So I know it's been a long long time since an update....sorry for that....but I've been busy wrapping up. I officially have a little under 3 months until my return to the USA, and after my COS conference which took place in the middle of April, I've opted to take the plane ticket home to America vs. cash in-lieu of. Why?? Well, as much as I'd love to travel some more before heading home, financially I'm not in a position to do so, even with the readjustment allowance I'll receive. So I'm now officially coming home on August 11th, 2012!!!
But what have I been doing since my last post?? Well, last month I spent about two weeks travelling around Senegal/Gambia. A few of my friends and I went to a village called Lompoul to ride camels in the Sahara desert. There's a great campement there where you spend the night in the desert in tents. We chose to ride camels, which is a service they offer, and we spent a lot of time playing in the sand dunes. It was AMAZING!!! I admit, it was a bit touristy, but I'm so glad we did it! If you are planning a trip to Senegal at anytime in the future, do this. Here's the website:
http://www.gite-africain.com/gite-senegal/gite-africain-lompoul.php
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| Pam, Alex, Me, and Julia riding camels |
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| Pretending to be pro camel riders |
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| Freaking out when the camel stood up |
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| Playing in the sand dunes! |
After sleeping overnight in the freezing cold desert (seriously. It was so cold!), I spent some time in Thies working out Close of Service logistics and processes. Then my friend Alex and I decided to use up the last of our vacation time in The Gambia (the country inside of Senegal). We spent about a week there checking out the beautiful beaches, petting crocodiles, eating delicious food, enjoying the best that Banjul has to offer, and gawking at the beauty of the Gambian river in Georgetown.
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| Petting a crocodile |
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| A fishing beach in Banjul, The Gambia |
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| Elephant trees!!!! |
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| The Gambian River in Georgetown |
After our short but amazing vacation in The Gambia, I returned to site. It's always a great feeling returning to my village after being away for a bit. I love being reunited with my family and friends and sharing details about my trip with them :)
For the last month, since my return to Kounkane, I've been finishing up my Junior Achievement project. I completed my last one at Ecole 4 in Kounkane, but this time I had 33 students instead of my usual 20.
I've officially started the exiting process now that I'm in my final three months. I only have one project left, which will take place on June 30th of this year (check back for a blog post on it!). So until next posting.....
