365 Days later...

Exactly one year ago, the adventure we've come to call "Peace Corps" began in earnest. On September 11th, 2008, 40 toubabs arrived in Dakar, not knowing in the least what they were in store for. In truth, it's incredibly hard to believe that an entire year has flown by since that fateful morning. But in these past 365 days, my peers and I made new friends, learned new languages, acquired new "family" members, and of course, lowered our hygienic standards by a substantial amount. Together, we've shared some incredible experiences, and some awful ones that I somehow remember fondly, solely because of the company I was in. We've all had our highs and lows in this country, and it's safe to say that other volunteers are the greatest source of support when having a bad day. My greatest concern coming into this experience was what the other volunteers would be like. Having moved around my whole life, I knew how much harder these two years would be if I didn't have some friends to rely on. Thankfully, I've gotten to know some amazing people out here that have defined my service thus far. The good times were made even better due to having friends around, and the bad times were easier to handle with said company present. It's also important to understand that these are the only people in the world that can truly understand where we're coming from on many issues. When someone barges into a regional house saying "I wish this country would sink into the ocean and never be spoken of again!", you understand. When you sit on the beach, eating a mango the size of your head while watching a breathtaking sunset over the Atlantic, those next to you understand when you say "I never want to go home". With one year down, I'm making a mental note to enjoy this next year as much as possible, because all good things come to an end. As expected, this has been the most defining year of my life, and I cannot wait to see what the next 365 days have in store for me.

I spent the last few days in Dakar celebrating a friend's birthday, and just got back to Ngaye today. Combining the birthday with our one year anniversary, we had a blast. After a whole day of enjoying the pool and sun, we went off to a fantastic restaurant (where I had an actual Tex-Mex burrito), We're going to visit my leather workers a few times, as well as take a day trip out to the villages to get a first hand look at the production line. It should a be good experience and I'm looking forward to meeting my new neighbors for the upcoming year. Also, as some of you may know, my buddy John Anhalt will be flying in for 2 weeks on the 26th, which will be awesome to say the least. Well, I'm off to get some work done/clean up my room, but I hope everyone is doing well back home. I should note that today should not be a particularly uplifting day, as it is the 8th year anniversary of 9/11, so take my optimism with a grain of salt. So, for now, ba 11 Septembre bidi new! (until the next 11th of September).



Pictures are from N'Ice Cream (location of the 23 minute all-you-can-eat fest), and of Dakar at dusk from a friends balcony.