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One more class to go until I get to go home for lunch, just one more class to go. After being in Thies for the weekend it meant I had to do all my washing early this morning before classes so I'm feeling the need for a refuel! I finish at the CEM at 2.30pm and then it's onto the art club from 3.30 until 6pm - nothing like a busy start to the week! Things really feel to be winding down at school though and last weekend we had a semi-prizegiving, semi-end of year celebration called the FOSCO lasting for 3 days and causing many classes to be cancelled. Unfortunately I couldn't attend it all as work was still on as normal at the lycee and the primary school but Louise and I made it to the official ceremony and the 'podium.' The podium was essentially a dancing and rap talent show held on the basketball court and, being teachers, we had prime to seats to enjoy the show. Jolie and the twins were performing and asked us to go and watch which we duitfully did and much enjoyed it. Some of the rapping was very entertaining, paticularly when combined with breakdancing and some horrendous remixes of Rihanna and it has to be said that it was certainly more interesting than the official ceremony! The lycee will be having their FOSCO at the end of this week so hopefully there will be plenty more performances to watch.
The weekend past Nene invited us to an English festival in Thies so we took a sept-places up on Saturday morning along with our arms full of mangoes for the family to attend. Usually at ceremonies it pays off to feel a little silly wearing a wolof boubou but this time we misjudged the situation. Louise and I were looking super Senegalese and feeling a little uncomfortable whilst all the real Senegalese pulled off American gangster and evening dress better than we could. Thankfully no one really seemed to know the dress code so whilst some were in ballgowns, others were in skin tight minidresses or baggy jeans and backward baseball caps so at least we weren't the only ones looking different. We sat through a debate slating colonialism and promoting africanism and a united africa in the morning which was actually a little uncomfortable at times, being the only europeans in the place, but the afternoon saw English clubs from around the coutry performing sketches on AIDs, malaria and globalization with some excellent costumes and outstanding choreography.
Since Easter we have not been away, excepting Thies, but we spent Easter weekend eating 'ngalax,' the peanut soup I mentioned, which, unexpectly, was absolutely delicious and merited some midnight adventures to the fridge. Mr Sambou brought over the remains of their lunch too which was divine and the whole family feasted for a day and a half on it. Easter weekend was also the weekend we attempted to start wolof classes at Aicha's primary school. They are alphabetisation classes for the women of Caritas but we thought we'd give them a go and see how we faired. Going via Buso's house and then to pick up Toure's wife, Maimouna, and walking to school again made me feel a little nostalgic! We got off to a good, if exhausting, start as it was 2hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon and just a constant stream of wolof for the whole of that time. Unfortunately we realised that the art club was going to clash and that combined with often being busy at weekends means we haven't been able to go back but when I get the chance I quiz Maimouna on what she's been learning after dinner with a bowl of her best fonday at the corner shop.
As for the art club it's keeping us on our toes. It can be extremely chaotic but we've managed easter chicks, mother's day cards, drawing faces and a whole range of other things and most of the materials, the classroom, the children and Louise and I are just about in tact. There have been a few episodes of gluing on the blackboard, broken desks and stolen books but fights have been kept to a minimum and although we return home looking pretty dishevelled it's a lot of fun.
Otherwise life's been going on much like life in Senegal tends to do. I went to buy 4 chickens with Amadou the other day and forced myself to watch them get slaughtered (although afterwards I wasn't sure why) and then he popped me in a horse and cart to take them home and drag them into the house whilst he went on some other errand. Louise cut a lot of my hair off the other day which, like last time, we buried in the garden and we've also planted some vegetables so hopefully they should grow quickly and we'll get some fresh and tasty homegrown food. There's a mouse living in our room cupboard which we haven't yet managed to trap and our bedroom door fell off, dragging some of the wall with it yesterday. Mariam is obsessed with Tom and Jerry and spends every hour with power playing it at full volume and the flashing bouncy balls have finally run out of battery. That's all the news I can think of at the moment and although this has done a good job at keeping my mind off food I think I need a snack before facing the next set of troublemakers!
Hope all is well,
Kirsty x
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