Settling in?

I thought that I had learned to come into every situation in Senegal with no expectations. But then of course, I had also expected our schedule to settle down at some point. So, clearly this lesson is a work in progress.

As always, I am happy, excited, busy, baffled and eager for what is coming next. This week was a whirlwind and the future looks like it will keep up the trend.

Classes were a little different because there is a large pilgrimmage every year to Touba which is about 4 hours east of Dakar. Some of our teachers (including our academic director) were therefore gone for several days.

Monday we had French. It was a good class but our teacher is pretty tough. She keeps us on our toes and is very sharp on grammar and correct language usage. Her name is Djenaba. Monday afternoon we had a delightful Music and Dance class. We started out by getting introduced to a lot of the traditional instruments of West Africa. Our teacher's name is Gabi and he is super passionate about music, dance and traditional songs. We got a short lesson on the djembe, which is a cool type of drum and then we started singing some traditional chants. It was awesome!

Tuesday we learned a lot of new vocab in Wolof class. I have been trying to make flash cards and practice with my housekeeper and Senegalese friends but the language is very different. For example, you conjugate the person and not the verb. So to say "I learn" it is "maa ngi jang" you learn is "yaa ngi jang" and he learns is "mu ngi jang". Jang is the verb to learn. Anyway, the class is super interesting and everyone here speaks Wolof in daily life because it is their first language. We also had History of Islam and we learned a lot about general Muslim beliefs and practices.

Wednesday we had our morning free because of the pilgrimmage to Touba. That gave us an opportunity to go to some different organizations and try to arrange for volunteer work while we are here. I went with a group to an orphanage/school near ACI. Wednesday afternoon was another history of Islam class where we got a more general sense of Islam in Senegal.

Thursday we had two hours of Wolof and 2 hours of History of Islam. We are learning a lot of interesting things but it gets a little exhausting trying to absorb French, Wolof and school. Every night I come home pretty exhausted.

Friday our French teacher was sick so we got some worksheets about grammar and went up onto the roof to do them in the sun. It was a very relaxing experience and we are looking more tan everyday. I also walked to the post office and then chilled at my house. Friday night I went back to the My shop and we had a toubab crew plus some Senegalese friends. We hung out and had a good time.

Saturday was a great get-together. I planned a sort of "social gathering." We got all ten students plus some of our Senegalese host-family members and other friends that we have picked up along the way and we all went to the Ile de Ngor, which is a cute little island just north of Dakar. They have these traditional canoe-like boats that are long and skinny called pirogues. And it costs 500 CFA (francs) to get across (which is about a dollar.) We spent a beautiful day at the beach and swam, although the toubabs were again the only ones in the water. We have to remember that even though it is 85 and sunny, it is still their winter.

Sunday we went to Ramadan's house. Ramadan works right by ACI Baobab and he sells us coffee pretty much every day. He always befriends the LC exchange student group and so he invited us to his house to learn how to make cheebujen (the Senegalese dish of rice and fish that is a pretty typical meal here.) It was a lot of fun, his sister Magate taught us the whole 2-3 hour process. I wrote everything down and someday I will be an expert in Senegalese cooking. I am trying to absorb all I can while I am here.

So, it is Monday again, our schedule is packed this week! And we have our first weekend outing with the program coming up this weekend. The weather is great, the people are still friendly and I am still baffled by what is around me on a daily basis.
Take care.
Peace.