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So here we are, nearing the end of November, and everything seems to be goping reasonably smoothly. I last wrote in Kaolack before Tabaski so I'll give a quick summary of that before I mention anything else.
So the eve of Tabaski five Project Trust volunteers ventured out to the market... on the busiest night of the year and to the biggest covered market in Senegal, by motorbike. The motorbike ride was an adventure in itself - think craters in the road and hanging on for what seemed like dear life! Plus people and car headlights swerving everywhere. I've never been in such a busy, crowded and frantic market so it was certainly an experience. The whole population of Kaolack had gone to buy last minute gifts and food and the results was very noisy and more than a little claustrophobic. Although incredible it was certainly a relief to catch a taxi home, all in one piece, minus one stolen watch.
The day of Tabaski pretty much consisted of food. Food to look at. Food to cook. Food to eat. Food to smell. In fact, perhaps I should rephrase that and replace food with meat. A LOT of meat. Breakfast followed by three meals of meat and chips after watching two sheep get slaughtered in the yard and hacking it into edible chunks. As for the inedible parts a hole was dug in the street where all the guts went. Unfortunately whilst pouring the washing up waste water down the hole Fatouba dropped a scrubbing brush and a fork so we had to root around in the sheep guts with a dustbin trying to retreive them. The men went to pray in the morning, we cooked and ate until night fall and then got all dressed up in our fancy outfits. Orlando and Gareth managed to look resonably cool in their Boubous but Louise, Sinead and I looked a little like Grannies from hell which wasn't quite what we were aiming for. To make matters worse we had to make a grand tour of the neighbours to ask for forgiveness but it just meant a chance for everyone to gawp at our interesting dress sense. All in all though it was an enjoyable and interesting day and the remaining few days in Kaolack were very leisurely but very nice to catch up with the family and show off our wolof improvements.
We arrived home on Friday night but the Amadou and family were not yet home from Dakar and Thies so we came back to no power, food or water. In the end we made do with candles, stale bread and chewing gum and got up to fetch water at 3am. What a palava! Since being back things have settled down again. The strikes are largely over although we are not to work at the lycee after 10am. We're managing to get somewhere, finally, with setting up the English clubs and filling up our timetables which has taken quite a while. I had a horrendous class on Tuesday where all discipline went out the window but it was all amended today with sending children out, writing names on the board and allowing me to enjoy teaching again! We're very slowly improving our bargaining skills and getting out on the bikes a bit more.Gill and John, Project Trust representatives, spent two days here and left yesterday so it was nice to see them and show them around a little and get a box of roses and some dairy milk as a treat! Never before has chocolate tasted so good... I'm not sure what we'll get up to this weekend but we're away north the weekend after so I'll be looking forward to that.
Anyway, time to go home and relax a bit I think or people will be wondering where I am! Hopefully you'll hear from me again soon,
Kirsty x
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