delayed entry- May 21st

Dear friends and family,

below is an entry that I made last night, but Dakar's electricity went out just before I was able to post it. I'll also enter one tonight, alhamdulilaay (Arabic for "god willing"):

What an interesting day.. we arrived at 5am; got to our apartment at 6; had breakfast (baguettes with nutella! my favorite!); slept until 1pm; had lunch (a woman cooks delicious Senegalese meals for us, in our apartment!), then walked over to the Baobob Center (this is the research center we're using), had an orientation session, and then took a tour of the neighborhood. It is different here- I can't add any adjectives.. it would just seem trite.. so, it's just different. Cars zooming by everywhere (mostly little yellow taxi's and VW Buses filled with 20 people; i.e., public transport), the occasional donkey with carriage, several little fruit stands and other goodies (e.g., religious iconography, electronics, shoes), and at every new block we reach a little boy approaches us for money (the story behind these boys: well, basically, according to tradition, many young boys are handed over to the care of spiritual teachers who then have the boys beg for money all day, and when they return, they receive their education; this is TRADITION, but Vicki- our professor- says that it's becoming more and more controversial because it's a tradition that may be getting taken advantage of by some men; there are traditional public schools, but unlike the U.S., it's not free, and of course, not everyone can afford it).

I'm disappointed only because I found out that our apartment does not have wireless access. So, I will be depending on cyber cafes mostly, but I may also be able to access wireless at the Baobob Center. And if I can, I will probably be able to use Skype there. But we'll see. Right now I just don't know.

I forgot just one thing: a towel! Not a problem, though. I just threw on some mosquito lotion after the shower and then my clothes.. now, 10 minutes later, I'm dry! I thought it would be obnoxious, but with these things I guess you just have to roll with it. And it's not such a big deal, but it does make me realize how many little "pleasures" I take for granted. Can I just say though how FANTASTIC it feels to be clean right now! I hadn't showered for two days (because of the early am flight, and then all day today) or brushed my teeth, and all the walking today in the humid heat didn't help matters.

By the way, the weather was in the low 80's today, but 95% humid (the locals said, "oh, you think this is humid?") -- it WILL get warmer.

Before the shower, I went to the cyber cafe that's just below our apartment. I sent a few emails, and tried to update this blog, but the power crashed! So, now I am back (the power came back on a little later), and I'm finishing what I started. Apparently that happens quite frequently-the power going out at night. But/and, people roll with it.

Other little bits--- after the first cyber cafe attempt, we (me, Scott, and Michael), came back to our apartment and there was a man squating with a pan full of cooked rice and meat. He wanted us to try his food, and we mimicked that we were full (none of us could think of the French word for this), but he insisted, and so we squatted with him and tried it.

It's 10pm now, and I'm exhausted. I would like to write more, but my brain is like Amy Winehouse, "Nooo, nooo, no." So for now, take this as evidence that I am alive and well. It's probably better this way, as I haven't really digested all of experiences from today.

Thanks for thinking of me today! Please continue to send me your good thoughts, and know that I am receiving them. Goodnight!