Circumspecte

Beautiful sunset in Salim Sarr, Louga Dear Senegal, I don't know how I made it through this one. I really don't. It's kind of hard to imagine you'd be sitting int he waiting lounge at the airport with all one, two, three pieces of excess luggage checked in...at virtually zero cost. Something that should have otherwise been at least $300 came down to a tip of 10,000CFAs, the equivalent of $20. It's at times like this that I re-resolve to continue proclaiming "I'm blessed", or as Nikki Minaj would say, "No, I'm not lucky, I'm blessed." Aside my friend's brush in with your police force - who have apparently (and ironically) decided to use the Holy Islamic Day of Friday to arrest invidivuals who don't have their national ID cards on them, and then consequently exact a bribe of 10,000CFAs (Ha! Come try that one in Ghana!) - everything went as well as can be. Funny what 10,000CFAs can do in one night huh? Anyway, who am I to cal...

It's interesting now that I think about it, but I have never wanted for housing. There has always been someone out there who has been willing to open up their home (and heart) to me when I was in dire need. And with each person I encounter, I get the sense that indeed, our paths are to some degree, already chartered, and that the 'meeting' had in fact been on the drawing board a gazillion years before we even happened upon this life. Once again, I have come upon a unique living situation. And just as was the case in summer 08 when I  stayed with a wonderful MHC alumna and her family, I am realizing that the MHC network and connection is a very special one. I won't mention any names, but this lady is indeed a phenomenal woman. It's been exactly a week since I joined her in her beautiful house, and I've already learned a lot about Mount Holyoke, U.S. History, African History etc. And although we are from two entirely different eras, there have been a number of ...