What a phenomenal voice. I am always aspiring to have a powerful/smoky/sexy voice like Ella and so many other artists...If nothing else, trying to realize this dream is fun for me. My neighbors might hate me, but they probably do not even know what I am singing, unless it is Beyoncé, in which case they probably still do not know what I am saying, ha!
Today was cold! Right now, in fact, it is 66˚ outside and earlier today is was very windy, so I tried to stay bundled. Of course, I am not complaining about this chilly weather, more just pointing out that it is no loner in the 90˚s, hooray! Winter has officially arrived! Tomorrow is supposed to be 81˚, however, so I probably should not whip out my fur coat yet. Or ever.
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| Hydrobase, Saint Louis |
I am officially settled in Dakar after an all too short winter break, and tutoring has started back up with classes at ISD. Getting back in the normal grind of things has been pretty easy, and I hit the halfway point between my arrival in August and my departure in June (*snoopy dance*). Five months from today I will be back in the US and concocting plans for my next adventure, whatever that may be. I applied to be a TA in France for next year, but decisions regarding my application will not come out until April. If I am not offered the job I plan to explore the wine industry and what it has to offer, as I expect that this is where I will be happy :)
If I have learned one thing from my job at ISD, never take a job just because of the money or stability unless you really enjoy it. I realize not everyone has this luxury, but many people do. All too often we become obsessed with making money as opposed to being happy. I do believe that the stability deriving from a paycheck is a factor in happiness, but it should not be of central importance. If there is one thing I did right in college it was choosing majors/minors that fit my interests as opposed to my future career. That being said, my BA is quite useful in what I am doing...I use French daily, so that is a no-brainer (French M), I am constantly turning critical eye to the gender constructs around me (Women's Studies M), I live in a Muslim country (Religious Studies m), and I just enjoy art, particularly patterns I see around me (Art History m)...see mom and dad, it was worth the 4 years! One sentence is certainly not enough time to argue why I could not be happier with my degree, but it will have to suffice :D
Perhaps the best "Welcome back to Dakar!" gift I got was the day off for MLK day. With my extra day I traveled up to Saint Louis to spend the weekend in the city I love so dearly. It was the first time I had made it up to Saint Louis since I arrived in August, so the trip was long overdue. I spent most of my time with the HWS students that are studying abroad the semester. We walked around Saint Louis a bit so they could get a grip on where everything is and I enjoyed walking on the streets I had not been to for a year. I was even surprised when I ran into my friend Christian, he works at the door of one of the nice bars in town. Per usual, he invited me to Church with him (I politely declined) and asked how I was doing. It is always nice to see familiar faces, even when you have been gone so long :)
Of all the fun things I did last weekend, I was amused to no end by the tiny frogs that were occupying the shower...they were just so cute! I, of course, had to take a picture of one of the little guys.
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| My shower buddy! |
The toughest part of the journey to and from Saint Louis, was exactly that...the to and the from. Traveling cheaply in Senegal is never much fun, but on a tight budget it is often necessary, haha. For 6+ hours I was squished in a van with 14 other people on my way to "Ndar," Wolof for Saint Louis. Getting out of the van is the best part, and closing the door is the worst part. We all officially became sardines when we risked sitting on top of each other if we wiggled in our seats. Fortunately, I had room to lean forward on the seat in front of me, so I saved my back! This will be good practice for Morocco in April. I plan to take the bus to Morocco, the main question will not be how many hours is the trip, but how many days? If you were curious, I do occasionally ask myself, "why am I doing this?" only to come up with the response, "well, why not?!"
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| How I got to Saint Louis... |
Side note: I cooked with 8 cloves of garlic last night and my finger tips still smell, seriously?! Phooey, I am a stinky Italian chef, haha
Alright, I am out...happy weekend!
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