Look let's be clear here, sometimes I feel like I might just lose it in Senegal. I can't cool off and I itch all over, an incessant irritation along my ankles, my wrists, my scalp, everywhere. It is so busy and noisy, smokey, dirty, and smelly. I just can't relax. Even in my village where calm prevails, there is the constant annoyance of everyone asking me for money, candy, or to marry their daughters. I struggle to have real conversations here and often feel like I don't have real friends. My little brothers and sisters don't speak to me and I just don't have much to talk about much less understand with my host father and mothers. When is the last time someone asked me about me or my life? And throughout this mess, I miss my girlfriend terribly. I miss the loving, the laughing, the simple touch of a hand on my back. I am frustrated and a thousand hand shakes just won't alleviate that vacancy. Senegal can be excruciatingly repetitive. The music is always the same, the name calling doesn't change, the sun scorches, and the flies, cockroaches, lizards, geckos and other pests just keep coming. I'm just being pissy, but I guess that's just as much a part of this experience as my triumphs and glimpses of beauty.