AUTHOR: Nancy TITLE: Senegal DATE: 2/15/2009 08:13:00 AM ----- BODY:
Hi all,

Writing a blog from Senegal is presenting a challenge. Google seems to have decided to translate the instructions for posting a blog into the local language wherever I am. So now, instead of being able to read the instructions, they come up partially in French and partially in Japanese with the titles occasionally in Arabic!

Anyway, here's the news from yesterday.

This weekend is the great pilgrimage to Touba (you can look up a video on-line) so many of the shops were closed and most people were on vacation. It was also the biggest day of the year for Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) in West Africa, WAIST, or the West African International Softball Tournament!

Leslie and I started the day by purchasing a painting, and then took off with the artist on a four kilometer walk along the corniche to the American Club. We walked alongside piles of trash and debris with the local artist tagging along. He was very nice, but wanted to hold Leslie's hand every time I looked away. We were a bit nonplussed as Senegal is known for being the country where French women come for a sexual encounter, but all turned out well.

When we arrived at the club it was mobbed with crazy PCVs in costume. There were two tournaments going on at the same time. One was serious softball and the other was just for fun. All of the PCVs were in costume and many were those we knew from Senegal. The team from Mauritania was wild and crazy and famous for playing the entire game balanced on each other's backs. Cheerleaders were in various states of disarray with well rehearsed routines. Leslie and I spent the entire day laughing and even doing a bit of stove work and making connections.

We returned to our little hotel, separated from the artist, and joined Patrick for dinner. Patrick is from Sri Lanka and is in charge of the artisan project for USAID. His family lives in Vancouver and he has worked all over the world. He took my card and promised to connect me with the local USAID worker who has done a successful stove project here. His stories of working in Senegal, however, made me very concerned about how much we could really do here.

Anyway, we are off to Goree Island this morning to see the site where slaves were shipped from and to inspect the little artist boutiques. Monday is still a holiday, but we have some appointments with shippers and hopefully with USAID, so we'll have had a full schedule in Senegal before leaving for South Africa on Tuesday morning.

I understand that there may not be an internet connection at Anton's farm, but that doesn't mean I won't find something. I love hearing news from home, so please remember to write.

Nancy

PS Pictures are posted on Facebook and the BLOG is at www.stoveteam.org under NEWS at the top of the page.

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