stage 2 is characterized by bitterness and being a hypochondriac, Stage 3 is acceptance) It started with a nice evening of cards on Friday night at Sisco and Lulu�s house with them, Anne, Samba, and me.

A boring little update

AU@43qvbswzzzzzzzbxz3eswdf555555555555gggggggggg ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggds4g444444444 4444444xcccccccccccccccccDDS* Vvvvvvvvvvvvveddddddd ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd4eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee33333333333333 333sa!EEEEEEEEE That intro was masterfully typed by my kitten, who�s now named �Bideo,� which is the Wolof word for �star�. He�s getting big fast, and is becoming a crucial piece to the Ndoy family. Let me paint you a picture of this afternoon. Its...

Loose ends

I realize I end a lot of these blogs saying �I�ll tell you more about this later� and never tell. Well let me take some time to tie up loose ends. I don�t remember too much about the day I chased the President, but I�ll share whatever memories I can dust off. It was pre-election day, so there was a lot of pro-somebody sentiment in the air. The Wade sentiment was definitely the strongest too, as one can see by his landslide in the polls. Anyway, I was hanging out with Max, who is...

There is peace, and there are no worries

Beautiful things happen again. I realized this today when the smell of Cafe Touba came to me. I was searching for something to put more nutrients in my body than rice and fish alone can provide, and a very welcome smell came. Cafe Touba is coffee, but there is another ingredient that makes it unexplainably unlike any other coffee. The smell takes me back a week to my visit with Racine and Amy to the city Touba for the Mourid holiday, the Grand Magal, and back farther to my first...