2011 Wrap-Up

Well I know this is a few weeks late but I guess that’s been the running theme of the blog the past couple of months.  I finally got back to site after my short (but wonderful) vacation to the States in early December. This is a photo of how much stuff I packed on the back of my bike for my first trip back to site.

all my baggage, thank god for Senegalese used inner tube bike straps

I had probably about 30 or so articles of baby clothes and assorted t-shirts for the children and the adults of my family that I brought back as gifts, along with a bunch of American candy and toys for the kids as well.  The family definitely appreciated them.  Snapped this photo along the side of the Dindefelo road on my bike ride back, cotton season is back!

they make these HUGE baskets out of stripped bamboo and then fill them with their cotton until the local cotton company comes to pick it up, it's one of the biggest industries in this area

But seriously the weather here is certainly unique this time of year. It’s really hot during the days, chilly to the point of needing to use a sleeping bag at night, and everything is extremely dry. Thanks to the 0% humidity or as it seems, there’s a ton of dust, and that leads to the ever famous Jersey-Shore-esque/John-Bohner-Spray-on-Laterite-Road-Tan (see my friend LaRocha’s well documented on-going battle with that tan here, here or here). But yeah, this was what my ankle tan line looked like afterwards.

ignore how ugly Senegal has made my feet and direct your attention to that beautiful tan line at my ankles

In other news my counterpart, Neene Galle, gave birth to a baby girl the last week in December, her name is Salematou.

Neene Galle and her new-born baby Salematu

And I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite photos from the end of 2011 here in Senegal.

this is a chicken on a goat...unlikely perhaps...amazing yes! my neighbors got a kick out of this one 

a version of a Senegalese scarecrow, that silo-like basket is where they keep their corn, similar construction to the cotton basket

well 2011, that's a WRAP (sorry for the pun, I just had to) (also this is me wearing my Mauritanian  head wrap to keep the dust out of my face, super effective)