Dubai-bye

Flag of the United Arab Emirates, on the tallest
flagpole in the world. Gold plated of course.

When I was making my plans to travel back to the States, I was torn between wanting to take a short vacation and just wanting to get home as soon as possible. I compromised by scheduling a 19 hour layover in Dubai, and using the money I saved on the cheaper ticket to treat myself to a little bit of luxury. What better way to adjust from the third world to the first than by spending a day in the most extravagant and opulent city in the world? 

The Burj Al Arab hotel, set on its own man-
made island.

Jessica and I got off the plane after our 9 hour flight and made a beeline for a 5 star One&Only spa at the Royal Mirage, where we treated ourselves to a traditional Hammam experience to wash all of the Africa off of us. I took the most amazing shower of my entire life in what amounted to a human carwash, with one of those rain shower heads and 12 jets shooting out of the walls. We got to spend time in the dry sauna and the whirlpool before we were whisked into the inner chambers to be scrubbed clean and massaged on a hot marble slab in between sessions in the steam room. Then we were swaddled like babies and served dates, tea and juice while we relaxed, and eventually  napped, on fluffy white cushions. After two hours I felt like a whole new person.

View of downtown Dubai from the Jumeirah Palm Island

When we finally managed to drag ourselves away from the spa, we got on the Big Bus hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour to take in the sights, and got off at the Dubai Mall, the worlds largest shopping mall, home to an aquarium tunnel and underwater zoo, an ice rink, the worlds largest candy shop, the dancing Dubai Fountain and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It was too much to take in on such a short amount of time, so we settled for a walk through the aquarium, dinner at the food court, the hourly fountain show and a neck-breaking view of the Burj Khalifa from the ground.

Taking in the Dubai Fountain show at sunset

We got back on the bus for the night-tour, and took in the sights of Dubai all lit up like Christmas trees as well as a laser light show at an Egyptian themed hotel. Unfortunately by that point all of the travel was starting to catch up with us and we could hardly keep our eyes open through the ancient district. At the end of the tour we took the metro back to the airport and spent our last few hours spending the last of our dirhams at the food court and the duty free. At 2:45am we boarded our plane for the final 13 hour flight that would bring us home.

The top two thirds of the Burj Khalifa

For the record, the irony of this layover is not lost on me. An environmental education volunteer goes from a poor village to the richest most environmentally unsustainable city the the world. I found it rather funny.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

On April 5th I said goodbye to my friends and family and made the two kilometer walk out of my village for the last time. The word Bittersweet was made for situations like this; the excitement of finally going home after two long years mixed with the pain of leaving the people I love. In the past two years I've become a part of this community. I've played with the children, danced with the women and drank tea with the men.  Every day I shared the rope with the women to pull water. I've spent countless hours helping my neighbors process peanuts, weed their fields and harvest their crops. My family has truly become my family. My mom took care of me when I was sick, cooked me my favorite foods, and yelled at me to clean my room and wash my sheets. My brothers and sisters drove me crazy, like all little siblings do, but they also put the joy in my day. I helped them study, played games with them, walked them to school, spoiled them with candy and teased and terrified them with frogs.

My momma and me

One thing that is almost universal about Senegalese people, is that they have amazing control over their emotions. No matter what they're feeling inside, they are able to maintain unbelievable composure, because for an adult to cry is absolutely unthinkable. So as I walked out of my village for the last time this morning holding hands with my mom and my best friend Bass for the entire two kilometers, it broke my heart to see tears in their eyes. When I left America to come to Senegal, I knew I would be coming home again in two years. But after two years, Sambande has also become my home, and this time I'm leaving it for good. Between the sadness of leaving one home and the anticipation of returning to another, I felt as though my heart was being torn in two. But as difficult as it was to leave, I know it is time to move on, and I took comfort in Frodo's advice to Sam at the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy when they were parting for the last time.

"You cannot always be torn in two. You have to be one and whole for many years. You have so much enjoy and to be and to do. Your part in the story will go on."

Trying to fit my sisters twins, Ousseynou and Assane, into
my luggage to take them home.

Two Years of Peace Corps: The Numbers

25 months

764 bucket baths

121 hours of language instruction

127 hours of training

34 latrines built

2 well covers constructed

38 vacation days taken

6 games of softball

26 murals painted

6 mystery fevers

107 books read

3 pockets picked

4 gardens started
6 snakes killed

2 wells covered

13 pairs of flip flops broken

2674 kilometers biked

31 new family members gained

1 cell phone stolen

3 hot seasons

1 scorpion sting

4 countries visited

1 flesh-eating skin infection

4 grants written

18 vaccinations received

4 turkeys butchered

3 home haircuts

387 trees planted

60 days of Ramadan fasted
10 reports written

3 American visitors

2 bottles of shampoo

6 rounds of antibiotics

111 blog posts

1 unforgettable experience