I can't seem to title a blog entry without an excalamation point because everything here is still so new and exciting! Friday I moved in with my family, who sadly doesn't have internet, and now I'm at school for my first day of classes. So much to tell you all about! Friday afternoon our families came to pick us up... that experience was extremely stressful. We were all standing around waiting while people began leaving with designated family members, talking about our stress and getting worked up. Thank god I held it together because I was definitely on the verge of [View Full Entry]

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So many new things to report! I've been trying not to write every single day (maybe that's a bad thing to stop myself from doing?) but I've been taking little notes so I remember the highlights I want to cover. This week has been very eventful, and I'm really happy with the thorough orientation they've planned for us... it has definitely been really informative and helpful. Everyone has been so nice, interesting, and welcoming and CIEE has made a really good first impression! I'll start with the most exciting! Last time I wrote, I was waiting to find out about my [View Full Entry]

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Humdeedum... I feel like I should update this thing pretty regularly so I shall cover the past few days. And I just realized that only one day has passed since I last posted so it just goes to show how much I'm doing here--I cannot believe its only been 3 days!! Today we had our first Survival Wolof class in the morning which was interesting. Its definitely unlike any language I've ever tried to speak, and this "survival" method at the beginning is not easy... Our group was split into small groups of 5-10 so it wasn't too overwhelming. Still, its [View Full Entry]

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Tomorrow Im leaving for Saint Louis. Which means getting out of bed at 5.30 to get a car and probably travel about 6 hours for a distance of 200km. Yeah, right, without airco of course and in a car where we would get in with 5 people, only that here, there are 8 people (if there are children, even more) travelling like this. Seems like fun!!!! I will join the holiday camp and stay with them and come back to Dakar with them on september 6th. I have no idea if Ill get online during that time so be prepared hearing [View Full Entry]

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Enjoy! [View Full Entry]

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Alright!! Now that I've been here for a day, I am ready to blog! I've been in Senegal since 5 am on Sunday and it feels like I've been here a week... its hard to even know where to start! The actual plane ride here was pretty uneventful, although leading up to it was fairly stressful. I forgot my proof of vaccination packet at home (I know, predictable) and realized it half way to New York... FREAKED out and tried to call CIEE but they wouldn't give me contact information, I was exhausted and overwhelmed. Luckily Peter was able to find [View Full Entry]

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Yeah, I really start to get the rythm now. Have made plans and I am now experiencing what you can really do being a single white woman in Dakar. Seems that you can get out of your appartment actually (if not by night...) and that you're not that "handicapped" that I thought. Ok, thursday it rained that much that I actually spent the day home, reading, but yesterday I got really active and went to the Village des tortues. Really nice small initiative to preserve the turtles, a lot of nature and peace and nice to see. When I get back, [View Full Entry]

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Yeah, right, went to a game yesterday. Nothing special you think? Well.... Dont forget, Im in Senegal! So I went to the big stade here in Medina. To watch the game of one of the neighbourhoods of Dakar where I have many friends. Cause here in Dakar, every hood has its own sports commission; and those guys are really busy; especially during summer they organize a lot of activities. As a competition for the football teams of each neighbourhood. They train like hell, 5 days a week during the last weeks, in really bad conditions, risking to get really hurt during [View Full Entry]

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Here I am again. This time from a Cyber in Guediawaye where I spend the night tonight. Cause at Medina, theres no electricity since yesterday evening... Spent the weekend at Khady's, my best friend here in Senegal. So far I hadnt even found the time to see her, just to tell you how busy I was... But now I realize that I finally get some peace and quiet. Spent the whole weekend being lazy, sleeping a lot, and its only now that I dont feel bad about it. I dont have to worry about appointments any more and I really begin [View Full Entry]

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I am officially workless. Feels strange. In fact, a lot feels strange here I must say. To be honest, I quite missed some really typical European/Luxembourgish things those last days. Dont know why. But really, coming home in the evening, realizing that there is no water and no electricity for the 3rd day in a row and being forced to go to bed early as it is too dangerous to leave the appartment on my own in the evening... Then you realize what freedom really is and how free you are as a European woman. Its not dramatic, cont worry, some [View Full Entry]

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