Dakar

Hey all! I had a great weekend at the beach. We went to Popinguine and rented a house. There were about 40 of us there...it was pretty crazy. We got to lay on the beach and do little bit of swimming. the water was really cold and the waves were huge. they were probably 10 ft high at points and were crashing right on the beach. It was neat to see but not too fun to swim in. There were some french volunteers around too so Saturday night they all came up to our house and we had some beers and hung out. There was a camp fire on the beach too. It was a good time. Sunday at the before we went back to Thies I lost a filling. I was just trying to have good dental health and was flossing and the filling popped out.

Back in Thies... I went to classes yesterday morning (we took a field trip to a banana plantation that was not doing too well) and ate lunch at the center. The food there is so great. We had chicken and pasta with veggies. After lunch I went for a little walk and went to a boutique to gret some credit for my phone. (we pay for minutes here instead of having a monthly plan) On my way home I ran into a bunch of little kids. They had just gotten off of school and were going home for lunch. I said high as I passed and they seemed to be pretty normal you know calling me a toubob(white person) and asking me for money. All this happens probably once a day at least if I am in the city so I didnt think anything of it. well when I was about 30 feet away from them I heard and felt some sand and small rocks fall around/on me. I turned around and yelled at the kids to stop where they were and to come back and talk to me. Well they all started to run except for one little boy probably 8 who picked up a rock the size of a baseball and threw it at me. He would have hit me but I saw it coming and moved. He ran away and I ran after him but I couldnt get him. After the fact it was probably a good thing i couldnt catch him because i was real pissed and in all honestly would have hit him...which is no good. I also thought I should have followed him home and talked with his mother. That still would have lead to a beating. It really sucked. Especially since I was right outside the training center. The Peace Corps will hear about the incident this afternoon.

Right now I am in Dakar because I have a Dentist appointment this morning in a little bit. I got here all by myself through public transportation but since I made it to the center I have not left. I stayed in the Med Hut last night with a couple other people and we ordered delivery. Being in the city has other benefits like a hot shower. I took my first real hot shower in 5 months last night. It was quite nice. Now I must go I have to find my way to the dentist by myself because there are no Peace Corps cars avaliable to take me. Should be interesting. Hope all is well!