Prayerblogging: 6 Weeks in Senegal

Time has flown by; it simultaneously feels like I just got here and that I've been here forever. (It only took me 6 weeks to remember that my e-reader is synced with my laptop so even though it's not here I still have all the books.) The fact that I will eventually leave got a little too real for comfort today, when two girls were sent home a week earlier than planned. Last night, their program coordinator at Kalamazoo College called to inform them they'd be leaving the country in 26 hours due to concerns over the elections the day after their scheduled departure. They came running in the the Baobab Center this morning and said to Debbie and I, "We are so glad you're here!!! We're leaving tonight" We were shocked and felt so bad for them. I can't imagine what that must feel like - to think you have another week, and to have it taken away just like that.

Their sudden and unexpected departure shook up the Beloit girls in a big way. We realized we only have 6 more Wolof classes, plus the bonus one where we make ceebujeen and attaya. On March 6th, I will have been here for a greater number of days than I have remaining. In two months, the Lewis and Clark students leave. I've been ripping off the pages from my schedule as they pass, and it already feels lighter.

It seems appropriate that we really lived it up today. As the Kalamazoo girls gave the details, I showed them the What Makes You Beautiful dance. We met up with others and got ice cream from an awesome store nearby (a little too nearby...I had tiramisu and kinder, which is a kind of candy bar here). We went to the tailor to pick up clothes we'd had made. Addie, Debbie, Val, and I went to the beach to do some reading, which we kind of did. I finished our book and then proceeded to distract everyone by doing leaps and handstands and front flips, prompting a Senegalese man to tell me I did nice choreography. We split a pizza.

I noticed a million little things today that dripped of the finding of a new self: I drank cafe touba (I'm learning to tolerate sweet coffee) and chatted with my tailor friend this morning. I unapologetically danced in front of people I sort of know, and Debbie and I also had a tobyMac sing along, followed by jamming to Lecrae and Fee. I wrote an entire paragraph in my journal in Wolof. I danced along the beach and didn't care who laughed. I laid on the beach without worrying about the sand that found its way to my backpack, my ears, my book...you get the point. I went out of my way to greet a neighbor because I know she appreciates it. I went to the boutique and got my change from this morning without nerves. Though given a utensil at dinner, I used my hand to pull the meat off the bones. I talked to my host dad about faith. I read my Bible in the living room. I jokingly played off Mamy's comments from last night about me being an instigator for the M-23 protests, and said I'd heard there were manifestations going on and I just had to be there.

6 weeks ago, this is what I looked forward to: to things being easier, simpler, more natural. I can only imagine where I'll be in another 6 weeks, or really even 6 days. In 6 hours though, I'll be asleep. Enjoy the photos.