I can officially say that I have never been so patriotic as I have been living here. Distance truly does make the heart grow fonder, and my love for my homeland has never been stronger. Being away from America for two years certainly makes me realize how wonderful of a place I belong to, flaws and all - and as I've said before, there are indeed flaws. Regardless, I plan on enjoying every second of my return to the Motherland; so soon!
Since most of the PCVs in country were down in Kedougou celebrating the 4th like we did last year, we figured Dakar was the next best choice. After a long trek from Toubab Dialaw to Dakar in nasty traffic, we finally arrived at the regional house completely famished and day dreaming of American food. After the necessary shower break, we jumped into cabs and headed to the American Club. The Club was dressed in it's American finest, complete with dozens of flags and patriotic bunting that we lovingly included in our photo. We weren't sure what to expect in terms of food, but we were impressed by the spread and inhaled delicious cheeseburgers that actually tasted like cheeseburgers. I think the Senegalese wait staff was a bit disturbed by my excitement for cheese.
During lunch we were provided with "entertainment." The American Club's idea of entertainment was several Senegalese clowns running around doing seemingly dangerous acrobatics with small children and dancing inappropriately with Mickey Mouse marionettes. I am terrified of clowns; this was my personal nightmare. I tried to avoid eye contact and focus solely on my beer. Clowns aside, it was really nice to spend a couple hours relaxing pool side with other PCVs and get the American time we needed. Katherine came up with the brilliant plan to high five for every year that America has been America. That's 235 high fives throughout the day. I think we might have been up to the Civil War when we left the American Club.
April doing acrobatics with a creepy clown
From there it was off to the downtown area to attempt to make a Close of Service bracelet order. In the Dakar region, it's tradition for all of the 2nd year volunteers who are about to leave to purchase silver Close of Service bracelets engraved with our Senegalese names. Our go-to silver guy wasn't there, so Alyssa and Katherine agreed to try again the next day (turns out they were successful, so our bracelets should be ready before we leave!) Still on an American food high, we made a bee-line to N'ice Cream which is the best ice cream place in Dakar. We indulged in "Obama Cookie" ice cream in honor of our President and then headed back to the regional house. The food binge did not end there (I am no longer ashamed about how much I write about food). Dinner was bacon mac n'cheese made with a pound of Velveeta cheese shipped from the United States. There cannot be a more deliciously fattening meal. We ended the day by watching "The American President" and continuing our 235 high fives. God bless America (and God bless cheese).
We spent the next day at the Peace Corps office tackling our Close of Service to-do list. Actually leaving this country and accomplishing all that is necessary to do so has become a part-time job. I completed my final physical and went on a scavenger hunt around the office searching for signatures from various people. I also closed my Senegalese bank account, which in true Senegalese fashion, turned out to be a several hour affair. In order to close a bank account here one must pay over 60 USD and jump through several paper based hoops. It's all a bit ridiculous. After doing just about everything I could manage in one day, I headed to the garage and jumped in a car back to Pout.
Tomorrow I'll be in Thies for the big site reveal day! The SED trainees will find out their permanent sites tomorrow afternoon. I already know who my replacement is but it's been hush-hush since everything will not be technically finalized until tomorrow. I'm so pumped for my replacement to finally find out where he/she will be going. On Saturday we'll both be headed back here to Pout and my replacement will spend the weekend with me getting to know Pout and the work I've done. Exciting times!
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