I dont even know where to start: Senegal is incredible and I totally love it already. I feel like Ive been here so much longer than just a few days though, so bizarre! At the moment I am staying in a place called Kaolack, a city about Aberdeen kind of size but which feels so much smaller. Louise and I are here for 3 weeks before we go to our project in Joal as our accommodation isnt ready yet so we are here zith two other volunteers, Gareth and Orlando. Their host, Master P, has taken us into his family so although we are staying in another ladys house we come here everyday from morning until night as part of the family. Everyone has been so welcoming and it helps that in Senegal its rude not to greet people and sheke hands so you must meet everyone... all over the street! Today I was showing picture of back home to Master Ps younger sister, Fatouba, who wants us to take her home to Scotland one day so she can be my little sister. Because we leave here soon shes making us promise well come and visit: She also insists that since we dont have husbands we must call her when we get engaged and she will do the same although I tried to explain it might be a while yet! The house we are staying in is very big, very basic but does us perfectly. Dabda who owns it, has welcomed us into her family too so we are alternating between eating at Master Ps and Dabdas.

The food is amazing. Pretty much all rice and fish and sooooo hot. Everyone eats from the same platter on the floor with the main meal at lunchtime. Its coffee and baguette for breakfast everyday but the coffee is so sugary I actually like it here! Nothing ever happens in a hurry here, ever. When you think back through your day, if you were in Scotland it would seem like you had done nothing but here its everything. We seem to spend a lot of the day eating and drinking and chatting, in fact almpst all day, everyday, as the schools arent back for another few weeks. Here they drink so much tea which is called attaya although it is not like the tea I know: Despite it being so different I love it. To begin with it was so bitter but Ive had it so much that I cant even taste the bitterness now. It takes about an hour and a half to complete the whole tea ritual having three small glasses of it, as it takes so long to brew and pour to make the froth. Basically the social life of Senegal is in attaya!

When we were in Dakar it was a little different as it is so much more westernised: By westernised it mixes old with new, african with european with american and there is phone advertising everywhere.. although phones themselves are SO expensive! Expensive for Africa I mean. We left Sinead and Cecilia, the toher volunteers in Dakar, teaching, when we came here to Kaolack. The journey took so long for such a short distance and we spent three quarters of the time on the wrong side of the road and swerving all over the place to qvoid 'potholes' or rather all the craters that apparently the roadbuilder thought fit for traffic. The traffic is craaaazy.The buses in Dakar were total rafts but painted so colourfully and beautifully. No idea how the tariffs work though because you virtually jump on whilst theyre moving and hang on the back. The taxis are all battered with no speed dials working or rear view mirrors; only cracked windscreens, barack obama stickers, empty beer bottles and a lot of American, Jamaican and African hip hop. We saw a live band at a restaurant when we were in Dakar which was so surreal. Only issue was that it was 2am when we went in and who knows what time when we came out. That city really never sleeps... I am exhausted! We also went to the beach there and for one of the only times in the day I was actually a comfortable temperature in the water. Only then and when Iùm in the shower pouring a bucket over my head. Not half as bad as I thought except I didnt realise you have to put your clothes over the top or else people walk in.. lets not go into that one! We also bribed our way inside the african renaissance monument with more bribes every stairs we went up: Best bit was the air conditioning.

Today the others went to the market in Kaolack. I was there briefly the other evening but I didnt go today because Ive gone and got myself a little bit ill. Nothing too bad but its not all that pleasent in the heat and humidity with the mosquitos. I slept for a long time though and when I came to this house I was pampered as I never have been in my life! They were all so genuinely concerned. Why they were so concerned Im not sure as Master P had malaria yesterday but since this is africa, its no biggie!

I have been frantically trying to learn Wolof too. My french is getting used a lot and I think, hopefully, improving but to talk to the kids and the older women its pretty important. Ive never heard anything like it before though so that makes it a little more difficult! I can say that the food is delicious and how are you and sell me bread and a few other phrases but they are so hard to remember. Yesterday I was playing foosball with the kids and teaching them a little english, they can now all say in chorus 'you are my friend' and 'good bad' with thumbs up and down. It reminds me a little of the green men in toy story as they are so sweet!

Anyway the mosquitos are getting angry so Im off to find some spray. There really is far too much to write but I hope that gives you all a taster. I wouldnt expect one again soon as its too warm to be inside and this keyboard is so hard to work that its taken me ages and Fatouba has come to see me. take care and email and write to me please!

Love Kirsty x