It's 7:55 am. Shayna and I are in bed. Shayna is still sleeping and I am checking email. We have to be in the lobby by 8:50 to start our day. The phone rings and our tour leader is on the phone from the front desk. "Hey, where are you guys?" We were supposed to be in the lobby by 7:50, not 8:50. Oops! We got ready as fast as possible (a record two minutes) and ran down the hall to attempt to not hold up the group for too long. You know those people that are always late and make everyone else wait? Yup, that was us. After having a brief discussion in the lobby with one of the representatives from the organization we would visit, we got on the bus for an hour and a half ride to the village. On the way, we saw some very strange sights. For us non-animal eaters, the sight of unidentifiable animal corpses hanging from stands, that they called butcher shops, was less than appealing. We passed through many small towns and villages and open country roads with interesting trees holding huge nests. We arrived at the offices of Tostan, an amazing organization started twenty-three years ago to work with communities to end female genital cutting (FGC).Now they focus on much broader initiatives than that and they have made tremendous inroads in this area of the world. AJWS was one of its first supporters. The sole purpose of this stop was to use the loo, as the extent of a bathroom in the community would be a bush or a hole. Another 15 minute ride to the village, where we were once again greeted with dancing, singing, and many ADORABLE children awaiting our arrival. They had chairs set up for us in the shade for about 100 villagers and visitors. We heard from many people in the village about their experiences with the work of Tostan and the modules. Upon our arrival, a few of the children sang us a song about democracy. They told us that the children were the ones teaching their parents about democracy and human rights. We heard from the chief of the village, a true hero in this part of the world, as he was one of the first men to denounce FGC and spread the word throughout other villages in the region. One woman described her experience going to India as a representative of the village to learn about solar power. After our two-hour long meeting in the hot sun, we toured the village, which included the solar "repair shop", the preschool, and the health hut as they called it. In the one room repair shop, there was a bed and a table with solar circuits where the villagers could charge their cell phones. We found it strange that they didn't have running water or electricity (before Tostan) yet everyone still has a cell phone. They are especially interested in using texting to promote literacy. We saw many goats and chickens roaming through the villages and huts. Made us feel right at home. The young children welcomed us to,their preschool room by singing and reading us a book in Wolof. The teacher demonstrated to us the Tostan model of parenting which is speaking to the babies, identifying body parts, counting on their fingers and toes and looking at them and caressing them, rather than carrying them all day on their backs with little human contact. We said goodbye to the children and walked over to the two room health hut, where the babies are born. It was very sparse, two beds, handwritten charts on the wall and a scale to weigh the newborns. The midwife told us that since the "health center" was built, they have had no issues with infant death. The pregnant women get regular check ups during their pregnancy to maintain the health of the women and babies. The nearest hospital is 7 kilometers away, not an easy trek if there are complications. On our way to the vans, we were surrounded by many of the village children, gesturing to be photographed. They loved seeing their image on the screen. We waved goodbye and blew kisses from the van as we drove to the Tostan community center, for another delicious meal and conversation with some of the people who work for Tostan. We had the good fortune of being seated with Dome Gaye, who has worked with the organization for 20 years in a variety of roles. As the sole breadwinner, he supports his family of 15, parents, brothers and sisters. We bonded over his most recent trip to Berkeley and Stanford (his only visit to the states) and his love of the Bay Area. We invited him back for a return visit. Back on the van for our hour and a half drive to the hotel. We must have hit rush hour in Dakar because the streets were jammed. Back at the hotel, we were able to FaceTime with home and rest a bit before Shabbat. Our rest was interrupted when Shayna noticed a very large and unidentifiable bug on the floor of the bathroom. You should have seen us trying to chase this bug out of the room. Would have made a great video. We didn't realize this huge bug could fly and when it made its way onto the curtain, we both screamed. After numerous attempts of trying to catch it with our shoe (it was the size of our hand..ok maybe our finger!) we finally helped it escape to freedom through the sliding glass door, leading to the patio. We bid it farewell and hope it finds a nice home somewhere else! We joined the group for drinks in a cabana by the sea with Molly melching, the founder of Tostan and one of the most inspiring women we have ever met. Her most recent book, however long the night, has won numerous awards and she has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize for her work. She also joined us for Shabbat dinner, where we got to hear more in depth about her work in Africa, but especially her contribution to educating the population about FGC. We had a private room and it was an amazing experience to welcome Shabbat in Senegal, with candles, some of the most delicious challah we have ever eaten, wine, a 15 course meal, (no exaggeration!) and engaging and sometimes difficult conversation. Shayna read a poem that Rebecca wrote about child forced marriages and many in the room were brought to tears. It is still an issue in many parts of Africa, Senegal included. With Rebecca's permission, we will post the poem on the blog. We recited the blessings and heard thoughts and poems to welcome the Shabbat. This is one Shabbat we will never forget! We were told during dinner that the king of morocco was staying at our hotel and there was a dinner for 500 being hosted in the tent outside . Never wanting to miss an opportunity to meet a King, I convinced Shayna to come with me to crash the party. She was totally mortified by her mothers antics, but with some resistance, eventually allowed me to ask the security team if I could take a photo of the life-size portraits of him in the lobby. They conferred and agreed. (See photo on Facebook) still hoping for a live sighting tomorrow. Until then, Shabbat shalom from Senegal. Setting my alarm for 6:30 right now so we don't become known as "the late ones!" Laila tov!