Today, I took a bath.

 

Yesterday, on my last day in Dakar, some of us went to the beach in the morning.  It was actually kind of cold out, so we just hung around there for a bit then went home for lunch.  My last cebb!! After lunch I went over to Camille’s house to say goodbye to her family.  I ended up spending a lot of time at her house and got to know some of the kids pretty well, so I’m glad I got to say bye.  When I got back to my house I did a bit more packing, then most of the family (everyone except uncle Amadou, Cheikh Rouna, and Moustapha) went to the hospital to visit Mohammed.  Obviously, I couldn’t go because I was leaving, but I felt bad.  So I said goodbye to most of them as they were leaving.  Then I had about two hours to kill.  I ended up letting the little boys sit on my bed and watch Ratatouille on my computer.  It was pretty cute and I’m glad I got to spend some quality time with the little ones! A van from ACI came to get me with Sarah, Izzy, and Grace to take us to the airport. 

                It wouldn’t be Senegal without a little disorganization and confusion, so we made sure to end on a Senegalese note.  After waiting about a ½ in a line that would’ve actually taken us on a plane to Lisbon, we finally asked someone and found out that we were supposed to print our tickets at the little machines.  We then had to go into another super long line for luggage checking.  The computers were broken or something and we were probably in that line for over an hour.  By the time we got through customs and security, it was already well past our departure time, but luckily they were stalling the plane because of all of the craziness.  So we were supposed to leave Senegal at 10:35 pm but the plane didn’t leave until around midnight.  C’est la vie!

                They served us dinner on the plane at about 1 am which was just kind of weird.  After dinner Grace and I took some sleep aid pills and just about passed out.  I swear that is the first time I’ve ever slept on a plane.  It was weird, and disorienting, and uncomfortable, but necessary.

                We arrived in Paris early this morning.  Sarah and Izzy both had family members picking them up, so Grace and I were on our own.  We managed to figure out the whole metro system and took the train and two separate metros and finally ended up in Montmartre.  I love Montmartre.  We didn’t have directions or anything written down about where her parent’s apartment but luckily she had remembered the address. We wandered around for a bit then whipped out our freshly honed French and asked someone for help. We found the place and it’s just so wonderful.  On the top floor of an old apartment building with a view of the city and an old wind mill.  It’s actually just perfection.

                Grace’s mom greeted us with bags of soap and wonderful smelling bath goodies! I took a hot bath that smelled like raspberries.  I literally have no words.  I’m very much excited for my time here.

                I go to Nantes to visit Rachelle and her mother tomorrow!