Well, I’ll be back in J-ville next week. The time’s passed so quickly by. I really enjoyed it here this summer, and I had so many visitors! Almost my entire family (except GJ - you slacker!) jk Last night, one of the guys I met, his entire family is from Jax and he visits there regularly. He finds it to be oppressive and Republican. I’m a democrat, and I didn’t find it to be too oppressive. In fact, I loved growing up here, though I can’t deny those allegations. He said he’s visiting in a few weeks, so maybe we’ll be able to catch up while we’re there.
I’m looking forward to going home, though. It will be two months of preparation for leaving for Africa. And we can’t forget the lovely speeches I will be giving in Atlanta to various Rotary clubs. I wish I could say I’ve gotten over stagefright, but I always get a little bit jittery when I have to give a presentation on my own. Dave and Jerry - two rotarians from my club - are doing their best to get me into a few clubs that week, so I can meet the quota for number of speeches that I have to give before I leave. It’s somewhere between 8 and 12, I believe. Wish me luck on it! It’s not for another month, so I have some time to get a presentation together.
Emily, the scholar who’s over there now, has also been so amazing! She helped connect me to people over in Dakar, so that I can get accepted by the university over there and into the program I’m looking to do. She’s also been kind enough to connect me with Kevin, an American who will be doing the same program as me. I’m hoping to get a “Maitrise” or a Masters in Political Science/Economics. It requires a grueling 50 page thesis and 6 days of classes. Going to school there should be an interesting experience, as the school year is never really set - it’s always being changed due to teacher strikes and student protests.
Finally, almost all my paperwork is in place, which makes me feel really good. I still need to get a student visa and the acceptance letter from the school. And, I will hopefully be working the Geek Corps and Matt Blerg over there. His project just received an extension until December, which is great news, as I’ll be getting there in October.
