St. Louis
Congratulations Mr and Mrs Dave and Keisha Schmidt! (who are no doubt tying the knot right now as I type)
I’m back in Dakar after a weekend in St Louis with the group. It was a worthwhile break from the capitol city and actually our first time seeing ‘non-Dakar’ Senegal. We drove by the houses and school where Brad and I will be spending the next 5 weeks. Honestly, at first it was scary. It was a city nothing like Dakar, where I knew nothing and no one. However, more than a day later I was starting to love the city that is a tenth the size of Dakar. It has much less noise, garbage, and sand (atleast on the Island sections).
We attended jazz performances in the evening while relaxing or touring the city during the day. When I return I hope to get involved in a Hospital, volunteering or something. I learned my lesson too late in Dakar with the deaf school. In the last 2 days that I’ve spent in Dakar, I’ve meet more familiar faces and friends on the street than the previous 5 weeks. Getting involved in essential, and I’m going to make myself do it. Alain assured me of some contacts he’s made for me to look into as far as the Hospital scene goes, which is great.
Other than that, alot of the time this weekend was spent in the air-conditioned, english-speaking, bubble of a bus, but it was time that I would not trade. Much laughter and conversation brought us closer to other students and [gasp]… our ‘adult leaders.’
oh, one more thing… when in a cyber in St Louis, I met an American couple, Jim and Sherri O’Neal, who are travelling around the world in 4×4′s during the next two years… really. They started in the UK, they’re looping around Africa, through Asia, Australia, over to South America and then back ‘home’ to the states. Check out their website at www.taleoftwotravellers.com