Quick Updates

Not too much going on, but just wanted to update people on stuff out here. Work is really picking up now, as I've accepted a teaching gig. Less than a month ago, a massive building was finished on the outskirts of town. I had seen this structure before, but never knew its purpose. It turns out the government built it to educate young girls who have dropped out of school. The manager of this new school invited me to her home and asked me if I would be willing to teach computer classes at the center. I agreed, and I think it will be a great opportunity. I'll post some pictures of the facility next week, but it is easily the nicest building in the entire town. My classroom is equipped with 11 brand new HP computers, and the rest of the building is just as nicely furnished. I wanted to make sure that I didn't take too many hours since I do have my commitments to the artisans in this area.
As for my leather workers, we have been steadily filling out application after application in order to try to get funding so they can build a new workshop and thus increase their production capacity. We're turning another application in on Monday, so we'll see how it goes. In addition, we're having a artisan seminar next weekend at the Thies training center for all the artisans that volunteers work with. It should be a good experience and I'll definitely have some pictures of the event.
Tomorrow is the day of local elections, so we'll be having a new mayor in a few hours. Over the past few weeks, there have been almost nightly "meetings", where candidates talk about their platform in front of supportive crowds. There is usually a lot of dancing and it's far more social than Western political gatherings. There are also many security measures in place right now. I'm actually not allowed to be on the streets right now, as there was a 10pm curfew in the town. Also, all traffic coming in or leaving Dakar has been stopped from midnight to 6am. The government is very concerned about violence during this period and has therefore taken quite a few precautions...
Anyways, I'm off to bed, but I'll have some more substantial updates next week. Pictured is my little brother (and namesake) Fallou Gallas, who has become quite attached to me. He wanted to see how my camera's timer worked, hence the odd picture. A plus tard!