We live in the Casamance region in southern Senegal.  Here the countryside is really different than the rest of the country.  People call it the “granary of Senegal”.  There are a lot of fruit trees and vegetation.  In May the mangoes start to ripen and we run around the village collecting them.

It is almost always nice here.  The temperature varies between 23°C and 35°C throughout the entire year.  “Winter” lasts from June to September.  Everyone appreciates the rains that come during this period.  It is school vacation but all the family works together in the rice fields.  It is a time of celebration. 

Our village has around 1000 habitants.  It is accessible by sand or laterite trails.  There is no running water or electricity.  Only three houses have solar panels which allow our parents to recharge their cell phones.  It is the girls' job to get water for washing, meals and laundry.

In the past few days our village has changed.  Workers have started to dig trenches for water pipes.  Soon, one third of the houses in the village will have a tap.  Our houses are built of banco, a mix of mud and straw.  Most roofs are metal but some are made with ronier palm, a type of palm tree. 

Primary school starts at 7 years old and continues for 6 years.  In our school there are 25 students per class.  At the end of the year we must pass an exam in order to go to high school.  We have classes Monday to Friday.  Tuesday and Thursday are full days and Monday, Wednesday and Friday we go from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. 

During the break we like playing leapfrog and football (soccer) and going to buy candies at the store just beside us.