Resid Hotel Diamarek Saint-Louis

... strangely to the sounds of Celine Dion's classic 'My Heart Will Go On'!?)we were also weary of the rigmorole of the Rosso border crossing but when we got there we were soon rolling up our trousers to board the boat that ferries folk across the Senegal River to the country of the same name.

Once we had waved aurevoir to Mauritania and said bonjour to Senegal the former straight away seemed so far from the lush land, lakes and loud dress adorned by ...

... town which is always interesting. people are really nice here and their are kids everywhere wanting to shake my hand or speak to me...or just shout `TOUBAB` which means white person in wollof. Lunch is usually rice fish and vegetables all in one big bowl for everyone to share..pretty used to that now too! Have tried some very weird food so far..not loving dried fish which is really popular in St. Louis. After lunch its 3 hours of french lessons at ...

... all planned and my blood pressure slowly rising, I started to think about what we needed to bring with us for 4 days hiking through the hills and visiting local villages. Not such an easy task when there are 14 of you. However, we all managed to meet at the right time and the right place with the right taxis. The first hurdle had been crossed. So we left Saint-Louis at 8pm the last Friday in March, folded up around each other in the taxi (converted Peugeot ...

... down. A piece of good news now, my box finally appeared! Well actually it appeared about 10 days ago but I hadn't been to the post office to collect it. I took it home yesterday afternoon with one of the other volunteers, Beth, and we had a great time looking through everything. It has been so long since I packed it that I had forgotten what I had put in there!! So once again, thanks to everyone who donated stuff it will really be appreciated by whoever gets it!

This weekend I added another stamp to my passport. 5 of us went on a trip to Mauritania (the country directly above Senegal) to sleep under the stars in a Mauritanian tent. We left Saint-Louis on Saturday morning in the back of a jeep which took us to the border. It was a short walk across to meet our guide and 4x4 for the weekend. Me and Lucy sat in the back to sun ourselves and to get a proper sense of where we were. It was the most unbelievable experience ...

I think I have finally cracked how to survive in Senegal - take everything at about half the speed that we do things at home!! There is no point rushing things because it doesn't make a blind bit of difference!! Take yesterday for example, me and Lucy, my new roommate were sitting reading in the courtyard at home when our 'brother' comes over and says "are we going to my aunt's house for lunch now?" I suddenly remembered that we had been invited a couple of ...

Hi again. Still struggling at the school but the kids are getting more and more used to seeing my face now and I even have my own name, Tata Toubab, literally European Teacher. I do however need help, I need ideas to entertain 40 children for 3 hours every day. My mum has already sent me some ideas, thanks Mum, but the more the better. My creativity stops at Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes. I tried a few things but the kids ...

... back home. The kids don't seem to have any sort of routine and they just please themselves most of the time. There are over 30 in the class and only 6 spaces for them to work. So while the 6 kids write 3 or 4 letters each the others sit on the floor and get told off for talking, even though there is nothing else for them to do!! During the day though they don't actually do much work. My first day there, they drew ...

... through the streets because people I have never met come over and shake your hand just to be friendly, it is rude not to shake hands. Have never wandered around by myself yet but after I am done in this café I will attempt it, still very scared of taxis!! Everything seems to be going OK, start work tomorrow so will meet the kids for the first time. Will keep you updated and will try and put some photos up soon. F x

... even turtles. With a constant stream of fairly well-off animal-loving foreign visitors to bum food scraps from, both at the campement restaurants and when they are preparing their own camp meals, and the run of the places with river, marsh, and woods to catch goodies like rats, birds, lizards, and crabs, these animals live perfect lives balanced between indulgence and adventure. This was particularly noticeable at Camp Ocean in ...