Dakar bound

So a few days ago I got a hangnail. Yes, this seems like a relatively insignificant fact to be posting to the world. However, that quickly turned into an ingrown toenail, which quickly became infected, and by yesterday had turned into a puffy, swollen mess. Since we were supposed to return to the village yesterday, I called med to ask what I should do, and they told me to come to Dakar so they could check it out so it doesn't get out of hand. Infections can get bad quickly here if they go untreated, and in the village I don't have access to basic things we take for granted like showers to keep clean and buckets of hot water to soak infections in. Med put me on antibiotics (which actually reminds me to take that now) to make sure the infection doesn't get worse. It still hurts a lot- I can't put pressure on it and have been limping around for a couple of days now, but that should pass pretty quickly.
The upside of all of this is that I get to see Dakar a few weeks early! Not that we're out in the city or anything, we're sort of stuck in the med hut. The sick bay (med hut) is located in the PC office and consists of a living room with a small library in it, a den with a tv, dvds and several couches, a dining room, a full kitchen with fridge, microwave and stove, and several bunk rooms. The best part- it is air conditioned. I feel like I'm back in America all of a sudden. Unfortunately, we're killing all of our walk around money on feeding ourselves here. Dakar is a place where all the ex-pats come to hang out in Senegal, so prices are that which you would find in America or higher because of shipping costs. I bought a large can of ravioli in the supermarket today for 1900 cfa, or the equivalent of around 4 bucks american. that's a lot when they give you 50 bucks every other week to live off of. I shouldn't really be spending any money when I get back to site since my family feeds me, but I still don't have the leeway to go to the market there and buy a bunch of extra stuff.
The supermarket here is equally as American as the med hut is. It really did look like a regular stop and shop or equivalent, and it was located in what is basically a regular mall with cafes and a few stores. It was culture shock all over again seeing clean aisles of food and supplies after walking through the market in Thies only a few times. I'm pretty sure the next 2 years will just be one giant culture shock, the cause of which varies depending on where I am.
The other nice thing about being here is that I get the chance to talk to a lot of current PCVs of all ages. I've heard lots of stories about traveling, being at site, integration, languages, different regions throughout the country, and just the social every day scene of being a PCV in Senegal. It makes me super excited to swear-in in October. I've got a ways to go, but I'm sure as I start to get the language down better and integrate into my family more, the time will go by faster.
So I'm off- hopefully for real this time- back to the village tomorrow morning. They kept us here an extra night to make sure everything was fine before we left again. I'm sure it will be. Got a few pics of Dakar in the meantime.
Peace out y'all.
~E