Moving Day/I Have A Door!!

Yes, I have finally accomplished at least one of my goals: I have found a place to live and have moved out of the room at my host family's. I now officially live in Amitié III (amitié = friendship in French). It's a quieter neighborhood then where I was, which I think pretty much equates to richer. I am renting a room on the first floor of a ridiculously huge house. I share a bathroom with another American girl who is here on a Fulbright. There is also a Canadian couple living in the other room but they will soom be moving out to their own apartment. It's a very nice group of people and it's very strange to speak English around the house! We have a nice living room that we all share that has a big TV and a kitchen. The only problem with these communal areas is that they sometimes get taken over by grandchildren and the like (as I sit here typing there are 3 very loud ones running around and screaming). Fun. Other than that it's very nice, although it feels very colonial because there are about 3 maids and a guardian, all Senegalese of course, and all these white people. I know it's not really like that because they work in the whole house but it still make me feel a little wierd because I don't have to do ANYTHING - I don't clean, cook, do my own laundry or even clean up dishes in the kitchen. It's like a wierd alternate universe.

I haven't seen the whole house, but from what I can tell this faliky has more money than they know what to do with. There are 2 full levels in addition to the bottom floor where we are living. In addition, I just discovered yesterday there there are at least 2 patio/balconies. In the middle of the first floor is coutryard is a little garden and a house where the maids either live or just hang out when they aren't doing anything. There are also flowers and plants in the front of the house and plants lining the indoor halls. Very green! I like it.

I could probably get mail there but since I don't the family well enough to trust them with giving me my mail in a timely fashing, I've decided that I should just get mail at my old host family's house. Plus that will make me go visit them more frequently. Here's the address: SICAP Dieuppeul III, Villa No. 2685B, Dakar, SENEGAL

On the internship front, things qren't going quite as well. I met with Aziz, the director at my old internship who now works for the International Red Cross, the week that Kris was here and prepared a letter to bring to a couple of organizations, but since then, nothing has happened. I called both places back but they both said that I need to wait for them to call me. Whatever. So I'm still waiting and getting a little restless. Until yesterday I had enough to do with moving, etc. I amused myself my going shopping (I now have a personal shopper at Sandaga who found me again on the Monday after Kris and I had a disasterous time try to find sandals for her and jeans for me), walking around downtown (I've gotten really good at brushing people off!), visiting some not so exciting sites recommended by my guidebook, and drinking café au laits (Kris, I went back to Aux Fins Palais where we got that basket of bread). However, shopping is not very fulfilling and I have become bored. I am meeting with Aziz again on Monday and hopefully that will get me somewhere. He was at a conference last week and apparently talked to some people for me. Another American also told be about a volunteering opportunity at an orphanage. All they need is for people to come hold babies who might otherwise not get attention. I totally want to hold babies!

That's about all for now.

Ciao,
Emily

PS - I never had a door at my old host family's house, just a sheet to cover the doorway. Now I have an actual wooden door that locks! I'm moving up in the world!