It's so dry here that even writing pens dry out quickly. I've started to notice yesterday when my pens started to get those air pockets in the ink as they do during dry season. You know when you are writing and then suddenly ink doesn't come out. Then it will come out again after you scribble on a piece of paper next to you? Totally annoying. I went through 3 pens last night just trying to write a list of things. I came really close to just picking up a marker. Ah, the beauty of the dry season.And we've actually had water for the past 3 days. This is equivalent to the Christmas miracle. Of course our electricity has cut out every day for the past 3 days so I guess it goes to show you can't have your cake and eat it too. So anyway, with the running water I couldn't get all the way into the shower yesterday for over 10 minutes, the water was so hot. Burning hot. And I like hot showers. This was like when you fill the bathtub up with hot water for a bath and then you realize you were over zealous and got the water too hot. You put your foot in and it burns so you take it out quickly and have to put cold water in the bath until you can get the temperature down a bit. I stood 'beside' the shower yesterday and dipped my hand in until it started to cool down. And of course you know we don't a water heater. It's the sun, baby!
That's the only downside of "cold" season here. The water doesn't get as warm. You have to let it run 15 minutes so you can get a luke-warm shower. But in hot season, it's hot shower Deluxe! That is a great bonus. You get nice warm showers. Which actually are more refreshing than cold showers. You feel nice and cool and freshy after a hot, hot season shower.
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In other news, I got a couple of magic potions given to me on Sunday by a friend. I have started to tell friends in town about the inevitability of our move from Tambacounda before the end of the year (if we can get a job elsewhere--nervous laugh). Just to get people's thoughts around the idea, so there are no shocks about the subject later on down the road. My approach, as it was with Peace Corps, is telling local friends that the project is ending and finding a new job in Senegal is very difficult (which it is), so we'll probably have to go back home. This is a true statement, but the fact of the matter is, even if it were sure we could get an extension we're ready to move on, as it were. Of course you can't say this exactly to local friends so you just have to leave out the part that you don't really want to stay anyway. That's awkward and for someone having lived their whole life in sleepy Tambacounda, telling them that their town has reached the pinnacle of boredom isn't really the 'nice' thing to say to someone. So I prefer the "we'd-like-to-stay-but-can't-find-a-job" route.
Well that bit me back. A friend came the other day with 2 magic potions. One liquid where I'm supposed to splash myself with the liquid after a shower (put some perfume in it and what-not); and another gri-gri to wear around my waist. These potions are for us to find new work in Senegal. Isn't that sweet? Well, outside of the fact we're not really interested to find new work in Senegal....so Brook is like, "so is this just for a new job?" and I'm like, "no, it just works for Senegal", so he says I probably shouldn't follow the magic potion directions. Which is sad since our friend put effort into having someone make these potions for him (for us). It's such a nice gesture. ah. Well if anyone wants work in Senegal, let me know so I can send you these potions. Otherwise I'm going to keep them around. No need to tempt fate by using them, eh?
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