Homesick?

I feel kind of lousy today because of things pretty unrelated to my Senegal experience.  Caleb wants to take some time off from talking to me to get his bearings as a newly single man, so I have to adjust to that.  My grandmother is in the hospital and is quite sick.  I have something gross going on with my toe, and even though it wouldn't make any sense, I'm afraid I have shingles again.

Some things here are funky.

Trash.  There is a lot of trash in the streets.  There isn't a good trash collection company, and the government-run one went bankrupt a few years ago.  It's very hard to find a trash can around here, so it's hard to avoid littering.  Walking through markets or through poor districts, you end up just walking on layers and layers of rubbish.  Also, it smells bad.

Horses.  There are a shocking number of people who have horses and carts here.  It seems like there aren't any laws regarding what these horses can do...not that there are any apparent traffic laws, either.  In fact, I haven't seen a single traffic cop here.  Most taxis make un-promising noises and have cracked windshields.  Horses will make U-turns over medians.  Cars will drive up on the sidewalk.  The roads are potholed and awful.  There are few to no street signs, and no one knows street names.

Sand.  When we first got here, I thought, "Wow, there's a lot of mud here."  I think today was the first day since we've been here that has not rained, so I got a taste of what it's like when all that mud is sand.  There's a lot of it.  I feel like my feet are always dirty.  It's not so much a feeling, really, as a reality.  This is kind of a problem since I have some issue with my right foot.  It's like a series of blisters along the crease between my smallest toes, and it's been getting worse since we got here.

Altogether today, I'm tired and shaky and stressed and missing the comforts--luxuries, really--of home.  Like having salad every night and not having to wonder whether it will make me sick.  And having vegetables with dinner.  And being allowed to eat just until I feel like stopping.  And sleeping in a huge, cushy bed.

Today I discovered that my host sisters sleep 4 to a bed, so I feel kind of guilty that I have my own room and still think it's sort of lousy.

Can't wait to get used to all this...DIFFERENCE.  It's good for me.