Enjoy the hot weather back home 'cause it's raining here...go figure!

Well the rainy season has started...kind of! Apparently it really won't pick up until towards the end of July but the rain comes and goes in 20-30 minute bursts. It's really weird but it does cool things down a little bit and we have started getting some breezes during the day; breezes are now an exciting part of life! Because of the new weather I would like to take this time to address pollution and the smell in Dakar because the rain makes it worse! First off pollution...it is horrible! Because Dakar is in the beginning stages of development they are exponentially increasing the amount of trash/litter/air pollutants without coming up with ways to either reduce or contain this pollution at the same rate. There are diesel fumes EVERYWHERE and at times it can be difficult to take a deep breath. I haven't had that big of a problem however it adds a little extra discomfort to the people who have asthma. Furthermore, the pollution creates and the rain draws emphasis to the, at times, horrendous smell that is in some parts of the city. I'm really not sure how to describe it other than sewage because I'm pretty sure that is what is causing the smell. It is not constant by any means but every so often you get this huge whiff of it and it can be nauseating...by the time I come home clean air might seem a little strange!

This week also was the start of our various internship placements. Students have been assigned, in groups of twos and threes, to different businesses or oganizations where we work from 2-4 hours a day following classes. I will be working for the "Sud Quotidien" which is an independent, opposition newspaper in Dakar. So far it's been pretty fun, the french is a little intensive but the people I work with are great and really laid back. I am the only girl in an office working with a bunch of male reporters; within the past 5 days I have been asked twice whether I have a husband or want one! We attempt to communicate in broken english and french and when all else fails one guy just whips out his computer and begins using an electronic translator to get his point across. I will be shadowing one man who works on political articles, we already had one round of serious miscommunication the first full day I was there. He wanted me to look at a press release and produce a "resume", well translated a resume means summary, therefore I thought he wanted me to practice my french skills by summarizing the main points. Apparently a summary in Senegalese terms means to highlight the sections of the press release that are most important and cite these main points word for word while using your voice solely as a way to start sentences! When he had seen what I had accomplished in 2 hours he just laughed at me, however when he realized that I finally understood what he was talking about he got very excited and I think he believes that I might actually have a brain now! The internship will be great for improving my french skills and I will get a lot of insight into the world of Senegalese politics, especially since I will be going out on stories with this guy and having my work published in the paper!

School is going well, but Wolof at 8:30 in the morning can be a little rough sometimes! However, our Wolof teachers are so unique that they at least make it entertaining. There are two men, an younger one named Sallou and an older one named Moussa. The first day of class Sallou told us he had two wives and wouldn't be opposed to a third, especially one from America, haha! Sallou teaches us Wolof mostly in English however it is his hands that are unique. The man has the biggest hands and longest fingers I think I have ever seen! And he always talks using his hands which means you get distracted and then miss what he was just talking about, it's really a conundrum. The best way to describe the way his fingers move is to liken it to when you shake a pencil fast enough that it looks like it bends and is flimsy but really you know that it remains in a straight line; now imagine that but with fingers! Moussa doesn't really know english so he teaches us mostly in french but he is just this little old man who is so loud and repetitve that you can't help but laugh. The little guy is just too cute and he will literally repeat a word about 10 times very slowly and loudly, as if that would help anyone remember it better!

This week at the house saw the beginning of sick week. With the change in climate a lot of Senegalese people get head colds, which means people in the house also started getting sick. At one point in time over the past 7 days, 7 out of the 8 people in the house did not feel well. Yes that includes me...mom and dad I'm fine now it was only one day of feeling crummy and I never had a fever :) However everyone is pretty much fine now and I think next week will see a return to full health! Other than that things are pretty normal at our compound here. We are all so busy during the weekdays with school and internships that we have to take advantage of the weekends to do any real exploring. Tomorrow we are having a 4th of July party to expose our Senegalese hosts/friends to American cuisine. I figure it's only payback for laughing at us while we have been trying to eat with our hands these past two weeks! I'm not quite sure what the whole menu looks like but I know that we are for sure making sloppy joe's and s'mores. Oh yes, this will be entertaining! Sunday a small group of us are going to go and explore downtown Dakar because we haven't really gotten to stroll down and see what the metropolitan area looks like. And on Monday the program is going on an excursion to the city of Touba.

Touba was founded by Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Mouride Brotherhood, one of the many Islamic brotherhoods in Senegal. However, the Mourides are the most powerful, in terms of political and economic power. They partnered with the French during the colonial period and were the main producers of peanuts, most wealthy Senegalese elites belong to this brotherhood. Political influence is not direct, by any means, however the president of Senegal is a Mouride and there are some Senegalese people who fear that he might be granting them preferential treatment but that's debateable. The Grand Mosque is located in Touba and we have to dress extra conservative when we are there; shoulders covered and a scarf over our heads. It should be interesting but I'm mostly just excited to see other parts of Senegal outside of Dakar. Ok, I'm going to go take a nap but more updates to follow!