friday was an important day of sorts, for it marked the first day of the rainy season with a brief yet torrential downpour. it was also the beginning of my career as a percussionist. whether or not it will be long-lived we have yet to discover, but for now- i dig it.

one of my friends came into contact with a drumming family focused on the djembe. they immediately welcomed him in as their own and have agreed to take a few of us in to teach us djembe. it is very laid back and we can structure it however we want, we just pay about 8.75 an hour for lessons. friday i learned the basic strokes along with two rhythms. after two hours, my hands were very sore and a tad bruised. it did not help that that evening; during our music class we began to learn to play the sabar drum. luckily for me, the sabar is played with one hand and one stick. thus my left hand has been very abused. i think i may leave senegal with a drum of one kind or another. i have not yet decided if i prefer djembe or sabar. though sabar is different and somewhat “exotic” for lack of a better term, the djembe is used widely throughout the states; especially in christian circles and that may be more practical. we will see how i feel in three weeks. in any case, i doubt that i will master either of the drums.

friday night i had one of those moments when i feel really alive. we went to a club called Pen’art to see a salsa band. there is something about dancing salsa that gives me joy. it was one of the better nights by far.

the majority of pictures that i have posted with this blog were taken on saturday at L’ ile de Gorée. thought the island and the buildings were beautiful, the history of Gorée speaks of slavery. it is the island that housed as many as 20 million slaves before they exited through the door “Aller sans Retour” that led to the americas. it should have been sad, but i found myself disappointed because La Maison des Esclaves was full of tourists taking pictures. there was no moment to reflect, there was no tour to relay the inhumane details.

on a positive note, i received a compliment today that my french is surprisingly good for someone only having learned it for two years with no french exposure. whats more is that i have noticed myself speaking with a little more ease. thought very limited, there are phrases and ideas that i can now communicate without having to think. despite my improvement, there is still serious lack of ability to carry on a real conversation and many sentences take me a few minutes to come up with.

when i returned from Gorée saturday night- there were about fifty people at my house because apparently maman’s daughter, my would-be sister, is getting married tomorrow in france. thought many people laughed at me and talked about me, i did get just another opportunity to attempt to speak french. the really amazing part about saturday night was that i had the opportunity to speak with kambey- the woman who is maman’s half sister (?) who does all the cooking and housework. though she says she can’t speak french, i have found that we communicate pretty easily.

i found out that she is 27 years old, an age at which she says is much too old to get married. she told me that she asks God every day to give her a husbad, a man who is nice. i wanted to cry. this young woman is incredibly sweet and does so much for me. by senegalese standards she would make a wonderful wife- for she can cook well and is fully able to do any housework and take care of children. and by other standards- i think she deserves an amazing husband because she is, by far, the most kind and sweet-natured person i have met here in senegal. i don’t yet know if she is christian or catholic or what, but i assume catholic. hopefully we will have further opportunities to talk and that somehow we will overcome language barriers.

i think that maman and the kids (particularly) Cynthia, have accents that are difficult for me to understand. i have communicated much easier with other people that i have met and spoken to. i dont know.

last night, we went out to see Pap Diouf, who i think may be famous? anyway, it was at this beautiful club that was on the ocean. the band played the mbalax genre, specific to senegal, and i had a fabulous time. i have been attempting to dance like the senegalese, without much success, though last night i did attract the attention of one of the “professional” dancers. by professional i mean, the four guys that would dance at times who were simply amazing. next time i am taking my camera so that i can video tape and post it so that you can understand the uniqueness and the skill of senegalese dance. my dancer friend Tapha told me that he loved me as soon as he saw me. but of course, i told him that i was taken and we could just be friends. he insisted that he loved me, but he doesn’t realize that i know he just wants a tubaab girlfriend.

regarding my health, and this may be TMI, but i have not produce solids for three days now. i heard from a friend that it may last a week and a half. that is fine i suppose, as long as there is a toilet available at any moment- for it strikes at any moment.

i have been reading Romans while here, something i am often inspired to do. though this time, it seems different. perhaps it is because my understanding of God’s grace has been changing over the course of the year. it has been really interesting to see how it was completely broken down and shattered, only to be rebuilt through my life experieces, the book Louanne and Mike gave me, and the Bible. i have also been reminded recently that my life has purpose. it is strange to wake up in the morning and to just live each day. i do not feel like i am in Africa. i don’t feel like i am anywhere actually, i just feel like i am. that is all there is to feel. and being is not for no reason. i live and i am for a purpose.

every day here has purpose and i constantly pray to reminded of that and reminded of the hope, love, peace, and faith that is to be found in Christ.