Being here for as long as I have, you start to get numb to how different things are.
My friend Caroline came to visit this week and seeing her experience helps to readdress the little things you forget to feel weird about.
For instance, we have frogs that live in our shower, but I just kind of forgot about them completely.
Then Caroline would bring it to my attention that we shower with frogs, and I can remember to think, oh yeah, that isn’t normal.
Also I don’t hear all the random roosters anymore, or the loudspeaker chanting from the mosque.
She sat in on the adult classes in the evenings to see what it was like, and other than being hit on by a lot Senegalese men, she has enjoyed them.
She says that life here “isn’t as scary as I thought it would be” which I’ve decided to take as a compliment.
We did some St. Louis touring on mopeds during the day to see a lot of the city. We took a lot pictures, and here are some of them. I also have some video, but the internet isn’t working well enough to upload it here, so I will have to wait till I get home to post it. On that note, it looks like I will be coming back to the states earlier than originally expected. I got a job offer from Bat Conservation International about a field biologist position, and it looks like a really good job, so I decided to take it. This means that I will have to leave St. Louis in March instead of May like I planned in order to start the job. I told my host family and students and they are all really sad that I will be leaving, but understand the circumstances.
The view from the roof
Caroline meets John Waller and an instant friendship is kindled
Kids in the house enjoying some fish and rice
Caroline with baby Ousman
Caroline falls in love with hand washing clothes, vows to never use a machine again
Spot of whimsy during bike ride
Not so whimsical part of the bike ride
Caroline's love of household chores is a big help to the family
We stopped by a Senegalese kindergarten to say hi to the kids
During the dry season, the river becomes a landfill
Kids in the house enjoying some fish and rice
Caroline falls in love with hand washing clothes, vows to never use a machine again
Not so whimsical part of the bike ride
We stopped by a Senegalese kindergarten to say hi to the kids
During the dry season, the river becomes a landfill
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2 comments:
arguably, more immediate chemistry between Caroline and goat-John-Waller than with the original?
I am so glad to hear about the BCI position - it sounds great. I talked to BCI as one of your references and the truth is.... there are only great things to say about you! Your blog is so great. I am inspired to keep our German blog adventures as entertaining. We are over here in Germany until May. Judi and Chris
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