Boite Postal 21

Hold up, STOP whatever you are doing! Pick up a pen and a post-it. Write on it:

Kira Keuhn
BP 21
Bambey, Sénégal
West Africa

Okay, now you can keep reading. But when you are done reading, you need to write me a letter. A pretty one that I can hang on my new wall! International stamps cost like 94 cents. I’m not kidding: I expect mail from you in like a month. OR ELSE!

That’s right, I moved! I am no longer living with a family. I have a one room apartment. Let’s call it a studio; sounds more sophisticated. Yesterday, the Safety and Security Coordinator, my friend Erin, and I arrived in Bambey around 2. We looked at the place and talked to the owner. Then, we went to my old house to get my mattress, fan and a few other things and brought it to my studio. Then the SSC left. Erin I went back to my house and packed up everything. Within 2 hours, I was moved into my studio with the help of Morr Diouf and his horse El Hajj. Not exactly 2 Men and a Truck but much cheaper! I owe Erin big time. My room was about 10 degrees hotter than anywhere else in Bambey and we were there during the hottest part of the day! Love you Erin! She and I slept in my tent on top of my mattress last night. I have no furniture (everything was borrowed from my host mom at the last house), 2 bikes, a double mattress, more books than you can imagine, and 2 full suitcases of clothes all in a 3 ½ meter square room. But I have a window! And a cement roof!!

I spent all morning running around Bambey with the handyman I got to know very well early in my service. He repaired my roof twice and screened my windows and doors at the last house. “Screens are missing” was the phrase of the day. We went to 4 hardware stores to find all of our supplies. He will be making me a screen door and window and 2 shelves. It is much easier doing all this moving-in stuff when I already know my way around. I should be getting internet installed in the near future and am trying to make friends out of my new neighbors. I live in an apartment that’s a lot like a dorm so I have about 20 new housemates!

So now the countdown is on! I have an artisan reunion to plan, an eco-t conference to attend, a new volunteer and his artisan to visit, a tree nursery to plant, and a whole lot of other greetings to do before Nick arrives on April 5. Sama jëkër lay nëw Sénégal! Vacation is planned in the mangroves, the desert (aka Bambey), the beach and a few cities in between! Couldn’t be more excited!

Just a quick shout out to my 2 favorite women in the world – Happy belated 85th Grandma and Happy belated 50th Mom! Love you both! We’ll celebrate next year together!