My Eyes

And my mouth

Get me into a lot of trouble.

Hades, as in 'Hotter than...'

Kedougou, Senegal

Average High for past 7 days: 110°F
Average Low for past 7 days: 78°F

It is 2:30pm and I raise my head to check the thermometer as the immortal words of Janis Joplin drift from my iPod, I'm gonna try just a little bit harder. The mercury is bubbling under 106°F and I drop back into my sprawled pose. Words like these come to mind as the heat passes over my body and reduces me to a puddle. Hot winds from the Sahara blow through town, whipping up dust devils so hot it feels like standing down wind from an inferno. Days are spent like collapsing dominoes, sweating in the shade, soaking my clothes with water only to evaporate within minutes, drifting in and out of sleep. The water shortage has begun again. Water dries up after 8 am, not available again until night. Each day, a half of a bucket to wash, a half of a bucket to drink. I have been finding solace floating down the Gambia River in a life vest. Sure there are crocodiles and schistosomiasis, but it seems like a reasonable risk to take for a moment of relief. Children gather on the shoreline to watch us swim as women beat laundry on the soap splattered rocks. I have abandoned and boycotted the pool in town at the French resort. Too much colonialist snobbery, I prefer the river and the locals. Laying on my flotation device calling Pulaar greetings to those on the river banks sends laughter to echo as the sun turns my skin a sweet caramel brown.

What it's like to be famous

Last night I had the most bizarre experience. I felt what it is like to be famous for no good reason. One of Senegal's most well-known singers, Baba Maal, played the National Theatre last night to a packed crowd, including many dignitaries. I had met the MC earlier in the day when I went to buy my ticket. We chatted a little in the local language Pulaar and he told me to come back early to get a good seat. I was one of the first people to arrive and grabbed a seat right behind the VIPs.

Mind you I thought this was a normal concert so I looked like this



Yet as the crowd filled in, the women were showing up dressed like this





Needless to say I was a little underdressed. I would have been cool with being the one person in jeans and a tshirt, if I hadn't been included in the program at the last minute. There must have been technical difficulties and the MC panicked so all the sudden I see him walk over to me and call out "Hey sister, come up here and speak some Pulaar for the people!" Can I reiterate that the National Theatre is full of very important people covered in very expensive fabric, the tv cameras are rolling, and I looked like a a scruffy Peace Corps Volunteer. I felt 2000 eyes bore into the back of my head and rose to my feet, convinced I that could and must say something to save face for the MC and myself. I took the mic from the MC and faced the audience, when all the sudden my radio personality took over. I have had a weekly radio station in the local language for the past year and a half, so all the sudden my schpeel came flowing out of my mouth. "On Jarama Dakar Nabbe, min ko Dienaba Sow, volunterjo e Kedougou. Mi salmini on fow! " Literally translated as "Good evening people of Dakar, my name is Dienaba Sow, I am a volunteer in Kedougou and I greet you all" The crowd collectively gasped and broke into applause. I felt ten feet tall and bullet-proof. After the show people came up to talk to me in Pulaar and I felt such a sense of belonging to my Pulaar people that I must have exuded nothing but love. Last night was amazing and I will never forget it.

WAIST Pics

Here are some pics of the softball tournament

On the sidelines


Watching the game, that's me in on the end in the overalls


Peace Corps attracts America's finest college grads, can you believe it?