it's really hot!

Book: Josh “A Farewell to Arms” Ernest Hemingway, “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” Mark Twain
Katie “The Agony and the Ecstasy”

Quote: Josh “The coward dies a thousand deaths, the hero just one” Ernest Hemingway
Katie “If you want to be a citizen of the world, you must speak English.” “America is the most powerful country in the world, so English is the most powerful language.” Dagana’s high school English Club

5 new things that have happened to me this week that has never happened before
5: My host mom left 3 weeks ago and hasn’t come back.

4: The baby in my house drank the juice out of a tuna can.

3: I’ve watched 3 movies within this week.

2: Went to speak with and English teacher about helping his class, but he didn’t greet me or talk to me. After about five minuets talking to Katie he asked what she did in Dagana and she told him that she was just visiting and I was the volunteer. There was a short silence.

1: Woke up at 2am with a stray cat inside my mosquito net. Luckily for us we didn’t freak out and get rabies.

So any who, Katie’s visit has been going good. We have spent most of our time in Dagana, but we have made a trip or two to Richard Toll, and Ndioum (my regional house in the desert). We also have spent a little time in St. Louis and Dakar. In two weeks we will also be going back to St. Louis for the Jazz festival and the Conference that I have put together. Before Katie leaves we are also planning a little trip down south near the Gambian border, which will be a very different setting then what we are used to. That is a travel update.
It has started to get really hot in Senegal. I don’t have a way to get the exact temperature, but I know that St. Louis is 90 degrees and Podor is 111 degrees, so that puts Dagana at about 105 degrees. Boy I can’t wait for the hot season to really get started. At least the humidity hasn’t started yet. The nights are also cold so we are able to sleep on the roof and enjoy that. The big problem is that all the houses are concrete and hold the heat in. So at 10 at night it is still close to a ninety in the rooms and you have to be outside just so you don’t die of heat stroke.
Even though it sounds like a lot of fire and brimstone, the season has brought many good things along with it. For instance for 250 CFA I can get 4 mangos. Also for 100 CFA I can get these potato things(4 of them), called Potat in French and Potase in Wolof. They are a mix of regular potato, with sweet potato. They are the greatest vegetable in the world. Tomatoes, 15 for 100CFA. I decided that I can take the heat, as long as the good produce keeps on coming. In other news we rescued a small kitten that was starving and in bad shape. Unfortunately Katie has gotten really attached and the cat has really gotten attached to her as well. It will be a hard separation, and I’m not quite sure what I will do with the cat. Her name is Salte (Dirty in Wolof). Other than that life is good and Katie has adapted well and has become part of the family. Her name is Awa Fall, which is funny because my mom’s name is Awa, and I have a sister who lives in the house, named Awa. I guess the third time is a charm. Any who Till next time. Look at my pics.