Daplane Datrain Dakar: Le Weekend

It's hard to imagine that we've only been here a week. Perhaps it's because time on the African continent passes slower than in North America (unsubstantiated claim), or it's because we're actually awake more hours of the day because it's too hot to sleep.

As you might expect, it takes us longer to do things in Dakar than it does in the US. The pace of life is slower here, businesses keep irregular hours, we spend 5 hours a day in French class, and let's face it, we let ourselves wonder/doddle/follow the sounds/find our our way.

One of the best decisions we've made thus far is to make a daily list of "manageable" objectives, so as to not frustrate ourselves with our own inefficiencies. Sara, being an expert to-do list writer and a generally effective person, has had to tone it down a notch when it comes to planning.

Objectives for the weekend

Not what we expected to see when we turned the corner

Friday:
1. Eat Thai food (done)
2. Plan the weekend (done)

Saturday:
1. Buy French/English dictionary (done)
2. Hear traditional Senegalese music (done)
3. Visit patisserie (done)

Sunday:
1. Do French homework (not yet started)
2. Eat yassa poulet (done)
3. Write blog (in progress)

Overall, a great weekend had by all. Not only did we do all the fun things that we set out to do, but we also met some new friends (Mali's new Minister of Foreign Affairs), tried new food (street stall beignets), and learned how to exchange empty beer bottles for full beer bottles.

Honestly, I'm worried that our success this weekend of meeting our objectives has gone to our heads: tonight we made a 5 x 9 matrix of next week's schedule. Beeeeg things are to come!