hey guys!
its been awhile since ive posted and im sorry—life has been getting a little crazy busy over here and then i have been spending all of my internet time dealing with the med school issue…still trying to make up my mind on that front but so amazingly thankful for the phenomenal places that have offered me spots!
anyway back to the life here in st louis… things are pretty much the same as always on the work front. mostly just biding my time until my time at the school ends. i really dont think im ever going to be a primary school teacher… the kids are awesome but keeping them in line all the time is exhausting! the center is going well but havent been there very much lately because i started teaching english at the primary school in the afternoons (lots of repititions of “hello, how are you?” ” hello, i am well thank you”). im trying to set up a volunteer oportunity at the hospital here in the old city part of st louis… another volunteer, Amelia from australia set something up a few months before i came where she assisted with births and worked in the neonatal unit. im hoping to swing something similar for my last month and a half here because there are so many people at the center im not really getting to do much work…
last weekend had a “dirty weekend” for the red cross where a bunch of us worked with the red cross crew to clean trash out of the dyke to the south of the neighborhood that i live in. this place was disgusting with this black toxic sludge seeping into the groundwater so we had huge boots and shovels and just shoveled sludge and trash for two days straight. pretty futile effort in a way but it was a good weekend in a way because not only did i get an incredible workout but i had a blast hanging out with the red cross workers…might volunteer with them more if i have time. on a side note, does anyone know why its not the red crescent in senegal? ive been wondering since this place is decidedly muslim…
and lets see what else? went to the st louis linguere soccer match against the dakar jeanne d’arc team. our team here in st louis won the national title last year but they didnt perform so well on sunday… i think its because four of their starters were playing for the senegalese national team against sierra leone (i think) that night as well so they were playing with an alternative line up that never really got their act together. ended up loosing 2-1. it was an awesome experience though and i might become a season pass holder. they play on sand (!!) so the game is really unpredictable. also we were the only toubabs (white people) in the stadium so we ended up on tv when the game was replayed on local tv monday. haha
today i met a senegalese woman who lives in philly which was awesome and she invited me to help her with a huge free clinic that shes setting up in two weeks… she managed to get 40 senegalese drs to volunteer to work for free one sat and then got a bunch of donated money to provide medicines. im really hoping it works out because it sounds like a phenomenal idea for the local community. ill keep you guys updated definitely.
AAAND finally, mike comes friday!! im so excited. we might go to the national bird park and we’ll definitely be doing the beach/spa thing…basically gonna just be a weekend of touristy vacation things so im super excited. hes also bringing my computer so maybe i can update this more often!
love to you all…
