Hello world!
I know that you are very disappointed in my lack of blogging :( and sooooo much has happened in the month of March I don’t even know where to start. Well, here is a brief update/recap of what I have been getting into.
Went to the Gambia for a week during spring break (amazing) took public transportation (not so amazing)
The Gambia is a little country that is surrounded by Senegal on 3 sides and the ocean to the West, many people refer to this region as the Senegambia, and even in travel books that you find in the States Senegal and The Gambia are put together, so we thought that it would be relatively similar to Senegal. And since their national language is English, we were excited to be around people that we could understand. So last Saturday me and my 5 friends began our journey to The Gambia! We took a septplace, which is basically a car that hold 7 people and the driver, and headed to The Gambia at 8 am, 6 hours later, a couple of bathroom breaks (stopping on the side of the road so people could pee behind a bush) and a pit spot to buy some food we were at the Senegalese border.
Even though the ride was hot, uncomfortable, and long it was quite a memorable ride with my friends sightseeing the landscape of Senegal outside of Dakar.
At the boarder we went through customs bought a Visa for roughly $16 much better than buying one at the embassy which would have been more around 30 dollars. Converted our money from CFAs and US dollars to Dalasi and caught a taxi to the ferry where we would have to cross the Gambian river.
And then we were finally in the Gambia!!!! We bargained for another taxi after we go off the ferry to get us to our hotel and in 20 mins we were in our rooms. So our journey started at 830 am and ended around 5pm when we all jumped in the pool. I was really pleased with our hotel, we have a friend who is from The Gambia and found us a really nice hotel.
I was in The Gambia for five days, I went to two markets where I bought some post cards, bracelets, a shirt, and some sandals. The markets are not that different from the ones in Dakar, expect they had a lot more exported items for sell at the ones in The Gambia. We went to the beach everyday, and I must say the beaches our BEAUTIFUL! I would even say better than the ones I have been to in Dakar, we went wave surfing and played soccer on the beach. I went to a museum and a monkey reserve where I fed a peanut to a monkey (which my mom said I shouldn’t have done since I didnt get my rabies shot hahaha oh well)
Of course we went to some clubs, even went to a karaoke bar (lots of fun)and ate at a lot of different restaurants on the Senegambia strip. Which is a street full of restaurants, clubs, and cafes.
On the way back, crossing the border into Senegal we got stopped by the border police, almost got arrested and my friends laptop was almost confiscated. Oh the joys of people abusing their power!
Later in the month I stayed in Joal, Senegal for a weekend were I received an opportunity to work with an African American artist, Muhsana Ali, who founded an organization called "Portes et Passages du Retour" in 2000. Doors and Passageways of Return Association is an Association made up of artists and arts professionals living and working in Senegal with the purpose of promoting “holistic development” in Africa through the medium of art, agriculture, and social work to promote cultural awareness. Hopefully I will be back in Dakar this summer working with her this summer as well.
Last week I went on a field trip to a fishery in Cayar, Senegal.
And celebrated Independence, Senegalese style. April 4th was their 50th year of Independence and parties and celebrations happened all weekend. Their national sport is wrestling or "Lutte" and we went to the big Independence Lutte against Tyson and Yenikke. Now I know your thinking why wrestling? But you should look up Senegalese wrestling it is nothing like WWF smack down or your typical high school wrestling match. The ring is just dirt and the lutters are men dressed in only draper like cloth and gris gris (amulets attached to string worn around the neck, arm, and legs). The actual fight only last less than 5 mins but the festivities begin way before that. We arrived at the stadium around 2:30 and the match didnt start till 6:00 and we didn’t get out the stadium until a little before 7:00. It was exciting, interesting, and a bit tiring but I had a great time. And I got to see AKON!!! Akon, if you didnt know was born in Senegal and still has family here.
Hmmm….what else can I tell you…oh yea
There is a show here called African Star, which is just like American Idol but the contestants are from all over Africa. I was able to go to a taping of the show and had a great time. The live band, and singers performing on a big and bright stage were incredible. There are 3 regular judges and a guest judge every week, and since the show is in Senegal everyone speaks french (however some singers sang American songs like ones by Ne-yo and Sharika), well everyone spoke french expect one judge who spoke english and was translated by another judge. I found this odd and ask my friend where he was from and he didnt know. But my question was answered the next week when I meet the judge!
And next week my adventure continues with my trip to Kaolack where I will stay in a village for a week. Ill tell you all about when I get back.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
A typical day in the neighborhood!
A typical day for me:
Wake up at 7:30 am, take a cold shower get dressed walk to the “corner store” and buy half a baguette and a tea bag. Come back home boil water for my tea and put chocolate spread on my bread. I say good morning to my brother before he goes to school and to my dad on the way out the door. By 8:15 I start walking to school. During my 25 min walk to school every morning I always talk to one of the guards on a street near my house whose name is Mufassa and a women who is always sweeping the sidewalk outside of her house who I think gets a kick out of me speaking to her in Wolof. By the time I come on campus for my 9 o’clock class my back is always wet from the sweat I worked up from carrying my backpack in the Senegalese heat. (Embarrassing)
I have classes from 9-2:30 then most days for lunch me and my friends go to this “restaurant” close to the school where two women work and serve Mafe (my favorite!!) Ceebu Jen and this other dish with onion sauce and rice. I put restaurant in quotes because it really is just a little one room building with a sectioned off kitchen (which consist of two burners and a sink). A plate is 700 CFA which is roughly $1.50, and it is really filling although it has given some of my friends stomach aches. Or if we don’t go there Ill pick something up on campus. Although a girl told me last year someone got worms from eating there we still risk it, I always get the omelet sandwich, consisting of egg, lettuce, french fries, ketchup, and hot peppers on a baguette all for 500 CFA (sounds weird but taste sooo good).
After lunch back to school where I have classes until 6:30 most days and after class I hang out on campus for a little bit take a taxi back to Sacre-Coeur trios where I live and talk to my family and do homework. I normally have dinner around 10pm , which we eat in front of the TV, most of the time we watch the news, soccer games, or wrestling matches (the national sport of Senegal). Then I finish up my homework and go to bed. I only have classes on Monday through Thursday so on Fridays I typically go so where with some friends, like to the beach, centre ville to buy stuff, or to someone’s house.
Wake up at 7:30 am, take a cold shower get dressed walk to the “corner store” and buy half a baguette and a tea bag. Come back home boil water for my tea and put chocolate spread on my bread. I say good morning to my brother before he goes to school and to my dad on the way out the door. By 8:15 I start walking to school. During my 25 min walk to school every morning I always talk to one of the guards on a street near my house whose name is Mufassa and a women who is always sweeping the sidewalk outside of her house who I think gets a kick out of me speaking to her in Wolof. By the time I come on campus for my 9 o’clock class my back is always wet from the sweat I worked up from carrying my backpack in the Senegalese heat. (Embarrassing)
I have classes from 9-2:30 then most days for lunch me and my friends go to this “restaurant” close to the school where two women work and serve Mafe (my favorite!!) Ceebu Jen and this other dish with onion sauce and rice. I put restaurant in quotes because it really is just a little one room building with a sectioned off kitchen (which consist of two burners and a sink). A plate is 700 CFA which is roughly $1.50, and it is really filling although it has given some of my friends stomach aches. Or if we don’t go there Ill pick something up on campus. Although a girl told me last year someone got worms from eating there we still risk it, I always get the omelet sandwich, consisting of egg, lettuce, french fries, ketchup, and hot peppers on a baguette all for 500 CFA (sounds weird but taste sooo good).
After lunch back to school where I have classes until 6:30 most days and after class I hang out on campus for a little bit take a taxi back to Sacre-Coeur trios where I live and talk to my family and do homework. I normally have dinner around 10pm , which we eat in front of the TV, most of the time we watch the news, soccer games, or wrestling matches (the national sport of Senegal). Then I finish up my homework and go to bed. I only have classes on Monday through Thursday so on Fridays I typically go so where with some friends, like to the beach, centre ville to buy stuff, or to someone’s house.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tubaab Dialaw
This weekend the CIEE program took the students to a "resort" called Touba Dialaow. Before I tell you how awesome it was, let me explain the name of this place. In Wolof, Toubaab means foreigner or white person and Dialaw comes from the word that means to keep coming, so loosely this resort, right on the coast of Dakar, is called the "White people keep coming". Just from the name I'm sure you can tell that this place was really nice or atleast very touristy. I went wave surfing with some friends on the beach, climbed a huge rock where I sat and thought about life while glazing out into the ocean,collected tons of cool looking shells, and lounged around all weekend. This was a real treat, a little get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life in Dakar. The program also paid for us to take a dance, drumming, or batiking class while we were there and I chose to batik. To batik, you make designs on your fabric with pencil (we started with a white cloth) then use a paint brush that you dip in wax and outline your design. The cloth is then dyed the color of your choice. After the first dying, you then color in with wax the parts of your cloth you want to stay this color (everything else will become the color that you dye with next) The cloth is dyed again and the final product is complete and your left with a two colored cloth decorated in the designs that you have drawn. It was a lot of fun, even with my limited artistic skills. (they had stencils that we could use so mine didnt come out too bad hahaha)
On Saturday night the people who took the dance class and the instructors put on a performance and then started a big circle where any one could come and learn dance moves. The dancing is full of energy with lots of kicks, flips and hip action. It definitely is a work out but still a lot of fun, I would love to be able to come back home and show off some of these moves.
The Friday before we left for Tubaab Dialaw, me a few other people from the program went to a dance performance at the Francaise Institute downtown. The performance showcased, modern, contemporary, and traditional Senegalese dance. Of course I loved the modern dance pieces the dancers were soo strong and their moves were so precise it was incredible watching what they could do. Although we weren't suppose to take any pictures, I did take a few (shhhh dont tell anyone) so hopefully you guys will be seeing them soon.
Sidenote: I just found out this week that my mom was a second wife, which can explain why they don't share a room and I see him mostly at night. Having more than one wife is very common here in Dakar and especially where I live in Sacre-Coeur (some one told me jokingly it was neighborhood of second wives).
Thursday, January 28, 2010
New Family!!
So I know it has been a while since I put up a new post, please forgive me, I have been so busy with classes, getting adjusted to family life, and living it up in Dakar :)
I moved in with my family last Friday, I finally get to see what it feels like to have a brother! He is 22 and speaks a little bit of English and is soo nice, well everyone in my family is extremely nice. I have a mom a dad and 3 sisters one is studying in France, the other one (who my mom says I look like) just got married last year and lives in the United States, and one that lives with us who is also married but I have only seen her husband once. My family is probably middle class, because we have a car and the neighborhood is only about 10 years old. We have two goats and a chicken, and the goat always wakes me up in the morning! I have my own room with a closet a desk and a bed but no wifi :( We have two bathrooms (one that’s outside) but the toilet doesn’t flush so after I use the bathroom I have to fill up a bucket with water from the shower and pour it into the toilet so the water goes down the drain. I have been taking cold showers because we don’t have hot water, which you would think aren’t that bad since I’m in Africa and its soo hot. But actually it gets pretty chilly at night and early in the morning,(since it’s their winter right now) when I say chilly I mean you should wear a light jacket not a big winter coat like what I’m use to in Maryland. PS: one of my friends from the campus who is from Guinea had a scarf on the other day because he said it was cold, meaning around 65 degrees, I almost died laughing because I was in shorts and a tank top and he thought it was cold.
I just finished my first week of classes, Im taking History of the Slave Trade, Wolof, French, Environment and Development in Senegal, Culture and Society in Senegal, and a seminar dealing with cultural adaptation. All of my classes seem really interesting so far especially my Environment class because we will be visiting local dumps and wild life reservations to do actual field work. All of my professors are very educated Senegalese men who are interested in the field of study that they are teaching. Its great to have someone teaching that is genuinely passionate about what they are talking about.
Since I have class from 9am to 6:30pm most days I haven’t gone home for lunch yet because Im not sure if ill make it back in time with in my 1 hr break so I have been buying food at "fast food" places or eating at friends homes. Every family eats differently, some eat around one big bowl with their hands, others with spoons, and some even eat with fork and knife and individual plates. My family eats at a low table around a big bowl or plate, depending on what we are eating, and eat with spoons in front of the tv. The most common meal is rice and fish, which is called Tchebugen, but I have also eaten couscous, chicken, beef in onion sauce and lots of bread.
So if you really know me, you will know that I say I don’t like a lot certain foods, like tomatoes, hot dogs, squish, milk, etc but I have been eating it all since I've gotten here. Im too scared to tell my family I dont like something because I don’t want to offend them and when the say "manger manger" I keep eating even when im full. Luckily the food here is really good so I really don’t have a problem with eating more :)
My appreciation for soccer or "futball" has grown so much since I’ve been living here, because thats all the watch! Futball matches are always on, since the African Cup is going on now, and my family gets really into the games so I get excited too. Soccer is actually a really fun sport to watch, hahahaha who would have thought. Tonight Im going out with some friends from the program and some African students from the University to a fashion show and artist showcase, I cant wait it will definitely be entertaining!!!
Well until next time...
I moved in with my family last Friday, I finally get to see what it feels like to have a brother! He is 22 and speaks a little bit of English and is soo nice, well everyone in my family is extremely nice. I have a mom a dad and 3 sisters one is studying in France, the other one (who my mom says I look like) just got married last year and lives in the United States, and one that lives with us who is also married but I have only seen her husband once. My family is probably middle class, because we have a car and the neighborhood is only about 10 years old. We have two goats and a chicken, and the goat always wakes me up in the morning! I have my own room with a closet a desk and a bed but no wifi :( We have two bathrooms (one that’s outside) but the toilet doesn’t flush so after I use the bathroom I have to fill up a bucket with water from the shower and pour it into the toilet so the water goes down the drain. I have been taking cold showers because we don’t have hot water, which you would think aren’t that bad since I’m in Africa and its soo hot. But actually it gets pretty chilly at night and early in the morning,(since it’s their winter right now) when I say chilly I mean you should wear a light jacket not a big winter coat like what I’m use to in Maryland. PS: one of my friends from the campus who is from Guinea had a scarf on the other day because he said it was cold, meaning around 65 degrees, I almost died laughing because I was in shorts and a tank top and he thought it was cold.
I just finished my first week of classes, Im taking History of the Slave Trade, Wolof, French, Environment and Development in Senegal, Culture and Society in Senegal, and a seminar dealing with cultural adaptation. All of my classes seem really interesting so far especially my Environment class because we will be visiting local dumps and wild life reservations to do actual field work. All of my professors are very educated Senegalese men who are interested in the field of study that they are teaching. Its great to have someone teaching that is genuinely passionate about what they are talking about.
Since I have class from 9am to 6:30pm most days I haven’t gone home for lunch yet because Im not sure if ill make it back in time with in my 1 hr break so I have been buying food at "fast food" places or eating at friends homes. Every family eats differently, some eat around one big bowl with their hands, others with spoons, and some even eat with fork and knife and individual plates. My family eats at a low table around a big bowl or plate, depending on what we are eating, and eat with spoons in front of the tv. The most common meal is rice and fish, which is called Tchebugen, but I have also eaten couscous, chicken, beef in onion sauce and lots of bread.
So if you really know me, you will know that I say I don’t like a lot certain foods, like tomatoes, hot dogs, squish, milk, etc but I have been eating it all since I've gotten here. Im too scared to tell my family I dont like something because I don’t want to offend them and when the say "manger manger" I keep eating even when im full. Luckily the food here is really good so I really don’t have a problem with eating more :)
My appreciation for soccer or "futball" has grown so much since I’ve been living here, because thats all the watch! Futball matches are always on, since the African Cup is going on now, and my family gets really into the games so I get excited too. Soccer is actually a really fun sport to watch, hahahaha who would have thought. Tonight Im going out with some friends from the program and some African students from the University to a fashion show and artist showcase, I cant wait it will definitely be entertaining!!!
Well until next time...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
transportation
A lot has happened since the last time I updated the blog. Its hard to know where to start, so Ill start with yesterday since it was a very eventful day! I took the car rapide, a taxi, and the bus (Dakar Dem Dikk or DDD)all for the first time yesterday. Let me fully explain what a car rapide is, it is the size of a large van that is painted very colorfully and is the cheapest way to get around Dakar besides walking. Although its called car rapide it is not that rapid but it is definitely lively and almost always full, with people sitting in every seat and people hanging out the back holding on to the outside of the van. During my adventures yesterday using public transportation I really got to practice my French and Wolof that I have learned. I especially got to practice my French on the DDD coming back to campus around 6:30 pm when I got lost and had to ask for directions to get back to the Suffolk University. I would love to say that I wasnt scared and spoke clear and understandable french to the lady next to me when I realized I had no idea where I was but that would be a lie. I asked her how to get to the Université and she explained to me that it was a little further up, expect when we got to the stop she told me to get off I realized I was in front of the wrong university and was totally lost. Thank God this lady was extremely nice and came off the bus with me to help me find my way, we had to take a car rapide in the opposite direction to get back to Mermoz and get off there to walk to my hotel. Mary, the lady who helped me get back home, was so nice to me I wanted to give her a huge hug, but hugging is not common here so I had to opt for a firm hand shake and merci beaucoup! So I guess you are wondering why I was out by myself, huh? Well here’s the story I went to one of the staff members house who was born and raised in Senegal to get my hair braided (by the way it looks amazing!) and on the way there I was with her but on the way back I was by myself, supposedly it was pretty simple to get back but everything still looks new to me so I easily got turned around. But no worries everything is fine, I made it back safe and made some friends in the process.
We just started orientation Monday and I had my first Wolof lesson today. Even though French is the national language of Senegal, one will hear Wolof spoken more often than French especially on public transportation and since I have to take a taxi or car rapide to school everyday I need to know some Wolof. It is a really fun language.
Salaamaalekum!-peace be with you
Maalekum Salaam!-and with you
Nanga def?-how are you
Manngi fi rekk. - I am fine
But even before our official first Wolof lesson we had one last weekend on the beach! And our teachers....little boys about 7 to 13 years old. A much of the students went to the beach the first day that everyone arrived and there were a lot of little kids playing in the water. While we were sitting on the beach a little boy walked up to me and said give me your water and I just looked at him and he repeated give me a drink of water and his friends laughed with him. I just wasnt sure if he was being rude or if he didnt know too much english. So I gave him my water bottle and then they ended up pasting it among themselves so I decided they could just keep it. They sat down with us and started asking us questions in french and wolof, we told them we didnt speak Wolof so they started teaching us words. And drawing pictures in the sand of what they were explaining to us. They were so cute and had a kick out of Americans trying to learn Wolof. I had a little boy tell me he loved me and ask me if I know Obama. So now I cant wait to go back to the beach so I can practice the Wolof phrases Ive learned in class.
Oh, I experienced my first power outrage two days ago! And it may seem weird but I was actually excited, since Ive heard it happens so much I wanted to remember when and where I was when it happened to me first. I was on campus sitting outside in front the ping pong table( by the way ping pong is a very serious sport on this campus) and all the lights went out but only for about 2 mins and then all was well again.
Now off to Wolof class, a beneen yoon! (until next time)
We just started orientation Monday and I had my first Wolof lesson today. Even though French is the national language of Senegal, one will hear Wolof spoken more often than French especially on public transportation and since I have to take a taxi or car rapide to school everyday I need to know some Wolof. It is a really fun language.
Salaamaalekum!-peace be with you
Maalekum Salaam!-and with you
Nanga def?-how are you
Manngi fi rekk. - I am fine
But even before our official first Wolof lesson we had one last weekend on the beach! And our teachers....little boys about 7 to 13 years old. A much of the students went to the beach the first day that everyone arrived and there were a lot of little kids playing in the water. While we were sitting on the beach a little boy walked up to me and said give me your water and I just looked at him and he repeated give me a drink of water and his friends laughed with him. I just wasnt sure if he was being rude or if he didnt know too much english. So I gave him my water bottle and then they ended up pasting it among themselves so I decided they could just keep it. They sat down with us and started asking us questions in french and wolof, we told them we didnt speak Wolof so they started teaching us words. And drawing pictures in the sand of what they were explaining to us. They were so cute and had a kick out of Americans trying to learn Wolof. I had a little boy tell me he loved me and ask me if I know Obama. So now I cant wait to go back to the beach so I can practice the Wolof phrases Ive learned in class.
Oh, I experienced my first power outrage two days ago! And it may seem weird but I was actually excited, since Ive heard it happens so much I wanted to remember when and where I was when it happened to me first. I was on campus sitting outside in front the ping pong table( by the way ping pong is a very serious sport on this campus) and all the lights went out but only for about 2 mins and then all was well again.
Now off to Wolof class, a beneen yoon! (until next time)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Le plage!
Today 2 more students came to Senegal for the program (the official starting date is tomorrow) and Joanne (my room mate) and I showed them how to get to campus from our hotel, and guess what we didn't get lost this time! I think we are getting the hang of this thing, you know this thing called walking and remembering how to get to point A to point B. And it may seem pretty simple but really it is very confusing to remember which corner to turn and which street to cross especially when we start talking to each other and totally forget that we were suppose to make a left at the building with a painting of the “laughing cow” instead of continuing straight (and yes this has happened to us a couple of times). But after we got to the campus we got our breakfast where I struggled to tell the man, who gave us our chocolate bread and bottle of milk, that I don't drink milk (which came out something like je ne boire pas lait) but I guess my french is not up to par yet because he had to ask his English speaking friend what I said. Well at least im trying :). Any way after our “petit dejeneur” we decided we were going to try to find the plage (beach) so we asked two students who were also eating in the cafe how we could get to the beach. They gave us some directions, which we tried to follow expect we ended up by the training room where we met up with them again. So they decided to just show us how to get there, and I'm glad they did because there was no way we could have found it, there were so many twist and turns we definitely would have gotten lost. However I should add that I was able to remember how to get back with out their direction, so thumbs up to me!! The beach was BEAUTIFUL!!!! The view was perfect, the sand didn't burn my feet, and the water was refreshing. The two other girls and I were the only women on the beach and the men that were there were not swimming but working out! Some were running on the sand, doing squats, playing soccer, and I even saw a boy doing sit ups on top of another boys back who was on his hands and knees, that must really work your abs because we he was done he held on to his stomach like he was in pain. We stayed there for about an hour and a half then made our way back to our hotel. Today has been another hot day which is perfectly fine because I would trade Marylands cold/rainy/icy weather for Dakars hot temperature anyday!!!
Well im off to dinner, à toute à l'heure!
Well im off to dinner, à toute à l'heure!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Dakar, here I am!
Well hello Dakar! Martina's here and two days earlier than she planned.
So for those of you who are reading, I was suppose to leave for Dakar tomorrow Sat Jan 16th and arrive in Dakar on Sunday. But due to some unforseen circumstances (well really because the Saturday flight was filling up and I was on stand-by and not guaranteed a seat) I took a flight on Thursday to make sure I was able to make it to Senegal. And I'm so glad I did :)the flight was only about 7 hrs and 45 mins and although I didnt sleep on the flight at all because I was just soooo excited, the time seemed tofly by. I sat next to a really nice man who was originally from Norway, married a woman from Congo and now works in Nigeria. We talked during the flight and he told me how great Senegal is (he lived there many years ago)and that I would have a fantastic trip. So of course I was even more excited and couldn't wait till the plane touched the ground. And boy let me tell you when the time finally came for the plan to land I was overwhelmed!!! The city looked so pretty at night flying over it. Once I left the airplane to pick up my checked luggage I wasn't hassled as much as I thought I would be with people trying to "help" me carry my bags. I did however get a gentle reminder that I was no longer in America, a English speaking country, but Senegal where I better know French or Wolof if I want to be understood. So with my broken French and big smile I made it to the hotel, which I must say was very nice (besides not having a strong wifi signal) and finally got some sleep. Now today will be my first full day in Dakar, I am currently at the campus where I will be studying, and there are lizards everywhere! It seems like lizards in Dakar (or atleast on this campus) are like squirrels in New York. Just climbing up trees and walking on the ground, its really kind of cool.
Everyone is sooo very nice and the weather iswonderful! I am so glad I traded in Maryland's cold/rainy/icy winter for Dakars HOT, breezy temperature :) Soon Ill be going to lunch!! Even though I am still full from my baguette served with chocolate spread yum! So au revoir for now, write back soon.
P.S Thank you everyone for the supportand the prayers!
So for those of you who are reading, I was suppose to leave for Dakar tomorrow Sat Jan 16th and arrive in Dakar on Sunday. But due to some unforseen circumstances (well really because the Saturday flight was filling up and I was on stand-by and not guaranteed a seat) I took a flight on Thursday to make sure I was able to make it to Senegal. And I'm so glad I did :)the flight was only about 7 hrs and 45 mins and although I didnt sleep on the flight at all because I was just soooo excited, the time seemed tofly by. I sat next to a really nice man who was originally from Norway, married a woman from Congo and now works in Nigeria. We talked during the flight and he told me how great Senegal is (he lived there many years ago)and that I would have a fantastic trip. So of course I was even more excited and couldn't wait till the plane touched the ground. And boy let me tell you when the time finally came for the plan to land I was overwhelmed!!! The city looked so pretty at night flying over it. Once I left the airplane to pick up my checked luggage I wasn't hassled as much as I thought I would be with people trying to "help" me carry my bags. I did however get a gentle reminder that I was no longer in America, a English speaking country, but Senegal where I better know French or Wolof if I want to be understood. So with my broken French and big smile I made it to the hotel, which I must say was very nice (besides not having a strong wifi signal) and finally got some sleep. Now today will be my first full day in Dakar, I am currently at the campus where I will be studying, and there are lizards everywhere! It seems like lizards in Dakar (or atleast on this campus) are like squirrels in New York. Just climbing up trees and walking on the ground, its really kind of cool.
Everyone is sooo very nice and the weather iswonderful! I am so glad I traded in Maryland's cold/rainy/icy winter for Dakars HOT, breezy temperature :) Soon Ill be going to lunch!! Even though I am still full from my baguette served with chocolate spread yum! So au revoir for now, write back soon.
P.S Thank you everyone for the supportand the prayers!
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