Friday, March 5, 2010

WAIST (introduction)

I just got back to Segou after taking a two week excursion through western Africa. The purpose: WAIST (West African Invitational Softball Tournament). For those of you who have never heard of WAIST, which is basically everybody, it's an event that happens every Presidents Day weekend in Dakar, Senegal. Expatriates from all over West Africa come for a few days of softball, good food, social networking, and possibly to attend a conference. Traditionally, Peace Corps Volunteers from most West African countries participate along with several other groups that are based out of the Dakar area. Most PC countries have so many people show up that they are able to field several softball teams. PC Mali had roughly 90 people attend, with three teams participating in the tournament.

Typically PC Volunteers will remain in Senegal for a few days after WAIST is officially over in order to soak up as much of the ocean air as possible. Plus, the bus ride to Dakar is anything but a pleasant experience, so most people need a decent amount of time to recuperate before heading back home.

I'm breaking this entry up into parts, otherwise it would be enormous. This way you can get through it all in bits.

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