The one with the "Goatercycle"

Alright so for a change of pace I (Marissa) will be writing this post and Andi will be the one with the pithy comments in parentheses. Get ready for a wild ride folks.

DAYS 4&5:
So we left you off before we even got to Kongheul so I will start there although, the way the days have been going, the two days here seemed like a week. We piled out of the HOT car in front of the 10,000 girls center here which is right across from the equivalent of the police station and brought our stuff inside. Andi and I then completely collapsed on the mat on the floor while our new Senegalese sister, Veronique, informed us two things that have thusfar been the best news ever:
1) We had weefee which after a few confused looks we translated to WIFI! Freaking Whoop
2) No more cup baths! We have a shower! Unfortunately we would come to find out later that it only works once in a blue moon... so cup baths again but it is like Christmas when the water is working. Still rockin' the squatty potty though. Like a boss. (Evidently the water, like the power, comes and goes as it pleases. -A)
Anyways the next hour or so was spent taking showers and frantically taking advantage of the unexpected internet access. Which for Andi involved a long email to the rents and me fighting Mark Zuckerberg to prove that I am actually Marissa Lang and not a Senegalese hacker. Thanks and gig them. We spent the rest of the time taking a much needed break from the constant motion of Kaolack and getting to know Veronique. (While we were busy typing away on the tiny screen of my iPhone, Veronique noticed my ring--the one everyone and their mom has from James Avery--and asked if we were Christians. We of course said "yes" and she replied "So am I." I don't know if my facial expression scared her or what, but I was so excited to hear that we were among sisters in Christ! She seemed a little scared of me, haha! -A) She then informed us that there was going to be an event at her church and asked if we wanted to go which we heartily agreed to. It turned out to be a fundraiser of some sort which was kind of like a carnival with some traditional games like pin the tail on the donkey and ball throwing games and some less than traditional games involving climbing up a barkless, slick tree that they had thrown water on... unconventional but sincerely entertaining. All of the games had prizes which looked as though someone had walked into a goodwill blindfolded and grabbed things at random. Watching the teenage boys opening their bags only to find a pink turtleneck sweater or a tiny pair of bell bottoms was hilarious. (There were some pieces they were proud to show off though--I think the red crushed velvet men's blazer with shoulder pads was our favorite. - A) We sat down for only a little while before Deghan got bored and took us back where Andi and I both got to spend some time in the Word. After Veronique and our other housemate, Hati, got back at around 10:30pm we had dinner which was spaghetti with an onion sauce and canned meat. (I think the meat was a Spam of sorts and I didn't eat more than my one "thank you" bite. Hati does the cooking and I must say, I'm a fan of everything else she's prepared. -A) The Senegalese are very emphatic with their demands that you eat more which is interesting when you can't eat one of the main ingredients. Then after all of that we got to sleep at the sewing center and guess who managed to get attacked by mosquitos regardless of the amount of bug spray they had on... Me. Andi seems to be repelling them with sheer intimidation, it's probably her muscles. (I would just like to say, that despite my self consciousness of my abnormally large calf muscles, Marissa absolutely won't let it go. Earlier, we were reading outside and she was trying to pursuade the purple and yellow lizard to do more push ups to have muscles like mine. Thanks, Riss. -A) (More on Marsa's interesting choice of animal identification later.)

We woke up this morning and had some sourdough bread and instant coffee, which I'm appreciating more and more as this trip goes on. As we were waiting for Veronique to finish getting ready for Church, a man from the police station walked in and started speaking in Wolof to us, saw the confused look on our faces then started speaking French to us, saw the still confused look on our faces and then asked our nationality. We replied American to which he responded "Ah! Barack Obama!"... Story of our lives. (This is not the first time we've heard the name or seen his face on a t-shirt. Evidently the Senegalese LOVE the Bama. -A) Then we headed to Church with Veronique. It was seriously the most beautiful thing I think I have ever experienced, despite the fact that I only understood about an eighth of it and I'm pretty sure Andi got like 2 words. From what I picked up the sermon was about trials... Hello there God, You have a funny way of communicating with me, but don't worry, I'm starting to get the message. The choir was seriously breathtaking and when I say choir, I mean, they had a choir but there wasn't a voice in that room that didn't give me the chills. (Just to reiterate the beauty--definitely felt the Lord move in that place this morning. I'm planning to record their songs next Sunday. -A) The best part the morning, however, was on the walk back when, as usual, we got honked at by a motorcycle passing us from behind. What was out of the ordinary about this picture was the fact that the man had something in his lap. I know what your thinking and no it wasn't a baby, it was a goat. We officially christened it "The Goatercycle."

(I would like to take a moment and infom you fortunate people of poor Marissa's completely incorrect animal identification while here in Senegal. I think maybe her meds are going to her head. Anyway, Horses are donkeys or puppies if they're spotted. Goats are cows especially if they are spotted. Donkeys are zebras or tiny horses. And she spoke to the lizards as if they were people. Who knows. -A)

When we got back home Veronique showed us all of the things that they sew there and begin hand sewing some of it herself. Andi and I, always up for a challenge, offered to help and spent the next few hours working on that. (Not only did I start sewing my part after Marissa, but I finished in record time long before her. Can you say owned? -A) ("owned"-M) When we were done we spent the rest of the day reading, relaxing, napping, and laughing... lots of laughing. Then we had boiled fish and rice for lunch which Andi said was her favorite... I thought the rice was great. (It was kind of like a fish meatball. Very tasty. -A) After that we went to the same church carnival we went to last night but this time we sat near where all the kids were dancing and watched them for a while. They seemed to enjoy getting their picture taken and we named all of the permanent entertainers.
 Tyra, the model:

She's the one in the red jumper

 Aladdin, the photo bomber:

He is clearly the one photo bombing in the Aladdin shirt

 Stanley, the sock eater:

Need I say more?

 Tony, the ladies man & Gerard, the awkward third wheel to Tyra and Tony:

Gerard (green) and Tony (Orange)-Best buds

 and our all time favorite: Dora:

 They entertained us for a few hours until we were forced to dance. I think that I have very little remaining dignity... Good thing we brought a camera...

Currently we are eating dinner which is a pasta-ish dish with sugar and milk powder and recapping with you folks. (And OH MY GOSH she just brought us FRESH MANGO. I'm so happy. -A) Can't wait for tomorrow to bring it on.

The pictures are taking forever to load so we'll post the rest in the morning. You guys are lucky I love you because that last picture of me is em-bur-uh-sing.
-Marissa "Aminata Pen" Lang
-Andi "Awa Fayie" Mints