Things I never thought I would ever get used to, but I totally am…
1. Using my hand for toilet functions. (In fact, I kind of prefer using water…you really do feel much cleaner, and talk about reducing my carbon footprint huh?)
2. People commenting on your weight. “Binta! Oh no! Where did your Yeroba go?” or “Hey hey, Binta, you have a big old Yeroba! Let me find you a Senegalese husband.”
3. Finding lizards in my room (all the time).
4. People commenting on various zits, bites scratches and immediately touching them.
5. Saying NO!
6. People asking me for things. It almost doesn’t phase me anymore.
7. The baaing of goats. It’s super loud but I don’t even notice it now.
8. Kids picking up and touching everything and anything the second they walk into my room.
9. Being totally comfortable laying around at night with my family and doing absolutely nothing.
10. People talking about me right in front of me (probably cuz now I can more or less understand them).
11. Using a pit latrine.
12. Eating anything that’s put in front of me at mealtime.
13. Taking "me" time in my hut and not feeling guilty about it.
14. My “celebrity” status.
15. Spending the day greeting people just to greet because I haven’t seen them for awhile. I really do feel productive after a day of greeting because it’s SO important.
16. Sweeping sand in front of my hut. It really does look cleaner once I clear away all the leaves and garbage that blow around and accumulate in my doorway.
17. Only having internet access once a week or so (this one took me awhile).
Things I still don’t know if I’ll ever get used to/over…
1. The heat.
2. Scorpions.
3. Finding frogs in my hair in the middle of the night.
4. Feeling awkward about having more money, and means than everyone around me.
5. Being one of the furthest volunteers from Dakar. (Traveling back and forth just sucks royally and never really gets better).
6. The intense frustration I feel when I’m expecting packages and they take 6 weeks+ to arrive at sight.
7. The overwhelming stench of human sewage.
8. Public “toilets”
9. Constantly seeing kids begging, barefoot, skinny, with head fungus, filthy, and hungry.
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1 comment:
Wow... I can imagine how it would be like up there.
Ah.. I'm a KOICA volunteer in Dakar, and I've been looking for some stuff on the internet about Senegal and found your blog.
And I had fun reading your it.
p.s about the lizard part, do you get rid of them, or prefer to share your room with it?... I remember my first time seeing a lizard in my room...oh no...HAHA
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