Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Twice in one day, my God

So more good news: my laptop battery came at the same time as the package. This means that I’ve been able to use my computer without any fear of the ever-frequent power outages. Of course, since I got the battery we’ve had power pretty consistently anyways.

Did end up getting a burger, and also a Pelforth. Pelforth is the best beer I’ve had thusfar in Senegal, and it’s like a Belgian white but fruitier. It’s also the heaviest beer I’ve found.

So learning Wolof has been fun and exciting. It’s interesting to play around with a language so structurally different from English. The way that we use English to create emphasis and subtlety is completely different in Wolof. Going around and talking to people works well, and I’m more than able to communicate basic needs, but I’m really looking forward to better comprehension.

In the off chance that Casey’s internet goes out because of a power outage, I’m going to post this now, but hopefully I’ll get a chance to write more when I get access to the internet this weekend.

Oh, and I do believe the cable I need for my camera is USB to mini-USB (not micro-USB which is different).

“Double dumbass on you, and so forth”

Oh, and if you ever get a chance, ask someone from Glasgow how to say "burglar alarm."

Great News!

That was my catchy hook to try to draw you all in. Did it work?

Anyways, I apologize for waiting almost a month to post something, but my internet access has been a little bit more limited than I anticipated. There is actually good news, in that the latest package arrived. I was very excited to find a douchebag (solar shower), hot tamales (eatien in their entirety within the first hour of opening by my friends and me), and ten packs of beef, turkey, and buffalo jerkey. I'm down to one packet of beef teriyaki, one packet of beef original, and one packet of the buffalo sweet & spicy, which is my favorite. That means in the last week I've eaten over 200 grams of protein. Impressive.

Anyways, I've installed in Karang. It's a town of somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000 right on the border with the Gambia. I have not been, but I arranged with my program director to be able to go to the market there because things are much, much cheaper than in Senegal. My family is very nice. There are many of them, and I am still sorting out exactly who belongs to whom. Peace Corps Senegal suggests that you not try to start any serious work in your first couple months, so I've spent most of my time just walking around, talking to people, and practicing Wolof. We're going to one of the more major cities today, so I can get a burger. I'm excited. I may post twice today if there is wifi at the hotel.

"We can sew!"