….actually it’s more suitable to say “like sands sticking to my sweaty face and creating an exfoliating mask on my morning runs, so are the days in Megan’s Dakar”.

Another small bump in my cultural EKG this week. A good thing too, since my extended vagrancy at the embassy is causing some people to offer “good ideas” in how they can utilize my scholarly time (can’t they see that I’m busy enough sitting around and trying to look brilliant?). Here are two examples: 

-The very nice and reasonable Colonel has asked me to provide him with the number of  hours each week that I can put in at the office and work on “long-term projects”. I might not be here on an academic scholarship to study mathematics, but I’m pretty sure that my immediate and final calculation is zero.

– I’ve told you that the guards pretty much know that I’m a runner (and thank you to the three non-runners who are reading my blog!). Now at least one guard thinks that it would be fun if he went with me on one of my runs. (Thanks pal, but where were you when I was in The Gambia, and really could have used a security detail while out on my run?)

While these might be two interesting proposals, I’ll stick with my own brainstorms for what I will do with my time here. For starters, let’s finally get on with language training.

Behold the ACI Boabab Center

At long last, I started my Wolof language training this week. I’m taking classes at a place that was started by Peace Corps Volunteers in 1984. It is extremely well-run, and provides quality language instruction in languages like French, English, Sereer, Pulaar, Mandinka…oh yeah and in Wolof too. I’ve only had two classes so far, but I am enjoying learning a new language from scratch again (I also appreciate rudimentary education techniques that involve huge cartoonish pictures). Since I am very keen to start conversing with my taxi drivers and fruit sellers, I am committed to coming home each night and studying textbook. 

But I’m going to start that tomorrow. 

What?! I swear I’m not procrastinating! I’ve got to make sure that I keep you, my beloved blog readers up to date on my surprisingly mundane existence…it takes longer than you think to sit in this chair, space out, and then come up with a few mildly interesting observations that may or may not be post-worthy. It’s an excellent excuse to not study.

 My little classroom. It’s got everything we need, and I’ve got a great instructor.

So this new class will definitely keep me away from the embassy, and safe from future grasps for my attention. At least I hope so. I only plan on skipping onto the compound periodically so that I can cash checks (great exchange rate!) and retrieve the spoils from my online shopping ventures (hey, what do you want? I’m a girl!).

You just wait for the day that I do a blog post in Wolof!