Tuesday, January 18, 2011

FINALLY..... Vacation time is here :-))



Hi everyone,

This will probably be my last posting before I take a week off and go to the southern region of Senegal called Casamance for a mini vacation.  It has touristy spots (even a Club Med) but where I will be going is a small fishing village on the Atlantic called Abene.  One of the son's of the family I am staying with works at a compound there, owned by a Dutch woman.  It is suppose to be very basic - small clean huts not far from the beach and NO ELECTRICITY.....  I am told the food is very good (mostly daily caught fish that one buys on the beach as the fishermen come back at the end of the day), the sea and the beach very beautiful, nature plentiful with some amazing species of birds and nothing much to do except just sit and watch the day go by.   Can't wait.....

Then I will come back and have 3 more weeks of Kiva work.  This time however, I will not be in an office but will be visiting borrowers in different parts of the country.  I saved the best part of the job for last :-)))  I am really excited about the prospect of meeting actual borrowers and seeing more of the country.

In the meantime, here is another photo essay from the last couple of weeks.

At the entrance of the "Art Village" 

I am not kidding - this is a car wash...

Golf anyone????

When I first saw this statue, I thought the yellow one was a bear and I thought how appropriate given the state of our economy :-)))  When I got closer, I realized it is suppose to be a lion - I think so anyway....

In front of the butcher shop

It's more of a butcher stand, actually.....  The meat sits exposed to the elements on a counter right on the street

Another view of the car wash

Istanbul Furniture Store - have become fast friends with the owner, Mustafa, who is from Izmir.  He imports IKEA like furniture from Turkey and assembles it here.  Have toget a picture of him too at some point.
At the company Holiday Party for the children of the employees - Yacine in the middle is the Kiva Coordinator with whom I work the most.  She is very sweet.  Aita to the left is the teller at the Yoff branch where I spend my days.  They're both beautiful women but for some reason, people here don't smile very much when they're having their picture taken.

I just fell in love with him.  The hat was just too much..... especially considering it is 80 degrees outside.

Yacine, her nieces and their friends with Santa.  Every child got a gift.  It was very nicely done.
The security guard in front of the Yoff branch with one of the neighborhood kids

Kids in the neighborhood  They love having their pictures taken and then look at it in the camers

This is the office where I work.  Since there are only 2 desks and two officers, I work at a small table at the very end (not visible in the photo) sitting on one of those plastic chairs.  Oh yeah... we also share the office with a little mouse who makes regular visits.  Never thought I'd be OK with a mouse running around :-)))
The teller's office where a Kiva borrower is making a payment

The IMCEC-YOFF branch & our security

The view from the upstairs office where I work.  The street ends at the beach on the Atlantic

New clients headed our way....

With Yacine, finally smiling....

This view reminded me of Istanbul.  This is the N'Gor beach and the tiny island right across is the N'Gor island.  It's a 5 minute boat ride away.

Les piroques de Senegal -  the fishing boats

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