Mike Hebert: Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal

Hello from Thies! I am currently sitting in an air conditioned restaurant that has free internet access, eating ice cream and hanging out with some friends... heaven! I spent the last week in Thienaba with my host family. It was a fairly tough at times due to a recent loss in the family, but in the end the family has been strong and together pushed through it. The entire family has been praying together many times a day (before they often prayed the five daily prayers separately), which is powerful to say the least. Otherwise the time in the village has become fairly routine, consisting of language classes, Thebu Jen (the meal of rice, a little fish, and some veggies that I eat twice a day, most every day) and taking naps under the tree. I'm really adapting to Senegalese culture well, I can take a nap with the best of them!

Last night, back in Thies, a bunch of us went out to some live music. The band was great but at first no-one there was dancing. So it ended up being a bunch of toababs dancing in front while everyone else watched... we were probably more entertaining at first than the band. Eventually, however, we managed to get a lot of the Senegalese up dancing as well and in the end everyone had a great time. Monday I'll be making my first trip to Dakar since we arrived there by plane from the US. I will be bringing the least amount of money possible as the likelihood of being pick pocketed is really high. Also, there have been a lot of riots in Dakar recently as the government has been charging people double for electricity and often times completely cutting the power even to people who pay. Another huge riot occured after the Senegal-Gambia football match, which ended in a tie, eliminating Senegal from the World Cup. Unfortunately a few volunteers and trainees who were at the game got caught in the middle of it and were beaten and robbed. Needless to say I'm glad I wasn't there. Overall, however, Dakar is perfectly safe in the day, so no worries! I'm really excited to see the big city.

Next week is also counterpart workshops, where I will be meeting my supposed future work partner for the first time. Fingers crossed she speaks French! Swear-In is in just a couple weeks and I can't Wait! Training has been a good time and its nice to be around other Americans, but I can't wait to be totally set free in this new country. There is hilarious stuff that happens pretty much every day here but unfortunately I can never seem to remember them when it comes time to write this blog. Needless to say every day is interesting here in Senegal. Well gotta go, talk to you all soon. Have a good Halloween and GO SOX!!!