Notes:

Latest blog posts from 26.2 Miles vs Naomi

Marie-Suzanne Schools Mont Rolland
We had our doubts. At 4:30, when only a handful of people had shown up for the workshop which had been advertised to start at 3, and all of those people were Marie-Suzanne's cousins, siblings, aunts, and parents, we got worried.br /br /But there's on time and then there's Senegalese time. By 5... Read more...
Published 11 months ago

You know you want to come on vacation with me...
... don't deny it.br /br /Among my many, many (bad) reasons for not posting lately (or ever) is that I spent three weeks last month crossing the Sahara. br /br /Theo and I flew to Casablanca and bit-by-bit, train by crowded (and sometimes less crowded) bush taxi, by bus, we made our way back to... Read more...
Published 12 months ago

Everything is Possible, Nothing is Simple
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Qnlgmd9hFfE/RsBMf-sLe0I/AAAAAAAAAC8/QrHVjnXfvgI/s1600-h/freetown+hillside.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"... Read more...
Published a year ago

Err... Hi?
So I doubt anybody is still reading (because who would? I never post), but I figured I'd check in. Because I want to ask for something. (Figures.)br /br /I actually started writing a post about a month ago. I got as far as saying, "I suck for not posting, but apologizing is uninteresting to read... Read more...
Published a year ago

Last
As in, there were no people running behind me. As in first, only the inverse.br /br /But also, 2:23. br /br /And (give or take), among top 10 female finishers. (As of Wednesday morning, I was the 9th woman to sign up. "20 kilometers is a little long for women," the secretary told me. I didn't... Read more...
Published 2 years ago

Dead man walking
Here's what I was going to write, half an hour ago. br /br /blockquote"Y'all, I'm NERVOUS. br /br /For real, butterflies in my stomach, frenetic nervous energy, when will this be OVER already NERVOUS. br /br /Last night, I was talking to two friends about all the various voodoo and alchemy I have... Read more...
Published 2 years ago

A Doom Deferred
After months of (not-)training in preparation for tomorrow's half-marathon, my (entirely self-imposed) sentence has been commuted for another week. br /br /Thursday was the Grand Magal, one of Senegal's biggest holidays. It commemorates the return from exile of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of... Read more...
Published 2 years ago

Doomsday awaits
It's 11 pm on a Friday night, and I'm at home.br /br /Orchestra Baobab is playing at a club downtown. It doesn't even start for another hour. I could get up right now and go and I'd be early.br /br /And Youssou Ndour, who is probably Senegal's most famous musician, and who plays here every... Read more...
Published 2 years ago

Note to mom: just kidding!
So. Lessons learned today:br /br /1) Tear gas? Not so bad. But when packing a bag to go to a banned political protest, not a bad idea to throw in a scarf (for face protection purposes). br /br /2) The boom of exploding tear gas cannisters? Really fucking scary. br /br /3) Being a person who is... Read more...
Published 2 years ago

[singing] Hanukah, oh Hanukah, come light the menorah [/singing]
As is my fairly inconsistent and unpious custom, I made it a point to prepare not at all for Hanukah. br /br /I told various friends that I wanted to have a latke party at my house, but didn't actually invite anyone or buy potatoes.br /br /And I told Rose all about how I was going to have to... Read more...
Published 2 years ago

A First
Last week, Théo and Marie Suzanne’s cousin, Juliet, had a baby.br /br /This family is as close as it comes for me to having a family of my own here. I still have only met a fraction of the extended family (African families are BIG, y’all) but the fraction I’ve met have been wonderfully... Read more...
Published 2 years ago

Ti a yebi, mbada warga.
If you're lonely, make tea. br /br /I saw the truth of this Fula proverb first hand yesterday morning.br /br /A lazy Sunday morning found me sitting in the shade, across the street from Naw's shop. br /br /"Dafa weert," Naw complained. "It's so quiet."br /br /Our street is full of foreigners, and... Read more...
Published 2 years ago