[+] Saturday, July 28, 2001

toubab dialaw is a little coastal town about 45 minutes south of dakar. we've been there a couple of times since Hank got the very fabulous Nissan Patrol. we always stay at a place called Sobo Bade. it's a crazy hotel / sculpture garden / artist collective built and run by a french sculptor by the name of Gerard.

Gerard took a liking to us for some reason. he showed us a book full of crazed architecture that he draws inspiration from, and took us out to show us the new place he's working on. as we followed him along the lush green creek, and the beginnings of the garden, we started to get ideas about doing something similar.

on the way back for Gerard's new place Hank & Gilles taught me to drive a stick. it wasn't long before i was 4-wheelin' through the baobab strewn landscape, mozart's requiem blasting from the 4x4's crappy speakers. it was brilliant. it may have been then that i fell in love with toubab dialow.

when we found out that the land goes for $600 for about two football fields we decided to buy some. there are plans for solar power shennanigans, solar iron smelting, contraptions to make drinking water from salt water (a prototype of which is being tested here at Yoff), interiors like the ones that stole my heart in morocco, sun drying tomatoes and mangoes, and maybe some goats and chickens. the goats around here are just so spunky! and of course it has to have tons of space of all our family, friends, and visiting artists.

so finally my career advisor's seemingly bizaare prophecy will be fulfilled. sure, i was mystified at the time. excellent grades in english, geography economics and art, and all she had to say is "you should build a mud brick house with friends".

[+] Friday, July 27, 2001

senegal continues to be charming and infuriating and humid and relentlessly french speaking. random lads on the street still proclaim their undying love for me. people are still filled with delight when i say "na nga def?" (how are you?) or "naka sa doogooda?" (how's it hanging?) or do a weak impression of the djalgati (one of the latest dances). and beautiful little girls still approach sheepishly to shake my hand and curtsey for no apparent reason.

we did have a small health scare recently though. as soon as the heat kicked in gilles & catherine started to get sick. gilles finally went to the doctor to see what was up. his back was aching all the time, and with all the wack-assed diseases here you can't be too careful. of course the doctor's seen his share of messy forgeiners, but apparently this was the worst case of over-exposure to air-conditioning he'd seen in some time.

catherine is battling on her own. she can't tolerate the heat, but the air-con is giving her allergies and neck pain. she's coping by wearing make-shift scarves when she has to brave the arctic environment that is our ISDN equipped office/livingroom. anyway, here's hoping this isn't the type of thing that stays in your system or years afterwards.

as for me, i've a few scary run ins with some badly mixed cocktails. and there's always a threat of chocolate eclaire overdose. but lucky i got a bit of tolerance to such things in san fran.

[+] Tuesday, July 10, 2001

it feels like rain

i wish the air-conditioning was working

i wish i hadn't played russian-roulette
with that suspicious jug of water at Chez
Lutcha the other night

but most of all, i wish it'd just hurry up and rain

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