So, we are back from Dakar, got back after a long day of traveling on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday I had a full day of teaching, and in the middle of that night, I woke up feeling sick. I threw up, and felt sick all Thursday. I have no idea what it was, but I was feeling pretty good this morning, and it was a good thing too, because I had three classes to teach today. I made it through those alright, and plan to write this blog, then head home, and relax. About Dakar: Well, on Thursday Andy and I went into town to the peace corps hostel, and stayed the night, so we could catch then earliest ferry across to the north bank in Banjul first thing on Friday. We got to the ferry at about 6:45 or so, and then rode the ferry across,. after that we went to the border, exited Gambia, and officially entered Senegal, then we had to walk to the car park and since it was about 14 of us traveling together then, we filled up a whole gelley van, and there we sat for 6 hours or so, in the stiffling heat, smashed four across on the seats, until we got to the Dakar, where we were lucky to have our driver drop us off at the exact place we were meeting everyone, instead of the carpark. As soon as you get to the Senegal border, there are some definant changes in the environment, like... the police there actually have enough money to have guns, good uniforms; there are trash cans, and the road to senegal, was paved pretty well for the most part. Our driver only stopped once during the whole trip, and I was lucky to run out and use a family's pit latrine before we had to go again, I also was very stupid and accidentally left my water bottle in my big backpack,which was, of course, put on the top of the van where I couldn't get to it. We passed through places that we very dry,... water beds, that were dried up and where people had collected salt, which was in great mounds; we passed a town that is notorious for being a trash hole, the town is a dump place for all the surrounding areas trash, and since they burn it, and it is everywhere, it smelled horrible; and we passed whole baobab tree forests. Once we got to Dakar (it was like a traffic madhouse, and the city is large) we got dropped at a place that is like an American club, where Americans working in Dakar go to do American things, like play softball, go swimming in a pool, drink beer, play fusball, volleyball, eat American food like hamburgers, fries, etc. We hung out there had some food (Andy wolfed down a hamburger in about .5 seconds!) These hamburgers, like a lot of versions you find here, have the added bonus of having fries in the actual sandwhich, so you don't really need to even order fries, and it was delicious. We met our host that we would be staying with, and after a while at the club, went to his apartment. His apartment was downtown, and it was sooooo nice. It's funny, because I kept catching myself doing things like, marveling at the shiny tile on the floor. And the bed! Ah! Well, I actually think I got restful sleep, because I didn't' have a board stuck in my back and hip. We took nice hot showers, ate ice cream, beef stroganoff (I never used to like that stuff, but it was good!) and in the morning had breakfasts like cream of wheat with milk and he even shared with us some good wine! It was a virtual fantasyland! On Saturday we got ready to play some softball, we were both on the social team for the Gambia, and needless to say, the main objective of our games was not to be too serious, we generally had a good time, though many players aim, I think, was to be as drunk as they could and still be able to play. We lost all of our games, except one, where we tied the other worst team on the circuit. But I seriously had a good time, and hit a lot of good runs. After the games we did things like headed back to the club, watched other games, played sand volleyball, swam in the pool (though it was actually a bit chilly in Dakar!) ate tasty food at area restaurants, and snacked on the good stuff at the club. It kind of reminded me of military picnic days, our host even ( a puertorican ex marine) reminded me of my dad! While we were in Dakar, we had time to go visit a place called Goree Island. It is a place where slaves where taken. It was a really neat place, it had winding alleyways with cobblestones paths, bougainvillea trailing everywhere, old period buildings you could explore, and more touristy stuff like, open air cafes, places to stay, a place to hang out on the beach, and shops and lots of local art, that was really interesting. I actually ended up buying a necklace made out of large sea glass beads. It is a nice color of green, and actually pretty heavy on my neck! But I like it. There was also a good lookout point from a cliff area, and you could see Dakar across the water very well. Once we were done exploring the island, Andy and the 3 friends we were with got back on the ferry boat, and were sitting around for about 35 minutes, before one of the other girls and I decided to go ahead and do something we had been planning to do later in the day.... Something we had planned for about a month before we would meet in Dakar.... On the back of the boat, with Andy and our other friends help, this girl and I shaved our heads! We had planned to do it on top of a hotel that had rooftop bar and pool looking out over Dakar, but got tired of sitting around waiting for the ferry to go back, and since we had brought the shavers and scissors with us, we just did it on the back of the boat, lookin over the water, watching our hair fall into the emerald water... needless to say, the boat started going, but we had just enough time to finish the haircuts before we got back. We actually did it with some something like a beard trimmer, so it is definantly not perfect, but, hey, it's Africa! I actually thought it would feel a lot different, and that I would be immensely aware of the fact that I no longer had any real hair to speak of, but I don't even really think about it at all, until I have to do something that was part of my routine, like, put my hair up to work out, or take out whatever my hair was in to take a bath, or fixing my hair after I take off my helmet. Only then do I remember that I don't have any stray hairs to adjust, and I don't need to make sure I have hair things with my wherever I go. Andy says he likes it, but I know it is a little weird for him, people say I look pretty good, it is kinda weird, because my hair looks lighter and more slivery gray blond than I thought. I thought that it would be darker underneath it all, like the color of my eyebrows. This friend that I planned to do it with asked me if I wanted to do it in Dakar when we would see each other, because at the beginning of our service here, I thought I might do it, but then things just went on, I would think about it, and when she asked me if I would do it with her, I readily agreed. We decided that it was the only real time teachers could do it, and it would grow back, and we would finally know what it would be like. It is also freeing in many ways,.. in the physical sense, because of the heat, sweat, etc., but also in that as a girl you are always trying to find ways to adjust your appearance to be something more of the norm, like if you have a long face, you are supposed to have shorter hair, or if your face is thin, you should try to get your hair to have volume, or if your forehead is large you need to have bangs.... But if you are a guy, most guys have short hair where their face is just how it is, their face, whether they have big ears, a long face, etc. they don't seem to worry about it as much. It is kind of a relief to say, ok, this is what I look like, this is my face! Anyhow enough of that, I am going to try to get Andy to post a picture of me soon with the new "hairdo" :) Hope you are all well, don't forget we still need to hear from you! :)