First and foremost we both miss you all terribly, but even in the few short days we've been here there has not been a dull moment. It has been exhausting, exciting, and even terrifying at some points (Senegalese driving is second to none) but the Lord's provison for and protection of us has been SO apparent. Time in the Word has become not an obligation but a much needed source of comfort and prayer is continuous as we have very little control of our circumstances. Even in two days we have been challenged in ways I (Marissa) at very least had never even imagined. Through everything the Lord has been so good to us. And with that here is our first two days in Senegal:
We got to Dakar around 6 am yesterday morning local time. Of course no one at the airport spoke English well or at all so figuring out where to go was fun. Haha! We filled out our customs form and got through without a problem. We found our bags and were shuffled out by the pushy airport staff and to our relief found the guides 10,000 Girls sent. They held a piece of paper up with "Marissa & Andi" on it. Never have I been so glad to see my name! Deghan and her brother. (for the record I am unconvinced it was her brother. Im pretty sure they were dating-M)They gave us big hugs and welcomed us to Senegal. They were quick to get us through the crowd and to our taxi. We piled into a tiny old sabe with our luggage stuffed in the trunk and our driver, Gallus, took off from the airport quickly. The architecture is so interesting: all flat topped buildings with a mixture of Caribbean and Islamic Bohemian influence.(for the less cultured eye, aka me, it's like a whole bunch of unfinished arabic beach houses and shops covered in advertisements for Nescafe or Orange which is their phone service-M) The streets are cluttered with litter and filled with potholes. They just throw their trash down where ever they are! There's lots of construction going on all over the city. We had a few errands to run for Viola (the 10,000 girls founder). We got lost every where we went and Marissa and I usually ended up just waiting in the taxi for hours while Deghan and her brother took care of business. We got to try the local coffee--Nescafe--but Marissa said it reminded her of bacon and maple syrup (in my defense I haven't had bacon in a really long time so I could be mistaken but it tasted meaty-M)Needless to say we wont be having much more of that! Everyone here seems fascinated with our light skin and hair but they are all so kind and welcoming. The fast paces everything and not always knowing what's going on or where we are going to next is pretty stressful and has definitely increased my heart rate on more than one occasion. My stomach seems to always be in knots--partially from excitement and partially from nerves.(make that two counts of stress with a side of upset stomach. But it's teaching me an entirely new way of looking at 'be still and know that I am God'-M)
While we waited, our driver Dallus tried to teach us some Wolof (the local tribal language) which I'm sure we'll begin to pick up on while we're here.(I would like to insert a fun side story about how our lovely driver Gallus hit on Andi and I for the rest of the trip. We were using a French English dictionary to communicate and he happened to come across 'I love you' which he proceeded to tell us...Over and over and over. He would also point at himself and us and then interlock his pointer fingers. I still don't know what that meant but everyone in the car seemed shocked that Andi and I weren't married yet) We finally left Dakar and after a bumpy and long drive, arrived in Kaolack. The 10,000 Girls headquarters and main school are there. We met Viola and the sweet girl who we'd be staying with--Anodella. Once we bought bottled water and got our paperwork squared away, we went with Anodella to her home and bathed (a small tiled room and a hole in the center and a bucket of water with a cup). Interesting experience but the water felt so good! Her family made us dinner of rice vegetables and fish. I managed three whole bites without bones! The rice was similar to couscous and was seasoned just right. It was very good!
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| Anodella, modeling for us |
Anodella woke us up for a snack of bread, eggs, potatoes and lettuce with an African juice called "African Fun." I think it tasted like lemonade but it had a picture of bananas on the label. Who knows. (For some actual Africa
Fun we danced outside to music of Anodella's phone which was a mixture of Senegalese music and US top 40 hits from 2009. One of the favorites was 'Baby' by Justin Bieber. I, Marissa Lang, do solemly swear that I am telling the truth when I say that Andrea Mints was the one who both began singing along to it AND taught Andodella and her younger sister the dance which they proceeded to do every time they saw us. Alex Donaldson and Sarah 'Tomcat' Thompson, you would have fit in so well with the Senegalese Beliebers-M) We moved into the living room once the power came back on And finally got to sleep for the night.(I actually really enjoyed sleeping outside but the Mosquitos were bad so it was probably for the best that we moved inside. Please be praying for me as despite all my efforts the mosquitos seem to really enjoy my skin for their nighttime noms. Don't worry though I've got the anti malarials and bug spray on lockdown-M)
We woke early this morning to bathe again and eat breakfast. We had a fresh french loaf with butter and a much better version of Nescafe. (still instant coffee though... Mugwalls, I will be back on August 5th. Please have a soy chai and an iced mugwalls waiting for me-M)We went with Anodella into downtown Kaolack to the bank to withdraw a bit from our account as a down payment to the org. The taxis are all so old and tiny but are cheap. Little homemade shops and market tents line the streets and people walk around selling things all over. Women carry pots of who knows what on their heads and wear such colorful clothes. Most of the men wear tunics and pants and carry Islamic prayer beads.(Andi won't admit this because she hates the Yankees but all of the younger population wears American sports apparel and Yankees hats are by far the most popular. Take that haters-M) We waited for the bank to open and then waited to be called so Anodella could deposit our money to Viola's account. We went back to her house to gather our luggage and headed to the headquarters again to see Viola before we left for Kongheul. Deghan traveled with us. The station wagon we took was so cramped with a full house.(there were 8 of us for a 3 hour drive with no AC and only 2 windows rolled down. Changed my perspective entirely on how much I take my car for granted.-M)
Marissa and I were in the back with a nice man who listened to talk radio the entire time. A new mother and her baby sat in front of us so the precious little one kept us amused for a while. It is so hot here and air conditioning is no where to be found. There are so many things I am doubly thankful for now. We're working on getting pictures uploaded so check back soon! (Although Gallus did make Andi take a picture of him and I on her phone so we may just post that little gem for you-M)
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!!
Andi and Marsa
(PS we were given Senegalese names by Deghan and Anodella so from here on out we are Marissa "Aminata Pen" Lang and Andi "Awa Faiye" Mints. LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN-M)
