Sunday, July 8, 2012

Twenty...

 It started off with 10 - but then we were able to eek out 10 more.  


It wasn't going to happen - trying to get Parker and Addison to write a story or even a paragraph about their year here.  Schools out and we're wrapping up as well with their Worldy Wise English lessons so  we were lucky to squeeze out of them either one word or a few word responses.

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Parker and Addison tell us what comes to mind now 
when you think of Dakar, Senegal

Senegal, West Africa

  • Friends
  • Power Outages
  • Biking with Ghazi at The Cathedral - within the last month one of their friends received a bike - the blacktop at The Cathedral on a Sunday is the only place and time where it is safe to ride a bike - barely
  • Soccer
  • Cars and Taxis
  • Trash on the ground
  • Firecrakers - not illegal here and widely sold around New Years.
  • Talibe
  • Vendors on the streets - there's so many
  • It's Hot
  • Big Bats and Hawks
  • Riding Camels in Lampoul
  • Looking for tear gas canisters and rubber bullets after the manifestations
  • Good service from the personnel at Auberge De La Plage
  • Andrea, Rob & Bruce, Corina and Kelly's visits
  • Tabaski - moutons, smell, blood  and playing with other kids at Diop's
  • Biskrem cookies, Gazelle drinks - Ananas and Limonade
  • Surfing
  • Playing Marbles
  • Jus de Bissap with a lot of sugar

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We know this just scratches the surface of what they've experienced here.  And when they read this and look back - they will think of  20, 40, 80 or 160 other things that will come popping into their minds. And they will reminisce. And they will laugh and they will smile with fondness over the years.

“the most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.”
Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

2 comments:

  1. Yup, tis hard to get them to write, but needed. This is what Marianna does too.
    But now the boys have a LOT to share with their friends in Berkeley and maybe, just maybe they will interpolate more than the "20".

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    1. Julie - thanks for letting me know they are 'on parity' - with Marianna. So I know I'm not the only one. I think many images will come flooding back over time and the number will rise, slowly but it will. Thanks for reading as always!

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