Finally here! Everything has been so amazing, already loving this experience and feeling right at home.  All of the PCVs met up down in DC on Tuesday, where we had staging, which is pretty much just an introduction to make sure we know how great but at times difficult the experience will be.  We had Maureen, who was a really great facilitator! There are 41 volunteers in Senegal and we also had 10 in staging with us going to The Gambia, which is the country inside Senegal (Senegal is Pac Man and The Gambia is its mouth).  Senegal was the French colony and The Gambia was the British's colony; from what I've heard they're mostly similar except the "main languages"; no one really speaks French or English once you get away from the cities anyway.
Got into Dakar around 6 am West African time and took a bus about an hour and half outside of the city to Thies (pronounced Chess) to the PC compound.  When we walked out of the plane was immediatly hit with humidity and ocean air!  It can get surprisingly chilly with the wind though.  It's the dry season now though, so I can't even imagine what it's going to be like during the wet/hot season.  The compound is really nice!  Four of us share a room and there's  a men's room and a ladies room.  Something that's going to gross everyone out and I won't go into detail- people don't really use toilet paper here!  Right now we have plumbing but once we get to site we won't have that luxury.  You can also buy toilet paper, but it's expensive and not really worth the money.
Yesterday was a great day and everyone was so welcoming.  We were all super jet lagged so they did introductions and then let us rest.  In the afternoon we had a legit drum circle.  They taught us a traditional dance (which most of us looked silly doing) and we so patient.  It was awesome.  While they were trying to learn a bunch of local kids lined up outside of the gate, and towards the end they were let in.  Some of them danced with us and a lot of them showed us what we were supposed to look like when dancing, but all were super cute.  The older ones knew most of the dances but some of the younger ones were on my level.
Another thing I have to mention is the food. It's awesome.  I kind of thought I'd lose weight when I got here but now I'm not so sure.  People here eat communally out of  a giant bowl.  At PC we use spoons and have 5 to a bowl, but outside most people use their hands and it varies how many.  Breakfast has been beans and bread (fun fact I learned that most American bread has sugar in it and here they don't do that- so much better!) with either coffee or tea.  Tea is really huge here and they have a second breakfast sort of thing in the mid morning where you have tea or coffee and more bread.  The instant coffee is actually really good too.  Lunch yesterday was rice, vegetables and beef and reminded me of Chinese or Indian food from home, and dinner they made spaghetti (which I think was to ease us in) with meat sauce and salad with super good Senegalese dressing.  We already drink a ton of water and they have a water cooler in most rooms to keep us hydrated.
The Senegalese are so nice and welcoming!  Most speak English in the camp, but that won't be the case outside.  They've gauged our French level, and most people will greet you in French first.  I was really nervous about that since I haven't taken a French course in four years, but I surprised myself and remembered what I'll call survival French.  I want to get better at it but I don't know how likely it is outside of the cities.  School is taught in French but it's more of a lecture style so they learn to read and write it but not necessarily speak it.
Classes start this afternoon and we go out to our language classes on Sunday!
Bismallah!