Île de Madeline and other adventures

It’s been a while since I could find the time to sit down and write about all that has happened! Tomorrow (Monday) will have officially been in Senegal for 1 month. The time has gone by quickly. I have spent all my time in Dakar so far, and while I am getting a good feel for the city, there are still many aspects of it which I feel like I have not explored yet.

I’ll try to get you up to date with what I’ve been doing without writing too too much. I’m sure I’ll end up writing more than you want to read, so sorry about that. Last weekend was relaxing. We didn’t do anything too adventurous, but I was able to spend some quality time with my family. On Saturday (10/2) after lunch I went with John (the American), and my siblings Amadou (I’ll guess he’s 15), Mami (12), and Ginor to Kermesse, a little carnival that was going on in the neighborhood. It was happening on the community basketball courts. It cost 300 CFA to buy a ticket to get in, which is the equivalent of about 65 cents. Then there were tickets to play the games, which cost about 40 cents each. I bought each of my siblings a few tickets so they could play the games. From what I can tell, the community development association of Mermoz put on the carnival. Most of the people working at the game stations were students about my age. John and I were the only white people there. The games were fairly simple, there was one where you had to toss coins and try to get them to land on a plate that was floating in a bucket of water. There was another where 5 candlesticks were standing upright supported in sand and you got one match to try to light them all (we would NEVER have this game at a children’s carnival in the U.S. It was Mami’s favorite game though). They had mini bowling and a game where you were blindfolded and given a pair of scissors to cut down a bag that was hanging from a tent with string. In each bag was either a prize or some torn up cardboard. When the kids won a game, they could get a prize. I ended up being the mom and holding everyone’s prizes while they played more games. Some of the prizes were coloring books, rulers, watercolor paints, and little bags of their “milk.” The kids, John, and I all had a lot of fun!

When we got back to the house there was a chicken in the courtyard. It stayed tied there for a few days, then disappeared one day. A few days later we had chicken for lunch and dinner… Ginor loves animals and was so excited to have the chicken around. He also found some snails in the potted plants in the courtyard and would often ask me to look at them with him. One night Ellen and I were looking at the snails with Ginor for probably 15 minutes. We saw them eat leaves (they have weird little tongues!), move around, climb up the plants, and even poop. Ginor loved it. The simple things that amuse you when you’re 8… He then tried to sell some of the escargots to Ellen to be her pets.

During the school week I had many hours of classes and definitely started feeling the monotony of the school routine. I wake up, shower, eat breakfast, walk to school, have 4 hours of class, walk home, eat lunch, walk back to school, have 4 more hours of class, use the internet, walk home, hang out, do homework, eat dinner, hang out, and go to bed. Over and over. But classes have been pretty interesting.

Friday (10/7), Grace, Ellen and I went downtown after class to L’Institut Français. It’s a place where there are a lot of cultural events like concerts, dance concerts, and films, plus a nice little café. We decided to see a film called L’Independence du Senegal, a documentary about Senegal’s Independence. It was pretty neat because the producer of the film, Amina Ndiaye Leclere was there and she spoke before the film and then led a discussion afterwards about it. It was hard to understand everything in the movie, but it was very interesting, and I really enjoyed the discussion afterwards because a bunch of people in the audience had opinions to share. I think we were the only Americans there, most people were Senegalese or European.

After the movie we got dinner in the café. As I’ve said, I have been craving a salad, so I ordered one, along with Grace and Ellen. I didn’t know what all the words in the descriptions of the salads meant, so we all decided to order a different one. Mine was really good and had a balsalmic dressing with some marinated meat on top. I knew right when I got it that I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what kind of meat it was. But, I decided to be adventurous and eat it and not worry to much about what exactly it was. Turns out that I ate a salad topped with marinated gizzards… mmmmmm…. Oh to be a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language fluently.

Saturday was a perfect day. We woke up early and met up with Neil, Sarah, and Erik, who are in Senegal as part of the Wisconsin program. The 6 of us walked along the Corniche (beach avenue area) to a supermarket and bought supplies for lunch. We walked another 2 miles to an area near a fish market, where we had heard you could get a boat to Île de Madeline, an island off the coast of Dakar. When we got close a man led us to a little shack where he said he’d introduce us to a boat captain. We negotiated the price of $10 per person for the man to take us to the island and back. After waiting in the shack for a while we headed with him to the boat, put on some life vests, and had a 10 minute boat ride to the island. Île de Madeline is a national park known for its rare bird species that live there and dwarf baobab trees. In the U.S. there would definitely be a national park service that took visitors there and charged them admission to the island, and maybe there is here, but we just went with a nice fisherman.

The island was gorgeous. There were only 5 other people on the entire island, another group that was visiting the beauty of a peaceful escape from the chaos of Dakar. The island is made up of volcanic rock, and has an inlet with clear water and a beautiful beach made of shells. We walked around part of the island, climbed a steep incline, and ate lunch on top of a hill that gave a great view of the rest of the island. The ocean breeze and beautiful views made our bread, Laughing Cow cheese, fruit, and juice taste much better. After we ate we explored more of the island, seeing some dwarf baobabs from a distance, climbing over the volcanic rocks, discovering the beetles that enjoying landing on my head, taking plenty of photos, and finally swimming in the clear pool of water in the inlet. The water was refreshing. I collected some shells and fragments of shells and even found some sea glass I brought home with me.

It was so nice to get away from all the cars, people, and noises that fill Dakar and to escape to a little island paradise for the day. We left around 4:30 with our captain/guide who had hung out at the island with us all afternoon. I was in a great mood and gave him a $2 tip.

Sunday we went on a tour of Dakar with the professor of our Dakar in Transition class. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I showed up at the Boabab Center at 9 am and got into an air-conditioned van with Grace, Ellen, and Professor Diallo. The tour turned out to be super interesting. Not only was it our own free private driving tour of the city, but we also saw places I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. We drove through different neighborhoods to get a sense of how the city fits together. Professor Diallo said he wouldn’t walk with us through certain areas, because in some of the poorest neighborhoods people tend to be overly aggressive towards toubabs. It was strange to see the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty. At some points we would drive through areas that were very dirty and poor, where people did everything from hang out to wash clothes to cook in the streets, and then 5 minutes later we would be seeing embassies and huuuge homes. Dakar is definitely an interesting place.

We stopped at one beach in Ouakam where there is a mosque right on the beach. We were snapping pictures of the paraquets (boats) when this man came up and said it costs 1000 CFA ($2) to take pictures there. Professor Diallo got into a debate with this man about how it could be that you have to pay and receive a ticket permitting you to take pictures on a public beach. It reminded me of the type of thing my dad would get into a debate about. Professor Diallo said in French, “I’m a Senegalese citizen, this is just as much my beach as it is yours. Where is the ruling that says that I must pay? Where is a telephone number for someone I can talk to about this?” The man replied that he was the community president of the area and there is no telephone number, that he is in charge of handing out the tickets for photos. The debate went on for about 5 minutes before Professor Diallo said ok thank you and we continued along the beach and took more pictures once the guy walked away.

One of the best parts of the tour was going up to the lighthouse, which is on one of two hills in Dakar. It is the highest point of the city, and gives a great view of the surrounding area. It was cool and breezy under the shade of a tree and I liked being able to get a birds eye view of where I have been living for the past month. We ended our tour by visiting the apartment of one of Professor Diallo’s friends. It was super fancy and western, with a sleek kitchen with all sorts of appliances like a microwave, coffee maker, and toaster oven that I haven’t seen since I left the States.

Oh, an exciting piece of news: Dior (one of the married women in the house) had a baby! I’d been wondering how many months pregnant she was, but pregnancy is kind of a taboo subject here because of the evil spirit superstitions. She had a baby girl Friday night! Saturday morning while I was eating breakfast her husband shyly but proudly told me. It is customary for families to have a baptism for babies 7 days after they are born, so next Friday, the 14th I will hopefully be attending my first Senegalese baptism! This is where they name the baby, but also involves a lot of singing, dancing, and eating. They will slaughter a sheep for the event too. Can’t wait!

Ok, well I think this post has gotten long enough. Once again I’ve written more than I meant to. Hopefully it was interesting. I’ll write again soon. Oh and I have some pictures to put up so I’ll do that soon too.

Updates

This week has been one focused on academics. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday were 8-hour class days. By the end of the day I’m just exhausted and ready to go home and relax. Having homework to do (reading in French) is tiring as well. I’m just going to do a simple recap of some of the stuff that’s been going on:

• Another American moved into our house. His name is Neil. He’s here for 4 weeks learning Wolof before he goes to study at the university in Saint Louis, a town in the northern part of Senegal. It’s funny that there are so many toubabs in the house now.

• Grace, Ellen, and I have gone on a couple runs. It’s hard to find the time between having classes and not wanting to run when it’s super hot. There’s an area called the Corniche that runs parallel to the beach. On the sidewalk there are tons of people (mostly men) working out. There were several outdoor “gyms” that we passed that consist of metal bars with tires on the end that serve as weights, and other makeshift apparatuses that men use to work out.

• Grace had to get a new computer charger because hers stopped working. She had her computer plugged in to charge, and the power went out, then came back on and in a surge, fried her charger. Unfortunate, but a good reminder for Ellen and me to be careful. Grace’s brother suggested she just get a charger from one of the markets, but these tend to be knock-offs or second-hand, so their quality isn’t reliable. We decided that we should instead get a quality charger from a computer store. We discovered that there is a computer store in a mall along the Corniche. We walked there after classes one day. It was overwhelming. First of all, everything was so clean and crisp and bright. The prices were waaay higher than anything I’d seen since I left the U.S. The prices were comparable to the price of clothes in stores in the U.S. or even slightly higher. It’s crazy that I’ve only been here 3 weeks and already am used to Senegalese prices of goods. We got fruit smoothies and drank them while overlooking the ocean. We also stopped in a grocery store attached to the mall and got some necessities and decided to check out the food selection. We ended up getting some comfort food; Grace got salt and vinegar flavored Pringles, Ellen got pretzels, and I got some Babybell cheese. I miss dairy a lot. I would pay a lot for a cold glass of non-powdered milk right now. And I’m still working on getting a salad…

• Today one of the women in the house was wearing a Wooster Scots gray t-shirt. I was caught off guard and told her it was a shirt from the college I attend. She was surprised too and laughed.

• I gave Talisto some American music. He loves Lil Wayne and David Guetta so I thought I’d diversify his knowledge of American music. He liked some songs and bands that surprised me. Now I’ll get home from school some days and he’ll be listening to Band of Horses or some other American band that not even all Americans know. It’s nice to have little reminders of home like that. It always makes me smile.

• My History of Islam professor is my favorite. He is extremely animated and gestures a lot while talking. You can tell he’s passionate about the subject. He speaks English pretty well, but teaches us in French and will sometimes stop to ask how to say something in English. Today he wondered how to say armpit. At the end of class he just kept saying armpit to help commit it to memory. He also finds it fascinating that there is a Muslim, a Catholic, a Protestant, and an agnostic in his class. He frequently says in French or in English “My class is so interesting!!” in a way that shows he truly believes it. Today we were talking about the 5 Pillars of Islam and in particular giving alms. He was discussing the disparity between the amount that rich people must give versus poor farmers. He ended up saying, “If Bill Gates was Muslim, WOWWWWWWW imagine how much he would have to give!” The way he says things like this just makes me laugh every time.

• I’m eager to improve my Wolof, but the class is pretty frustrating. I forgot how difficult it is to learn a language from scratch, especially one so different from English or French.

• I still haven’t gotten used to the way in which people talk to me in the street. Little kids want to touch my hand, boys and men are eager to strike up conversation, even if it’s just to ask how I am and what my name is and where I’m from. Most women are friendly but not as outgoing.

• Cell phone use is different here. Professors put their phone right on the desk in front of them, and if they get a call they’ll just pause class to answer the call if it’s important, although I haven’t figured out what constitutes important.

• My headlamp has been the most useful thing I packed in my suitcase. I end up having to use it every night to do homework, maneuver around my room, to shower in the dark, and to walk outside where there aren’t many streetlights.

• Today Grace, Ellen and I went downtown to a market called Ashalam which sells all sorts of fabric. They got outfits for Tabaski, the holiday coming up in November during which people wear pretty fancy, traditional clothes. I just got a few fabrics I’m going to turn into dresses or skirts I can wear to class, I’m going to try to find a Tabaski outfit another time. It was good practice for my bargaining… I got called a true Senegalese, and also a word that means miser, because I didn’t want to pay as much as the vendor was asking. He joked and laughed with me and finally gave in to my price. I’m improving for sure.

• Today I also had my first Senegalese hamburger. It’s a thin patty with a fried egg and cheese on top. It also has lettuce, tomato, French fries, and a ketchupy substance on it. It was HUGE and delicious. Mmmmm.

Finally the weekend is here… I’m ready to have some time to relax. We’re thinking about spending the day at the beach tomorrow.

End of the week adventures

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures. Sometimes it’s hard to describe in words what I see and do here so I feel like they can be helpful. The end of my week was pretty academically focused. We had our academic welcome session to introduce the professors who will be teaching our Senegal River Valley, Dakar in Transition, Seminar, and Islam courses, and to learn about the project we will be doing called ICRP. ICRP is a project that all Kalamazoo students who study abroad complete. It stands for Integrative Cultural Research Project. We will each choose an area of Senegalese life that interests us and find a way to explore it by working with an organization or person in that area. For example, you could work with a tailor and learn about Senegalese clothing and marketing, you could teach English at a school, you could work with a farmer or street vendor, or find an organization in Dakar to work with. We have until November to figure it out. Ellen and Grace are both in Senegal for two months longer than me, so I’ll do a mini-version of the project. The final product is a paper we turn in written in French about our project accompanied by photos and field notes.

Thursday we had our first full day of classes. When I say full I mean it. We had Senegal River Valley from 9-11, Wolof from 11-1, a lunch break from 1-3, then Seminar from 3-5 and Islam from 5-7. That adds up to 8 hours of class. Long day. Oh, also remember that the 8 hours of class is entirely in French. I was pretty brain dead at the end of the day… but I wore my new skirt!

my new "peigne"

Luckily, we had a relaxing evening. The power was out when I got home, so most of the family was sitting in the back patio/sitting area that is attached to the house and closed in by a wall but has no roof so is much cooler than being inside. Ginor (I’m still not sure how to spell his name…) was sitting on a motorcycle and banging on the seat like it was a drum so I joined in. Soon he got a little baby rattle for me to shake and then upgraded to an empty 10 L water jug that I turned upside down and played like a drum. Next, John joined the band and Ginor sang. Maj started doing traditional Senegalese dances. Everyone was laughing, some people were singing along. When Ibou arrived he played some songs on his phone while Ginor and Maj showed off their dancing skills. It was a lot of fun.

After dinner, Talisto and Ibou decided that John and I need to step up our Wolof skills so they sat us down and taught us some basic phrases like “I will go to school tomorrow.” They also taught me how to count to ten in Wolof, which I haven’t learned yet. The lesson probably went on for an hour before I said my brain was too full for the day and I needed to go to bed.

Friday was another day of classes. Lunch breaks are always fun because I get to spend a few hours with the family relaxing and talking and listening (even though often I have no idea what they’re saying and it’s quite possible they’re talking about me). There were so many people home for lunch on Friday that the women ate from one bowl and the men from another. It was me and 8 other women, and probably the same number of boys/men at the other bowl. I’m left handed, so it’s still difficult for me to hold a spoon with my right hand to eat, but I have to do it. Hopefully I don’t look too awkward.

Talisto said he would take Grace, Ellen, and I out to a club where he and his friends usually go. We agreed, but waiting until midnight to go out is not something we’re used to. We sat outside and were just talking and hanging out, and decided before it was time to go that we just wanted to go to bed and would go out with Talisto the next night. The plan was also to go to Ngoor, an island beach at the northernmost point of Dakar after lunch on Saturday. There was no power all night Friday, so it was very hot and sleeping wasn’t the most comfortable.

Saturday was a great day. I got to sleep in a little and just relaxed around the house with the family until lunch. Breakfast was the usual “chocopain” bread with chocolate, but there was also some strawberry jam I could put on my bread. A nice little treat. Lunch was a rice dish with a thick peanut sauce on it. There was meat mixed in. It was very spicy, and everyone else was adding more of this hot pepper sauce stuff to theirs… I couldn’t even begin to imagine how spicy that would have made it. It was very good but extremely rich and I could only eat a little bit. I ate around a bowl with 8 other women, and then there was a separate bowl for the men.

After lunch there was a huuuge rainstorm. The courtyard area of our house flooded so people were running around the house with buckets either bailing out the water or placing them under the places getting the most water and letting the buckets catch the rain.

catching some rain while waiting to go to the beach

After about an hour the rain stopped and Ellen, Grace, Cisco (Grace’s host brother), Shamus (another American living in Grace’s house), Ibou, Talisto, John and I decided to head out to Ngoor, a beach at the very north end of Dakar. We trekked to a place we could get a car rapide while avoiding the huge puddles in the roads. The car rapide cost about the equivalent of 20 cents and took us all the way to Ngoor. Once there, we paid a dollar to get a boat to the island part of the beach. They give you a life jacket then pack you into this long, low boat. There were TONS of people on the boat, and it was very chaotic getting on and off. There isn’t really a good system, you just get on and push your way to a seat.

getting ready to go to on the boat to ngoor (john, ibou, me, talisto, grace, ellen, and shamus)

the PACKED boat

it was a bit overwhelming...

Ngoor was packed even though it was a somewhat cloudy, rainy day. We had fun swimming and hanging out at the beach until it started to get dark.

me, talisto, and cisco (grace's brother)

beautiful.

We headed back for dinner, then Grace, Ellen, and I joined our friends Madeline and Matt who also study at ACI and went to a concert. A reggae band was performing at this bar/restaurant that Matt had heard about. It was the classiest place I’ve been so far and the music was great. Afterwards, Grace, Ellen and I met up with Cisco, Ibou, Talisto, and Talisto’s friend Amadou and went to Talisto’s favorite club. It was a lot of fun and no men were too creepy because we had so many Senegalese guys protecting us (although Talisto did have to tell a few guys that Grace, Ellen and I were all married or engaged, and even said he was engaged to me to one guy that wouldn’t go away). We only had to pay 2 dollars for the cab ride home, but it was kind of an ordeal to get that price. The first few cabs we talked to said that price was too cheap (you have to bargain with cab drivers too, not just vendors). Talisto said that when cab drivers see toubabs they make the price at least 5000 CFA and he only wanted to pay 1000 CFA so he made us go across the street and pretend not to know him while he negotiated and found us 2 cabs. Lesson of the night: It’s always beneficial to have a local with you.

Ok, just a few more things. For one, we’ve decided that Ellen and I are better at understanding what people say in French but Grace is better at speaking. I guess it’s good to have a mix. I hope my verbal skills improve though; it’s frustrating to have a lot of thoughts either at home or in the classroom and not be able to articulate them. Also, our guide on all of our sorties, Thiaba, told us that she’s getting married sometime in November. We said congratulations and asked if her family was excited. She said that they didn’t know yet. We said “Wow, well what about your friends?” She said that no one knew about her engagement except for Grace, Ellen, and me. We asked why she decided to tell us, and she said it was because we don’t know any of her friends or family so we can’t leak the secret. She seemed pretty excited to share her good news. She said she would invite us and could help us find clothes to wear to the wedding. It’s funny that here people might tell their friends a week before the wedding whereas in the U.S. people know about weddings so far in advance.

Alrighty, that’s all for now. I’ll write again soon. In the meantime, here are some photos of my house… sorry for how disorganized they are, haven’t quite figured that out yet.

the courtyard. that's the table where i eat breakfast with john

ginor... the happiest kid i know. he's 8 and a half.

the bathroom. sink-less. toilet seat-less. toilet paper-less.

my room. they took out the extra bed and moved a chair near the window after i took this picture.

the second floor. my room is on the left under the awning.

maj... the sassy 5 year old. she usually has a big smile on her face

the outside of my house

the terrace on the second floor. i sit out here a lot in the evening because it's cooler

Gorée island, mermoz beach, soccer game, école de la rue

This gallery contains 32 photos.

Some visual aids to go along with all my writing…

Carbs, goats, and Pepto Bismol

Ok, first let me say I have a bunch of pictures to post but the internet is slow so it takes a while. Soon, I promise.

Monday (the 19^th) we went on our second sortie downtown. This time we took a taxi. Unlike in the U.S., before you get into a cab here you must negotiate your price. You also have to check to make sure that the cab driver will be able to give you the appropriate change. The monetary system here is a little strange. Things don’t cost very much, so it is beneficial to have the coins for 25, 100, 200, and 500 CFA.The 1000 and 2000CFA bills are also pretty useful. However, it is sometimes difficult to break a 5000 CFA bill and is quiiiite tricky to find a place that will accept a 10,000 CFA bill, which is what most ATMs will give you. 10,000 CFA is the equivalent of about $20. Seems strange not to be able to use that amount. I guess you can compare it to finding a place that will accept a $100 bill, except harder. People covet change. If something costs 2,500 CFA and you give them a 5,000 CFA bill, it is common that the vendor will ask you to give them an extra 500 CFA so they can give you an even 2000 CFA back and not have to give away their change.

Anyways, that was off topic. Downtown we saw the president’s house, the U.S. Embassy, a library, Dakar’s museum, several hospitals, a huge cathedral and a few other sites. We also stopped at a tailor so that Grace, Ellen, and I could get the fabric we bought on Thursday made into skirts. The fabric is really pretty; it’s blue, pink, yellow, and white and has gold suns on it. There are so many beautiful fabrics here.

We had a pretty funny conversation with Thiaba during lunch. We were discussing how dishes with “meat” usually meant goat meat and asked her if we were correct. She said no, that most Senegalese people did not like to eat goat, and that what we were eating often was sheep. We remarked about all the goats in the street and asked what they were for if they were not for meat. She said that there were sheep, not goats in the street. We decided there must be a miscommunication going on, and described to Thiaba what a sheep looks like and what a goat looks like. “Sheep have wool, they are fluffy!” She said yes, that in fact what we saw in the street were sheep, and that Europe and America are just much more humid, so the sheep are fluffier there. Hahahahhaha. That brought about some good laughs. We agreed to disagree on the subject and moved on. (I am still pretty sure that most of the meat dishes contain goat.)

We also got ice cream while downtown. They have many interesting flavors, but we got 2 kinds to split, mint chocolate (because it’s my favorite and Grace’s favorite as well) and strawberry tiara massu (not sure how you spell that?). MMMMmmmm. Ice cream is my favorite. I’ve missed milk products. They don’t really drink milk here, except weird powdered stuff that I’m avoiding. Oh, there was also a man downtown who said he loved me and Grace. We said we didn’t even know him and he replied that it was not a problem, that he still loved us. Grace said he was too old for her (he looked about 40) and he said no I’m just 15! (Jokingly). Strange how people think it’s ok to say they love us. Other people just call us toubabs, which means white people. They openly say it to us, especially little kids. It’s usually said in a pretty friendly way, but it’s just kind of strange to think about just remarking about someone’s race so forwardly.

Oh also, I know I wrote about the crazy driving last post. Just to illustrate that, a car rapide (bus) backed into our taxi on the way back from downtown. No one got out of the vehicle, our taxi driver just honked and then drove up next to the car rapide and yelled at the driver for a little.

During my break between classes I skyped with my mom, and she got to talk to the professor Abdusal who went to Wooster with her. They figured out that they had some mutual friends and discussed names of dorms and professors. Abdusal mentioned how crazy it was to be seeing her on Skype after not seeing her for 30 years. Small world. Oui, tres tres petite.

After school Talisto and his friend Amadou took Ellen, Grace, John (the other American student in my house), and me to a soccer game. The team from Mermoz, the neighborhood where I live was playing another neighborhood. I guess each region of Dakar has at least one team that plays in a local league. People take the competition seriously, and apparently there are often fights that break out after the games. Talisto is very protective us in that he made us sit on the less crazy side of the stadium and kept reminding us to watch our bags. Across the stadium from us there were people playing drums and whenever anyone scored, all the fans on that side of the stadium would run down towards the field and shout and dance and run around. We got some peanuts and roasted corn to snack on during the game. It was a lot of fun. Mermoz ended up tying the other team, and we stayed for the first half of the next game because we were enjoying it so much.

When I got home dinner was an interesting meal of spaghetti with a kind of omelet with onions on top of the pasta, and was served with bread. Hello carbs.  I’m craving a delicious soup and salad from Panera or something of that sort. They don’t eat a lot of salads here, and it’s dangerous for foreigners to eat fresh vegetables here because they’re washed with the tap water, which can make us sick. Oh well.

Tuesday (the 20^th) we had a 2 hour class session about the Senegalese education system. It was really interesting to learn about the similarities and differences between school here and in the U.S. Kids are not required to go to school, it is the parents’ decision about whether or not they want to send their child to school. Oftentimes the boys will get to go to school but the girls will be kept at home to do chores such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry.

One crazy topic we discussed was what our teacher called being “reborn.” This is not some religious idea, it’s pretty much just major fraud. If a kid fails a grade in school too many times and becomes too old to repeat the grade again, parents may find a government official who they can pay to create a false birth certificate for their child that gives a different date of birth. The professor who told us this did not seem to think it was a big deal and said he knew many people who had made their children 3-5 years younger.  We were all shocked and just laughed in disbelief at the idea of this.

Only 30-40% of the kids who take the CFEE exam that lets you into middle pass it. If you fail, you either have to go to private school or stop your schooling. Private school costs about $75 a month for 2 children, which can be too expensive for many families here. The ratio of men to women at the University in Dakar is 10:1. Much different than colleges and universities at home.

After this lesson we headed to a school called L’Ecole de la Rue, or the School of the Road in downtown Dakar. It was located in a tiny neighborhood in which the homes were tiny shacks that were packed into a small area. It was unlike any part of Dakar I have seen thus far. The kids in the school all laughed when they saw 3 toubabs walk in, I don’t think this is a very touristy area. After the kids got used to our presence, they all wanted to hold our hand as we walked around their neighborhood. We learned all about the schools they attend. They use different classrooms in the rainy and dry seasons. The school is for impoverished kids who need extra help outside of school or who have failed out of public school and want to continue their education. It was incredible to see. Not an uplifting visit, but incredibly interesting. The man who founded the school has a tremendous vision for improving the lives of the kids.

Wednesday (the 21^st) we visited the West African Research Center, the library at University Cheikh Anta Diop, and a few several other sites. We didn’t explore them too much, just got an awareness of where they are and what services they can offer. This afternoon we have a session where we will about the classes we’ll be taking regularly and how they will work. Today has been alright; it is super hot and let’s just say I’ve been taking Pepto Bismol quite often today… I guess I knew some stomach problems would happen, but it’s still no fun. I think I’ll skip lunch at home today and opt for something a little blander, rich fish and rice with a heavy sauce does not sound so appealing at the moment. Ooook well I’ll post again soon, hopefully when my stomach isn’t feeling as tumultuous.

Le week-end

I’m still loving Senegal. Right now I’m sitting on my bed under the protection of my mosquito net on Sunday night. The power is out and it is quiiite hot. I sweat way more than the Senegalese people. Today I bought a bottle of water after walking around for a while in the hot West African sun and the boy behind the counter of the little corner store (or boutique as they are called here) pointed out that I was quite sweaty. Thanks.

On Thursday we ventured downtown to Centre Ville for the first time. It is pack jammed with government buildings and many markets. Grace, Ellen, Thiaba and I took a bus there. Grace and Ellen bought some fabric for me to make into a skirt as a birthday present. The fabric is beautiful. I just need to ask someone in my family where a good tailor is who can sew it into a skirt. The man who sold us the fabric got everyone in the shop to sing happy birthday to me.

We ate lunch at a restaurant. As is apparently common, there were no menus; you just had to ask what they were serving that day. It was basically traditional Senegalese food. I had a dish with rice and a peanut sauce with meat. Dishes here usually contain fish, chicken, or “meat,” which usually refers to goat meat.

The vendors are very aggressive and really try to force you to buy their products. A lot of vendors sell very similar things. Fabrics, little wooden statues, clothing, shoes, sunglasses, and jewelry seem to be the most popular products in the markets. You have to bargain in order to buy something. Vendors give you a price and you generally have to cut it in half to get a good price. I’ve been practicing my bargaining, and am definitely getting better. It’s tricky because they try to act mad if you ask for a price too low or say you can’t afford something, but then they also try to guilt trip you by saying they need to support their family and can’t you just compromise on a certain price. I’m learning that I just have to stick to what I think is reasonable and walk away if I’m not interested in what they’re offering. Often times walking away leads to them chasing after you and saying that the price you want will work fine.

On Saturday I went to Gorée Island with Thiaba, Grace, Ellen, another guide/ACI employee Adama, and three American guys, Seamus, Matt, and Jacob. All of these Americans are older, between 25 and 30. They each came individually for different reasons to study at ACI. One is taking French to help with a job he wants, one is interested in Africana studies and does a lot of work with films and wants to be able to understand Wolof to be able to use Senegalese film for his studies, and the last works for the Air Force and has a project placement here. Gorée is an interesting place. You have to take a ferry to get to the island. It looks like a tropical African paradise. However, there is a duality to the island that is somewhat eerie. Gorée was one of the main ports through which slaves from all over West Africa used to be sent and held before being sent to the Americas. There is a museum in the Maison des Eclaves, or the House of Slaves, where many of them were held. You get to read and hear all about the history, as well as see the rooms where they were kept. There were tiny cells for rooms where as many as 30 slaves could be held. There was a punishment room that was just like a miniature closet under the stairs. You would have to bend over to go inside, and would be put in there for rebelling. It didn’t matter how many people were in there already. You were not let out to go to the bathroom or to eat, you did everything in the tiny chamber until you were released back into your cell. Many people died there from diseases and maltreatment. There is a door called the door of no return, which was the last place you would pass through before getting on the ship to America. It’s crazy to have such an important and sad landmark right next to the gorgeous beaches, palm trees, and touristy resorts that make up other parts of the island.

Saturday was my first night out in Senegal. We went with Grace’s host brother and Seamus to a club. It was strange to hear a bunch of American music and then right afterwards hear popular Senegalese songs. Grace’s brother taught us how to do some Senegalese dances which was fun. We left around 3:30 am, which everyone around us said was way too early to be going home to bed on a Saturday night. The power stayed on all night so my fan was operational which was a pleasant surprise.

Sunday I had my first lunch with my family. I sat around the bowl on a mat and stools with 8 of my other family members and ate the chicken and rice dish.  The rice was veryyyy hot on my hand. The little girl Maj laughed at me when I got rice on my face. It’s hard to eat with just your right hand (especially when left-handed)! The meal was delicious though. Afterwards I went to the beach in Mermoz with Ellen, Grace, and two of my host brothers, Talisto and Ibu. They are really nice and were great guides. There were tons of people (mostly men) working out on the beach. They run up and down it, but also do interesting exercises involving jumping and shuffling. Fitness seems to be very important to the men in this society, maybe the same amount or more so than in America. It was nice to cool off by swimming. The ocean water is much saltier and warmer than the Atlantic is at home.

Oh, I now have a Wolof name. It is Diatu (pronounced Jaaa- too). My host mother gave it to me. It’s the name of one of her granddaughters, not the most original but still nice.

Things I’ve noticed/ learned:

1. People drive differently here. In the city especially, drivers are much more aggressive. People constantly honk, often as a way of telling people to get out of the way. Pedestrians cross the street right next to cars or walk in the street just a foot or even less than a foot away from the moving cars.

2. The best way to learn Wolof and get better at French is talking to people. Outside of the classroom I don’t have much homework, so I have time to sit and talk to my host family or the people in the street. They are very good at explaining how to say things in French or Wolof. Some of my favorite moments so far have been during random conversations with people that came about unexpectedly. While visiting Grace at her house, we were sitting on the roof with a few of her host brothers watching popular music videos. Then one of the men in her house came and sat down. Soon the roof was full of about 10 of us talking about life in the U.S. and in Senegal. The man explained how he has 2 wives who have become very good friends and how there is no jealousy in the family, just harmony. We explained how in the United States men only have 1 wife. We discussed many aspects of family life, which taught me more than the seminar I had about gender issues and family customs in Senegal. The conversation, although about serious topics, was full of laughter and stories told in fluent and not-so-fluent French while sipping ataayaa (tea).

3. Many people have maids. I’m not sure if my family is middle class or is considered on the wealthier end of the spectrum, but we have two maids. The first day I thought they were family members but they just work here. They are constantly busy. They scrub the floors of the entire house every day, clean the bathrooms, cook, do people’s laundry, and more. The family treats them well. They usually eat lunch with us.

4. People stay up late here. Dinner doesn’t take place til between 8 and 10 pm. After that, people usually drink tea and sit outside or on the roof where it is cooler. There are people walking around at all hours of the night. It is common for my host brothers to leave to go hang out with their friends at 10 pm or later. On the weekends, people go out around midnight or even 1 am and stay out til 6 am. Clubs play a lot of American music. Akon is from Senegal and is very famous here, and the young people seem to love Rihanna, Beyonce, Lil Wayne, LMFAO, and a lot of other artists that are also popular in the U.S.  I can’t quite figure out the reasoning for the dress code. When people go out, some girls wear skirts shorter and tighter than anything I own, even if they wear traditional clothes that are very conservative during the day. Interesting.

5. I am still trying to figure out the trash situation here. There are very few trashcans when you walk around the city. Even in houses there are rarely trashcans. We have a little bowl that sits by the water faucet in the courtyard area that you can put trash in. There is no trashcan in the bathroom or in people’s rooms. I keep a little ziplock bag in my room for trash. There are often HUGE piles of trash in the streets and on the side of roads. I don’t really understand the seemingly vast difference between the importance of personal hygiene and cleanliness of the household versus the indifference towards the city staying clean.

6. People speak in a mix of Wolof and French. They just switch back and forth. That makes it harder for me to try to understand what is being said, but is interesting.

Alright, I’m pretty tired. I have more to say but I’ll save it for another time. Good night!

 

 

A glimpse of the city…

This gallery contains 13 photos.

Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken so far. More to come!

Everything so far…

Wow, I have lots to update you on. I apologize in advance for how long this post is going to be… just stop reading if you get bored!  First we’ll go back to my trip over here. My flight was delayed 2 hours because our route took the plane too close to New York and no planes were being allowed into a certain air zone. Once we finally took off all was well. When I arrived in Dakar at around 7 am, I had to dodge pushy men offering to help carry your luggage for the “cheap” price of $20. One guy made fun of me because I just kept saying “merci, non,” not knowing in my jet-lagged, overwhelmed, and out of place state what else to say to let him know I didn’t need help with my bags. Right outside of the airport I met up with two representatives from ACI who took the other two girls in my program, Ellen and Grace, and me to an apartment where we would be staying for one night. Once we arrived we had time to rest. After a nap I called home to let my family know I had arrived and had some lunch, a typical Senegalese meal of rice and fish.

After lunch I went with Ellen and Grace to the Baobab Center, where my classes are. We met the professors and staff there, as well as some other students. I was surprised when one of the first professors that I met told me he had graduated from Wooster in ’81… the same year as my mom! His name is Abdou and whenever I see him he is so excited to talk to me about Wooster and our shared major, International Relations.

Monday and Tuesday I went on a “sortie” with Ellen, Grace, and Thiaba (pronounced Chaba), our guide who works at the Baobab Center, through the neighborhoods surrounding the Baobab Center and where our host families live. It was helpful to learn the names of major roads and to learn landmarks to be able to find our way around. My family lives in Mermoz, a neighborhood north of downtown Dakar. In my family, there is my host mother, whom I call Maman, her husband who I rarely see, two of her sons who are married and live in the house with their wives and kids, at least one other son, and a bunch of grandkids. A few of the grandchildren are kids of my host mom’s daughters who live in Germany and Italy. I am not sure exactly how many people live in the house, as it is common for people to come and go frequently in Senegal. Family members or guests may stop by unexpectedly and because of the emphasis on hospitality here, it is normal to house them for as long as they stay, and not to ask how long they are planning on being in your house. Similarly, if anyone is in your house around lunchtime (somewhere between 1-3 pm), even if it is a plumber or a salesman, you invite them to eat with your family.

It is impolite to ask how many family members a person has. My guess is that there are at least 9 kids under the age of 24ish living here, then 6 adults or so. It is rare that everyone is together. There is another American student studying abroad who lives with my family. His name is John. He has been very helpful in teaching me the ways of the household that are harder to grasp. My favorite family members so far are Maman, although I have trouble speaking to her in French sometimes, Maj, a 5 year old girl, Ginor (I think? It sounds like Junior…) a boy who is about 7, Mami, a girl about 12, Talesto, a 20 year old guy, and Ibul, a guy who is maybe 23? I get intimidated talking to the older people because they are less openly interested in making the effort to speak to you. Tonight Talesto, John, and I ate dinner on the roof and talked together for a few hours in a mix of French, Wolof, and English. Talesto made a deal that he will help me with my French and Wolof if I help him improve his English. He is a member of the Senegalese National track team. He runs the 400 m and wants to be in the Olympics one day. He goes to university in Morocco but is still on summer break. Tonight I showed him and Ginor the man in the moon, or “l’homme de lun” in French, which they had never heard of. Ginor loved it and stared at the moon for the next ten minutes, part of the time with his mouth wide open like the man in the moon. Talesto said I’m crazy.

I have my own room in the house on the second floor. I will post pictures of the house, it is difficult to describe. When you walk in from there street there is an open room with tile floor. There is no ceiling over that central area, it is open to the sky but covered with a cloth to protect from the sun. Around the border of this central open space is Maman’s living area, bedrooms of 2 of the married sons, Talesto and his brother’s room (still working on remembering all the names), a small kitchen, and a bathroom. There is a staircase up to a walkway leading to John’s room, my room, and another married son’s room, plus the rooftop terrace where it is nice to sit at night to cool off. The electricity goes out almost every night. Tuesday it went out from about 10pm- 1:20 am and Wednesday it went out around 6:20 pm and is still out now (11:40 pm). The darkness isn’t that bad with a flashlight, but let me tell you it is HOT falling asleep without a fan. And you can’t keep your window or door open because of mosquitoes and stray cats.

Things you should know about the culture/things I’ve observed so far:

1. Lunch is the main meal of the day. Traditional Senegalese lunches involve a family sitting around a large communal bowl of rice with yams, carrots, tomatoes, fish, and other vegetables in it. You eat by scooping some rice from the area in front of you with your right hand and forming it into a little ball with some fish or veggies in it then putting that in your mouth. It’s awkward when you get fish bones and have to remove them subtly from your mouth. My favorite food here so far has been the mangoes. The mango season is coming to an end, so they are only going to be perfectly ripe and delicious for a little longer. Soooooo good though.

2. Time works differently here in Senegal. It is not rare for my classes to start 15 minutes after they were supposed to or to break for coffee for 10 minutes when students and professors are getting tired of focusing in the classroom. During a seminar introducing us to Senegalese customs and values, the professor handed out a timeline for the 3-hour seminar, saying, “Here is a program. Americans always want one. We will probably not follow it.”

3. People don’t own cats. They wander the streets. People keep goats and horses outside. Goats to eat I think, and horses to pull wooden carts in the streets. There are also roosters in the streets.

4. Breakfast is a loaf of bread with a chocolate spread (kind of like Nutella) and instant coffee. Everyone here drinks Nescafe. My host mom helped me get the proportions of coffee/sugar right this morning… she says do one spoonful of coffee powder then about 3 spoonfuls of sugar. It was very sweet and not very strong coffee.

5. They drink a delicious tea called attaaya. It comes in small cups about the size of a shot glass and is frothy on top. It is very hot, so you slurp it and say “ahhh” after to be polite. You drink multiple glasses if you are a guest somewhere. The second and third glasses have mint mixed in and are extra good. Juice from the baobab tree and hibiscus juice are among the other interesting drinks I’ve tried so far. The baobab juice was particularly good.

6. The bathroom in my house does not have a sink. You use a little faucet thing that’s in the wall about shin level. There are sinks other places, I’m not sure why we don’t have one. You flush the toilet by pulling a little button thing upwards. There is often no hot water for showers. Most Senegalese use water to clean themselves instead of toilet paper so if you want toilet paper you have to carry it with you.

7. I love Wolof, the language commonly used in Senegal. It is supposedly a fairly easy language to learn, but I’ve only had a couple classes so far so I can’t say very much. Luckily most people here speak both Wolof and French. My favorite words/ phrases are: waaw (prounounced wow, means yes), ku muññ, muuñ (he who is patient smiles), nexna barina (pronounced nehh-na bar-ee-nah and said after a meal to mean “it was good and plentiful”), noo ko bokk (pronounced nukk-o-bock and is a way of saying you’re welcome which literally means “we share it”), Alhamdulilaay which means thank God and you say when you hear good news, and ba beneen, which means see you later, and is what you say instead of goodbye.

8. The Senegalese have beliefs/superstitions that are much different than ours. They believe in spirits that are capable of evil deeds. You don’t compliment a person on physical features. If you say for example, you have beautiful eyes, they believe the spirits will notice your eyes and make you go blind. If a woman is pregnant, you never acknowledge it and it is taboo to talk about because a spirit would definitely kill her baby if anyone mentioned it. You never tell a mother she has cute kids, because something terrible will happen to them. In fact, you might even go into a house and tell the mother “you have ugly children” to confuse the spirits. I don’t think I fit in here well enough to do that yet… anyways, I thought it was interesting.

Ok that’s all for now, I know I’ve overloaded this entry with tons of stuff I’ve learned/done so far. I’ll have plenty of updates for you coming up soon. Today is my birthday! I get to go on a sortie to downtown Dakar with Ellen, Grace, and Thiaba our guide, which will be crazy and exciting. Quite the way to turn 20. Sorry again for how long this is. In case you skimmed to the end, the main point is that I’m learning a lot and I love Senegal so far.

Ba beeneen yoon (until next time),

Lauren

I’m here!

Ok i have to run to class in about 1 minute… but I just wanted to let everyone know that I arrived safely in Dakar and have settled in. It’s great! It’s not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. When I arrived ACI (African Consultants International… the group responsible for my program here) gave me a cell phone and 15,ooo CFA  (about $30) to get started. I move into my host family’s home tonight. I have lots to update you on but I’ll do that when I have more time. I’ve learned some Wolof already, we had our first class this morning from 9-11. I’m about to go on a neighborhood exploration to become familiar with the area for my next class. I will try to have a more detailed post tomorrow! Hope everything’s going well in the U.S.

The Adventure Begins…

Today is September 11th, a significant day for the entire country and world. Many people will spend all or part of the day reflecting the September 11th attacks that created a new “post 9/11” era in our country. Today, ten years after this historical date, I will be starting a new era in my own life as I board a plane this afternoon and fly to Dakar, Senegal to begin my semester abroad.

In this blog, I hope to reflect on my experiences abroad, from my impressions of Senegalese culture, my classes, host family, and the food, to people I meet and places I go. I’m going into this experience with a lot of unknowns, but I have a feeling that it is going to be an incredible few months.