Amelia vs. the Atlantic Ocean

Today I went to the beach with Julie and Kat, because we didnt have class until 5. It was lovely and cool and the waves were enormous and grey. We sat leisurely, relaxing in the African sun (of course my nose burned despite my generous lathering of SPF 50 sunblock). I listened to the new TV on the Radio cd (thank you Ms Evans) and lounged. And suddenly, I was completely awash in a wave that had broken free from the ocean and pounded down onto us - we who sat far up on the beach. Everything with me was soaked except for my cd player, that I held high over my head as I ran further inland. Several kind Senegalese men hurried over and helped us gather our belongings ... my towel that was making its way into the ocean with the awful wave, a flip flop broke free and went too. A not so kind man yelled at us for being stupid. We laughed for a long time until I realized my cell phone had been ruined. That was a little less funny. So now I will carry a life-long vendetta against the cruel and untamable Atlantic Ocean.

return to dakar

We left Yoff last weekend and returned to Dakar; I quickly fell back into my old routine without much thought. A minor change: there's another study-abroad student living in my house, though she leaves next week. Her name is Rachel, she's from Minnesota and she and I are on quietly friendly terms - not the best of friends but certainly not unfriendly by any means.

It's strange to be back at the Baobab Center, taking Wolof classes daily with History of Islam and culture classes thrown in. I once again have a plethora of free time, and spend most of it reading. I finished "Lolita" in a matter of two days, and am now working on "The Color Purple." Apparently I'm intent on becoming excruciatingly depressed via literature.

The weather still hasn't cooled down, although today at least there's a breeze. I suppose I ought to be thankful to be sweating rather than freezing, but being able to make it through a day without sweating through my shirt would be a dream come true.

Last night, at dinner, I was informed by Victoria (the head of the CIE program here in Dakar) that the reason I've been craving sweet food is because I'm protein deprived. I've also realized I'm dehydrated, but I'm at the point where I'm not even thirsty anymore. I may have to start paying closer attention to my liquid and food intake.

My French continues to improve, though my Wolof is god-awful. Our Wolof teacher's name is "Zator," and he's absolutely charming and hilarious. The only teeth in his mouth are one the bottom, and so he is an exaggerated speaker. He constantly says, "Class, class, ca va class? Ca va?" Once I counted, and he said "Class" over 45 times in half an hour - that's impressive. Unfortunately I don't learn much in his class because he is repetative. Today I colored in the figures to my Wolof book and drew some lovely designs around a pronoun chart.

In other news: the oranges are in season and delicious.