Hello all!
I hear it's snowing in Wisconsin right now, in April! A few days back it was around 107˚F over here... Here are just a few pictures from recent happenings at Université Gaston Berger. There aren't many pictures because not much has happened :) A lot of tea drinking, bananagrams, cards, and movie watching when the power isn't out (which is usually more often than not.)
My friend Modou and I at our village's integration party. (My dorm block had a party for all the residents. Shrimp chips and coca cola were served. Tres neex!)
Andrew on his 21st Birthday. Senegalese birthday tradition means for the 24 hours on your birthday anyone and everyone gets to douse you with water. This was right after Joleen got him with a bucket of water.
Joleen, Kate, and I dressed up for the integration night.
Picture of the entrance to my G, or dorm building. I'm second floor off to the left, which means my shower never works because the water never works on the second floor...
In case you were wondering what I kept in my closet...
Pictures of Wisco landscape and painting complete with the Christmas lights my mom sent me in a care package. Unfortunately I forgot about the voltage difference and I plugged them in without using a convertor. They promptly fried. Senegal's energy grid killed Christmas that day. They're still festive so I left them up anyway.
My desk area. I assure you I do no work there :) Usually I just pile stuff on it or use it to write in my journal.
My bed and the all-important Changli Crown Fan. The bed leaves something to be desired on the comfort end of things, but it works.
Probably the two best care packages in the world. My mom brought so much delicious stuff when she came [see: s'mores supplies, pizza and taco kits, cliff bars, peanut butter, mac & cheese, granola, funfetti, pudding, goldfish, tea, and a giant bag of candy. Thanks mom!]
Kate enjoying sandwiches we made for dinner. Complete with vegetables! We all felt sick afterwards because our stomachs forgot how to digest stuff like that...
Three weeks of laundry tied up on my head. All laundry here is done by hand. It's not like I have anything else to do so I don't mind spending 4 hours washing, scrubbing, rinsing, filling up buckets, and the like, but I would say that it's my favorite thing. I prefer naps.
Picture looking back at the Univeristé from the highway while the students were on strike. They blocked the national highway and traffic was backed up for miles. We decided to head to town and hang out while everyone was striking.
Kate and I looking very enthusiastic about the student road block. Since traffic was stopped it was nearly impossible to find a taxi and we had to walk almost to the next town before we found one.
Kate, Joleen, and Juan Carlos (a new UGB student from Penn State for the 2nd semester) all also looking thrilled. Note the bottle of Coke- we made sure to prepare for our desert hike to a taxi by packing pop. An essential supply for any trek.
Kate, Andrew, Pape Laye Dial our wolof Professor, and myself posing for the cover of his wolof grammar book. Lookin' classy, everyone.
Hope all is well! I am currently planning out my Fall 2011-2012 semester schedule so no one worry- I am coming back to the US eventually :)
Love,
Hannah