countdown

Aaron and Mona here,

Aaron's first word in brainstorming what to say is 'um'

And that rightfully explains how much has happened in comparison to what will happen. We woke up today at 8 or 9 and sat and had out first powdered milk and coffee packet experience. Ms. Nauss made a 'come on' face what she looked at the packets, referring to the very little caffeine they would have.

thanks a lot

3 cups later

my thoughts don't know what to do with themselves bouncing off the intense heat and culture shock,

Like in America, caffeine had huge importance in our lives this morning. Most of the air conditioners in the hotel broke, leaving the rooms hotter on the inside than in the outside, making sleep virtually impossible. I personally slept only about four hours, waking up to a dream about being attacked by mosquitos, strangely enough, both your bloggers had the exact same dream.

We went to Thies, where we put aside our thoughts on the heat for thoughts on culture shock. Like having kids standing by our group asking for change because their school sent them to beg as a lesson of learning the concept of humility.

There also was a large Muslim congregation in the middle of the town square of Thies. We walked around a bit in the center of the city where it was held, and the calls of the Imam could be heard wherever we went. There were multitudes of people sitting under the canopies listening to the service (It was too hot not be in the shade), constituting of all the different income classes.

Yesterday after noon we all got restless and took a walk down the street near the location of the hostel. The heat was bearable, but what wasn't was the feeling that we were a huge alien insect, because every person stared as we walked by. Anthony [drew '10] was bold enough to say "Salaam maleykum' to nearly every person who came with 6 feet of him. Since he does not know how to say much else, he had the urge to say over and over again in attempt to communicate and release, due to the lack of expression he was experiencing. No one else our small group had courage to even greet people with a friendly nod, so I'd say it was very admirable.

But this leads to an issue we might all face. How will we keep occupied, what will it be like not having anyone to talk to or vent to? We will be with our families, but still isolated in our language and culture. It will certainly be a challenge to try to step out and connect, it takes more then just a dictionary and information.

All in all, it was a very involved day, and it's not even over yet.

And look who it is, Ms. Nauss has just notified us about getting our bags down to the bus. So here we go!

- Mona K & Aaron M