So to start off with a true story, I was sitting down watching the TV when my brother sits down next to me. He is holding a package in his hands, so I ask what do you have? He opens the small package and pulls out underwear. He hands me a small pair of whity tighties. I say nice and try to hand them back. He refused them back and now I am the owner of blue puma undies. I am the luckiest man alive!!!!!
So yesterday we went to Richard Toll for a tour of the sugar factory with Bryn and Casey (PCVs in Toll)! It was very neat... it was hot and there was sugar covering everything, so we got pretty dirty, but it was neat getting a personal tour and seeing all of the huge machinery! It was interesting b/c there were not really any safety regulations- no hard hats... My favorite part was the packaging part at the end... it definitely looked like something that would be on the show 'How Things Are Made'... they make different sized packages and sugar cubes- it was neat!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Jazz Fest
Books: Josh – “The Three Musketeers” Dumas, “Things Fall Apart”
Katie- “Things Fall Apart”, The Ecstasy and the Agony”, “Into The Wild”
Music: “Let it Be” The Beatles
Joke: Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?
No I didn’t!
Yeah it runs in the jeans!
Any who life has been treating Katie and I well. We have had a few busy weeks and I will let Katie tell you all about them. Just to summarize, we did an English class at the high school, went to Jazz fest, and my classes have been put off for a week or two because of time restrictions. I did however find a website that donates art supplies to children in Africa. Talk to you soon. Josh
So, yes, Josh and I were invited to an English class so they could ask us questions. Many of them really want to come to America and become rappers…. The first question was ‘do rappers really live like they do in their videos?’ They also asked about JFK, terrorism, and the weak American economy… Will America still be the most powerful country in 20 years, or do you think China will become more powerful? Also, why are there more black people in professional sports in the US? Some of the questions were kind of difficult to answer, but we did the best we could… Josh did a good job of trying to relate things back to Senegal and overall it went well and we had fun! At the end they asked me if I could cook rice and fish, if I ate with my hands, and they asked me to do the bulacaste dance, which I did… haha!
Last Tuesday we left for St. Louis because there was a Jazz Festival there! The festival started on Thursday night, but some Peace Corps Volunteers were there early celebrating a birthday and such…. We stayed in this flat for free the first 2 nights- a Peace Corps Volunteer who stays for a 3rd year gets the flat and it is a very nice flat with a view of the water and 3 balconies… someone is moving in next month or something…
On Wed. Josh and I went to a bird park nearby and it was great! We were the only people visiting the park, so we had a private boat and tour guide (in French, so I understood only a quarter of it)… we saw pelicans, herons, cormorants, flamingoes, and some others! There was this island that was completely covered with birds and it was so neat… I liked these seagull-like birds (called Red Beaked Royals, I think?) that were coming up and “yelling” at us to stay away.. they were being protective of their babies.. Josh’s favorite birds were these dark blue herons that had a feather coming out of their head…I like cormorants a lot!
The next day we left the flat and stayed at a house with a bunch of Volunteers… it was located on the Longue de Barbarie- so on one side is the ocean (which was right outside our house) and on the other side is the river… it’s so pretty! The ocean was really rough, partly because there is a sand bar so there’s no way to get past the breaking waves like I’m used to doing in the Atlantic- breaking waves just constantly surround you… so the ocean beat us up, but it was a lot of fun! In general St. Louis was cold especially after being in 120 degree heat! The days were comfortable, but I was freezing outside at night!
So Jazz Fest occurs on The Island… there were a bunch of Artisan tents and live music in a lot of the bars! I think everyone was a little disappointed in the amount of Jazz they heard, but the stuff we did hear was pretty good! Overall, it was a very relaxing trip and I loved being right on the ocean and not sweating for almost a week! We ate very good food too… we ate burgers at ‘Nice Burger’, Wild Boar with salad, meat sandwiches they sell on the street, and even ice cream! I think I’ve eaten more meat here than the total amount of meat I’ve eaten in my life… although when we’re in Dagana we just eat fish, so maybe not…
We got back to Dagana yesterday and it’s hot, but nice to be back!
I love and miss you all! Xoxo
Happy Mother’s Day to our moms, sisters, grandmas…
Katie- “Things Fall Apart”, The Ecstasy and the Agony”, “Into The Wild”
Music: “Let it Be” The Beatles
Joke: Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?
No I didn’t!
Yeah it runs in the jeans!
Any who life has been treating Katie and I well. We have had a few busy weeks and I will let Katie tell you all about them. Just to summarize, we did an English class at the high school, went to Jazz fest, and my classes have been put off for a week or two because of time restrictions. I did however find a website that donates art supplies to children in Africa. Talk to you soon. Josh
So, yes, Josh and I were invited to an English class so they could ask us questions. Many of them really want to come to America and become rappers…. The first question was ‘do rappers really live like they do in their videos?’ They also asked about JFK, terrorism, and the weak American economy… Will America still be the most powerful country in 20 years, or do you think China will become more powerful? Also, why are there more black people in professional sports in the US? Some of the questions were kind of difficult to answer, but we did the best we could… Josh did a good job of trying to relate things back to Senegal and overall it went well and we had fun! At the end they asked me if I could cook rice and fish, if I ate with my hands, and they asked me to do the bulacaste dance, which I did… haha!
Last Tuesday we left for St. Louis because there was a Jazz Festival there! The festival started on Thursday night, but some Peace Corps Volunteers were there early celebrating a birthday and such…. We stayed in this flat for free the first 2 nights- a Peace Corps Volunteer who stays for a 3rd year gets the flat and it is a very nice flat with a view of the water and 3 balconies… someone is moving in next month or something…
On Wed. Josh and I went to a bird park nearby and it was great! We were the only people visiting the park, so we had a private boat and tour guide (in French, so I understood only a quarter of it)… we saw pelicans, herons, cormorants, flamingoes, and some others! There was this island that was completely covered with birds and it was so neat… I liked these seagull-like birds (called Red Beaked Royals, I think?) that were coming up and “yelling” at us to stay away.. they were being protective of their babies.. Josh’s favorite birds were these dark blue herons that had a feather coming out of their head…I like cormorants a lot!
The next day we left the flat and stayed at a house with a bunch of Volunteers… it was located on the Longue de Barbarie- so on one side is the ocean (which was right outside our house) and on the other side is the river… it’s so pretty! The ocean was really rough, partly because there is a sand bar so there’s no way to get past the breaking waves like I’m used to doing in the Atlantic- breaking waves just constantly surround you… so the ocean beat us up, but it was a lot of fun! In general St. Louis was cold especially after being in 120 degree heat! The days were comfortable, but I was freezing outside at night!
So Jazz Fest occurs on The Island… there were a bunch of Artisan tents and live music in a lot of the bars! I think everyone was a little disappointed in the amount of Jazz they heard, but the stuff we did hear was pretty good! Overall, it was a very relaxing trip and I loved being right on the ocean and not sweating for almost a week! We ate very good food too… we ate burgers at ‘Nice Burger’, Wild Boar with salad, meat sandwiches they sell on the street, and even ice cream! I think I’ve eaten more meat here than the total amount of meat I’ve eaten in my life… although when we’re in Dagana we just eat fish, so maybe not…
We got back to Dagana yesterday and it’s hot, but nice to be back!
I love and miss you all! Xoxo
Happy Mother’s Day to our moms, sisters, grandmas…
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