Installment tomorrow... FINALLY

I am still in Kaolack. I have been here since Sunday and am bored out of my mind. I will be leaving tomorrow. We all have set times to leave this week because we have to be taken to our villages by the security guy to be sure our homes are all safe and secure. I will be leaving for Diagle sometime tomorrow afternoon. I am at the regional house now with many other volunteers. Each region of Senegal has a house where volunteers can go to escape the village if they need a break. Most people come here about every two weeks or so… some more often, some less. It’s like a small frat house. I think back to my days at good ole Indiana University and try to drown out the times I had to enter into a disgusting fraternity house… now I have one to call my own home J …. Along with several new critter friends as well. I live about 40 KM from here so I am planning to ride my bike here sometimes. I have noticed that many of the volunteers ride here from FAR distances (up to 100 KM). The road from the regional house to Diagle is really bad so I think I will have to get in better shape before I can try to make the ride. It is really difficult to ride a bike in sand!!!)
I have spent the last three days spending lots money at the market in Kaolack. It has been kind of fun but also very hectic. Kaolack has the second largest covered market in Africa. It is really easy to get in there and get lost or hassled or pick-pocketed. Luckily, everything has gone smoothly for me and I think I am finished shopping. I bought lots of things for my new home in Diagle….. just the usual move in things like furniture, cleaning supplies, decorations, etc. Its really hard to buy big things here because there is nowhere to store anything and you can’t trust anyone. We had to pay a taxi to come pick us up the market several times because we couldn’t carry our new stuff around all day. I have the rest of the day to hang out and get my stuff ready for tomorrow. I think tomorrow will be a long day but I am looking forward to finally having a place of my own and being able to unpack. I am planning to go to Dakar next weekend for an Artesian Expo. I am going with a few other volunteers. I think it will be a good way for us to get some ideas of other projects we can start (other than agriculture). I should be back at the internet next weekend sometime. Hope all is well in the States!