Mbam

The drive to Mbam was rough.  There was a point where there was just a dirt road and the car kicked up so much dirt that we could barely breathe.  We got to the ferry and waited for a really long time.  It was actually really cold being on the water and I was in Capris and a tank top.  It's Africa its not supposed to be chilly.  

After we got across we drove into the village and to our house.  Mbam is clearly larger and more developed than louly.  Our house was nice and we had a large room.  There was also electricity.  The bath room was still the same.  Between Louly and Mbam i was not able to get used to using the hole in the ground toilets and bucket showers.  I did fine, it wasn't that i needed to have a toilet and showers, but it was nice to have back when we came home.  

We went on a tour of Mbam and quickly realized there were many sacred sites, some more scary than others.  There was one where if you cut a single branch, it would bleed blood and you would cry all night and noone would know why.  Needless to say I stayed far away from that area.  We walked down to the water where there used to be mangroves.  Apparently it was a student's project to replant the dyeing mangroves and now these ones are pretty much non existent.  That was pretty horrible to see.

Since we had a long day we ended up going to sleep early.  The next day  we found out someone passed away in the village.  We still held a meeting but there were only 4 people who showed up, so we were off for the rest of the day.  We went back down to the water where the shore is covered in shells of all types.  I had never seen a big conch shell before and was really excited about collecting the.  We also got to walk to some mangroves that were still existing.  

We stayed there all day, and we found out that the water was not deep at all.  it is so wide that you would think that it should be but there were kids that ran almost to the middle and were calf deep.  

After a long day of doing nothing we went back to the house.  We had a nice dinner, and found out that the family has a domestic cat.  I am so used to seeing wild cats that you feel like you get diseases from by just looking at them.  They also have 3 adorable dogs and a white horse.  

After dinner we all sat outside.  It was the muslim new year so a lot of kids came around dressed as the opposite sex and banging pots and dancing.  Cisco says it's like halloween.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  There were plenty of different kids, some that wouldn't stop dancing and some that were too scared of the Noubo's (not toubabs in this village) to even come to the stairs..oh well.

The next day we talked about a few projects with some important women of the village.  There were about 6 of them who came to talk about projects that have happened and the one they want.  The loan we gave out was to a group of 14 women who are all widows.  They know that they can succeed in getting a profit from buying and selling various items.  There are plenty of weekly markets where they can buy items at really low prices and sell for much higher. 

The second group didn't come for a while later, so we were lounging around most of the day.  The group already knew what they wanted which made things easier.  They are getting a loan for some computers and printers.  They have to travel to another town to use a computer, and pay a lot of money.  This is because this is the only internet cafe in the area so they can charge whenever they want, and close whenever they want so there is no guarantee that the trip will be worth it.  mbam has electricity and they have been wanting a loan for computers for a while.

While eating dinner we found out that the car was going to be too expensive and the breaks didn't work.  Instead we were taking the bus.  The bus that leaves at 5 am.  

We all packed and went to sleep around 10 and woke up at 4:30.  the only thing that made the morning good was there was that white horse hooked up to a cart and the three dogs waiting for us at the front door.  I have been wanting to go on a cart since the first day I got here.  

the bus was waiting for us and we hopped on, and got to the ferry.  After 2 and a half hours from getting on the bus we all stood tired and freezing on the ferry go back to the other side.  After that it was a bumpy crowded hot 6 hour drive back to Dakar.  An experience that I will never forget. 

After a short taxi ride I was finally home in Yoff.  It was so nice to be back to my bed and see Jess and Casey again.  We went to the tailor and picked up our outfits that we got custom made. A few of our friends came over and we all talked about our experiences in the villages.  It was nice eating dinner with our family again.