For some reason, I needed a day like today. With the exception of getting my shoes wet and later stepping in horse poop, it was one of those days that you wish every day was. Unfortunately, I can't really figure out why it was any different from other days.
Due to an Islamic holiday for one of the Brotherhoods here in Senegal this weekend, the gardeners had religious obligations to take care of. As a result, because a garden never sleeps, I came in for a few hours to water the garden.
Sundays in Dakar are days to relax and very quiet. The garden is no exception. I put on shorts and tennis shoes when I woke up (normally wear pants and sandals to work), walked from the house I'm house-sitting at, and got a .5 liter Coke and a piece of bread with chocolate spread on it for breakfast (I decided to switch from my normal tuna, mayonnaise, and hot pepper sandwich).
I got to the garden and got to work immediately. Because I do not typically water, I am far from a pro, and as a result, I was nearly soaking wet after the two hour process. In a city that is often chaotic, it was nice and relaxing to be in the tranquil surroundings of the garden with just myself to take it in. Through out the course of the time, a few people from the hospital that I know stopped by as well.
I finished up around 11:45 and headed for the neighborhood of Parcelles Assianes to visit the family I have English class with. They feel like my adopted family, so it is nice to go over and hang out. Also, their children are not their during the week, just weekend, so I wanted to see them as well.
I jumped on a city bus and rode. I knew it was going to Parcelles, but I can't say I really knew where. I've started to not care about the whole not knowing thing. Towards the end of my time on the bus, I knew exactly where we were, UNTIL, it made a turn and went a long ways before making a stop. That didn't matter because I thought I knew where I was. Funny thing is, after a 25 minute walk, I figured out where I was.
I got to the Sane's house to find Sane (the guy I work with at the garden) back from Koalack and sleeping, Fatou was cooking, and the kids were doing their thing. The minute I walked in, chaos was unleashed.
Fatou had fixed an amazing lunch...Yassa Poulet, or chicken with a onion sauce on top of rice. Definitely one of my favorite meals here. We had lunch and then sat down for an after-meal snack. I bought a Fanta Cocktail and a Coke, Fatou made a cake (tasted more like corn bread) and Senegalese tea, and I busted out a roll of Girl Scout cookies...I can't think of a better combination.
If kids can play soccer here barefooted then a little sugar in the diet can't be that bad for them. Neither can a few crumbs.
After a couple of hours of eating and playing, I decided to make it back to where I'm house sitting for a nice walk along the ocean front road with the dog.
While it was not a Saturday between the Hedges, it was a nice, relaxing Sunday here in Dakar (only have about 50 left).
Hope everyone is doing well and had a great weekend.
Pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7cwno9h.8idz4kp1&Uy=nt1af8&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1
