Ana xaalis bi?

Pëndum tank moo gën pëndum taat.
Dirt on the feet is better than dirt on the butt.

It’s been a minute since I wrote on here. A lot has happened, but how to summarize…In the same day I was simultaneously encouraged meeting the new PC Country Director and saddened by news of the tragic death of our Safety & Security Officer. Send love to Lamine Ndongo and his family (You can send money too. Let me know if you want details.). It seems I haven’t been able to stay at site for two consecutive days in the past month. The last couple weeks have seemed particularly whirlwindish. Sometimes my life feels like a tragic comedy- riding my bike (read: walking my bike, trying to get on it every once in a while to find that the sand is too loose, and walking some more) to a village to find the desired baskets already sold and gone. Other times my life feels like an epic- riding off into the sunset on a horse drawn cart with the long-sought after basket prototype and restored faith in the basket makers.

I’ve turned into a travelling shoe salesman, which has been kind of fun. My guys own the local market, and we’re trying to find more international buyers. Check out the catalog: www.picasaweb.google.com/pcvsenegal/sandalsinmekhe. I want to send you all a pair, but it’s not gonna work unless you’re buying 50 some odd pairs…so who wants to buy 50 pairs?

Ramadan has come and gone, alhumdullallah, and I am happy that things are back to normal. It’s a weird normal, but it’s normal enough. Korite was uneventful, aside from my host sister knitting me and my buddy some fly clothes (see picture).

Seeing kids come back from other towns for the start of school and hearing fellow volunteers referring to things that happened ‘last year’ made me realize that I have been here for a while. I feel I that am a part of this place, as it has long been a part of me. Which makes me all the more indignant no one will let me say that I live here, yet they all claim that Akon does. Will I ever get to the point where the Senegalese agree that I ‘live’ here? Probably about as soon as they agree that I’m headed to work when they see me, rather than visiting my ‘girlfriends’…