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One of my little sisters
My friend Samba rocking his shades (you can see me in the reflection)
Marble game on the walk back to our house after visiting my sister's salon
Dino and Mamadou out dancing Saturday night!
Go to Senegal, meet Australian surfer boys making a surfing film. Check.
Andrew catching a few waves
Our hotel, viewed from the beach. Described by many as "hobit-esque" I would agree.
Friday night sunset over the ocean
Friday night as the sun was beginning to set.
Our taxi driver running down the road behind us after two chunks of something fell out of the engine


Fun weekend, like always. Friday after school finished, Devin, Phileppe and I walked with our backpacks and got a taxi to Toubab Dialaw, a town outside of Dakar on the ocean. After a bit of an adventureous drive, we arrived in this little village and walked down the sandy streets to our hotel which was absolutely incredible!!! Right on the ocean, with little garden paths, flowers, fountains, and other trinkets abounding, we were in paradise. The three of us spent some time on the gorgeous sandy beach soaking up some sun and doing some reading. After supper, took in the view as the sun went down and then had spaghetti and bissap juice for supper at little mosiac'd tables. I felt like we were living in a castle!! We met 3 Australian guys that were living in the room right across from ours who are traveling down the west African coast, making a surfing movie. It was so funny to be hanging out with Australians in Africa!!! They were really fun to chill with and let us put our stuff in their room the next day so that we could enjoy this chunk of paradise for the afternoon.

Eventually, sadly, we had to leave and head back to Dakar. Back in the city, I took a taxi to my neighborhood with a very friendly taxi driver, who taught me more Wolof. He's been driving taxi for 3 years and drives for 10 hours a day! Back at home, my family was happy to see me. I unpacked my bag and had supper in the living room! Hung out for awhile, drank some tea, then headed out with my neighbor Mamadou. We walked down the narrow paths of my neighborhood and met up with a ton of his friends. As usual, they all smiled when I introduced myself as "Oumy Thiam" which is my Senegalese name. And Mamadou loves Wolof so he kept insisting that I speak it and learn more. What great homework! After a while of walking around, meeting people, drinking tea, and chatting, we went to a club with pounding music. The girls and guys dancing to mbalax were incredible! I wish I could dance like that. After a meeting at a baobab tree and fried eggs and noodles from a street vendor at 4 am, I headed to my mattress to sleep.

Yesterday was a very content day. Sat back in the living room and wrote my village reaction paper while chatting with my mom, all my little sisters, and their friends. We visited my sister Alica's hair salon for awhile and then played a marble game on the walk back home for lunch. After lunch, Samba and I walked around to meet some of his friends, drink some tea, watched some football (soccer), colored some pictures with my little sisters, visit the ATM, and then an internet cafe. A delightful afternoon, lots of smiles and contentment.

Today has been a usual day of school, with the addition of my intestines doing cartwheels, backflips, and skateboarding at the same time. Hmm maybe the fried eggs and noodles? At least my bank card is working again! I have plans drink tea and practice my Wolof tonight with Samba and Mamadou, tough homework. On that note, however, I do need to write a few papers, some serious studying, and start working on plans for my ISP (Independent Study Project) that will occupy my last month in Senegal!