Sympathy Sorry about your bad experience. I am going to visit Senegal in January and February. What town were you staying in when you had your stuff stolen?
Now that you are in Senegal I had my stuff stolen in Saint Louis, but I was living there which is quite different from travelling. I personally recommend the South of Senegal, by the Cap, which I found to be beautiful, also if you get a chance, let one of the locals take you to Touba, it was one place that I regret not going too. Anyways sorry for the horribly late reply, enjoy your trip and the Taranga!
Hmm Interesting how via the phone calls and texts I got the edited version- re: police finding incriminating evidence! Good call, as I think I would have gone completely over the edge.
Your mother would have said don't go to DJOULOUI, but no you didn't tell her!! Glad you had wonderful local people with you who had your back (thanks where ever you guys are!). Looks like you had fun, not sure about the Happiness Island though. Love frå din mør.
I continue to... ...find these posts fascinating--keep 'em coming. I wonder if Africa Time is the most significant deterrent from bootstrapping...
--Rich, friend of your Mom & Dad's
Enjoying your site Hi Jan:
Your dad sent me the link to your blog so I had a great laugh reading about your turkey experience. Hope you are enjoying yourself and keep up the great writing.
Donna
Xmas Greetings! Dear Jan: We have been remiss at not writing. However, we do think and speak of you often. We find your blogs amazing. You are giving us a glimpse into a world we know nothing about - and given what you have said about it, one we are absolutely unlikely to visit! We are so awed by your courage and tenacity, and the insight and humour with which you perceive the strange new world around you. Thank you for sharing your experiences in such detail, and for reminding us yet again, how much we have in comparison with so many on the planet. And your photos are incredible! We wish you a peaceful and healthy Xmas (bugs begone) with some decent food and drink and good company. We'll miss seeing you! Much love Jen & Jim
Hello, Jan St-Louis is my home town. After reading this post, my only comment is "St-Louis doesn't like you because you don't like St-Louis". Why don't you just go back home? Also even as a supposedly "Francophone" reader I'm shocked by your spelling. Have you ever been to school?
Merry Xmas from Marnie here's wishing you a Merry Christmas as well. Maybe Santa will send you a new camera. I enjoy your blogs. I think I never documented my travels or frame of mind because journals ans letter writing have never appealed to me. I think I could have managed an electronic blog and even enjoyed it. If for no other reason it would be a way to remember the names of some of the people I traveled with.
In India I picked up a bug from a washed knife that was used on a watermelon. The water wasn't clean. I was put on a diet of boiled fish for 3 weeks. I was also the reason for a freighter not being able to dock into an Australian port until I was certified well and not contagious. That was not a good position to be in. It took almost five years before I could swallow anything spicy without feeling fragile. If you have the opportunity and finances I hope you'll see someone medically trained.
Listen to me passing along advice. Really, I just want to say thanks for taking the time to do updates because they are a pleasure to read.
take care,
Marnie
Merry Xmas from Marnie here's wishing you a Merry Christmas as well. Maybe Santa will send you a new camera. I enjoy your blogs. I think I never documented my travels or frame of mind because journals ans letter writing have never appealed to me. I think I could have managed an electronic blog and even enjoyed it. If for no other reason it would be a way to remember the names of some of the people I traveled with.
In India I picked up a bug from a washed knife that was used on a watermelon. The water wasn't clean. I was put on a diet of boiled fish for 3 weeks. I was also the reason for a freighter not being able to dock into an Australian port until I was certified well and not contagious. That was not a good position to be in. It took almost five years before I could swallow anything spicy without feeling fragile. If you have the opportunity and finances I hope you'll see someone medically trained.
Listen to me passing along advice. Really, I just want to say thanks for taking the time to do updates because they are a pleasure to read.
take care,
Marnie
Amazing blog, Jan. Thanks so much. Your descriptions of life for children in Africa makes nearly all of the struggles we face in the British Columbia seem inconsequential. What a world those children face! Great blog! I hope you can keep posting!
Thanks for the support Thanks so much for the support, I am flattered, i have never really thought of myself as a writer, it has always been a bit of a hobby
Hey Jan,
Thought I'd come in to see how things are going. That was a very detailed and reflective journey and it seems to me this search for something is well worth it! You truly are exploring Senegal, although I have not heard your whole story, and it's fascinating that you are meeting all kinds of people. That's the best part of going somewhere new right? I hope everything continues to happen for a reason and you accomplish whatever you can on your end. You have so much knowledge and confidence in world studies. I'm here trying to write a conflict analysis paper on Israel/Palestine for a global studies course. Or course, I would have to teach myself every part in history to understand what is happening! Thanks again for your blog, best wishes!
Mabel
HILARIOUS ! Dear Jan, your writing, in style, language and reflections on life, yours and that of the Senegalese, is among the very best I've ever read on 'travelblog.org', which I have followed for years, thousands of entries. Serious, lucid, witty and plain, it beats what Nobel Price winners are awarded for in my country. Carry on!
how are the dreads? Kay first off i wanna know how the dreads are? I also wanna see some pictures of dreads with the next blog. The pictures are good. did you take them? The scenery looks very similar to the coast of belieze when i was there. I hope your having some luck with working finding a prject of your own. At least it gets to be yours, i think you should teach kids to play hockey. Any way man take it easy. Cheers
Love your blog. Great descriptions, and yes photos! Thanks for doing that....may help that desire to fly over and see whats it all about. Your writing is amazing. Keep it up
Hey Jan,
I'm lurking the blog and enjoying it a lot. I have also experienced the phenomenon of African time, and I can only say that as you spend more time in Africa you begin to have lower (or perhaps I should say, somewhat less xenophobically, "different") expectations. In short, it stops being so irritating . . . unless you're trying to facilitate something between other, more inexperienced, westerners and Africans. Then you remember how irritating it really is. When I was in Uganda, I met an Israeli guy who'd been travelling there for around four months. We had a pretty long conversation, but the thing I remember is his comment that, "Africa will make you a huge racist." For me it was definitely true, in the sense that I began to assume things about Ugandans. If one told me that something started at 12, I'd hear 2 . . . 3:30 if it was raining. If I was told that something cost 10,000 sh I'd always assume the actual price was closer to 3,000. Anyway, I'm rambling, but the point is that I feel ya. It's hard to reconcile what we're used to with a totally different pace of life. Culture shock is tough . . . and while it gets easier it doesn't really go away.
Anyway, I'm glad you're sort of settling in. Here's hoping that something works out with your volunteer work quickly . . . in Western time. :)
Kate
PS. There's a really great book called Africa: Altered States Ordinary Miracles that you should have a look at if you can. It was assigned in an Intro to Africa class I took last year, and it's pretty comprehensive and (as far as I can tell) fair to the continent. Not boring either. I'm guessing opportunities for getting Amazon orders in Senegal are abysmal, but if you get a chance to have a look at it even after the trip I think you'd find it interesting. The fellow who wrote it is a British journalist called Richard Dowden.
Wolfgang Hofmeier
non-member comment
Thanks!
Thank you, this is very interesting.