I had been asked by the Association of Physically Handicapped People of Ziguinchor to present all the assistive devices we had conceived during their national awareness day; Wednesday. I had organized all the assistive devices I wanted to present but didn`t think I`d be needing to prepare anything more. Some colleagues dropped me off at the Governance Square to attend to the official ceremony. Present, was a military band, security, the Minister of Social Affairs, media and the public (of which many were disabled).

To my great surprise, my role in the events of the day was much more than I had anticipated; I was one of their main line-ups. So I was half listening to the Minister speak in Wolof and then heard a couple key words which caught my attention: Canadian, aides techniques, Hopital Regional de Ziguinchor. Oh Geez! Seconds later, the president of the association asked me to go in front of everyone and speak about my profession and briefly present the assistive devices. And there I was, getting filmed, photographed as I spoke with a mic in a big sound system to over a hundred people. Yikes! I have no idea if what I said made sense or if they understood what I was saying given my accent, but it seemed appreciated. Talk about confronting your greatest fears… I detest and am scared of public speaking (not to mention terrible at it)!

It took over an hour to calm my nerves down. On top of it, I didn’t know anybody so couldn’t share my panic with anyone (my colleagues had left and the ones who were supposed to be present were not). The day continued at the city stadium where I waited for everyone to move and helped the organizers prepare the afternoon meal. Not knowing what the day’s schedule was, I eventually spoke again. This time more prepared, I received multiple questions and comments at the end of my 15-20 minute presentation. Another man spoke after me and that was it. Simply put, my presentation was one of the main events of the day! Yikes!

When I got home at the end of the day, I was exhausted. Meeting people and public speaking is fatiguing! I’d hate to be a politician. Since both Astou and I were sick on the weekend, my braids had yet to be done. She started tugging on my head at around 5h30 pm and we finished around midnight (about an hour break for supper). As usual, there was a power outage so she completed my braids with my frontal lamp on her forehead. It was a long night for us all!

The next day, I received compliments regarding my new look from a many, especially men. I'll be taking photos shortly. I realize I should have taken more! A cameraman from the preceding day found me at work and offered to sell me photos. He also informed me that there was video feed of me too! Soon, the paparazzi will be after me ;) Just kidding…

Thursday afternoons are official ultimate frisbee days. The turn out was bad though – four friends turned up (which is very good) but nobody else was at the field. Apparently, the turn out was bad because everyone is busy preparing for Tabaski. It is the most important Muselman holiday of the year. It is also known as the celebration of the lambs and occurs 40 days after Korite.

According to what I’ve been told, Allah sent a message to the prophet Ibrahim saying that he must kill his own son to prove his love of God. Ibrahim was about to kill his son when a lamb appeared and he killed it instead of sacrificing his son. The notion that Ibrahim was ready to kill his own son is supposed to show how devoted he is to Allah. Practicing Muselmans celebrate Tabaski by buying a lamb and slitting its throat (sacrificing it) after the morning prayer. Those who can’t afford to buy a lamb sacrifice a smaller animal. Once the man of the family has killed the lamb, the women grill or prepare it for consumption in festivity with family. Apparently the man who sacrifices the lamb must eat its heart and liver before eating anything else.

Lambs are ultra-present on the streets these days. I have seen many on the roofs of buses and cars being transported to their FINAL destination. As I type this, I hear many more “baaas” than usual; intermixed with the usual rooster crows, goat and pig noises. It is saddening to see all these good looking sheep who will be sacrificed instead of being featured in a neat Serta advertisement. I find it hard not to stop and tell each one I see: “If you want to live, you’ve got to smarten up and run run run far far away, you poor bastard!” Since I want to maintain my status as an international worker, I refrain from vocalizing my thoughts to the sheep around me. May their final moments be filled with sunshine and glory. May they rest in peace.

On Friday, I felt like a teenager again! Astou and company (Nabu and El Hadj – Landing is on a trip in Europe) left home to go celebrate Tabaski in her nearby village. I was therefore granted the one and only key to the home. What an honour! Astou gave me clear instructions about locking up and not using up too much electricity. She told me that she’d be shutting the refrigerator to save on electricity and asked that I displace the four chickens I had bought for the family elsewhere. Thus, on Friday morning, I left for work with my bag for the weekend along with four frozen chickens. With my supervisor’s and the janitor’s permission, I put my four trustee chickens in the freezer at work. Bet you’ve never done that in your lifetime, huh?

I discharged one of my favourite patients as we had obtained our treatment objectives. As a therapist, I always find it hard to discharge motivated and kind patients which I have come to befriend. I’ll miss seeing you, Mr. S! All the best!