Ku mun, muun.

My homestay is continuing to go very well. We have a weekday routine of breaking the fast (it's Ramadan - most people in my house aren't actually fasting, including me, but we break it anyway) with tea and either bread or cake around seven, then the news and dubbed Mexican soap operas (Roderigo and Victoria and Miranda all speak French), then dinner around eight, and then more TV - generally American shows dubbed in French. I watch Lost and find it so funny to hear Jack and Kate and Sawyer speaking French in different voices. My host sister and I generally talk about politics while we watch TV, in French! It's really interesting to hear her perspective on the U.S. government - last night we talked about Guantanamo Bay, terrorism, and militant Islam, which she told me isn't really Islam, because Islam forbids killing another person.

So, I'm learning a lot.

I also learned a Wolof saying I really like: Ku mun, muun. There are some tildes involved, but I don't know how to type them. It means, roughly, if you're patient, you will smile. (I think.) French translations are "Il ne faut jamais jeter l'eponge," which means, "It is necessary to never throw in the towel."

My Wolof teacher said that this saying is really important to the Senegalese, because it basically means that even when things are hard, it's necessary to be patient and determined, because eventually good fortune/recompense can be found again. I really like this saying, and I'm keeping it in mind during my time here.

I also have been noticing these huge, leafy trees that are planted everywhere in the city. They have very bright red-orange blossoms and people use them for the shade. I don't know what type of tree they are, but I've only ever seen them here in Senegal and I love walking past them every day.