Kaolack

Well I have made the voyage to Kaolack, my regional capital. The PC has a regional house where i have been staying for the last 2 nights. We arrived here on Sunday and pretty much immediately went to the market in small groups to buy things for our new homes. I got a couple of bainwars(buckets for showering or doing laundry or dishes etc), a couple of buckets with lids(bug, mouse, rat, chicken proof if sealed properly), a tea pot, small foam pad to put on top of my straw mattress, a plastic chair, and a besan(plastic matt/rug that is good to sit on or take a nap).
It really isnt a lot of stuff. I am lucky that there was a volunteer there before me and left some furniture. I still have to buy some cooking utensils.

After shopping we rested a bit and conversed. We headed into town again later on in the evening for a Thanksgiving dinner. We rented out a restaurant and some of the volunteers helped cook turkeys, chicken, mashed potatos, squash, green beans, all sorts of good stuff. We had pumpkin pie and pecan pie too. It was really yummy and we had a lot of fun. It was another late night for us so we have been running on empty for a couple of days. And yesterday we had to get up early.

We went to the bank to set up our accounts. Fortunately we were all able to complete the process before lunch. The bank has a reputation for being incredibaly slow so to get 14 of us new accounts before lunch was great. It was a slow and boring process but I had a book to read. Here is the really interesting bank story...we had to have 100,000cfa to start an account and we had been told that we could put that in and then take it right back out. Well that was not the case. W got paid on Friday and got only a part of our moving in allowance and part of our travel money which didnt ammount to that much really. I had 100,000cfa and some change left yesterday after paying for all my buckets etc, transportation and food. A couple people went ahead of me and came back saying that we couldnt take money out and it wont be ready to take out until Wed. It just really sucked and is really no fun. I have since borrowed some money from a friend who had to take some out of her account in the states. It really sucks for some others because they are going to their villages today so they are broke and wont be able to get any money out.

Last night was a cheap night for us. After the bank yesterday we went into the market, I think it is the second largest coverd market in Africa. We found a guy who helped us around. We bought eggs, onions, potatoes, a watermelon and some other stuff. Oh I got pineapple and bananas too. I had a banana, 2 fried eggs and pineapple for lunch and for dinner me and my friend Kate made egg sandwiches and potatoes for 7 others. It was really tasty. We had the watermelon for dessert. It was really fun to be in a kitched cooking for people. The best part was I didnt have to do the dishes. After dinner I went to bed early and I got to sleep in today so i feel pretty good.

This morning We said goodbye to the first 4 people to go off to their villages. They loaded up 2 PC land cruisers and were off. It was really strange. The past 2 days have been strange becaus it feels like there are so few of us. We are slowly skattering away fron eachother. We were 48 at graduation. There were 14 of the newbies here now 10 and this afternoon we loose a couple more. I am in the last group of 4 to leave. We are trickling into our independance and then on thurs. for me I will be dropped off in the village. Some people are really nervous and scared. I am not yet. I am sure about 5 minutes before the PC car drops me off I will feel sick. I am mostly excited. I am looking forward to having more independance and hanging out in the village. I am happy that I have gotten to see Kaolack and learn a little more about my closest neighbors. Everyone is really great and I will have a great support system here.

Well my time here is running out. I hope all is well and I should be back tomorrow because this is the last time I will have easy internet connection. Love you all!