If you are hungry, reach for something besides cashews

I want to sart this post by referring to the night last week that i almost killed myself. Before you continue reading, please note that I am alive and well..... OK so to start the story... There has been a shortage of food in many of the villages in Senegal. The senegalese economy is suffering much like that of america. Rice and other food prices are skyrocketing and many people have resulted to theft to feed their families. My family is suffering as well. Last week, we ate millet and water every night for dinner. I have described millet here a few times before and lets just say water does not help the taste much. After about 3 bites of scrumptious millet, i went back to my room starving. It was about 9:30 pm as I scrambled around my room to find some peanuts and cashews to snack on before bed. (I found 6 cashew fruits the day before and saved the nuts...) I took a big bite out of the first cahew and noticed that MY MOUTH WAS ON FIRE... i immediately spit the nut out and began rinsing my mouth out with water... At that moment, i remembered another volunteer saying something about fresh cashews being extremely poisonous and many people get rashes from just touching them. I soon felt my throat beginning to swell as i washed my entire mouth out with soap. The skin on my lips began peeling off as the acid from the cashew set in. The taste buds on my entire tongue were burning off as well. I ran to my medical kit and downed 3 benadryls and 2 zyrtec. I wasnt sure if i was going to overdose on Benadryl but i new i was having an allergic reaction. I called the nearest volunteer and she biked over to be sure i was going to be ok. Keep in mind that it was pretty late at night to be riding a bike. There is no emergency service in this country so we sat there and waited it out. Luckily, after about an hour, my throat began to feel better. My lips and tongue have taken several days to heal. I finally started to be able to taste food again but im still not 100%. Today i told a few other volunteers about what happened and they were shocked that I am alive. They told me horror stories about others doing the same thing I did and not having the same luck as i had.... I dont know who is praying for me back at home, but thank you! As of now, I am finished with cashews!

After a visit to the doctor last week, i have been informed that I AM FINE... not the answer that i was hoping for because "you are fine" does not explain the fevers, vomiting, etc. (ill leave it at that)... the process to find a parasite is not fun and involves certain bodily functions im sure you dont need to hear about. Anyway, im fine and my health is slowly coming back. Maybe my stomach is just weak and cant handle the GOURMET food i am being served haha.

I arrived back in the village a few days ago and have stayed quite busy. Today i planted a small garden... AGAIN... i have not had much success in having a garden in the small space behind my house. Im not sure if the soil is not good, the sun/shade is not correct, or if i just suck... maybe all 3. After several tries and zero luck, i decided to move my garden elsewhere. I chose a spot in my counterparts garden. I sent out photos of his garden a few months ago but if you dont remember, it is beautiful and he is a wonderful gardener. I am hoping with a little coaching, i can actually get something to sprout! I am growing tomatoes, cucumbers, and brocolli. People here have never seen brocolli and dont know what it is. I bought plenty of extra seeds in Dakar and have extended a few of them to friends throughout the village. I am hoping this catches on and they like it. It is difficult to get people to think outside the box and try something new here so i only gave out the seeds to people that seemed really interested. My friend Cisse lived in Italy and he knows about brocolli and became my spokeman for the afternoon. People seemed more interested in the seeds after they heard him talking and not just me....Im still the NEW toubab in the village and people dont always trust what i say.

I am in the process of starting an Enlgish club. Most teens in the village have studied English for several years but rarely get the opportunity to practice with a native English speaker. I talked it over with the headmaster at the school and he agreed to let me use one of the classrooms after school. I am planning to do classes 2 times a week. I have been doing a lot of private tutoring and it is getting time consuming. I am hoping the classes will eliminate most of the private sessions and i will be able to reach out to more students.

My project with the elementary school is coming right along and i should be able to turn in the budget within the next two weeks. After i have the budget complete, i will just have to wait and see if the project gets approved. If so, construction of the fence/garden and well should start soon thereafter.

As of now, things are going great other than the fact that it is getting extremely hot. It was 105 degrees in the shade last week! I am adapting the the heat quite well though. I dont notice it much unless i am directly in the sun. Hopefully mother nature will continue being nice and bless us with cool evenings for a few more weeks. I am dreading going back to sleepless nights and sweaty sheets...

I hope everything is going well for each and every one of you keeping up with my travels. Take care and more to come soon:)