1 day prior to departure.

I've quit a  job I absolutely loved, in an economic recession.

I sold my car, in the middle of winter.

I've given away or donated over half of my personal belongings, even shoes.

I moved from a great apartment in the middle of a great city, back to my parent's home in a white, affluent, suburb!

I'm 25 and moving to... anywhere in the world, first stop Dakar, Senegal!

Tomorrow I leave for the north-west coast of Africa. I've always known that someday I must go to Africa. I've always known that someday I will throw myself into the world. Tomorrow is that day! :) 

Through the Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship of Rotary International, for the next 6 months I will be:

-living with a host family in Dakar;

-studying French and Wolof (a native language of Senegal);

-finding a volunteership or job in development and/or policy;

-falling in love with Senegalese culture and people;

-dancing on the beach! 

At an orientation conference last winter a Rotarian clearly laid out the expectations of this opportunity. He stated that the quantity of money granted could build 5 wells in Haiti, thus save hundreds if not thousands of lives, but instead it is given to me.  I must now prove that I am worth- at least- 5 wells. 

Come along with me on this journey. Study French, or any other language, with me. Find Senegal on a map and tell a friend. Step out of your comfort zone. Here we go...