Fin du Programme

Hey everyone!

Thought I would start with some pics. This is our final performance for our Senegalese Music class. Me and Kelly, the first and the last the leave Dakar.

I am officially done with my semester abroad...in any sort of formal capacity. From here on out it is just me doing my thing. This means that the blogging is going to become a lot more sporadic...and potentially more interesting. To illustrate that point, for example tomorrow I am off to Kedougou with Sean and I probably won't have internet for a week. It will probably be a similar story for most of my travels this summer.

Anyway, the semester ended with a bang! I had a final French exam with written and oral parts. We turned in a big paper and presented on it. We had our final music and dance class and our final session volunteering at Village SOS. I'm gonna miss those little kids.

We had two more final presentations and a final paper for literature and seminar. Wednesday we busted out the djembes and played a show for our family, friends, teachers and pretty much all of ACI. Thursday we had our re-entry session to prep (most of) us for life back at home.

Everything went smoothly and I have had a couple days of down-time to just breathe before the next adventure.

And then the good-byes started. Kelly left on Wednesday right after our show. 9 little Indians left in Dakar...Jess H. and Alexis are flying to Paris as I type. 7 little Indians left.

Since Sean and I are headed to Kedougou for the week, I said good-bye to Leia, Rebekah, Katherine and Julie today, too. By May 1st, there will only be 3 of us left, and by the 5th, I will be the last one standing. I am excited to have some time to explore Dakar some more before Mike gets here. I am also looking forward to having a chance to take things as they come and reflect on my experience here.

I love Senegal so much and there are so many wonderful, unexplicable, beautiful moments everyday that I wish I could really share with everyone. Like when you fall asleep on the couch waiting for dinner and you wake up to your (host) grandma taking a picture of you with her camera phone. There are always those cute interactions with vendors on the street or when you suprise someone with your Wolof. I have found a lot to love here and I am so thankful for the opportunity to study in Dakar.

Anyway, I have to finish packing up my backpack for Kedougou. It is in the eastern part of Senegal, near Guinee. It is supposed to be really green and beautiful but it will take us two days to get there since it is not always safe to travel at night. I am looking forward to adventuring out on my own with Sean and getting to know a new part of Senegal. Hope everyone has a great week! Also, I will try to add more pictures to my posts in the future, to give you an idea of where I am going and the people I spend time with.

Peace.