appreciation, the return, 2011

i have returned home to africa - yay!

america and shanghai were amazing.

there are many things and people i would like to thank in this post. let's break it down by categories

1. i would like to thank america for being as wonderful as it is. you are simply amazing, with your abundance of, literally, everything - the copious varieties and options as i walked down the aisles of target, the bountiful cuisines (even choices on menus) readily accessible at all hours of every day, the unlimited supply of water (cold AND hot), heat, gas, electricity, internet and phone service, the extensive availability of technology and electronics at my fingertips, such as a washing machine, or a drier, an oven, a car, or a flat screen tv with crystal clear quality, displaying the millions of channels of cable that immediately broadcast news, or soap operas, or movies, or reality shows into my temperature-controlled living room with comfortable couches and comforters and pillows. thank you america, for your bars and clubs and lounges, your free thinking, and acceptance of different opinions, for your highways without potholes and your seemly public transportation, your toilets that dont have a swarm of flies above them, your movie theaters with popcorn and nachos, your ethnic foods and beverages. thank you america for your seasons, your supermarkets and delis, your smart phones, your time schedules and promptness. thank you america, for everything, and i will see you when i get back.

2. i would like to thank all my friends in america (and shanghai) for still being friends with me (haha). no matter how dirty i've become, in physical appearance, in behavior, or the stories and experiences i tell, you are there, holding in the vomit that my life stories do induce. you sat with me through my gluttonous vacation, we danced, we ate, we drank. i will see you all in 16 months... not a very long time at all.

3. i would like to thank my family, for allowing me to see the world, allowing me to be different than the usual mold, allowing me to be me.

4. i would like to thank all the musicians, that have gotten me through all those wonderful times in senegal. just to name a few: owl city, la roux, bruno mars, mike posner, katy perry, girl talk, kill paradise, silversun pickups, david guetta, taio cruz, far east movement, lady gaga, jay sean, and the members of the glee cast.

5. and last but not least, i would like to thank my senegal friends (namely my linguere family) who put up with me, my quirks, my uselessness, my neediness, and my shit. without you guys, i am nothing...

just some pictures to sum up my trip...

went to visit vivi in shanghai! look how dark i am haha

this is what shanghai looks like these days... kinda like nyc

one of the most tasty chicken wings ive ever had, courtesy of jess' bday and the sunburnt cow

another view of shanghai from the park - beautiful, clean modernity

nothing like these in senegal

countryside shanghai and it snowed!

now back in senegal and spent new years in dakar. it was... interesting. ended up not going to the akon concert in st louis because big crowds give me anxiety these days and akon isnt so great anyway... so we hung around in dakar and ate, drank, and danced. but because local people dont drink here, instead, they shoot fireworks at each other. at first it was kinda pretty, albeit ridiculously loud. then it was kind of crazy, idiotic, dangerous. our group (since everyone was white and thus stood out) was targeted many times and i actually got hit twice. we had to run into bars to avoid the danger outside for most of the night. why would you ever shoot fireworks AT each other? and at close range? and the children were doing it too. thank you allah for not making me lose an eye or two that night haha...

hello 2011! new years resolution: keep at it.

anyway, heading back to village tomorrow. have a new camera so will take pics and post again in 2 weeks or so!!