WAIST

Directly following the All Volunteer Conference in Thies, the West African International Softball Tournament took place in Dakar. I had heard rumors and tales of past WAIST events, and had no idea what to expect when I went to WAIST. We rented a bunch of buses to take us from Thies to Dakar, where most volunteers were to meet their WAIST host families. I had signed me and my friends up very early to get a host family, but we had yet to hear from them when we pulled up to the regional house in Dakar. Finally when I did get a response from the number I had, I came to find out that our assigned host family had not actually lived in Senegal for years. Somewhere along the line, an old spreadsheet was used and we were out of luck to stay with a family. Clearly upset and bummed, me and my friends went to rent a room downtown. Our hotel we found was less than 5-star. I think it probably appeals to the night-workers, if you catch my drift. But it would due for the weekend. We also were there with some other volunteers, which made it pretty fun. 

The iterary for WAIST was PACKED. Softball games during the day, and events at night. There are teams of Peace Corps volunteers from all over Africa, including Cape Verde, Mali, and The Gambia, plus teams of other Americans living in Senegal and the surrounding countries. The Peace Corps volunteers have made it tradition to have matching outfits for the softball games. Each region makes a team and decides on a theme.

 This year some of the themes included Girl Scouts, underwater, suits and ties,  and “south of the boarder”.  Tamba and Kedagou decided to join forces to make one team and agreed on the “ironic” theme of baseball for our softball outfits. Because there were so many of us, actually playing in any of the games can be totally optional. This year, I did not play much, but I definitely made it out to the games to support my team.

While at the first game of the tournament, we were approached by a man who was a teacher at the international school in Dakar. He had housed Peace Corp volunteers for 5 years for WAIST but was not matched with anyone this year. YAY! We found a home-stay! So we immediately moved out of our ghetto hotel, and into his beautiful, air conditioned apartment, within walking distance of the softball fields. It was perfect. 

The night events started off with a talent show, which was great! People with A LOT of talent, and not-so-much talent preformed and made the night a lot of fun. The next night was put on by the Marines that are stationed in Senegal. It was a Prom themed party along with a Date Auction fundraiser for SeneGAD. The final night was a dance called Dance Pants, and was just that… dancing and dancing and dancing. By the end of the weekend, I felt like I was in Vegas. It was a beating on my body and my pride, but definitely a great weekend. I met a lot of great new people, volunteers from other countries and other Americans living their lives in Africa. I could not wait to leave Dakar once it was over, but now I cannot wait for next year’s WAIST to happen. I have been reliving it every day via one of the playlists that was played during the final night of WAIST. I have little dance parties by myself in my hut, while pretending Im back on the dance floor in Dakar. I am going to work on my moves all year, and RIP IT UP next year! Watch out. 

All that was left after WASIT