Weekend Number 8

I was able to go out last night!  I was feeling really depressed on Saturday.  On Friday night, Meredith, Sarah, Katy, and I went out to dinner at this restaurant near the Baobab Center.  It was delicious.  We were joined by the rest of the crew for drinks, plus a professor who lives nearby and heard our voices.  We had some drinks and chatted and enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant for a few hours.  Then everyone wanted to go dancing, so I went home to spend the night all alone.  I knew I wasn't well enough to spend an entire night exerting myself, so I decided to get more sleep instead.

I felt really depressed when I woke up on Saturday.  I did some productive things and then ended up calling Billy to hang out.  We chatted all afternoon until the sun started going down, and then he invited me out for his friend Eli's birthday.  We went out to a swanky restaurant downtown where we split a hummus plate and some pasta.  Eli missed dinner because he was having an argument with his girlfriend via Skype.  Then we bought drinks at a corner store and then went to an oceanside club.  We danced and chatted and wandered for several hours.  Eli's wallet got stolen, which was pretty tragic.  Another kid got his phone stolen.  Youssou and Aya showed up right when we were preparing to leave, so we didn't hang out for long.

I had a great time spending time with a new group of people, and they were a lovely bunch.  I'm looking forward to more outings with them in the future.  Everyone was acting like I was Billy's date for the night, and I caught a couple meaningful glances aimed at him and seemingly about me from his friends.  I'm not sure whether that was his intention, but it did sort of seem that way.  I guess I'll find out about that later--he leaves tomorrow for the week, and I'm going to be away this weekend.

Things with Caleb haven't changed much.  I'm trying to distract myself and give him space, even though it feels wrong.  At this point, everything feels wrong, so...whatever.  Things will get better.  I just don't want him to come out of all this hating me, and I know I'm doing everything wrong, against my best intentions.

Also...this is sort of an odd thing to have to add.  This blog is public.  I make a point of trying to represent people and events fairly, but mostly this is just a place for people I care about to be able to keep track of what is going on in my life.  This is not a place for people to come get gossip to spread about people back home or people here in Dakar.  Please don't go around saying, "Erica said ____ about ____ on her blog!"  If you think someone should see something I've written about them, that's fine--this is public.  But it's not intended as a source of gossip.

On that note...  Youssou and I had yet another serious chat yesterday.  He said he's not going to try to hide his feelings for me, but he understands where I stand and isn't going to try to pressure me.  Still, he thinks I need a man.  He also said I should make more of an effort to be social--I've been tired and depressed all week, and as a result have been quiet and withdrawn.  He was right on with that, so I've been making more of an effort today.  I went out to the market today and had a great time, and we went out to dinner tonight.

Tomorrow is another market excursion, and after classes we're all hoping to go work out on the beach.

Have a great few days.  Until next time!