With the exception of being a bit ill in DC, the commute to Senegal was painless. Flying direct is the way to go. My first step off the plane into the Senegalese air brought back all the memories of why I fell in love with this place back in 07. Its the smell of construction, sea water and a hint of burning rubber. Most would think its gross but it reminds me of Senegal. The training camp in Thies is a lot like the Peace Corps headquarters I visited in Dakar in 07 but larger and prettier. Lots of trees and blooming flowers. I guess it could be described as what you would imagine a typical summer camp to look like, but with an African twist on it. When we pulled into the compound we were greeted with a Senegalese chant to the beat of drums. Super cool. The weather is perfect. It was actually pretty chilly when we landed at 6 am. Its the end of the dry season so I'm told it won't get much hotter than 80 for the next few weeks. Then we enter the rainy season. We had a typical breakfast of baguette, butter, jam and hot tea and now we have down time until the first of many meetings at noon. Everyone in my group (there are 49 of us) is really down to earth and friendly. I thought I might be the oldest but there are actually 4 or 5 other 27 year olds and one 32 year old. We're dabbling with the idea of starting a "senior citizens" club.
Well I don't know too much yet about the logistics of how things will work around here. I know that the next 9 weeks will be pretty intense, crammed with Woloof lessons. I'll let you know more when I find out. I was pretty emotionless about coming here until I finally got here. Now I'm really excited. I feel honored to be apart of such a big movement and to be in the company of truly amazing people. I know there will be highs and lows these next 27 months but I'm confident the good will highly outweigh the bad. Hope everyone is doing well. xoxo
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