Today, the other Westerner guy where I work was too sick. He had to go home. He looked absolutely miserable. I can't blame him. I just hope I don't have to empathize. I getting very used to this place. Work is borderline pleasant, and I feel useful and needed at my workplace. Today, during a meeting between the interns, I revealed that I'm only 14 years old, a statement that caused mass panic. The intern in charge of the older kids, Sophie, told me that I should be with her, not as a facilitator but as a student. I also got very excited, as when making plans they had to work around the fact that I'm leaving very soon. This is my last full week in Senegal. Soon, I'll be back home. On that topic, Anjeli is back home in Bethesda, decreasing the time difference to 4 hours. That means that, for example, when I take my break at work I will be able to talk to Anjeli. She will be awake for most of my day. This is very, very good news. It'll be a huge improvement to my mental and emotional health, and it'll decrease my isolation from my world. Soon, I will be in Italy, and after a few weeks, I'll be back home. I am very happy I never gave up on Senegal. I am happy I pushed through the worst times. Becuase, to be overly rhetorical, once I pushed through the dark clouds the sky is not as dark. Now, all that can change very quickly if I get sick, but right now, I feel calm.
Soon I will be 15. When I come home to Italy, I'll ask my parents to take me to the beach house in Liguria for a few days. I need a vacation. And then, soon enough, I'll go back home. I'll get a month with Anjeli, and then school. School will be hard, it'll be stressful, it'll make me think I wish I was still here in Senegal. But here, I've seen my roommate have to study on a foam mattress in a house infected by rats. I live in Bethesda. I will have to deal with real stress. It's an environment that encourages anxiety and suffering. As much as I look at the fasting on Ramadan with horror, I accept a system where self-denial is just as important. However, as much as I like to overdramatize my struggle, here in Senegal, kids live amongst the sand and the vermin, the pollution, and the corruption. Here, kids have all of my problems, but also so much more.
Enough melodrama. I must appeal to an audience that values directness, dryness, and conciseness. Today was another reassuring day. The Italian-Senegalese girl had her first day here. My biggest problems right now are my shyness, my debate situation (Nate Olsen will be a novice, so if I do partner up with him I won't be able to go to a national tournament before GMU), my inability to discover my AP score, and my horrid tan lines. For the most part, these will be problems I'll have in Italy, and they will only be augmented by the lack of additional stress.
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