Today sitting on the beach with some of my girlfriends, I saw something that made me realize that I really will miss Senegal. We were all relaxing and enjoying the sunshine, but everyone else on the beach was engaged in training exercises of various sorts. This is pretty typical- guys do lunges, sprints, push-ups, etc. It just seems to be a part of the mentality of being a man in Senegal. Fitness is a big deal. There was one man in particular, however, who caught our attention. This man was running sprints back and forth in front of us, which wasn't in itself very notable. What was notable was the fact that his baby sheep was running behind him. Like one might expect a dog to do in the States. No leash of course, but the sheep was running back and forth, turning when he did and bleating the whole way. Adorable. And not something I can expect to see more of in snowy Minnesota. It's seeing things like sheep running with their owners that I can already tell I will miss when I go home. I really have started to feel at home here.
This morning we had a 're-entry session' where we discussed the big lessons that we've learned and things we want to take away with us. Everyone has funny stories of dysfunction and total confusion, but at least it seems to have amounted to something. I think I need to get home before I really figure out what this semester has meant, but I am happy to have been here. It's been a linguistic and cultural haze, but I have loved the adventure. I can already tell that my travel bug will be back within months of my return. Too bad I probably have other things (like going to school and getting a job) to do before I can take off again. At least my adventure isn't quite over yet. In fact, the amount of time I have left is the length of a normal vacation! It's funny how my perspective on time has changed.
And now- celebrating a few months well spent with my friends in Dakar and hopefully getting my laundry done before I get my butt on an airplane to take me away to France!
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