These are the people in our neighborhood...

The local possy, including some of the dancers and drummers in the ballet directed by Mesa Thoubou.
Noah playing football (soccer) on our street. Our house is down the road on the right (not in the photo)
Making eggs on our portable single burner stove. This is the central area in our house. The section behind me has an open roof (it's great to watch the colors of the sky and the moonshine is beautiful) and in front of me the roof is closed.

Momadou, who is 13, is a "can child" like the ones we see all over Dakar. The parents have sent their children to the city from the villages to receive a Muslim education from the Marabout teachers. What often happens though, is that the Marabout uses the children to make money. He sends the kids out on the street with a can from morning to night to beg for money and then he collects the money from the kids. Susan, who lived in this house last year, "adopted" Momadou and we have continued to care for him. Noah takes the most care of him, giving him clean clothes to wear, taking his clothes to get them washed, inviting him to eat with us and mostly playing with him. They have become good friends. Noah has a lot to learn from him, as well! He is a great soccer player and really good at house work. He has taught Noah how to sweep and mop up the rain water that likes to collect on the livingroom floor after a big rain. Once the bucket is filled with water, they bring it to the courtyard here, which is the indoor/outdoor part of our house, (there is no roof covering this part of the house) pour it down the drain and wring out the rags.
This is Oumar, who works in the photo shop at the corner of our street. He is also the "brother" (your cousin is called your brother) of the lead drummer in the local ballet. It's hard to find someone who is not related to someone else you know here!
Here, Noah is getting two passport photos that he needed for school. Notice the lovely sunset backdrop...
This is Ibou, who Noah and I fell in love with instantly upon arrival. He would come over every day and play with Noah morning, noon and night. After two weeks, his mom came over to get us and tell us that Ibou was leaving to go stay with his dad because his mom is pregnant again and not feeling well and cannot care for Ibou for a while. We were so sad! Noah quickly ran home, grabbed a t-shirt and a yo-yo to give to Ibou for his trip and we walked them to the road to get a taxi. He had 2 small plastic bags filled with everything he owns-his clothes and a few small toys. Noah has gone to the telecenter (where people make phonecalls) with his mom to speak to Ibou sometimes.

Our neighborhood, Cite' Asecna, in the town of Oukam, in the city of Dakar, is about a 1/2 hour drive from downtown Dakar. Initially, I thought it would be better to live closer to downtown for all of the markets, French bakeries, clubs and action. But after one trip downtown, it was a little too action-packed to be livable! It's tough to walk alone downtown because there is no end to the people who are trying to sell you anything and everything, or those who want to "help" out.
The traffic is horrendous and the fumes make it impossible to breath in a taxi with no AC and the windows rolled all the way down. Thank you, Elsu, for giving us the advice to take a couple of bandanas and some lavender oil. We use these all the time in the taxis to cover our faces so we don't have to breath the awful exhaust. The markets are amazing, busy and crowded, filled with the most beautiful fabrics, fruits and veggies and African arts and crafts. It's a nice place to visit, get what we need and go home to our calm and peaceful neighborhood.
This past weekend, we went downtown with our tailor (and friend) to find similar fabric to a dress he is copying for me. We also found a ton of other beautiful fabric and we are having fun getting clothes made.
Where we live is about a 20 minute walk to the beach and the lighthouse, which is on a hill and apparently the 2nd highest point in Senegal. It's not too high, so Senegal must be pretty flat! The beach is quite rocky during the rainy season, but we are told that the sand comes back when the weather calms down.
We are finally getting settled enough to be able to start thinking about taking some trips out of town. There are many beautiful islands and beaches for snorkeling and rock-climbing that we plan on checking out soon!