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Published: September 17th 2008
My street.
This is the view from my roof in Dakar.I’ve been on African for one week and two days and I just don’t know where to begin! As you may have already guessed, I arrived in Dakar safely though bag-less. I can tell you that declaring lost luggage in a foreign airport at 4:30am was not how I had hoped to spend my first hour in Senegal, but hey, it was a lesson in patience. My bag came a few days later, fully intact, for anyone who might be wondering.
The first few days myself and the other 14 students in my study abroad group (3 other girls from Beloit and 11 students in Kalamazoo program) were lodged in an apartment. In that first day we became acutely aware of one of the realities of living in Dakar- the unreliability of the electricity. Nothing reminds you that you are in Africa like staring at a paralyzed fan while marinating in a pool of your own sweat. Despite the stifling heat and humidity, or perhaps with the help of it, I am having experiencing life as I never have before.
Never in my life have I seen a horse grazing on the median of the highway (as I did
boat in Dakar port
Boats, buses, all of them are so nice and colorful! the other day) nor watched the entirety of downtown stop in its tracks simultaneously. I was in downtown Dakar last Friday, a noisy area full of cars, people, and trash, when suddenly the street where I was walking became eerily quite except for the call to prayer which could be heard from the nearest mosque. People were kneeling all along the street, deep in prayer. Just try to imagine a similar occurrence on Michigan Avenue; yeah I couldn’t either.
I’ve been with my host family, la famille GOMIS, for almost a week now. They are Christians, which make up only ten percent of the Senegalese population. They are very welcoming and have hosted many students before. One of the nice parts of living with a Christian family is that primarily speak French in the home, as opposed to Muslim households which speak one of the national languages, Wolof, within the family. I have already begun my courses in Wolof and practice it often on the street. I learned today that only about 10 percent of the Senegalese are literate in French while all formal education is conducted in French, a hold over from colonial days.
I begin my
I'm going to getcha!
Annemarie's fish... all first is served head and all... yumm :) academic program, with the exception of Wolof, which I began last week, tomorrow. To be honest, until now it seems like I have been on vacation! We’ve been orienting ourselves with the neighborhood and greater Dakar, meeting people and finding our bearings. The vacations may not be completely over though; I am heading to the island of Gorée this Saturday after class with a couple of friends and we will be staying the night there at a wonderful hostel with a red façade and teal shutters right on the beach. The island is famous as the launching point of the slave trade to North America. I, personally, am looking forward to enjoying a nice bit of sun on the beach.
I have so much more to tell, but I should leave somethings untold so that I have stories once I return. I hope all is well in each of your respective live… Until next time.
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emily
non-member comment
Nice
Marinating in your own sweat, sweet description Erin. It sounds like you are having quite, "an experience", not to be trite or anything.