…and we took a 4x4 to the desert?
…and mike’s left arm got burned in the sun? (see the light reflecting off his pale, winter skin? haha)
…and we stopped off at a moor village to drink tea and play with little kids?
…and our guide moussa was awesome and spoke 7 languages? (moussa is Peul and so speaks Pulaar as well as Wolof and the language of the Mauers, French, English, Spanish, and Italian. He also explained to us some of the history and cultural differences between the major tribes of Senegal, which was super interesting.)
…and then we made it to the desert after driving for a few hours on the beach and stopping for a few hours to bag a few rays?
…and there was a LOT of sand everywhere? haha
…and i tried to jump down a dune and failed majorly? (and mike laughed?)
…and we sat in the sand for hours?
(some of us slept…)
…and we had a wrestling match? (after someone *ahem* threw dried camel droppings at everyone…)
…and we pretended to be lutteurs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laamb)
…and then we all ran (or fell) down the dunes in a race that I definitely absolutely lost?
…and then we lived like kings (and queens) in an amazing toubab hotel/desert tent camp including (!!) real coffee in the morning? (and how it was incredible even though we had to share our little slice of paradise with some rowdy portuguese who sang bruce springstein and simon and garfunkle in portuguese and invaded our quiet star-gazing bonfire?)
(cant think of anything else to say here…haha)
anyway, mike came to visit me! and we went to the desert for a few days and then just bummed around st louis alot—went to the beach a few times, checked out the local markets and ate lots of amazing senegalese food. all in all a pretty awesome break from the general flow of life that has been sort of pushing me through this whole experience. i’m basically halfway through with my time here in st. louis and i have mixed feelings about how quickly time has gone…
<3 to everyone!
