Independence Day!

The 4^th of July one of the holidays where you are almost guaranteed too see all of your PCV friends in one place. We have small get togethers for things like Easter, Christmas, and Cinco de Mayo. Usually these consist mostly of people within the same region as you and a couple outliers. The 4^th however, is held every year in Kedegou. This is in my opinion the most beautiful region of the country. I went down with 6 other crazy kids in a 12 hour or so sept place ride. The ride itself was an adventure. With some of my best friends we made this long usually uncomfortable trip a pre-party. This years celebration was especially important to my stage as it was the last time that many of us would all be in one place. (My stage begins COSing in August.) We arrived on the 2^nd ready for a dance marathon. It was great to see everyone arriving and sharing what we have been up to and where we are going. The day of the third I went with a bunch of volunteers to a hotel where they were staying which had a pool. It's so nice to be in a pool. I also managed to jump into the river, immediately, realizing it was deep and the current was fast. Luckily a guy had been watching me and was ready to pull me out and tell me how stupid I was in Wolof. It was a crazy day, but not as crazy as the 4^th.

The Kedegou crew did an amazing job at decorating and preparing lots of food! We had all sorts of dips, beans, and PIG! It was so delicious. We danced until the early hours of the morning. The were of course beverages aplenty. The infamous Royal Dutch, the cheapest and most disgusting beer on the plant was bought in a large enough amount for a small army. Which is not far from what it was destined to serve. They also made a delicious local concoction called G-sap. Gin Bissap. It's really sweet and until you have a few bags there is no telling how strong it is. I believe my dance moves and level of voice showed it to be far stronger than I had anticipated. This wonderful evening included a mud fight, paint fight, glow stick breaking, fireworks, and lots of smiling faces :)

The day of the 5^th there was defiantly an air of “we need to rest”. In true form after sleeping in a bit, we all helped clean up and got back to celebrating. There were some great instrumentalists there, and we took turns singing if we knew the words. There were also a couple groups of people who went on little expeditions. Some of my friends went on a river float, but as I had scared myself in the river I chose another course. I went with a group to hike to one of the amazing waterfalls. It was a bit of a hike and when I got back I was soaked. It was absolutely gorgeous and one of my favorite places in country. I believe from my site mate the phrase “Kraused” was coined on this expedition. I have a tendency to do my own thing, so when I disappeared it was strange to those who didn't know me. Even stranger yet was when I popped out of the woods next to term after bashing open a termite mound to see the different castes inside. I had a great day! I am sure the phrase means something along the lines of my enhancement of any and all experiences.

The next day it was time to go home. We counted our losses, (for me sunglasses and a skirt), and said goodbye to our friends. Some of them for the last time in Senegal. I'm sure many of us will see each other again in the states. It was an absolutely fabulous time. The ride home was horrible and it took me 2-3 days of recovery at the regional house before I dared go back to site with my newly acquired wounds and skin infections (see the Frog Blog). I wish I could come back next summer to do it again, but then it wouldn't be the same without all the people who came in and will leave the country with me.