English Camp

This week offers a small respite to my summer boredom in the form of being an English camp counselor. Yes, I'm obviously desperate if I'm willing to spend half the day with middle schoolers. The camp is part of the ACCESS program which is a US Embassy initiative. There are 13 other PCVs in Thies right now and we are putting on a daily English camp from 9-1. I do have infinite respect for camp counselors now because it's really hard work and I find it incredibly difficult to stay upbeat, excited, and engaged when I'm bored, hot, and not all too interested in what's going. We have been playing lots of name games, question and answer games, and pretty much anything we can turn into a game that involves the students using English.

The most exciting aspect of this week has been the food. We've been eating at Les Delices and cooking a lot which is nice because I'm having a serious problem with the monotony of Senegalese food right now. Last night we made delicious pasta and red sauce and tonight some yummy Asian stir-fry. Chicken sandwiches and ice cream are other important parts to the English camp diet.

In other news, the rainy season is most definitely upon us. I did laundry on Sunday and it's still not dry. It's also insanely humid so I smell terrible all of the time like I did during PST. Speaking of which the new trainees are coming next week. I can't believe I've been here almost a year! Looking back at this time last year I was in a complete daze and dissolved into tears multiple times a day. It's amazing how time flies.

SHOUT OUTS!

Thank you to Matt and Shirley for two amazing letters.

Shout out to my mom and dad for another fantastic package. Everyone is enjoying the library of People magazines that were included!

Shout out to Aunt Diane, Uncle Wayne, Rachel, and Jenn for a Mexican fiesta in a box! The package came at the perfect time since all of my friends are here and we can make a big dinner together. We've already had extensive discussions related to making the perfect tacos and how much we are going to enjoy the nacho cheese! Thank you!