Hotel Oceanic Dakar

... I had the opportunity to practice my French-- which turns out to be better than I thought-- and made it to the lighthouse and back with only one wrong turn.<br><br>The next day, I had instructions on how to go to l'Ile de N'Gor, a small island just off the northern end of the peninsula not far from the apartment. I ignored the persisting fear and set out in a taxi toward N'Gor village, arrived successfully, and took the pirogue (a small longtail ...

... be a pretty cool adventure.   It allowed us to see a good part of Senegal from our car, as well as see a few towns and regions new to me.  We stayed with PCVs along the way and eventually made it back to Aioun.  I did some much needed laundry, and here I am...   Like I said earlier, it was a great trip, but it is good to be back.  We have a lot of good projects planned here, so keep checking back to get some updates.   Mike

... to killing 39 people and is suspected of killing at least 11 more. The student on board said that he sent him a letter one day with his proposal to write his biography after seeing this movie. About a week later he received a phone call that showed up restricted on the caller id to find Rivi on the other line wanting to tell his story. I'd be scared to be in contact with this guy! After the movie I headed to bed. We lose an hour of sleep tonight. Boo!

... I was thankful for them making my room 'extra secure' but at the same time, it made me superuneasy. They knew I was alone, and were asking my plans and asking why someone like me was in Senegal. That alone already made me look like potential prey. So how I spent the day in Dakar; I just spent it around the hotel. Security was pretty tight to get into the hotel and so I think it would not be suitable for tourists to be walking ...

... ao que chamam de « época dos descobrimentos » nos manuais de instrução portugueses e « periodo de invasão colonial » nos mangolês dos tempos que os livros eram amarelo e vermelhos com a inesquecivel (ainda que desprovida de sentido quando se é kandengue) mensagem « Estudar é um dever revolucionario » (pfff, ok então). Eu estava num bairro chamado Dieuppeul que ainda é bastante longe da cidade, mais de hora e meia à pé. Um dia sai do kubico às 10h30, dei o giro ...

... the bad dieases come with a fever. I also tell her that she shouldn't really worry about it since there was nothing she could do about it in the middle of the night (Dakar is not known for its after hours care). So we go to bed, well at least she does, it takes me quite some time to fall asleep. When we wake up I'm still not any better. However, Sarah being the brilliant scientist and experienced traveler she is ...

... of us who had no clue what were doing...we danced, sang, and clapped and had a great time. Once the dancing was over, I got some time to spend with the kids. As you can see in some of my pictures, I made some great friends. They all loved having their pictures taken and would jump at the opportunity to see a picture of themself or their friend. It truly blew me away to see their excitement over a picture. They were all adorable...I would so bring them home if I ...

... of the reduced volume of traffic on the roads to arrive at Saly, just north of Mbour. We stayed at a small guest house, where there had been a mix up with the booking but they endeavoured to salvage the situation, so we ended up sharing rooms. The Hotel Espadon (a 4* hotel in the town) hosted a celebration evening with Seneglaese dishes such as chicken yassa etc and cultural dancing, fire eating, kora players and other musicians providing the entertainment.

... of flowers on women's hands and feet for the celebration...but I could draw and they wanted to go all out for the holiday. I had fun but also still felt like an observer, but I met a lot of new people and got to talk to the wise men of the village about the start of Nguith and the big move they all made from the county to the roadside and what it meant to all of them. I also got to hear a bit about the circumcision ceremony of boys. The ...

... t get a message out to my wife 'out there,' might as well be the moon. Worst of all, my feet were so squeezed on that train that I got a case of swollen-foot thrombo-phlebitic 'economy class disease,' and feel a screaming bout of gout coming on. There's some pills left over from last year, but they won't last long. I'm traveling in a foreign country and now I can't walk? That's usually almost all that I do. I could use some ...