April 18

Sorry for being MIA lately...it's been a busy but unexciting week, so there wasn't a whole lot of blog-worthy info.  However, this weekend we took a trip to St. Louis which was great, so I can tell you a bit about that.
The main event (other than another traditional dance/music performance which was moderated by the town drunk...) was visiting the Djoudj bird/wildlife sanctuary just outside of St. Louis.  You tour the park by pirogue (and this one was far stabler than the one on the way to Ile de Madeleine), on the water in the middle of the reserve.  They're especially known for their exotic birds (the most prevalent of which is the white pelican, which is about the size of a pony), as well as crocodiles, wild boars, and some other species.  Basically, I finally feel like I went to "Africa."  It was really gorgeous, but I guess we're sort of in the migratory season right now, so that several species that usually can be found there (among them flamingos) were noticeably abqsent.  regardless, it was an afternoon well spent, mostly because they gave us juice afterwards before getting back on the bus.  It's the little things that keep morale up here.
Last night was also Jenn's last night (she's Canadian so her semester is already ending) and so a bunch of us went over her house to cook a celebratory send-off meal...which was quite the experience, because despite having a "full" kitchen, the only working heating apparatus was the tiny portable gas burner, which was both running out of gas, and only capable of cooking one crepe at a time.  Even so, the evening was a success, and now I feel liek I will be a fully competent cook in just about any setting.
Today at my internship, it was staff meeting day and I got to sit in-all the speaking was done in Frolof, which made it a bit difficult to follow, but it was good practice I suppose.  They discussed the students who were failing, the overarching general problems (overcrowding, disciplinary issues, etc), and their practical solutions (of which there really weren't many, beyond kick out the disruptive students, and do the best you can with 80 kids per teacher).  It was really interesting to see how they all collaborate in the attempt to find the best ways around their significant problems.
Last thing to report: tonight is the beginning of Passover, and Keturah and I are going to attempt to find the Seder at the Israeli ambassador's house.  Yeah, it's not at the embassy, it's at his house.  Yikes.  Whatever, I'm sure it will be an experience, and maybe one of the other 4 Jews in Dakar can tell us where we can purchase some Matzah.  I'm a little concerned about being able to feed myself because all they eat here is bread and rice...we'll see how it goes (maybe I'll just keep the bread restriction, because I literally cannot think of one meal that my family here makes that I could eat otherwise).  I'll keep you posted.  Ba beneen yoon.