upandaway.

i stumble awake. knowing full well that i am not ready to move from sleep. but the electricity has given way, meaning the fan has stopped blowing, meaning that under the net has become like a little greenhouse. there are so many people here at the moment and half of them are on their way to leave. to go back to where they came from, tambacounda, dakar or the gambia, or even  home to the states! 


it has been raining all day making us all hide inside. although right now it has stopped...for how long...who's to say.
i hear roosters crow. and movements outside. birds chirp. and we are silent in the house. doing our things. 
life is rather amazing.


to think that for the next six months until i leave that these ladies will be my closests. that we will be sharing these spaces. and to think that when we leave, tears will possibly most likely streak our faces. 


i look down and see my foot, covered in some mud. wearing away under the sand and other elements of life. 


for the past while i have been "in training" covering crash course Wolof and cultural aspects to ease our transition into
our new world. on top of that we have been learning much about the organization itself...


the village visit was a definite highlight. to see and meet so many amazing faces. shaking the chief's hand meeting other village elders taking little photos of the children. so magical. so inspiring. a remark on the absolute beauty  of humans. 


after which we came to rest at the volunteer house, which by senegalese standards is a palace and also my new home.
there are two guards on constant duty. keeping us safe. 
there are three terraces staggered on the second and third floors. 
there is a little garden in the back around the patio.
there are so many rooms to sleep in. so many spaces to be in.
it is maybe a palace by american standards even.


all my former ideas on life here in senegal, africa too perhaps, have been shaken out.
certain things are true...especially concerning the time and distance...or lack there of.
but other things...not so much. 
one can find beer and wine here and they are very very cheap. 
clothing is not as rigid as you would believe. 
there are just too many things. 


life here is relaxing. lovely. strange. 
one learns what they need. and the difference between that and what they want.
your priorities change. and you find yourself relishing in your discoveries. 


to learn about yourself and what makes life life.
to learn about others and what makes life life.
to learn about life and what makes you you.
to learn about life and what makes them them.
to learn about the combinations and how to enjoy them proper.


so much. so much.
watch me grow.