Sorry its been so long since I've written but between going to America at one point and then getting resettled back at site it hasn't felt like the time. I will give it a go though now and hopefully will begin a series of blogs about random topics in Senegal today or soon.

First of all I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all y'all out there. Don't worry I will be eating turkey and stuffing my face with, well, stuffing on one of the greatest of American holidays. For now though, I am foregoing the craziness of the Kaolack house in order to write this update which is looking like it might become quite lengthy. 

        I've been back at site now for about 2 months. My family is amazing and I couldn't be luckier in how great they are. The kids are always running errands for me or helping me without me even having to ask. My mom is always offering to do laundry for me. They even still try and carry water for me even though I've been doing it myself for a long time now.

      Work at site is still rough though I do have a few projects in the works. There are about 7 villages near mine that speak Pulaar. I have been going around to each of these villages and talking about the possibility of doing a latrine project in each of them before I go home. Heads up, I might be doing some fundraising for this in the near future. Diarrheal illnesses are one of the most common causes of death in this country and the use of proper latrines can help to reduce those numbers. Currently most villages defecate out in the fields and don't use proper handwashing techniques. A theater group will also be used to emphasize these points. With the installation of latrines, this project will include trainings in proper sanitation techniques and the importance of using latrines. This project could make a huge impact. I am currently working on getting latrines in my village and a nearby village but this future project would cover lots of villages.

      Another project I'm working on is a health tournee in these same villages. Potentially two people from each of these villages will meet in my village and be trained about a health topic. These people will then hold a training in their village. I am hoping that this greatly spreads the knowledge of proper health practices and decreases the early deaths of so many people. An huge number of infants die in this country and who knows about miscarriages and such.
     I also have a personal garden that I work in. So far my eggplant is producing. But hopefully by next week I will have some sweet corn and okra ready. I also have tomatoes, squash, and hot pepper planted. Soon I will be putting in cantaloupe, watermelon, green beans, more tomatoes, onions, sweet potato, more sweet corn and okra, and whatever else I think of. The only problem is that my small garden already requires 8-10 buckets of water and so this increase will give me a nice long workout everyday. Its wonderful to have so many vegetables though.

    Well Happy Thanksgiving and haa booya (see ya later)!

    Noos e jam! (Party in peace)