Happy 1 year Anniversary in Senegal

I MADE IT! One Year living in Senegal, West Africa! Whoop Whoop! It's so crazy to think that I have been here for a whole year! Back when I was a young, naive, boy crazed High-Schooler,if someone had told me that I would be a Peace Corps volunteer, living in Africa, I think i would have laughed in their face.This amazing opportunity has been so sureal, sometimes I forget that I am even in Senegal. It has become a second home to me! So much has happened to me this past year, watching a baby being born, riding a camel, learning how to treat skin infections and surviving Malaria! My time is Senegal, West Africa has truely been an emotional rollecoaster. A life changing experience that I will never forget. It has made me into a stronger, confident, more independent and better person! For this I am so grateful to Peace Corps for giving me this wonderful opportunity to spend 2 years of my life living every day like a new adventure!o
I also want take this time to Thank everyone back home for all their love and support. I want to thank those of you who have been checking up on me, sending me packages and following my blog as well as posting all your kind and generous thoughts on facebook! It means the world to me and I am so grateful! I couldn't have survived this past year without the support and love from everyone! So thank you so very much!
So in spirit of my 1 year anniversary, I thought I would take this time to reflect on this past year and think about all of the things I have learned, experienced, improved on, love about Senegal as well as all the things I miss and crave back home...Enjoy!

 

10 THINGS I’VE LEARNED HERE IN SENEGAL

 

·         Never use your cell phone as a lamp while using the douche

 

·         Scorpions are attracted to light

 

·         If you want to ride a camel just ask

 

·         Never eat with your left hand

 

·         It’s perfectly acceptable to threaten to hit a child

 

·         Stay away from crazy old men with sticks

 

·         Whenever you start to feel sick in village..Get out

 

·         Cold Water is HEAVEN!!!

 

·      Bargaining is a craft..   If you want your way just walk away..they always give in and call you back

 

·         And always Be Patient and keep on Smiling!!

 

TOP 10 MOMENTS IN SENEGAL

 

·         Watching a Baby being born

 

·         Riding a Camel

 

·         Watching Hippos play in the Gambia river

 

·         Hiking to the Waterfalls in Kedegou

 

·         Catching a Pop fly ball during our softball game at WAIST

 

·         Baby Ida being born

 

·         A beautiful Christmas in Toubab Dialaw

 

·         Seeing Abdoulaye Wade and his entourage parade through Linguere

 

·         Surviving  the elections

 

·         Getting dropped  off in my new home Mboula and watching the Peace Corps car drive off!

 

Top 10 THINGS I MISS THE MOST

 

·         My family and friends

 

·         My dogs and the cats (Jane, Maggie, Phoebe, O’Malley and Fat Cat)

 

·         Having choices and variety

 

·         A Car

 

·         Freedom and independence

 

·         Animinity

 

·         The beach and being out on the boat

 

·         A routine

 

·         Feeling Pretty

 

·         Air conditioning/ washing machines

 

10 Things I Have Improved Upon

 

·         Patience

 

·         Self Confidence

 

·         Bargaining skills

 

·         Being more independent and taking care of myself

 

·         Being more assertive

 

·         More resourceful

 

·         My Wolof

 

·         Not sweating the small stuff and just going with the flow

 

·         Celebrating the small victories

 

·         Not worrying about what everyone thinks

 

10 Things I love about Senegal

 

·         My new wonderful family as well as my village

 

·         The hospitality

 

·         How Family-oriented the culture is

 

·         Mbaxal gerte (peanut flavored rice)

 

·         The stars as well as the sunsets ( most beautiful ones I have ever seen in my life)

 

·         How unbelievably hard women work here without any complaints

 

·         A pack of roasted, salted peanuts is only a nickel

 

·         Baby Ida

 

·         The friendly joking atmosphere

 

·         Bucket baths

 

10 Things I wont miss about Senegal

 

·         Scorpions

 

·         The HEAT

 

·         All the CARBS you eat (rice and bread everyday!)

 

·         Pooping in a hole

 

·         Kids screaming Toubab

 

·         The call to prayer at 5:30am

 

·         Transportation

 

·         Constipation

 

·         The poor starving, mistreated animals of Senegal (cats, dogs, horses, donkeys, goats and sheep)

 

·         The trash

 

10 Things I will never complain about

 

·         The heat

 

·         The mosquitoes

 

·         Having to wait long periods of time

 

·         Technological difficulties (power cuts, no internet , no phone reception or signal etc)

 

·         Being sweaty of dirty

 

·         Not having any clean underwear

 

·         Having diarrhea

 

·         Manual labor or housework

 

·         Not being able to straighten my hair

 

·         Sand!

 

10 THINGS I CRAVE THE MOST

 

·         COFFEE

 

·         Steamed broccoli..actually any kind of vegetable

 

·         Any kind of fruit (especially strawberries)

 

·         Mom and Dads home cooking (shepard pie, French chicken duval, mince and tatties, Chinese woks, fried rice, cuban omelette, Thai and Indian curry, and also Thai salmon with coconut rice)

 

·         My Auntie Lorna’s Sunday dinners (a beautiful cooked steak with fries)

 

·         WINE

 

·         Seafood/ Sushi

 

·         Crisps- Tostitos chips and Salsa or Cape Cod chips

 

·         Salads

 

·         Everything Bagels slightly toasted with Veggie cream cheese

 

 

 

10 things I miss doing the Most

 

·         Going for a run in the park with Maggie and Jane

 

·         Going to the beach or out on the boat

 

·         The gym

 

·         Watching the English Premier League every weekend on T.V (go Manchester United)

 

·         Going to FSU football games

 

·         Playing soccer with my Girls..Kara and Dora!!

 

·         Having a Girls Night (I miss my girls)

 

·         Driving a Car

 

·         Cooking for myself

 

·         Shopping

 

10 Reasons Im grateful for being apart of the Peace Corps Family

 

·         The new friendships I have made

 

·         My Linguere family of volunteers

 

·         The Senegalese friendships I have made

 

·         The chance to experience another culture

• The opportunity to live everyday like an adventure
• To gain valuable work experience
• The chance to take a 2 year break from America to reflect on what I want to do in my life
• The opportunity to learn an African local language....one that I might never use again
• Going 2 years without all of the things I love in America, only to gain a better appreciation for them
• And the opportunity to take a chance and believe in myself

Now only 1 more year to go..can't wait to see what Senegal has in store for me next!