Balance. Yin and yang, black and white, male and female, day and night, good and bad, sweet and salty, silence and cacophony; they compliment each other and make each other stronger. Because of the existence of one, the other is contrasted and highlighted. If we lived in perpetual winter, we would quickly grow tired of the biting wind and harsh temperatures while forgetting about the innate beauty. But because of summer, we can appreciate each for it’s nature.
But in the trenches of winter, it is really quite difficult to imagine the summer days when all you want to eat…

December for me was marked by three things: celebrations, coworkers, and cuy.

 
 
 
 
 
 
CUY
Cuy for the people who don’t know, is guinea pig. I ate cuy. I’m a great vegetarian, right? I figured I had to at least try this bizarre dish that is somewhat of a delicacy in the Andes. Once I got past the fact that they serve the whole body of the animal on the plate, it was surprisingly delicious. I understand why it’s not a dish served in the States, but if you’re planning on visiting Ecuador and feeling adventurous,…

One morning as I sat on the mat in the sand in Megan’s village, drinking my ataya, I watched Ibrahima, her six year old brother leaving for school, carrying his little backpack. This reminded me of how my little brother and all of the students in first grade in my village had recently received free backpacks distributed by the charitable arm of FIFA (Federation International de Football Association), ostensibly to encourage school attendance. This might seem like a great idea initially, but my little brother (and I suspect many of the other children who received backpacks) already had a perfectly…

Tucked away in the north of Dakar surrounded by green lawns and palms trees, the Meridien President Hotel is glaringly different from the swelling, sandy neighborhoods and bustling, littered streets through which our taxi weaves. Within the five-star conference center’s halls, the environment is abuzz with the conversations and presentations by dignitaries, professors, and representatives of NGOs, tackling the complex theme of family planning.  Nevertheless, outside of the hotel gates is reality: a city – and an African continent – still struggling with providing basic health care and addressing fundamental needs for family planning services. The picture outside is not…

Let me rant just a little. The Senegalese school system often seems broken. Alright, I’m done.
What brought this rant about? It all started with a little involvement on my part in the studies of my 12 year old cousin. He told me his homework was hard that night.
“Mettina, Fanta! Mettina torop!” which literally translates as “it hurts, a lot!” a piece of vocab I hear all too often at the Poste where I work.
“Lutax?” I asked. “Why?”
He explained to me that tonight he has to memorize seven sentences in French about the ear, more than what…