What do Peace Corps Volunteers do for Halloween? Spend weeks (or in my case a day) making fabulous handmade costumes and then head down to Tamba for the ultimate Halloween party, Tambaween. From Gaga to the Joker, N'ice Cream girls to Troll Dolls, and Black Swan to Tron we had all types of costumes represented. The nice people of Tamba opened their beautifully decorated house to us and we had an awesome time partying the night away.
These past couple of months haven't been too eventful. After getting sick again (super annoying) and spending another week in Dakar I was extremely happy to get back to village. Rainy season seems to be over, although it is still hot and humid. A lot of volunteers call this the "little hot season". Hopefully it will start cooling down a bit in about a month, although the evenings haven't been too bad. I have mostly just been hanging out with my family, helping them in the fields and playing with my adorable nephews 7 month old Ibou and 1 1/2 year old Pa Dam. School just started back up again and I am working with the school director to start a garden and some other projects at my primary school. My compound has also grown as two of my younger sisters, my 8 year old niece and a teacher who works at the school have all come back from summer vacation. It's nice to have a lot of activity and people to hang out with. Most evenings involve my sisters trying to get me to dance or sing Senegalese songs and end in hysterical laughter. I have started running regularly in the mornings. It is so nice and peaceful to go for a run along the bush road to Kaffrine with the sun rising and a slight mist in the air. It really clears my head and gives me new energy.
A few days ago we had our Health/Environmental Education summit in Thies for two days. My whole stage and the Health/EE stage before came together to discuss projects, best practices, and to bounce ideas off each other. It was the perfect amount of time and we got a lot done. Of course it was not all work and no play, there was trivia and the fabulousness that is the goat cheese pizza at Pamandas. Overall it was a really good few days.
Since being in Kaolack at the regional house for a few days between the summit and Halloween I have been cooking quite a bit. My newest obsession is food blogs and I have taken some of those recipes (often altering them based on the available ingredients) and created some delish dishes. I have made a chickpea and tomato salad, potato salad, amazing tuna and cheese and salami sandwiches, pesto pasta with tomatoes, and wonderful spanish omelets. I can't wait to try some new recipes and make up some of my own next time I am in town. If you have any suggestions, be sure to let me know! (I also just updated my wishlist, hint hint.)
I cannot believe it is already November! Enjoy the fall weather for me and remember to send me updates! I love hearing about what everyone is up to. Thanks to my wonderful parents I now have a new camera and I promise I will post pictures of my village and family soon!
