St. Louis - Out and About with Friends

St. Louis - The Music and Street Scene

St. Louis - The Beach & Lodging

St. Louis Jazz Festival

A bunch of us headed up north over the three day weekend to catch the Jazz Festival in St. Louis.

http://www.saintlouisjazz.com/

We stayed at a beautiful place right on the beach. It was the nicest beach I've seen in Senegal thus far. The next few posts will be pictures from the weekend.

Badminton...or Bust!

My friend Gabbie talked me into playing in a badminton tournament at school. So we did.

Little did we know that we'd be the only ones to dress up in costume - me as PINK GIRL and Gabbie as SPARKLY GRRR-L. Little did I know that the tournament was immediate elimination if you lost.

Our 12 minutes of glorious (un)fame were fabulous. It just so happened that our first and only game was against the eventual tournament winners. We were doomed from the start.

D-d-d-djembe

I started taking djembe lessons from my coworker's Guinean husband about a month ago.

The djembe I use has more fur around the edges, but this pretty much looks like the drum I use. It is a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Mermaid Dress

I had an African dress made to wear for the Closing Ceremony of World Cultural Month. My movement was very limited in the dress, but it was fun to wear for an afternoon. I had a headband and special shoes made to match my dress as well. As you can tell by the close-up shots of the shoes, I love them!

World Cultural Month Activities

Closing day of World Cultural Month happened yesterday. Parents set up country themed booths around the school, and students visited the booths to learn more about their world. They took a 'passport' with them and received a stamp after visiting each place. Most booths had food samples, and they were all decorated amazingly. The kids loved it! Later, my students performed a theatre piece in front of the school. We had African print outfits made for the kids. I have to say, they did look adorable.

The Wall

April was World Cultural Month at my school. It involved parents and volunteers coming in to share food, stories, artifacts, etc. from their country. The art teacher had students repaint a wall in honor of the event with famous structures and symbols from around the world. C'est magnifique!