Everyone says they are surprised at how quickly their study abroad semester passes. I’m not. I wasn’t prepared for much, but the pace did not surprise me. The first month went unbelievably slow, the middle period was normal, and the last month has been a blur. All in all, life here is life, just like it is when I’m at school, or it’s the summer, or I’m home in Florida…Life passes, we breathe, people die, babies are born, we move, and life goes on. “Le monde bouge, le monde change,” says Camara Lye in L’Enfant noir. The world moves, the world changes. We move and change along with it. Another change has come and gone in my life. Now I’m moving onto several new changes. C’est la vie.

In 2 Weeks, These are the Top 10 Things I Will Miss:
10. Haggling the price on items – although this is sometimes quite stressful, it can be fun as hell.
9. Weekend adventures to nearby exotic locations…
8. Getting teased relentlessly by my host brothers.
7. Mbalax = Senegalese dance and music.
6. Impressing Senegalese people when I can hold a conversation in Wolof.
5. Bissap and bouye (hibiscus petal and baobab fruit) juice available nearly everywhere here in Dakar.
4. The awe-inspiring limbs of Baobab trees that crawl from the ground right into the sky.
3. Daba, my host cousin = the beautiful and clever little sister I never had.
2. Eating meals with my host family, gathered around a large tray on the floor of the TV room -- particularly theiboujën (rice with fish and either tomato-based sauced or bissap-based sauce), mafé (peanut and tomato sauce over rice), and theiboukétcha (rich with dried fish).
1. Learning something entirely new and foreign every single day, and always being reminded to take life “danke danke” or “doucement” -- slowly.

In 2 Weeks, These are the Top 10 Things I Will NOT Miss:
10. The dilapidated state of cats and dogs that roam the streets of Dakar.
9. Staring at professors in a stupor because they're speaking French at a level I only dream of reaching one day.
8. Feeling guilty for wanting the Senegalese price for items.
7. White bread all day, everyday.
6. Being told point blank that I don’t speak Wolof or French well enough, even though I speak well considering I’ve only lived here for a few months.
5. Taxis honking at me at least several times each day.
4. Getting accused of being racist because I do want to purchase items from vendors or dance with creepy old men in clubs or bars.
3. Men requesting that I take them back to the U.S. with me, "because there isn't enough money in Senegal to go around."
2. Turning away young children in ratty clothing who ask me for my change, because I cannot bear to support the perverted system of Talibes.
1. POLLUTION. The soul-crushing, lung-collapsing, headache-causing air and land pollution that plagues Dakar, namely the disgusting black fumes that come from Ndaiga Ndiayes (small buses run by the Mourides) and the trash that lines nearly every street in this city.

Before I leave I still need to finish 2 papers, visit Isle de Gorée and hopefully Isle de Madeleine as well, get pictures printed as a gift for my family, and purchase a few more souvenirs. I would also like to visit Sine Saloum Delta, but that is contigent on me finding a travel buddy for a couple days my last week here.

Here’s a poll: Should I bring home my djembe (2 ft. tall drum) or a wooden chair? Both are hand-crafted with beautiful designs, heavy & bulky (though the chair less so, because I can fold it up into my suitcase, whereas the drum I’ll have to carry on the plane with me), and serve a purpose (music and seating, respectively). What do my readers think? (Check out pictures below. The drum looks very similar to the one here. The chair would be about half the size pictured here and better carving. Don't mind the random child in the picture.)

OR