Happy 4th of July!

Thankfully things are slowly but surely getting better with me. The language is still slow but every once in awhile I tell myself that I should not be so hard on myself since I really am learning 3 languages at once, French, Jaxanke and Bambara. As people in my village are getting more used to me they know what I can say and what I cannot, so conversations are at least going a bit smoother. The few rains that we have had have also made for a beautiful landscape. I have started to go on runs in the evenings, and it has become one of my favorite times of the day and a great opportunity to appreciate some of the beautiful trees and birds in my area. I have also started to go to the health post in the main town (Missirah, 8 km away). It is sometimes a bit awkward since I do not have an official role and do not have a medical background, but I have assisted the midwife with two births which have been great learning experiences for me. Going to Missirah has also been a nice escape from village life.

School just got out so the two teachers have left for vacation. In anticipation of the rainy season and also the planting season there have been several marriages in my village; for a few days there was a tamtam (drumming and dancing) every night. It was also nice to talk to new people who came in from other villages.

I decided not to bike down to Kedegou for the 4th of July party but am still going down with a few other volunteers today or tomorrow. I am REALLY looking forward to seeing a new part of Senegal and of course spending a few days out of my village. Kedegou is south of here and gets a lot more rain so it is more lush.

If anyone would like to give a gift to my village, I would like to get a copy of Where There is No Doctor and A Book for Midwives in French from the Hesperian Foundation. (www.hesperian.org I think.) Once school starts again and the teachers return I would also like to work on getting the school a cement floor as it is dirt at the moment. They estimate that it would be 200 USD, so if anyone knows of an organization that might have funding for this sort of thing, let me know!

Hope you have a great 4th of July! =)