Busyyyy

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So right now I'm on a friend's computer in the shelter of the student lounge while a tropical storm is going on outside... I wrote this last night/this morning at home and I don't have time to finish/edit/update... I will do that later when I have more time online. Hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday.

Wow... I feel like I haven't written in forever! Finding time to sit and write a long blog entry or email is very hard to do these days! Right now its Saturday morning (but almost 1pm) and most of my family is still asleep so I have a free moment to write a bit. Life in Dakar is going well. This week was busy with the start of classes, adjusting to a new schedule, bonding with my family, and the constant cultural adjustment.

In terms of school, I'm in five classes right now: Beginner's Wolof, Senegalese Society and Culture, Economics of Development, History of Islam, and International Crisis Management. I was able to place out of French so that's good! At the moment my schedule is very uneven... Mondays and Wednesdays I only have one class, from 4:30-6:00, and then Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have 8 hours of class from 9-6 with a break for lunch. Those 8 hour days are very exhausting, especially with the heat and the constant power outages that mean no air-conditioning. I'm trying to switch my Wolof class to Mon/Wed in the morning to balance out my week, but who knows if that will work out. So far I'm pretty happy with my classes, with the exception of the Econ class. The first day seemed awesome actually, and then the professor told us he has to go to France for 3 weeks. His replacement is TERRIBLE. I feel bad for the guy, but it was excruciating sitting through that 2 hour class... I don't think he has ever taught students who don't speak French as their first language, so he doesn't understand a word anyone says when they speak even though they are definitely clear. He spent the entire class calling on people, looking for a specific answer, and then he couldn't understand them! Plus he must have said "Am I making myself clear?" about 80 times, repeating the sentences over an over but so fast! At one point he asked us if we knew what an adult is... umm yes?!

Anyways, I think I might talk to the director if it doesn't get better because he could be good (or at least better) if someone gave him a few pointers on how to teach foreigners. The rest of my classes are good and interesting, especially my electives... I like all of them a lot, especially Reglement de Crises. Looking forward to our research projects because I don't know enough about conflicts in Africa.

Family life continues to go well. I feel so lucky to be living with my family... they are extremely friendly and welcoming and I've already become good friends with the kids, especially the 13 year old girl. Things are still quiet with the 23 year old brother, despite Aida's mission to get us to talk (in Wolof, she tells him to talk to me, and then he reluctantly asks me a question, and then he leaves). Its especially hard because the only time I really see him is at dinner when they all speak Wolof and I have no idea what is being said. Tonight Aida was clearly lecturing him about talking to me, and I think he said something about not liking to speak French (this is based on about 5 french words mixed in with Wolof). Oh well... things are so good with the others, I can only hope the rest will come with time. I don't see the parents much, but they are very nice when I do see them. The father told me he liked McCain the other day which I found interesting... I wonder how much he actually follows American politics.

Almost all of our families have maids, which is very common here and the maids are like part of the family. Its interesting to hear how they're treated differently in different families though. Our maid, Saodou, is definitely treated like a family member, the kids are really close with her and help her when they can, and the parents are very nice to her as well. She's also not that young... maybe in her mid-twenties? My friends Laura and Rachel also live in Sacré Coeur but their house is very extravagant, and their maids are 16 and 17 I believe. Apparently the mom will call them from downstairs to pick something up across the room and give it to her, and one time she had one of the girls come and fan her. So weird! And they aren't the only people I know that have witnessed their wealthier families treat their maids like that. Of course I'm stereotyping, but its definitely a known fact that material things, being well dressed, nicely decorated house, etc mean a lot in Senegalese culture and society. A lot of the families we're staying with have money and this somewhat ridiculous show of material things can be quite comical because its just so over the top... I feel like they're imitating a movie or something. It also seems like my family is a lot more down to earth than other well off Senegalese families... the house is nice but not over the top decorated and the mom doesn't overdo her appearance either, and they DEFINITELY treat the maid really well.

What else is new... so this week I had classes, getting into the routine, meeting my friends families, bonding with my family as much as possible. Then Friday no one has class so we went to the West African Research Center in the morning to see their library and resources. From there, we split into groups and some of us went downtown, others to the beach, a few went home. I ended up visiting my friends neighborhood, Wakam, so she could get her swimsuit. Wakam is vastly different from both Mermoz and Sacré Coeur. To quote Erica: "I feel like I'm doing my rural visit!" There are still many nice houses in the neighborhood, but the streets aren't paved and small shacks are interspersed throughout the area, so it looks a lot less urban and the poverty is more visible.

After our pit stop in Wakam, six of us headed off to the beach. That was quite the trip. We tried to take a cab to Les Almadies, this little fishing spot with a beach and restaurants, but the taxi took us to the wrong beach. When we realized we weren't at the same place as our friends, we hopped into another cab to meet up with them. After an overpriced lunch of crepes, we decided to go BACK to the original beach because it looked better for swimming so we hopped in another taxi. The other beach, Ngor, looked really beautiful from a distance but didn't end up being that great. The water was dirty and the beach wasn't great either. Apparently you can pay to take a boat across to Ile Ngor and its absolutely beautiful with pristine water... so I guess we'll be making that extra trip next time we're in the area. Friday night, about half the program (25 of us) met up to go out which was lots of fun. We went to this pretty expensive night club, normal by American standards but very pricey for Dakar. It was lots of fun because there were so many of us and it was nice to relax and hang out as a group, but the atmosphere was... interesting, with lots of older French men and younger African women. There were also all these mirrors around the dance floor, and all the Senegalese women would go dance alone in front of the mirror, staring at themselves. Definitely not an American tendency. It was only at 3:30 when we were starting to leave that the club really started to fill up--apparently night life here runs verrrry late. A little sidenote on taxis: the taxis here are very sketchy, most have cracked windshields and tend to be missing key parts. On the way home from the club, the taxi was full of smoke for the entire ride.... all we could do was roll down the window to breathe and we made it home okay, but it was not very reassuring.

Saturday I did absolutely nothing except sleep in and hang out with the fam. Aida and I made chocolate chip cookies which tasted alright but definitely not up to the American standard. The one thing thats been difficult is the eating schedule here. Now that its ramadan, my family eats SO LATE. We break fast at 7:30, which I take part in because I'm "part of the family." This normally consists of half a baguette with tuna fish or chocolate and a cup of hot tea. Then, we don't eat dinner till after 10, sometimes not till 11:30, and by then I'm not hungry and just want to sleep anyways. I don't want to seem rude though, so I still eat as much as I can even though I'm not hungry. They always say that I don't eat much, which is strange because I honestly do like the food and I feel like I'm eating so much! The only time its really difficult is when the food is extremely spicy and I have to keep filling my cup with water. No one here drinks while they eat though they told me it isn't rude, so I do it anyways or else my mouth would be on fire. Plus air doesn't circulate in the spot we eat, so normally my face is dripping sweat at dinner time.... I feel bad looking so gross but its so hot plus the food is spicy!

Sunday half of our group went on an organized trip to Gorée Island, this beautiful little island near Dakar. After a refreshing and beautiful ferry ride, we began our visit of the island, first at the famous Slave House and then a historical museum. Though the extent of its role in the slave trade is controversial, Gorée Island held captive people from all over Africa before they were sent off to the Americas as slaves. Visiting the slave house was certainly eerie, especially against the backdrop of this beautiful island of brightly painted houses and cobblestone streets lined with flowers. I'm glad we started by visiting the slave house, and the historical explanation of the building was informative, especially with the historian's personal commentary.

I have to go right now so I'll continue the description of Gorée when I have some more time, and I'm going to post some more pictures very soon!

Miss everyone lots and talk to you all soon!!

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