Nange di Wuli

Well, I’ve finally made it to Kolda and it is HOT. I thought it was hot where I lived during PST, but little did I realize the benefits of the desert – namely, it cools off at night. Here in Kolda, that doesn’t happen. It’s hot in the morning, it’s hot during the day and it’s hot at night. No breeze, no relief. I have very little hope of getting anything done until the rains come in a few weeks (but luckily, no one else will be doing anything either so it’s all part of the integration process). Another part of integrating is realizing that Senegalese people say the same things over and over. This especially applies to jokes – which literally never get old – and the weather. “Nange di wuli” means “the sun is hot.” There are no days when the sun isn’t hot, but this is still said every day with a hint of surprise.

Tomorrow is my big installation day! It feels like the first day of camp – I know I’ll have a good time, but I’m dreading those first moments of being alone and not knowing what to do. We did a ton of shopping yesterday which included the purchase of:

-two trunks

-lots of buckets

-various kitchen supplies

-a cot

-new foam mattress

-paint/chalk

-half-length mirror (my splurge purchase)

-toubob food (ramen, corn flakes, jam, pasta)

-a machete (awesome, I know)

I’m planning to buy an aircard so that I can get internet in my village, but it’s going to have to wait until the next time I get paid (probably in the next week), so I’ll be off the grid for a bit. I’ll write a few posts about my first few days and put them up when I come back into Kolda. Thanks to everyone for your support with the CNN piece – I even made it onto CNN Student News and got seen by my cousin Adina’s 6^th grade class.

Puppy Hunt 2011 starts tomorrow…wish me luck!

kp