So many things have happened since I last wrote. We've had the first rounds of elections for one thing and I finally visited Kaolack having not been back there since October. I also saw the president and have been going on election campaigns here for the another candidate.There has been quite a bit of hype recently about the elections. When I first arrived people were talking about them but it was just occasionally, now almost everywhere you go people are discuss...

So I realise that I've not done a blog update in ages. It's not because I haven't been up to anything it just because I guess I struggle to put into words the amazing, although sometimes bizzar, time I am having here. For example today I went to help out in the pharmacy and I walked into a consultation room to greet the doctor as is custom here and I walked in on him performing a circumcision. Pretending this hadn't fazed me in the slightest I completed the norm...

Tabaski is a Muslim festival, which was held on the 7th of November this year. It is to celebrate the prophet Abraham and involves the sacrifice of a ram. The ram is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days… In the morning all the men and boys put on their boubous and headed off to the mosque. When they came back the slaughter began. The men and some of the older boys helped with the slaughter while the rest of the family pulled up chairs and sat ...

I taught my first lesson yesterday! It was a 4eme German beginners class. Last class they had learned to say their names and where they lived and how they are feeling. I taught them "Wo wohnst du in Deutschland?" "Ich wohne in Kiel." "Wo ist das?" "In Norddeutschland". The lesson went well. I spoke more French then I would have liked to but the type of learning they are used to is that the teacher says the things in French ...

Ciara and I managed to change in Mbour without much difficult, I spent the ride with my legs up at my chest thought because I was too tall for the back of the septplace. It was an internesting ride to say the least, everytime we went over a speed bump I had to duck my head down so it didn't smack off the roof. When we arrived in Joal we were standing there with our bags on not knowing where Amadou was. We waited about 5 minutes then gave him a call. He said he wa...