Verrrry Niiiiice!

(20.10.09) I am going to kick our ram and rooster in their heads! The ram “baas” all day and all night right outside my window and it sounds like an old lady who smokes a lot yelling “baaaaaag”. I wonder if he needs water or food. I don’t like him very much, the first day I went in the backyard he tried to attack me! Mbakaye said it’s because he doesn’t know me. The rooster starts at four in the morning, the same time the Muslim chants start on the speakers around town. He cock-a-doodles, then you can hear another one respond to him somewhere in the neighborhood, and then he goes at it again till about 12 pm. Today I had my first day of French class with Monsieur Mboudji. My class is at the all girls school, Ameth Fall, which is the same school that Nogaye and Seynabou go to. He’s crazy!! He told me that his favorite musical artists are Bruce Springsteen and Otis Redding. We did some very elementary review stuff, (numbers, verb conjugation, asking questions and talking about yourself) and every time I finished an exercise he said “Tu es tres fort!(you are strong) Verrry niiice!”. We talked about our families and how animals here are only for necessary things; work or food, not for pleasure. After class he walked me to the projects abroad office where I met up with Nicholas and Elizabeth who are also rotary scholars. I asked them if they would walk around with me, and they did! I’m still trying to get used to everything here; how to get around, where things are, and how to react to the different people in the streets. There are vendors yelling at you to buy their stuff, dirty talibé kids asking for money, pretty women in brightly colored dresses and EVERYBODY is looking at you. After we walked around, we ate at a Lebanese restaurant, then I walked home (30-40min). On the bridge, Le Pont Faidherbe, there was a cool wind, and everything was okay.
Tomorrow I have to take a taxi to school. It’ll be my first time taking one by myself. At first I was scared but every day I feel better about being independent here. 
Oh! Also, I’m going to pick out what kind of garment I’m going to make with the fabric I bought on Sunday. Very exciting!!