Longest day yet

Book: Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Song: The Way I Are by Timberland. Senegalese people love it, and I brought it.

5 ways I get woken up every day.
1: My alarm clock (Lame)
2: Children beating against my window yelling at me.
3: Goats, sheep, donkeys, and Roosters.
4: Some one banging the broom against my door while they sweep.
5: Host mom having long conversations at 6 am outside my window.

Any who, life is going here. I just recently had the busiest day ever in Senegal. I woke up at 9, which is kind of late for me, but I find it to be perfect. Woke up ate some bread with mustard on it. Had a quick little work out then showered. I was out of my house by 9:45 to go to the center of formation for women. I got their a little early greeted everyone there than realized the guy I was supposed to meet up with was probably still sleeping even though we made plans to meet at 10. It happened to me the day before also so it wasn’t a big surprise. I decided to walk back home when I ran into my cousin who was on her way to the market to buy lunch and dinner. I decided to join her on the walk that was over a k away. We went to the market, but before we could buy anything we had to return her hair extensions, which was impossible because, there are no recites and she went into every store asking that they take them back and give her the money back. Here are a few reasons no one gave her a refund. She tried returning it to stores she didn’t buy them from. She said she didn’t know which store she had bought it from. Second of all she just asks for money back and she comes up with an arbitrary number. Third no one is going to give you money three days before the big holiday in Senegal. Tabaski you buy new clothes for the family, kill a goat for dinner, and the whole family gets together. No one is going to give you money back. So after a half hour of wondering we go to the market and buy vegetables and fish for dinner. A quick description of the market; hundreds of women pushing to get to the vendors. It is like a farmers market in the US with everyone sitting on the floor and everything is sandy. So as I was getting pushed around a lady grabbed my arm, so I turn around like what the, and it was my counterpart. So she drags me away from the crowd and tells me to go find her house. She lives near the pharmacy and just ask there for her house. So after that brief interaction where she would only speak English because she wants to improve her English. (I only understood half of it.) I turn around and realize I can’t see my cousin anywhere. I go back into the market and finally find her at s stand buying beesap. We grab the basket and on the way back she stops in each store to sell back her extensions. At the end of the market we jump into a taxi, which consists of a two-wheel cart and an emaciated horse on the end of it. So we get a ride home, but I hate ridding in these taxis because the horses get beaten pretty good and for some reason the guy said he wanted to impress the American by beating the horse to a full gallop. Any who we get home and I walk straight back to the Center to meet my friend. We meet up and I use the free internet. Yes I said that. Free internet. When he finished his work we went to his house around 12. He lives past the marche (market) so it was a long walk. After we arrive we sat in his room from 12 to 3 just looking at photographs and discussing various things. That is what you do in Senegal. You put in your time and relax and that is how you build relationships. Every Senegalese person has a packet of photographs they will bring out when someone visits. Photos here are like gold and every house I go to people show me pictures. And the pictures are generally people standing straight not smiling. It is great. Donc at three we ate lunch, which was awkward because the uncle stared at me the whole time, which made me really uncomfortable. After lunch I hung out until 4 then went home took a shower left by 4:30 walked to my counterparts house where the family mostly only speaks Wolof. I spoke to my counterpart while she died her fingers and feet red. Kind of weird. We decided that tomorrow I would come by for a big lunch and spend the day together. She also told me that when people ask who my mother is that I say she was my mother. Kind of weird, but hey I can dig all of the love, only a foreigner can get. So I get home at 6:30 and just relax. I went to bed at 9:30 and am now typing this message. So that was Djiby’s day of craziness.