Fasting... again

It’s Ramadan again. I arrived in Senegal during Ramadan, so this would be my third month of fasting for Muslims. Not that I am a fan of fasting! Many volunteers do it: wake up before dawn to eat the first meal with their families and then avoid all water and food until the sun sets. I tried just one day of it last year and by 4pm I was seeing stars every time I stood up, dizzy with dehydration. This year will be the first Ramadan that I will actually be in Senegal the entire month. The first one we arrived on the second day of Ramadan at the training center, so it wasn’t real Senegal: more like summer camp where they provided our lunch while all the trainers took a nap. The second one I was 3 weeks of it in Europe and America. (Do you realize it’s been a year since I was home last?) So this year, what is my plan for Ramadan ‘09?

I am currently in Dakar. I had to say goodbye to my good friends Chris and Mandi, who just COS’ed. Chris was the first PCV that I met at staging and we ate lunch together in Atlanta. Mandi was my roommate at Sheraton and my roommate at the training center. Our first night apart in Senegal was install in November when she went off to Pout and I went to Bambey. Saying these goodbyes is not easy but just something in Peace Corps we get used to since everyone leaves sometime.

This week I will be at the training center teaching the newbies about my experience teaching record keeping and answering their many questions. I am looking forward to meeting the group that is replacing my group.

When I get back to site, it will be my last stretch at site before leaving. My plan is to paint some murals like I did with Erin up at her site and finish out-planting the trees at the middle school. I will have plenty of time since everyone that I could usually hang out with will be too tired and hungry to think. Me on the other hand, I will be eating. The idea of not eating to test my self control doesn’t sound too appealing, especially since who knows what would happen since I’m still on antibiotics for latent TB; I don’t want to test my body’s limits. I will be moving out of site around the 14th and since Ramadan follows the lunar cycle so it should be over to celebrate Korite with my Thies family on September 20 or 21. Peace Corps is purchasing my plane tickets to fly me home on September 23. I think I will be ready and am pretty excited to find out what it’s like to live in America again.