Hey guys! My African adventure is coming to an end. My last month here I have been feverishly trying to see as much as I can of the country before I return to the good ol' U. S. of A! Last weekend I took a trip to Bandia animal reserve which is a bit more than an hour's drive outside of the city. I had such a good time and took literally hundreds of pictures! I don't have room to post them all here but I made sure to include a lot of the good stuff. We had an awesome guide [View Full Entry]

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I know as soon as you read that title you thought I got married! LOL. Not quite :) But I did finally get the chance to check out a traditional Senegalese wedding. Social events like weddings and baptisms are HUGE here. Weddings typically last all day long and well into the night with festivities being held at several houses or even entire neighborhoods! Muslim couples generally have a brief ceremony at their local mosque and then another civil ceremony at the courthouse. I've written before about my friend, Awa. Her cousin recently got married and we went to the ceremony. Weddings [View Full Entry]

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Hello Friends, I've been planning to write this post for some time now. But in light of Barack Obama's historic win Tuesday night I can't think of a more perfect time to share this update with you. Since January I have been volunteering at the local church that I attend (International Baptist Church of Dakar). On Saturdays I teach English with another American volunteer. We have about 25 students that are split into three groups: beginner, intermediate and advanced. I teach the advanced group. My students already know how to speak English so we brush up on grammar and practice our [View Full Entry]

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I know I haven't written in FOREVER! I have been just enjoying life in Africa. It seems like I've finally fallen into a routine here. I have students that I tutor in English in private sessions during the week. On the weekends I volunteer at a local church teaching a small group of eager students to read and write English. I promise a blog about them because they are just amazing! My French has come back to me full force now! I'm able to go to the bank, the market and everywhere by myself! I am really proud. All those [View Full Entry]

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Did Karen Carpenter have one of the most beautiful voices in the world, or what? I digress before I’ve even begun! I am still enjoying life in Dakar…so much so that I haven’t updated this blog in over a month! This time I thought I’d share my neighborhood. I’m a city girl at heart but nowadays I find myself safely ensconced in the West African version of suburbia. My neighborhood is called Les Mamelles (that’s “breasts” for my non Francophone friends). Locals say the name for the quartier, located northeast of downtown Dakar, came from the act [View Full Entry]

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My aunt, Charlene, recently asked me about the kinds of dances that are popular in Senegal. By far, the most popular dance is called Sabar. Their are no words to describe this dance and once you take a look at the video you will understand what I mean. People do this dance to the beat of the Sabar drum. It is an intricate balancing act done at high speed and quite intimidating for a novice dancer like me. However, it is undoubtedly fun to watch and when I am home alone I give it a try (but NEVER in the presence [View Full Entry]

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When I was a kid, Dr. Suess' "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" was a personal favorite. How I developed a fear of fish - live or dead - as an adult is a bit perplexing. Now this fear does not extend to eating the little guys. I enjoy them (particularly Flounder, Tilapia and Salmon) grilled, fried and pretty much any way you can serve them. But to actually touch them is another story! So it was with a little trepidation and a lot of curiosity that I headed out to Soumbedioune, a fish market on the beach in [View Full Entry]

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