My first 3 days...

Okay, so I finally managed to come to a internet accessible area in Africa. So many things have happened since my arrival to Africa and Iĺl try to cover the basis over the hour span I have in this cafe area. Enjoy! :D

Note: Group Members include Allison (our leader), Molly, Heedeok, Tammy, Alex, Russel, Matt, LingLing, Diana, and myself.

June 19, 2009
Today was an absolute adventure. Upon my arrival to Africa, I could not help but notice the poorly constructed airport in Dekar. It was literally the smallest airport I've ever seen in my life. After claiming our baggage everything was so hectic. Originally a bus was supposed to come pick us up from the airport to drive us to Bwiam (a 14 hour drive), but something came up and the bus did not show up. It was 5:00 am in the morning and everyone within our group was tired. Mr. Baji, our host, thankfully got 5 taxis for us and took us to his friends house in Dekar. We lounged there for 3 hours and a bus finally showed up. We put our baggage on top of the bus and left to Bwiam.

My first few hours of Africa was quite horrifying. As soon as we walked out of the airport, people were swirming after us asking for money. Left and right people were sticking their hands out initiating conversation, yelling ´money, money, MONEY!' Some were trying to woe the girls within our group and Iḿ sure everyone felt very uncomfortable. The taxis were in the worst conditions possible. I was very surprised that the driver was able to drive the vehicle. (and here I thought that Chris had a crappy car... jk :P)

Somehow we managed to pull through the hectic first few hours and were now safely on the bus. Everyone seemed to have calmed down and were starting to appreciate the beauty of Africa. After 14 hours of driving (stopping for food) we managed to arrive to the hospital safely. So many things happened within that 14 hour ride to Bwiam. The main events were the ferry ride, eating at the African restaurant, and crossing the border from Senegal to Gambia.

June 20, 2009
I wake up asking Heedeok, my roommate for the next 6 weeks, what time it was. It was 11:30 am. We arrived last night at 12:00 a.m., settled in, and took a bucket shower. (we use a bucket of water to shower :\) Afterwards everyone went to bed. I was surprised by how long I slept considering I slept nearly half the time in the bus ride to Bwiam. I suppose I was still tired from all the travelling. Anyways, we ate breakfast as a group (btw the food here is surprisingly good, I doubt that Iĺl get diarhea... ) and then explored the hosptial all together. The hospital was beyond my expectations. It is so nice! I was expecting a very small hospital and did not expect to sleep in a bed, but to my surprise we each have our own room, we have a toilet to take care of our business, and we have access to both water and electricity! I am very fortunate to be residing in such a wonderful place. :D

Later in the evening our group went to the village (the village is just right outside the hospital.) The people within the village were so kind. I took lots of pictures of the children there and many others and will hopefully get a chance to post a few up later on.

June 21, 2009
Today we wake up at 7:30 am and head toward the city to buy food for the coming weeks. It is currently 11:00 am. We took a small van to get here. On our way, one of my group member, Diana, threw up on me. (how wonderful :D haha) She felt a little nauscous due to the malaria medicine she was taking. Thankfully, she feels okay right now so everything is good.

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Brothers and sisters in Christ, I ask that you continue to pray for my safety here in Africa and that I will be able to stay strong. I feel like there will be many challenges coming up ahead. I hope that everyone in the states are doing well and I will be praying for you guys! :D

Until next time...

-John