The WORLD-wide web in Ndioum

Internet just came to Ndioum today, which is a HUGE deal. I was talking with my neighbor last night, and even though she is just about to finish up high school (she's 18), comes from a well off family (her father's the principal of the local school and they own 5 horses), and is very articulate and well read, she's never been on the internet before. It's funny the things that we take for granted back home - it's been a wonderfully purging experience not having the internet, but it also made me realize how much we depend on it to stay connected not only to our loved ones but also to the events that are happening in the world around us. Living here, the only source of news is either gossip or the journal on RTS1, and extremely edited, regulated government station. News of the world has been which foreign dignitary the president of Senegal shook hands with, a short bit on Obama's African ties, and then occassionally a 1 minute peice on Gaza, if we're lucky. I couldn't imagine being that shut off from what's going on around me for more than a couple of months - it's been one of the hardest part of living here, even though I knew that the lack of connection was temporary (though temporary is a highly relative term). I'm going to start to take my laptop over to her place whenever I visit - hopefully that will give her a taste of what's out there. Plus we'll get a chance to download the latest Beyonce and Akon songs so she can impress all of her friends - she'll definitely be the coolest kid in the schoolyard.