Work and Play

Alright. I admit. It’s been too long since I have written. But I’ve been busy! Planning a girl’s night, helping train the new volunteers, artisan work… what else? I spent a weekend in Dakar and I really just wanted to hang out with friends, play softball and swim at the pool but added to that, I also worked on a lot of translating for Ndem. Let me explain.

My ultimate goal when working with my artisans is to find them clients in America since they export to 5 countries in Europe but just not home! A few months ago we got into contact with West African Trade Hub and they came to meet some of the employees in Dakar and we have been put on their contact list for buyers in America. This is a huge start! And then just about a month ago, we got an invite from WATH to go to a week long expo in Burkina Faso and a 2-day expo in Mali. Well, the weren’t able to find the funds to send anyone to Burkina but I talked to the General Manager (Abdou) of Ndem telling him how important this would be for Ndem to go to meet American buyers in Mali. He said he’d talk to the president/religious chief to see if funds could be possible. A week later, I asked Abdou what the pres had said and he admitted he hadn’t yet asked. So since the power was out, and there’s not a whole lot else we can do, I went along with Abdou and met with the Pres and VP to discuss this huge opportunity. I guess I am pretty good at persuading! We got Abdou the money to go to this expo in Bamako, Mali under the condition that we prepared all the documents (contracts, brochures, price lists, etc) since they needed translating. And by “we”, I mean “I”. I had my hands full but in the end, it was worth it. I haven’t seen Abdou since he is back from the expo but I called him during the event and it seems like it was a success.

My girls’ night went SO well! I hope to get the pictures off my friend’s camera soon. I didn’t think it would go well since kids take a few weeks to trickle into school much unlike our first day of school. I harassed the principals enough and out of my 36 girls, I have 31 show and quite a few family members and school employees. Erin, my friend, counted 48 people! I gave all the girls certificates and had food and cold fantas and cokes for everyone.

So after a busy October – it’s been play time! Mom and Dad got in on Sat the 25th. We relaxed on the beach in Dakar for a day, and then went to Thies to meet my host family (during training) and all my 9 siblings. My host mom is a tailor (and an amazing one at that) so we went to the market and bought Mom some styling fabric to get a nice dress made. We ate the Senegalese traditional plate chebbu jen (fish and rice) and just hung out before getting back into the car and headed to Bambey. We had an uneventful night but the next day was busy with Mom and Dad dressed in Senegalese outfits and all my friends and work partners came over for chebbu ganaar (chicken and rice). They learned some of the greetings and although I had to coach them through some of the customs, they are quick learners and it went very well. It was a great day!

The next day, Dad and I went to the village of Ndem. Mom needed a day to rest her tummy so we spent the morning wandering around the workshops and talking with the religious leader. We relaxed all afternoon in the heat (mom complained about my room being 98….that’s nothing) and left the next morning for P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E! My host family in Thies is a real big family and my “uncle” is married to a French woman and they own this beach resort. We spent our time between the ocean, pool and 3 course meals. We even went on a safari! Okay, it is nothing like the Lion King but we saw antelope, gazelle, giraffes, ostriches, crocs, rhinos, tortoises, monkeys, and one zebra! It was such a nice vacation for me! And mom and dad just kept comparing it to Jamaica so I guess that’s a good thing.

So yesterday we were in Dakar saying goodbye to Daddy and planning the next week with mom. I think we are going to rough it on the beach… or not rough it at all but enjoy it out of my site! Senegal is fun with my parents but tiring with the language barriers. But I do love them here with me!