Advertisement
Published: March 14th 2006
Ile de Gorée
Ben, here's the instrument I bought for you on Gorée, just like you requested (it's in the mail)hello all! Hope this finds you well and having a good Lent. It has been a good week here. On Tuesday, for International Women's Day, I went to the National Gallery of Art downtown where there was a special exhibit of works by Senegalese women, which was really neat. Also I found out where and what I'll be doing for my internship! I'll be in Kaolack, a medium-sized city several hours from Dakar, and I'll be working with an NGO (non-governmental organization) helping provide microfinance for women in the region. Women can't get loans from banks here because they have nothing to offer as collateral (property titles etc are always in the name of the husband) and thus they don't have sufficient capital to start a project that could bring in some income. So, what this organization does is provide loans to women so they have to opportunity to work their way out of poverty. A group of women presents their plans and if approved, receive a loan (with a much lower interest rate than the banks). I think the organization also checks up on the projects to make sure it's working, and the money's being used like they said it
my host family!
cousin Paul, Nabou in the back, Rosa and Antonin and baby Carol-Louise would be - anyway, I'll know more about the details in a little while!! It's going to be SO cool, I'm having trouble believing all the things I get to do here. I'm a little bit nervous about having a job here when I can barely speak the language, but I'll let you know how that goes. Everyone says Kaolack is really hot (that's ok, I like the heat) and my Lonely Planet guidebook says it's home to the second largest covered market in Africa (after Marrakech, Morocco) ha! How delightful! I leave for Kaolack the 26th of March, I think, right after we get back from spring break (which starts this Saturday). I'm not sure yet what I'm doing for spring break - I'm torn between taking the train to Bamako, Mali, and taking the big boat to Casamance, in southern Senegal (the desert or the jungle!?! je ne peux pas décider!) . So today I'm going to go with Mara, one of the other MSID students, to the Embassy of Mali, to find out if we'd need visas, and how much they would cost. If it's expensive, we'll prob'ly just head south like most of the other MSIDers.
Last night the power went out for several hours, so I just chilled in the courtyard with Nabou and Amina and the baby, looking at the sky through the branches of our mango tree, listening to music on the little radio, and then we ate cere ak yapp (couscous and mutton - one of my FAVORITE Senegalese dishes, it is so good!) by candlelight. I don't have a paper due for the rest of the week so I could just relax and it was such a Lovely evening!! I love Senegal. And my life. Ok, well, I'm going to upload these photos and then head to the Malienne Embassy - take care! love Christina
Advertisement
Tot: 0.05s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0291s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dara V
non-member comment
Get me on the next plane!
My dear Christina, Your stories are wonderful, and now to see the beautiful people and places that are in your daily life... it takes me back to good ol' India! I now know how surreal it is to be stuck in the U.S. while knowing I have a friend halfway around the globe in a place that is so inspiring and down to earth. Once the travel bug bites... Many blessings on your internship...it sounds like they designed it just perfectly for you! You're my language queen; language barriers are nothin' for you! Know that I think of you often! May St. Francis Xavier be with you! Love in Christ, Dara