Alas, another scorcher in Senegal, and once again there is the ever present element of surprise. I went to work today to discover that my work is on strike. No one really mentioned this to me yesterday. I suppose they figured it's not important to mention a strike to a non-paid employee. Oh well, I'm happy to have the morning off.
This afternoon I'm going to a friend's internship at the orphanage. It should be very interesting and probably pretty depressing.
After a week and a half at the health clinic I'm feeling pretty iron-gutted. Yesterday I cleaned lots of wounds and I started to get really into it. I am beginning to get excited about the nasty stuff that comes in. I think I'm beginning to like medicine. It's too bad that I would only ever qualify to work in it in the third world.
Tuesday was a vaccination day and I can not even begin to tell you the number of women who were there with their babies to be vaccinated. Each time I left the room I was stunned at the amount of people there waiting. The women got a total kick out of me attempting to call their names. There was one woman who helped me all day by repeating everyone's name correctly for me. I was so shocked when I called a name and she herself stood up. I had almost forgotten to notice that she had been waiting forever.
On my way here this morning I was terribly frustrated when my newly purchased shoes broke for the second time. They broke last weekend but I fixed them with a stapler. I was actually quite proud of my resourcefulness. I knew that I probably shouldn't wear the damn things anymore since I'm not actually Macguiver and I was probably pushing my luck. Which was correct because I ended up walking halfway here barefoot. Yet, I stopped for my usual cafe Touba from my pal around the corner and a woman there took the shoes out of my hand, called a guy over and in ten minutes my shoe was good as new. It cost a quarter. I love Senegal.
Speaking of love... it's a fact, I'm absolutely head-over-heels for Alex. Everyday that inches closer to the day I'm leaving I get sadder and sadder about it. I've become almost determined to find a way to see him again.
I'm such a different person here it's wild. I worry that I will go home and change again. I'm afraid I will forget all this and who I am here and I really hope not because I certainly like this me a lot. I've calmed down so much. I don't party here and I don't think about it. I'm happy in a whole different way than ever before. I can't ever be the same after being here, I know that's impossible.
I can't believe in five weeks I'm returning home. It's going to feel so foreign and crazy. I'm very excited to see my family and all my friends. I can't wait to eat Skyline, and to use my down comforter, and to hold a warm mug of hot chocolate and sleep in a big comfortable bed. I can't wait to spend a day watching Grey's nonstop. I wanna eat tomato soup and grilled cheese and see my breath when I stand outside. I'm excited to drive Julie and see Athens again. Yet, I know that all of that is still there for me to do. On the other hand I might leave here never to return again. Never to see Alex, never to experience the Teranga again, never to speak Wolof. I might never drink Bisap again, or see another baobab tree, or drink cafe Touba. I might not ever see all the wonderful people I've become friends with again. That thought frightens and saddens me a lot. The solemnity of leaving here perhaps forever far outweighs the excitement of going home. I hate goodbye, especially since I've met someone I hate leaving for even five minutes.
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