Our group of PCTs decided to celebrate Easter together on the beach in Mboro. The day was filled with the usual beach activities: throwing a Frisbee, swimming in the ocean, chasing away large groups of unruly kids whose parents are invisible, building sandcastles, etc.

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It was during this mini vacation when I realized how much easier I am to please now, compared to two months ago. When I got to the hotel we were staying at and noticed a shower with temperature control and a flush toilette with toilette paper, I felt like I was walking into the Ritz. As I was walking through the market, I thought about how I used to be picky about where I went grocery shopping; now I would be ecstatic to go any supermarket that doesn’t smell like dead fish and urine. So I feel like the Peace Corps is having a positive effect on me.

Saturday night, I decided to check out the Easter vigil mass at the Catholic church. The service went from 10:00 in the evening until 2:00 in the morning, and although the mass was long, the choir was great. There were different types of drums and amazing harmonies - reminiscent of Lion King music and of the same quality.

The trip concluded with a ride on an “Alhamdoulilah,” which is usually a death-defying experience. Alhamdoulilah means “thanks be to God” in Arabic, and it is not painted on the front of these buses for no reason. They are often in such poor condition and have so many people crammed into them and have so much luggage piled high on top that it is truly thanks to God if you make it to your destination in one piece. Lucky for us, we arrived safely back at the Thies training center on Monday, Alhamdoulilah.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Pre-service training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.