Two Posts In One

Part One.

As I wave goodbye to my mother and my two best friends for what could be a year, tears form in my eyes.  Am I really doing this? I feel a sense of regret about the whole thing. I don’t want to go. I’m leaving everything I know... everything I love. I know I will enjoy it, but I feel home sick when I haven’t even left them yet so how will I feel when I’m actually there or even worse, in two months time!?  I run back, giving them another hug before bursting into tears. Like an infection, my tears cause them to cry simultaneously.  You never know how important people are to you until you have to leave them.

Lunch on the airplane

As I write this, I sit in the airport at Portugal as we stop there for four hours.  I’m excited, nervous and a little sick. I haven’t had a great start to the day.  I was physically sick on the way to the airport, which was pretty embarrassing as I didn’t even make it to the lift, let alone the bathroom. Then I apparently didn’t have enough documents for my visa. After hours of putting money into a machine, trying to understand why it wouldn’t print, I had to just risk it or risk missing my flight. They didn’t even check if I had any document in the end! All the time I could have spent with my mother and my best friends wasted. I must admit, I miss them so much, but I know it will worth it. I find myself wondering what they are doing right now. I’m especially anxious about leaving my mother as this is the first time she’ll be living alone in 27 years as my father passed away from cancer this year. The reality of his illness didn’t hit me for a while, but the closer I get to leaving, the more I feel it. I questioned whether or not I should go several times, but my mother being the amazing person she is, encouraged me to go. Her words exactly were “at least I’ll be losing a family member for a good reason this time”. If you know my mother then you know she is the kindest sweetest person you’ll ever meet. By the time you read this, I’ll probably be in Senegal, but until then au revoir!

Part Two.

They rest of the day was amazing. It is marvellous here...The sun, the beach, the food. I adore this place.

The food alone shows the effects the French has on this African country.  For breakfast, we had baguettes and for lunch we had a traditional Senegalese cuisine called Ceebu Jen. 

Ceebu Jen

   ‘Ceeb’ is  rice in Wolof and ‘Jen’ is fish.  The other volunteers claim that it is very spicy, but I can’t really taste it. 

We also went to the beach and enjoyed the African sun. Many locals came to talk to us and sell to us. 

 

As my French is so poor I’ve been saying the wrong things to them! I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t leave me alone when I told them that I had no money for them. It took me the whole day to realise that what I was saying was absolutely wrong.  What I said was neither French nor Wolof. Typical Precious

 Au revoire (French) &  Be benen yoon (Wolof)