Oh boy. Let me start with yesterday I guess. We woke up at 9 am to enjoy a free day of exploring the city. We got a nice simple breakfast of granola and muesli in the hostel kitchen, and then made plans. Some girls had bought tickets for a Hop On Hop Off tour that cost about $20 and shows you all of Budapest. My roommates and I decided to do a day of being tourists, but as of yesterday morning, I still had no forints. My friend Kate and I (there are 2 other Kate's here) walked down to the bank and successfully got forints out of the bank! Armed with 75,000 HUF in my pocket (it's 225 HUF to $1 here, so 1000 HUF is about $4), I walked back to the hostel and ... read more

Hi, people still potentially following me! I just got AMAZING news today. I'm about to embark on my newest adventure!! Since I came back from Africa I've attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and am in the process of student teaching in a fifth grade classroom. I will get my Colorado K-6 teaching license this summer. I wanted to take a year off after college (like I did after high school), but I wanted to see if I could make some money doing it. I researched a bunch of stuff online and found this great program called the Central European Teaching Program (CETP). After an EXTENSIVE application process, I skyped with the head of the program to choose schools last night! She told me that I would be making a Hungarian teacher's salary as a ... read more

Remember my last entry? I did the same thing with Grade 5 today. So i have 9 more letters to share with you guys. Same edits, same deal as last time. Here goes: Topic: Explain the customs and traditions of The Gambia to someone who has never been to The Gambia. The costoms (costumes) in The Gambia are nice, like the traditional dresses. Some of the traditional dresses are made out of different things and the traditional dresses are used by some of the ethnic groups in The Gambia. When you are from another country, you can choose the kind of dress you will like to wear, But their (there) are rules in The Gambia, like when you are a lady you should not wear short clothes walking on the street. You can wear short clothes ... read more

Let me give you an overview of my last two weeks here: Due on May 13: A 12-page ethnology project 5 2-page essays Due when i get back to Maacama 3-page self-evaluation Internet Cafe hours: 10-6 Sunday-Thursday 10-4 Friday 11-3 Saturday My Schedule: Today (Tuesday 5/5)-School from 8:30-6:30 Wednesday 5/6-School from 8:30-7 Thursday 5/7-School from 8:30-2 (and then probably about three hours at the internet) Friday 5/8-School from 8:30-2 and then going gift-shopping in Banjul Saturday 5/9-nature reserve Sunday 5/10-internet/beach Monday 5/11-school from 8:30-7 Tuesday 5/12-school from 8:30-6:30 Wednesday 5/13 (the day everything's due)-school from 8:30-7 (no internet time! ahh!!) Thursday 5/14-school from 8:30-2 Friday 5/15-school from 8:30-2 (last day!) then Banjul to spend all the money i have left on fabrics Saturday 5/16-getting hair braided, sponsor walk... read more

as the rainy season approaches it is SO HOT here. i used to have to wear a fleece at night. now i sleep on top of my covers. i forgot to put this in my last entry-on tuesday when mr gaye was talking about pollution, he talked about the dumping ground. for those of you who aren't in the gambia (i guess that's everyone), the dumping ground is literally a giant field full of trash. it's the gambia's version of a landfill. and they burn the trash to get rid of it. this is right next to abc 1. mr gaye was talking about how a lot kids who live around the dumping ground have cancer. and he said it like a matter-of-fact as i sat in the back of the class open-mouthed. so sad. after ... read more