In Dakar

I spent yesterday and today exploiting Dakar for its busyness, its access to resources, and its beach fronts.

Alex Whitney arrived around 10:30 pm on Friday, and he and I went out and grabbed a few drinks. Sat down on the patio of "On the Run" (you know, the convenience store of Esso? Ya, apparently, it's quite the social hub on a Saturday night. They have the equivalent of a mini LCBO, so we were able to grab a few drinks and hang out there. The view of the gas station was amazing.

On Saturday, we ended up going for a run along the beach (not as lovely as it sounds - lots of construction, car fumes, and building rubble everywhere). But, it was neat to go running, and it was cool to see that a lot of other people use that part of the city for exercise purposes as well.
We then ended up going back to the hostel, showering, grabbing some food, and packing for a day on the Ile de Gorée, famous for being the last stop of the slaves before heading out to North America. We arrived around 1 though, and by the time we wandered around a bit, ate some lunch, and then lounged on the beach and did some swimming (which was cool, refreshing, and pretty wavy!), there wasn't much time to go to any museums. But, it was good to go for a first time to know what it's like. I'll catch the museums when I have more time and more desire to see them. To be honest, though, the ile de Ngor is both cheaper to get to (it's closer) (500 CFA ($1 aller-retour) vs 5,000 CFA ($10 A/R) for Ile de Gorée, and the beaches are nicer).

After the island, we went out for dinner, grabbed a few drinks, and then went back to the hostel and watched a movie (SkyCaptain and the World of Tomorrow - or something like that. Pretty decent, but I was just excited to be able to watch a movie (Alex Whitney had DVD's, and I had a DVD player (on the computer) ).

Today, we went to church. A really great sermon, with some really great points of encouragement for me to think about, reflect on, and engage in Scripture with over the course of the next number of weeks in the villages: Hebrews 13:6 ?, I think, a reference that the Lord is always present with us. I was also reminded of Ps 121, Ps 46, and Ps 118:8. So, I think I should have a lot of things to ponder over and to put my trust in during the dying minutes of the day or by flashlight while alone under my mosquito net.

After church, I went shopping for cereal (and I also found a muesli trail mix that I plan on bringing into the villages).

Then to the office, where I've been taking the time to plan exactly how it is I want to go about my research over the next 5 days.

(so yes, breaking a whole bunch of rules, I guess. Buying and 'working' on Sunday. I try not to get caught up in the legalism of such rules. This entire weekend has been a true Sabbath compared to what will happen in a few days time).

Tonight, it'll be time to pack and make a few phone calls home.

Hope you're all well back home. I'm hopefully going to post a short something tonight yet. And then there will be silence for 1 week.