Elfege: My Personal Designer

Yes... you read correctly. I, Shelley Sanders, have a personal designer....Oh I have died and gone to fashionista heaven! His name in Elfege and he is absolutely fabulous.  Today I took him some fabric and he designed my a dress and a long shirt.  The best part about him is that he speaks some English, so we can communicate pretty easily.  He promised to make a one of a kind sexy designer gown...I cannot wait.  My items will be finished on Friday, so I will really try to post pics of the newest pieces to my limited wardrobe. The absolute best part about my designer Elfege is that I can afford him!!!!  This is a dream come true. I paid about 22,000 CFA for my pieces, which is about 44 UDS. Needless to say I have made an executive decision to get two pieces of clothing made a month. I am bursting at the seems right now...Beautiful clothes made specifically to fit my body!!!

The Season of Harmattan

Harmattan is the season between the dry season and the first rainy season of the year, from about Mid- January to the end of February (it ended mid-February this year).  This was the craziest season I have ever experienced.  The winds are blowing South from the Sahara desert, so everything and everyone is covered in dust. All of the dust on the air blocks the sun, so the temperature is cooled down tremendously. One morning it was so cool I walked to school in a long sleeve t-shirt. I had to take it off by 9:30 AM because the temperature had gone up. During this time my skin became painfully dry and brittle and it felt like dust has took up permanent residence in my chest.  I had to drink tea everyday for a week in order to pass the dust that lived inside me.  This was sort of like West Africa's version of winter. Needless to say, I enjoyed the cool weather, but the dust was too much.