Disney circa 1943.  I’m not sure how else to describe this.

It’s probably a good thing that I feel as though my blog posts are getting more haphazard and nonspecific. It seems that as of late I’m always out and about, exposing myself to more than just those murderous killers known as mosquitoes. Truth be told, it reminds me that there is nothing that I can possibly say that isn’t already being expounded upon by other bloggers in Dakar, commenting on how “fascinating” life is here….

So here I’ll just comment a bit on some of my randomness from the week so far…

First off, go Celtics!  We have the finals going on, and they are doing far better than my beloved Bruins did in their profoundly disappointing playoff run. So when I woke up this morning and saw last night’s win in LA, I donned my new Rondo jersey.  While I still tell everyone that I really am a hockey fan first and foremost –“c’est ma sœur qui est la superfan!”- shoutout to Rory- I found that there are good number of Senegalese C’s fans lying about.  The nice thing about being an Olmsted Scholar and helping out at the office? I can dress like a high school kid and go to work, and no one will bat an eye.  

Hmm…I thought I looked very professional in my ensemble. For once my lanyard matched my shirt!

Ensuite, here is a snapshot of my newest house of worship. I would ask you to guess what it is, but that is not really an effective blog tactic. 

So,I will tell you. There is a small chance that I might actually be getting into a for real Master’s program here at UCAD (Université Cheikh Anta Diop). It’s a Master’s in Development Practice, done in conjunction with a number of other universities all over the globe (to include my Alma Mater, Trinity College!).  It’s funded in large part by the MacArthur Foundation, and I really would like to do this program. So I found out where on the massive campus the Faculte des Sciences Economiques et de la Gestion building was located….there it is above, all newly-built and complete with fabulous sand landscaping….and I decided to try my luck at getting into program post-deadline but with scholarship money in my pocket. 

It worked for Calvin, didn’t it?

I trudged out to UCAD in the hot sun holding yet another snazzy packet containing my “please you let me into your school of 40,000 students who are matriculating for free!” application. I found the department’s bureau, only by virtue of me being the only toubab wandering about, and also looking lost a bit bewildered by the complete lack of signage over the doors.  I put on my best “I have no idea what I am doing” smile- my facial expression du jour here in Senegal, and I tried to charm the administrator with professional-looking application.

She told me the deadline was already past, but they would call me.

Uh huh. I have heard that before.

But they did call! Shocker of shockers!  I’m supposed to meet with the Dean this week. 

More to follow. Inch’allah. 

Okay, I do have more random stories to tell- like the story of my internet installation misadventures, as well as other general wastes of time that I get to endure on a daily basis here- but I need to actually do some work before my big meeting tomorrow. Don’t ask me how, but I have volunteered to coordinate a small military event that brings together a handful of countries. You can’t make this stuff up. I’m leading up the planning meeting tomorrow, so I really should, at a bare minimum, read some reporting information  and make sure that I have a proper uniform to put on. Oh and maybe find out if the all the players have actually made it into town this evening. Minor details….

Look out world, CARAT‘s “the Lady Officer” is making a reappearance. This should be amusing.