today and tomorrow we are doing counterpart workshop. this means our local work partners are in thies at the training center to learn about peace corps and to start a plan for the next 3 months. i cant believe that training is almost over! in 2 weeks i will be at site for good. i will probably have access to internet 1x a month so i might not be able to update as frequently. this training has felt a lot like summer camp-- everyone gets excited for packages from home, we sleep on bunkbeds, its really hot... i am slowly getting used to things that used to really bother me before i came here. screaming children were like nails on a chalkboard and now its just white noise which is good because i think my new host family has 11 children. (God help me)

this weekend we have our first day off! we are heading to popenguine to go to the beach and hopefully relax a little. we were in village for easter so it wasnt exactly a day off and it was kind of sad not being at home for the holiday. i feel like the days here come in waves-- maybe you are happy in the morning, by lunch you have had enough and just want to go to sleep and when it is finally time to go to bed you are back in a good mood. easter was like that for me-- i woke up kind of sad not to be at home, went to mass and was even sadder because of course i didnt understand anything. but then i realized that some things are universal-- they baptized babies at church and i saw the proud aunts and uncles taking pictures just like at home. i went to an easter party afterwards and the women were cooking and making sure everyone had drinks while the men did nothing-- just like at home in the south! no offense-- this is obviously a generalization anyways-- i happen to have a VERY culinary-ily talented male cousin. anyways, easter made me realize that i am happy to be here and i am so excited for holidays and birthdays and new experiences to come.

may 13th i swear in as an official volunteer and sometime soon after that i move to my hut. i will update ya'll with my new address but you can always email me (hhines77@gmail.com) and i will respond asap. thanks for reading and for all the prayers! updates on my last week at homestay coming soon....

So I found out my permanent site for the next two years-- Medina Afia! It is a small village (+1300 people) in the Kolda region. It is near the river, banana plantation, and has lots of trees. I couldn't be happier with the town. I am only 1-2 km off the main road and only 16km from my closest neighbor. I got to visit my site last week during volunteer visit. Volunteer visit is when current trainees go stay with current volunteers to "demyst" which means get a better idea of what you will actually be doing when you get to site. During the visit, I got to participate in baby weighings, "help" with gardening (i use "help" here very loosely as im not sure how much actual help i was), and i got to meet my counterparts in my new village. my counterparts seem very anxious to get to work so that makes me excited! Medina afia is about 7-8 hours from thies, where the training center is. i will be moving to medina afia probably may 15 or 16 after i am officially sworn in as a volunteer on may 13th. after i move there (which is what peace corps means when they say "install") i will just be getting to know the village and working on my pullo fuuta for a while until i can start my baseline survey. i am anxious to actually move into my very own hut and actually unpack my stuff. training is such a weird process-- at first, you get to thies and its not that bad, but you miss your bed and american food and the little things like your own bathroom. then you get to your homestay and you miss thies with its delicious food and english speakers. then you get to your village and you think "oh wow this is not going to be as easy as homestay." i understand more clearly now why they do training like this -- they wear you out in the beginning so that you are actually ready to go to village when its time. tomorrow we are going to dakar (the capital) for a tour and suprise suprise more shots! after that, we go back to homestay for a week then back to thies. next weekend we have a much needed beach weekend! check back for more details -- i will try to update again next week. thanks for all the prayers and emails and snail mail! i love it! also, i will be sure to let ya'll know when i get my new address in my village.

the power of a coke

i made it through the longest stint of homestay! there were so many ups and downs but now i really feel like i can do this. this time was much less terrifying because i sort of knew what to expect. i already knew the family, what my meals would be like, etc. the problems i have now are mostly with the language and not having much independence. the good thing is that i dont think "man i would love to be at home" instead i think "man i would love to be at my permanent site so i dont have to eat rice. AGAIN." i think it will be so much easier once i move into my own hut. i can control when i eat, what i eat, when i leave, when i come back...(the importance of eating in my life should surprise no one) i had several down days and all i can say is thank God for cold coke. there is a boutique (small shop) in my town and they have cold can drinks which is a rare luxury. the day really doesnt seem that bad if you are drinking an ice cold coke. but then i feel like im in a vintage coke commercial walking down the street with smiling african children following me.

i had an especially bad day last week when i was frustrated with the language, with all the problems with the systems here - both education and health, and with life in general. my lcf (language and cultural facilitator and general go-to person in village) called and said we had to be at the school for a meeting. this only frustrated me more because the meeting was in french. BUT afterwards we got served lunch. they brought out tray after tray of delicious vegetables! of course there was rice too, but the veggies were so nice! AND to top it all off, they brought out coke when the meal was finished! the coke even had that magical vapor of coolness when you popped the cap. oh the small things....

i was able to successfully execute an april fools joke as well! after an especially disgusting night of GI issues (ill leave it at that), i came to class and said - "thats it. im going home! last night was the final straw." of course no one believed me because i couldnt keep a straight face, but my lcf thought it was so funny that she called the head of the language program who then called the head of the entire training program who THEN called my lcf. it was hilarious-- he was freaking out and about to call dakar to get a car to come get me. we could not stop laughing. he texted me and told me to watch my back. i responded with "just exercising my swagger" (which is what he always tells us to do-- work our "swagger") and he said "swagger confirmed." success!

i am really excited for thursday because we find out our site placements. im more anxious to know who out of my group will be my neighbors, rather than where i will be. i mean there is really no surprise there-- it will be a hot sandy hut. im headed back to the village this thursday through sunday. then i go on my "volunteer visit" which is a week with a current volunteer at or near my permanent site. i am really excited about that because i can get the lowdown on the town-- administration, projects in place, etc.

i am starting to realize how much im missing-- graduations, big decisions in my friend's lives, and most importantly seeing the american idol finale. i didnt really realize everything i would be giving up, but thus far it seems that it was a more than fair trade. i already have gained so much -- i feel like i know myself better and what i want from life. i knew that i would gain so much more than i am giving, but now i just feel like a thief. this country has already given me so much. i am so grateful for every experience and sometimes i stop and think how lucky i am. i wish everyone could experience this-- being the only white person in a town, or seeing the cows come home (literally) every night. it teaches you about prejudice and tolerance, both of which i still have much more to learn. thank you all for the emails and prayers! i promise to keep you updated!