10/18 Dakar

So back in Big Faim i sit again, back from Dakar and another kinda shitty time, a liter and a half of besap juice is not the best way to start off a stint in The capital. So about half of our training stage decided to roll into Dakar a day early to experience it early and take in the sights and sounds. When leaving kevin, aaron, ben, darren and I were taking a bit longer then the rest so were left behind. We had to make our own way to Dakar so we had to go to the gare and rent alhum's or sept places. Well by the time we get there we figure the group that had left before us would have already been on their way and long gone, but they're sitting there in an Al hum waiting for it to fill up which had to be fun as it was rather hot out. We decide a sept place is the best way to roll and promptly tell the people who are trying to get us into the Al hum that were not doing that and that we want to take a sept place. This basically saves us having to take a Taxi from the gare in Dakar to the regional house as with the sept place we can go straight to the door. So we basically end up geting there about 20min before them and claim beds in the packed regional house. I guess theres a lot of PCV's who were in their last few week/days in country and were 'close of servicing' and were in the capital. So it was lucky we took the sept place and beat out the other 15 people vying for the beds and space.
Once the rest of the group get there and settled, we decide on the american club as a starting point for everything. We swim and play a little sand volleyball, which was really fun, and have lunch which was also really good. Thats where i have my mishap with the besap juice, which is delicious by the way, just not in a liter and a half increments in short periods of time. i think the fact that it wasnt treated water the used to make it might have factored into the equation as well. Ah well live and learn. After this and lunch i group with the folks who are looking to head back to liberty 6 as im feeling a little off color and want to chill for a while. So we spend the afternoon back at the regional house relaxing. So about happy hour time we decide to go to a bar that a bunch of the PCV's know for cheap drinks. I go along, but am really not feeling all that happy so to speak but they had french soccer on the TV's there so i just milked my two beers and watched that. Entertaining in its own right as Marseille were playing and were playing a decent game. I end up talking ot oliver and daniel for a little bit as well, both nice guys. Oliver lived in France for a while and is a bad ass french speaker, and daniel lived in mexico for a while. They had interesting opinions on people studying abroad which i broadly agreed with as it really doesnt change your perspective on the world going to australia for a semester and partying it up with other americans. Theres some dissenting points which i dont fully agree with with, but for the most part i agree. Oliver likes soccer as well and we ended up talking about the soccer game against the staff we have on tuesday afternoon. should be good fun even if we do get beat up.
When everyone was good and watered, we head off to the Chinese restaurant that one of the PCV's knew and liked. That was really the plan form the beginning so everyone was game from the git-go. Kinda a hole in the wall place, but very good food, even if my stomach was in full revolt at this point. Theres about 3 full circle tables of us and another group of marines roll in so it was a full on american afair by the time we were done. A good time for sure minus my predicament. A bottle of some really awful chinese booze ends up on our table and after everyone tries it ends up staying there for the rest of the night. Really potent, and not really the best cure for a pissed off stomach i dont think. Anyway, after about 5 plates of food had been brought out and everyone was full up, we have to manage the bill which was fun, as there was so many of us all drinking different things, but it get sorted in the end.We all pile into cabs and head back to liberty 6 for the rest of the night. I just kinda curl up into a ball on the couch and try to read for the rest of the night before bed and then crash to hopefully feel better the next day at PC HQ.