New Mail Box!

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's been a while since my last blog post. Here is a short recap of my life since the last one:

I sat at site for 2 weeks or so preparing seeds, working in the garden, and getting the school windbreak off the ground. Check out my pepiniering season photos if you're curious.

Then, I traveled to Foundiougne to visit Oumy, my teacher/sister. It was bizarre seeing a more developed Senegalese town where the majority of the population is educated and relatively middle-class. She took me to the beach where we went swimming in clothing that I would never consider wearing in the more conservative village, and even wearing a one-piece bathing suit I was still more covered than some of the Senegalese women wearing bikinis on the side of the water. Her house also has something your don't expect to find in the majority of Senegalese households- indoor plumbing! Not to the degree a standard American household does; there is no kitchen indoors and you still do your laundry by hand, but I was pretty floored to see a real shower and flushing toilet inside a house.

Alas, after my short beach vacation with my Senegalese friends, I had to return to site for a little while longer before returning to the regional house to work on my volunteer report form and pick up tree sacs. Over the next couple of weeks, all of my time will be occupied by sticking dirt and manure mixtures into small plastic bags, putting some seeds in them and praying to Allah that they will grow before the rains come. Wish me luck.

In the mean time, enjoy this video that I have been trying to upload for the last couple of weeks and finally managed to work. It's a tour of Pape's garden where I spend most of my working hours, and I am sick of typing to you all, so this is my alternative:

Welcome to Pape's Field

Also, as the title of this post would lead you to believe, I got a new mailing address!! When I first installed, I did not realize just how far Sokone was from my site, and even though it is closer to my site than Kaolack, it is simply not convenient for me to get there either as a day trip or while I am in transit. Therefore, this should both speed up the arrival time of the package and the ease of checking my mailbox and pick-up for me. From now on, please send packages to the new address:

Emily Tran

B.P. 299

Kaolack, Senegal

West Africa

It's also posted on the side of the blog if for some reason you didn't make it this far in this post. Maybe you're rewatching that video a few times, I never know.