New friends, new culture, new family, new habits, new classes, new home, new, new, new!

So much to tell! I’ve started Wolof classes, they are pretty incredible, our teacher is extremely charismatic, and has us act out scenarios with him. It can be hard to get the Wolof out through our giggles at his pantomimes! To make it harder keeping a straight face, he is constantly switching between Wolof, French, and English, often translating new Wolof phrases like “Comment are tu doing?” which took getting used to, but makes the class all the more exciting!


Yesterday was filled with orientation, especially to Senegalese culture and society. I worked in small groups with Senegalese volunteers to discuss various values, beliefs, and assumptions. It was a great way to learn new Wolof phrases, and understand the how and why behind the structure of Senegalese society, and their unique religion. We had about an hour lecture, with diagrams, handouts, demonstrations, and some required participation, teaching us how to “eat around the bowl” the traditional way of eating meals in Senegal. It is definitely not what I am used to, and will take some practice to remember how it's done! Additionally, I learned that some things that seem to be reflexes of mine turned out to be incredibly rude, for example, commenting on how beautiful someone’s eyes/face/children/clothes are. Apparently, this is bad luck because the Jinne (spirits) will become jealous, and curse what was complimented, oops.


We finished our French placement exam, *HUGE sigh of relief!* I placed into Advanced French 2, the highest of 4 levels; it was definitely a surprise outcome, haha. That also means I can take all my classes in French! I signed up for classes today, and DRUMROLLLLLL please………I am taking Introductory Wolof, Advanced French 2, Senegalese Culture and Society, History of Islam, and Crisis Management, all in French! It will be crazy to be doing everything for my classes in French, not just grammar and basic reading and writing, but I think I’m up to the challenge…?


In t-2 hours I will be picked up by one of my host brothers, who will bring me home! I haven’t met any of my family yet, but I know I am living with a single mom, either widowed or separated, not sure yet. I will have “lots of brothers and sisters around my age” but who knows what that means. The family is Muslim, and they all speak French well, which is very comforting! I can’t wait to meet them, but I have to pack up my bags to move out of the dorms first, off I go!

I wonder if anyone can tell that we aren't Senegalese?

DAKAR! I finally made it! I am exhausted, but thrilled to be here! The flight was long, and of questionable safety—as much as I love roller coasters, I like them better in amusement parks than over the Atlantic Ocean. I did make a friend on the flight, a Senegalese man whose wife and family live in Dakar, but he has been working in Columbus, Ohio, and hasn’t been home in over a year. He proudly showed me pictures of his beautiful wife, sisters, brothers, and mother, and after giving me 4 of his phone numbers and his email address, he told me I was invited to dinner at his wife’s house any time, and he would love to show me and some of the other students on the program around Dakar. So far so good, but unfortunately, I have yet to contact him.



We arrived in Dakar around 5am, and after going through customs and finding our group’s bus to the study center, we were just in time to hear the call to prayer. We got to the dorms in which we will be staying for our first week, dropped our stuff, and got straight to exploring the campus; we were able to watch the sun rise, and see the whole school before breakfast. I was pretty amazed considering the only thing I usually do before breakfast is wake up, which is not even the case for me every morning.


I walked to the beach, about a block away, with a group of girls, and we watched as the Senegalese swam, rode the waves, splashed each other, and of course, washed their goats one at a time, which bleated very loudly. There will be lots of new noises to get used to here! After lunch, a group of us took another walk, this time with a Senegalese man who lives at the university; it was incredible to hear him tell us all about Senegalese culture, politics, religion, and humor. He asked us about Rhianna, Kobe Bryant, Obama, and Akon, some of his favorite celebrities. We walked to the nearby mosque, which was beautiful! It looked huge to me, but our friend/guide explained that was one of the smallest mosques in Senegal, and besides that, each neighborhood had at least one mosque! It was so neat to hear how the Senegalese didn’t like President Wade’s inconsistency, or why they supported Obama wholeheartedly, as well as our guide’s explanation of the differences between Senegalese Islam and Arab Islam. He and I got to talk about math some, which made me feel closer to home, he is studying electricity and chemistry at the university, but loved math (almost as much as me). He told our group that he would take us to his favorite night club, which I only hope we will be able to take him up on, just not tonight, bedtime will come very early!