Tamkharit, Work (finally!) and Good Old Velingara

So after a nice long break it felt good to get back home to Velingara. I've really started to feel comfortable there to the point where I can safely call it home! (Don't worry, it will never be able to replace my real home in the States.) So upon returning I got right to work (finally) and have given my first computer lesson entirely in French. I am teaching at the Inspector's Office and the group I am teaching now is really at an elementary level... we worked on saving a Word Document, using capital letters, and other such challenging things. This is good for me because it gives me a chance to practice my French computer vocabulary prior to teaching more complex things. I also had a meeting with the leaders of a women's group, which went well and left me with one of those 'I'm actually where a year ago I daydreamed of being' moments, which is always nice; you is needed from time to time here.

The Muslim New Year, or Tamkharit, was also this past week and like all Senegalese holidays revolves solely around eating until you are going to explode. The concept of eating until you're full (especially when there's meat involved... I actually get excited when I see a piece of goat stomach in the bowl!) is enough for them to celebrate and talk about for a week. They also have this funny tradition where they boys dress in girls clothes and visa versa and all the kids run around town with homemade drums singing, dancing and asking for gifts. It's a little like Halloween at home but much crazier and as with all the kid's lives, there's little to no direct adult supervision.

Here every adult acts as a parent to every child and you'd never hear one parent complaining to another if their child was beaten (not sooo viciously, we're not talking about serious damage here and the kids here are tougher than in the US). Just the other day my little sister got hit with a horse whip for messing around with some guy's horse and her Mom basically just said that she deserved it (don't worry, it didn't even leave a mark, just gave her a little sting and a scare). And I'm sorry if it seems like I'm defending the beating of children, I don't and never will hit them even though people here have said I should from time to time. It's just that it's not like at home and I'm trying to put it in perspective. It's hard to explain but, at least from what I've seen, it's not so bad here and the kids are never seriously hurt; it's not wrong, not right, just different.

Well I'm kind of in a rush but I'll try to get on again soon. Have fun back in the States and as always: eat a nice juicy steak fillet for me. Jam tun.