Arriving in Dakar at 9 in the morning makes for a much different day than in the middle of the night like last time. Djibi, who is Dany’s main guy that works with fabric and sewing, took me on a taxi ride through Dakar on the way to Malika. Luckily, I got a little bit of sleep on the way there.
When we arrived, it was the usual unloading of bags and getting unpacked and settled. It was an extremely uneventful day. Had lunch in the hut outside and then sat and talked with some tea and coffee. I told everyone that it wasn’t going to be smart to take a nap, but once I sat on the couch to read I was out cold. I’m not sure for how long, but definitely worth it.
Once I woke up, I remembered my surroundings and wandered aimlessly until Herma invited me to a game of bocce ball. We had 6 people playing so we broke up into 3 teams of 2. I’m sure I did well for my first time. Since it was getting dark quick, we created a fire outside and sat and drank beer and talked the night away.
I’m very used to eating dinner around 5:00 or 5:30. Here in Senegal we seem to eat around 8:30 or 9:00. Quite a culture shock for me, but it’s very relaxing and laid back. Once we finished dinner, I sat and watched TV for only a short while and then crept back to my room in Dany’s house, read a chapter of Mere Christianity and then fell asleep fairly quick. I woke up and my roommate, Mark, had fallen asleep without turning off the light on the nightstand between us but I didn’t have the energy to reach over and turn it off until I got out of bed at 8:30 in the morning.
Very thankful to be here and I miss my wife and kids very much. Tomorrow should be pretty productive.
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