"It was he best of times, It was the wrost of times..."

With less than a month left here in Senegal, I have found myself torn about my real feelings about leaving. I mean, yes!, i am very excited to get home and enjoy the luxuries i once took for granted. I am also sad that i will be saying goodbye to some very dear friends possibly forever. Most of my friends here in Senegal do not know how to use a computer and some of them do not even know how to read or write... which means the only way to keep in touch with them is through the telephone. Thats a scary thing because phones are lost, stolen, or do not have credit on them alllllll of the time. Phones here are all prepaid. If someone loses their phone, they generally have to get a new phone number. Which will pobably mean goodbye to long lost friends abroad!



I have thought a lot about me leaving Senegal and what that is going to mean. There are many, many things i will certainly not miss about this country. I will definately not miss being called "toubab" all the time and i will also not miss people asking me for stuff. But there are countless things that i will miss forever.



I will miss the mountains of endless fresh air. The beauty of the clouds and the sky and the sunsets. I will miss the smell of the first rain of the year. The rare silence in the village when no one is talking and you can only hear the trees blowing in the wind. I will miss that 60 seconds in the evening when the sky turns hot pink just as the sun is setting. I will miss Amie Colde', Maymouna, and the Ngom family. I will miss Janaba Sarr, my one TRUE FRIEND in all of this. Without her, my Peace Corps service would not have been what it was. I will miss the kids, the kids, THE KIDS. Without the little Ngom children, i would not still be here today. They accepted me into their lives, were patient with me when my language skills weren't there, and have NEEDED me in a way that no one has ever needed me before. I cannnot thank them enough for just being kids and making me laugh, cry, and grow a heart bigger than i knew possible. I will especially miss Ablaye Ngom. He will forever be my little man and precious friend. Someday, i will come back for him and do everything in my power to give him the life he deserves. I will miss reading countless books and having extra time for reflection and thought. I will miss the kaolack market, where hidden treasures can be found around any corner. I will miss speaking sereer everyday and learning, learning, learning. I will miss eating the food that is grown in the family garden, cooking classes with Janaba, and swimming in the Mangroves. I will miss the sandstorms, thunderstorms, lightning, and the floods. I will miss travelling to unknown places and seeing new things that i could have never imagined before. I will miss that long stretch of dirt road where i ran hundreds of miles during the evening hours and found solitude when i needed it most. Most of all, I will miss the simplicity of life here in Senegal. This simplicity cannot be found even in the smallest towns in America and can never be fully described or comprehended by others that have not experienced it themselves. I am greatful for the opportunity to have come here and learned so much. It has been more than i could have asked for.

My time left here in Senegal is limited. I am just spending my last few weeks here soaking it all in and having a blast!