Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Dakar for a Week!

From beautiful beach parties to stomach pains that I haven't experienced since India, Cape Verdian restaurants to midnight swimming, this week has proved to be quite a break from life in the village.
I came to Dakar for a Senegad (Senegal Gender and Development) meeting to plan for the next six months. The meeting was surprisingly productive and it looks like my Peace Corps service is about to make a drastic change from village tree technician to national documentarian working on a video tentatively called "Women in the Workplace". It will focus on four Senegalese women now living in the Dakar area that have followed their passions including medicine, development work, art, and education. I can't tell you how excited I am to be working on this project- it should be good for me and more importantly, a powerful way to help youth in Senegal.
The COSing (Close of Service) group is having a final conference in Dakar this weekend as well so tonight a few of us are planning to hang out and say our good bye's at their hotel. Its sad to see them go but two years isn't as long as it sounds. Soon enough, I know my group will be staying at that same hotel (inshallah) and saying good bye to all the newbies. Its strange to think that I might be coming back to West Africa for another year (doing a Fulbright in Guinea) while most of my friends here are dying to get back home to the States, but to what? Working at some coffee shop and watching a lot of TV? Doesn't sound much better than keeping the adventure going.
Tomorrow I'm out though, down to Kaolack for a night, then Tambacounda, and finally back to Amadara. I'm hoping that the rains have kept my baby trees alive- I know that I'll be getting dirty these next few weeks as the rainy season comes to an end but soon enough I'll be back up here in the NYC of Senegal to start shooting.

I'll try to keep this blog updated at least once a month- sometimes that's harder than I want it to be but what can you do? Hope y'all are having fun wherever you are and with whatever you're doing. I miss you all.

Jam ak Jam,
Barry P.