I'm in Senegal! And you'll have to excuse the typing mistakes if I make any because I'm using a French keyboard. We arrived safely in Dakar after a bumpy flight from New York and went to Yoff, a suburb, to crash at a really nice hotel. Dave and I and some friends went up to the terrace on the roof to take in the view, looked down in the street, and saw a herd of cattle passing by! It looked like they didn't have anyone guiding them, but they plodded on toward the main road and seemed to do okay. It's very dusty here and pretty hot, maybe in the 70s or 80s, which is a refreshing change from the winter weather. The next day we had orientation at a woman's house who had worked with our program for 10 years. She made the traditional national dish, thieboujinn (no idea how to spell it), which is fish and rice in a spicy red curry sauce. It's absolutely delicious, and apparently you eat it every day for lunch so that should be fun, at least until I get tired of rice. Yesterday we were dropped off at our host families, and I love mine! They're a brother and a sister who live together and neither of them are married. My host sister/mother is Mantou, and she looks a lot like Helena Bonham Carter. She's awesome, quick smile and an easy manner. Parick is my host brother. He's in his mid 30s and she's a bit older. He's hip and funky but old enough to be steady and to really enjoy teaching Wolof to us. Which brings me to my next bit of news, that I'm living with another American student as well! Her name is Emily and she goes to Michigan. We share a room and we both go to WARC for school. We stayed up until 1 am last night talking and it turns out that we're very similar people, both intellectually and socially, except that she's doing neuroscience while I have no head for chemistry. Anyway, it's awesome to be speaking French all the time again and I'm trying to start learning a bit of Wolof. I only know a couple phrases so far. Our three program assistants and the program director have been very supportive and welcoming. I feel very fortunate to be in such a supportive community. There's much more emphasis here on dignity, respect, and welcoming each other than there is in the States. Every time you see someone, even if you just saw them minutes before - or even if you're already in conversation with them - you ask them how they're doing and how their families are. The point is that you're acknowledging and respecting them as a human being. It's something that you can give to each other and nurture no matter how rich or poor you are. I feel like we've left this behind in the states - if we ever had it at all - and its something that feels important for me to retain and bring home. How, I have no idea. And I'm sure this is just one of what will be many cultural insights in the next few months. All my stuff and logistics are working out fine. I even used my first African-style toilet the other day and it wasnt too bad. The one in my house is a regular bowl, fortunately. My family's pretty well off, solidly middle class, in that they have a nice well-furnished house and a TV and a good bathroom. It's a great time to be on the continent, since it's the middle of the African Cup. We watched two soccer games yesterday, which was a good ice-breaker with my other host brother, Prince. I didn't mention him earlier because he's not a permanent resident in the house. He's a nephew from the Casamance, down south, and he came up to Dakar to try out for a club basketball team. If he gets in, he'll move here permanently, but for now, he's going back to Ziguinchor this weekend. Today is my first day at WARC, the research center where we'll hold our classes, and I'm in their computer lab. Once everyone arrives we're going to take a ferry to Gorée Island, just off the coast of the Cap Vert Peninsula (where Dakar is). It's the island that served as a launching point and as an auction site for the slave trade. Should be a fairly heavy visit, à la the Holocaust museum, and we're writing our first paper on our trip. I think that's all the news for now. I haven't seen Dave yet since we dropped him off at his host family, but we've both been doing great. Love you all, à bientot!