Sunday, October 7, 2012

A Chocolate Syrup Weekend


            On Friday, the Sophomore class had their fundraiser… Superhero Movie Night!  People dressed up as superheroes (I couldn’t get anything together, sadly.. but I think other people’s costumes made up for my lack of one!), they served bacon cheeseburgers and some yummy deserts and then showed The Incredibles and The Avengers.  I really wanted to be able to stay awake until the Avengers came on, but I just couldn’t make it.. so I went home about 10 minutes into The Incredibles.  I am getting too old for this! 
            On Saturday I went to a fancy grocery store with 2 floors… and also… THE AMERICAN STORE!!!!! It was an amazing little touch of home.  They have peanut butter, cereal, candy, granola bars, BROWN SUGAR, and my pride and joy of the day… HERSHEYS CHOCOLATE SYRUP! For 7 dollars!  But compared to the Tide detergent for (if I remember correctly) $36, it seemed like a pretty good idea to me!  I decided it was worth it so that I could disguise my powdered milk.. and oh boy, it WAS worth it.  So many possibilities.  Although, I may have gotten a little TOO excited about it.. I don’t recommend mixing chocolate syrup with yogurt.  I will just stick with the chocolate milk from now on.  and maybe ice cream.  I also got some sour patch kids, reeses, peanut butter crackers, and fla-vor-ice (to help me remember camp!)  these flavorices were regular sized ones though, not the huge ones! But still delicious, I’m sure!
            At the fancy grocery store, I got some dried mangoes, which have almost made up for the fact that mango season was MUCH too short.   And… soy milk! I think between the chocolate syrup and my soy milk, powdered milk will no longer be a thorn in my flesh!  Okay, so it’s not really that bad, but I really miss REAL milk and that’s one of the things I won’t be able to bring back at Christmas time!
            I drank some delightful chocolate milk right when I got home and just couldn’t wipe the smile (or the chocolate mustache) off my face for the rest of the day.
            Then, it was time for Oktoberfest!  Yup, they have it here in Dakar, but it’s probably not quite what you would think!  They had a voting booth set up so I got to vote, and even got an “I voted” sticker! Woo hoo!  And they had delicious BBQ chicken… with garlic potatoes and pita bread and garlic mayonnaise.. Lebanese food.. yum!
            After my tummy was full, they played The Avengers on a blow up screen under the stars!  Don’t know why The Avengers was the movie of the weekend, but I didn’t miss it this time around!  When the movie FINALLY ended, we got in the truck to go home and had to stop to get gas (my first ever time at a gas station in Africa, woo hoo!)  and then we were going to drive right by Mamma Mia (a really yummy ice cream place) so we had to stop and get some of course! 
            So obviously, Saturday was a good day!! Chocolate syrup AND ice cream.
            We are ALMOST half way through October (the hottest month of the year here) now.. although I have to say it seems like it has been less humid.  Whenever I tell that to someone here, though, they just look at me like I’m crazy.. so I don’t know what it is.  Maybe it is because I’m used to the heat, but not the humidity so when its “only” 80 degrees with 70% humidity, I only notice the humidity, but when its 90 degrees with 80% humidity, I know how to handle it.. but that just doesn’t make sense.  Anyway, I have been surviving October so far, and  I am looking forward to some cooler weather in the near future! : )
            I was informed yesterday that I will be home in 75 days, which means today its 74 days! That’s nothing!
            I am ready for next weekend already!

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