Current mood:

excited

Hello family! And, of course, anyone else who might be keeping up with my trip on this thing. This is my journal to keep y'all updated on my big trip to Africa without having to clog your inbox. I'll be updating regularly (I hope!) while I'm in Senegal, and occasionally beforehand to document all of the stuff that goes into a trip like this. So I'd reccomend that you add this to your bookmarks and check back here often for updates!

I suppose I should begin by talking a little about the program and why I chose to enroll in it. This summer, after deciding that I wasn't at the right place in my life to return to school in the fall, I started thinking about different things I could do with a semester or a year off. One of the ideas that seemed the most important to me was that if I'm not going to be in school, I ought to be at least making a difference and finding a way to grow. So I started looking for volunteer programs online! Projects Abroad seemed to have the best safety program on location, and was a well-established, legitimate, friendly and encouraging operation. You can take a look at the Projects Abroad website here. Senegal seemed like a good fit for me, as it's one of the safer African countries with a relatively stable government, and the locals speak French, so I'll get a lot more comfortable with speaking it! You can read up on what I'll be doing on the program website. I'm spending one month doing Care and Community, where I'll be working at an orphanage. After that, I'll spend one month teaching Senegalese children English at a secondary school. I'm staying in the city of Saint Louis, a fishing town on the coast about four hours north of the nation's capital, Dakar. It's said to be a great example of the French colonization of Senegal, and has quite the little European twist. I'm staying with a host family, but the program hasn't given me any information on them yet.

At this point I've got a month and ten days until I leave, and GOODNESS GRACIOUS am I nervous. There's a lot to prepare! I'll be paying for half of the cost of the program, which covers lodging, three meals a day, support for the staff and other projects, etc. So how to raise $1,500? I'm working right now at the Snapshot, a photo development (etc) store in Eau Claire. I mostly print off pictures (both digital and good ol' film), develop and mount slide film, work the desk, scan pictures, prepare orders and occasionally do some digital work. I've also been an assisstant helping my boyfriend Drew shoot weddings (he's a professional photographer) and then edit the wedding images. I've almost saved up enough, but I might have to sell some caramels and baked goods or do some odd jobs/babysitting to raise up the last bits of money.

There's also the issue of what to pack. I have to buy an impregnated (pre-soaked with mosquito repellent) mosquito net for my bed, some good sandals, lots of first aid equiptment--all sorts of stuff! Not only do I have to have the best in mosquito protection that I can find, I have to take anti-malaria pills every single day while I'm there--as well as before and after the trip, to be safe. The doctor gave me all sorts of fun stuff: anti-diahrea pills (yuck! but they're very important to have in case you're affected by bacteria in the water or food), a live typhoid vaccine that I have to take in tablets that actually need refrigeration (scary!!!), and I got innoculations for yellow fever, hep A and polio jammed into my arm with a needle. Which was, you know, a lot of fun. But getting sharp pieces of metal stuck in ya is better than dying of yellow fever, eh?

Phew, we've gotten most of the dry and boring stuff out of the way. I mean, hearing about me getting shots isn't that thrilling (unless you really have it in for me), so I'll leave you at this for a little bit. I'll send another email out to the family just before I leave in case you all forget. Catcha later, cowboys.