Welp, this is it I guess. I
am not sure if I can call it the end because, while it sounds cliché, this
experience will be with me forever. Whether you want it to or not, it is not
something that you can’t just shake off and forget about, though I did have
plenty of days that I wished that I could have!
My last week at site was about as perfect as you could imagine. I had a lot of quality family time, I was able to say goodbye to countnerparts throughout Velingara and everything actually fit in my suitcase. It was horrible saying goodbye to the people that I called family for the past two years; heartbreaking saying goodbye to the kids, especially since the younger ones didn't understand why I was leaving and nearly impossible saying goodbye to my host mother. She took me in quicker than I would have thought and was by my side the entire two years. I will always have a place for her in my heart and will be forever grateful for the experiences that she has given me!
The last week that I had in
Dakar was comprised of paperwork and downtime. We had to be at the office
Monday thru Wednesday to make sure that we didn’t have any loose ends with
admin- about 10 signatures from various administrative officials were needed
and three informal interviews with senior staff. My boss (APCD in PC lingo)
said that he was more than happy with all the work that I did and asked if I
was sure that I didn’t want to stay one more year. Honestly a part of me
thought about it but remembered all the reasons why I am leaving (such as the I
should probably get a job someday thing). While the last week was flattering
and it was nice to have lunch with staff to say our goodbyes, it felt good to
have everything taken care of so we could just enjoy our last day and a half in
Senegal, which is where the tattoos came in. I am still sticking to the story
that had the only tattoo shop in Dakar not been directly in front of the house
that I was staying at then I probably would have never gotten one but with
convenience and pure boredom comes spontaneity! Alexx, Karen and myself got the
ever so popular “Peace Only” greeting in our respective languages, mine being
Pular. They are really cute and we all got them same font, just in different
spots. It will forever remind me of Senegal.
So what is the first thing
that I bought once getting off the continent you may ask? Well, a tomato,
mozzarella and basil sandwich with an Arizona Ice Tea I would tell you! Sitting
here, blogging, eating my snack, it almost feels like I was never in Senegal.
It is strange, and scary, how quickly I can already feel myself bouncing back
to “old life,” something so simple that I had wanted for so long and now that
it is here it feels just normal.
 |
| My grandmother wearing my sunglasses! |
I am currently sitting in
the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Sad, free and relieved are just a few
of the feelings that I have at the moment. It was about as sad as you could
imagine saying goodbye to all of the wonderful people that I had just built a
life with the last couple of years, though I was lucky enough to have Marsha
and Alexx on my first flight. Free comes to mind because while I have an loose
itinerary for the next couple of months it is inevitably up to me as far as
where I end up and what I end up doing. Relieved that my time in Senegal was a
success and I am now able to move on to the next step.
I still have two flights
remaining and honestly it is going to be a little difficult; now is the time I
am trying to tell myself that if I was able to ride squished in the back of a
car for 12 hours without air conditioning or personal space that this plane that
they refer to as a minibus, which holds at least 81 rows, refreshments and tv will
be a piece of cake. Plus the detail worth mentioning that at the end of this I
have my parents, friends and family waiting.
I guess with random mixed
thoughts comes a random mixed blog post so this is fitting. Thank you again
Senegal for everything and America, get ready for the new me!
Cheers!
