hello america

So it's been a couple of crazy days.

Three days ago, I was in Africa, in short sleeves, enjoying the sunshine. Now, I'm in Wisconsin, wearing long underwear, two pairs of socks (one pair that goes up to my knees), jeans, a t shirt, a thick longsleeved shirt, and a humongous sweatshirt, hibernating under a down comforter and quilt. Why does America have to be soooooo cold?!

Anyway, I am home safe and sound. The trip went smoothly, despite the fever that decided to plague my body starting 12 hours before departure. Also despite the fact I kept on trying to speak french to the stewardesses/stewards and airport employees. I would automatically start a sentence in french and the cut myself off to switch to english. It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to all of my fellow MSIDers, but we all left each other on good terms, excited to see our families again. I arrived at Chicago O'hare, precisely 22 hours after leaving my house in Dakar, and was welcomed by my parents. After driving back to Madison, I had been traveling for over 24 hours. The days since then have been spent thinking about unpacking, sort of unpacking, hibernating, eating well missed food, more hibernating, talking to many friends and family members, more hibernating, and lots of movie watching. I did go outside today, for the first time since arriving at my house, and the good news is I survived! It was some where in the negative degrees, and I had so many layers of clothes on, I could hardly move my arms.

And, my parents have been quite entertained by my presence as well. This is due to the fact that their days are now filled with exclamations from me like the following:

"Lane lines?! What are those? And there are so many traffic lights!"
"Hey dad, smell this Raisin Bran Crunch, doesn't it smell absolutely delicious?"
"It's sooooooooo cold here!"
"Have you seen the size of this spoon? Spoons in Senegal are like three times as big as this, this is so SMALL."

culture shock...what can i say?

Oh yes, the purpose of this post, besides to tell of my somewhat safe arrival, is to announce the presence of my pictures on Picasa. It might not be ALL of them yet. Picasa uploads minorly slower than I would like. But if you've waited this long, you can wait a little longer.

Since I have neither the time nor energy nor the brain power to describe every single picture, here are some general guiding tips:

-If there's a white person (that's not me), it is most likely another MSIDer
-If it is a Senegalese person, it is most likely my family member or the family member of another MSIDer
-There may be disturbing images (garbage, dead animals, you know, that sort of stuff)
-They are divided into albums, based on location.
-I think that's all, but pictures that require explanation will indeed have a caption

Alright, now that you know everything that you need to know, find the link to the left of where you are looking right now that says "my pictures". BEN NIAR NIET ACHAA! (translation: one two three go!)