Locusts

I am back in an internet cafe researching for a project I am doing on Signares and thought I would take a break and write some more.

Ben told me before I came to Senegal that locusts were going to eat my eyes out...he is so kind...but I didn't actually think I would see the locusts. On the drive from Thies to Saint-Louis we witnessed the thousands and thousands of locusts that are eating the crops that these people have worked so hard on. I can't imagine how devastating that must be to see everything you have worked on all year destroyed. The people here have to do everything themsleves. No machines to help farm. They carry water from the wells to water each crop, which must take forever! Plus it is so dang hot here.

The swarms and swarms of locusts looked like butterflies at first. They are really big. I would compare them to a small bird. We stopped our bus on the side of the road to let some people pee in the bushes, and as we walked in the grass, thousands of locusts would fly up off the ground. They aren't scary in the sense that they are going to attack you, but up close I think they look nasty. It was gross to see their guts all over the windshield of the bus. I took some pictures of them flying all around and I hope they turn out.

Okay, back to work. The sun is setting and there is a beautiful glow on the buildings across the river.