Nearing the End

Hey everybody! So, we are coming down to the last two weeks of the program. Life is still full of fun and adventure and, true to Senegalese style, no two weeks are ever the same.

Monday we had a day off for Easter and lots of shops were closed. Even though Senegal is 95% Muslim, a lot of the holidays here are shared. It is pretty cool that the religious communities are so close, and families are intermixed. This makes it nearly impossible for any sort of ethnic or religious strife to ever threaten Senegal’s stability. I went to Ngor with some of the other students and instead of spending a relaxing day on the beach, we decided to explore the northern shores of Dakar. So, we started at Ngor, and then walked west around the point of the peninsula. We even went out to the westernmost tip of Africa (and took some pictures), then we walked south past the Monument of the African Renaissance. It was a great day wandering around and we got to know the neighborhoods of Ngor, Almadies, and Ouakam pretty well. That night we had another dinner party at our music professor’s house.

Tuesday morning was free because Village SOS has two weeks off for Easter break. In the afternoon, we had our seminar discussion class and two hours of French.

Wednesday was a very full day. We had two hours of Senegalese literature which we had with the author again. It is amazing being able to talk to him about his book but it is unfortunate that he is better known outside of Senegal than in his own country. He talked to us a little bit about the difficulty that Senegalese authors face in getting their works published and then finding a readership. We had two hours of French, lunch and then two more hours of French. Since we missed a couple of classes due to professor illness, we now have to make up those hours.

Thursday we had an Arts Visit for our continuity and change class. We went to the French Institute downtown and saw a photography exhibit about historic Saint Louis (located on the northern tip of Senegal.)

Friday was another two hours of French. Then I went to a really cool market in a neighborhood called the Biscuiterie with Jess, Julia, Leia and Rebekah. We wanted to get soccer jerseys because football is huge here and we all have different teams we support. My new team is Marseille because they are pretty good and they have a really good striker named Mamadou Niang who is Senegalese. So, I got his #11 jersey (for only five bucks) and I wore it on Sunday for the Marseille-Nice match. Friday afternoon we had a Wolof class outing. We went to the market together to buy vegetables for our hands-on class on Saturday. Friday night was another relaxing evening chilling at Myshop with the toubabs.

Saturday we had a jam-packed day. Two hours of French in the morning (more make-up sessions) and then a whole afternoon of Wolof “lab.” We learned how to make ceebujen, which is one of the more recognizable Senegalese dishes. It took us from 11 until 3 because we were cooking for about 17 people. It was a good lesson and hopefully we will be able to do it ourselves when we help out with orientation for next year’s group. I was pretty exhausted by Saturday night so I decided to stay in and chill with my host family. We ate dinner at the matriarch’s house and it was very pleasant. My Wolof is still coming along and I practice all I can because our final exam is today. At the end of the night a little host-cousin of mine called Sohna Fatima fell asleep on my lap. She is about 4 years old and already speaks better French than I do! She is pretty adorable.

Sunday I had lunch in Almadies with a contact from the Ghanaian Embassy. I am starting to do mad research for my trip so that I have some ideas of where I want to stay and where I want to stop and what I want to do along the way. The details are slowly coming together. I went to a bar in Baobab to watch the Marseille-Nice match. Marseille killed them 4-1. Niang played most of the second half but didn’t score this game. He is League 1’s leading scorer, though, so he is a lot of fun to watch. Sunday night I hung out at home again and watch the dubbed French version of “Next” with my host dad.

The next two weeks are the end of our program so things are going to start heating up here soon. We have 1 exam this week and then a 10-page paper due with a 10 minute presentation. After that, we have 3 more final evaluations and 1 performance. True to the French-style education system, everything that counts comes at the end. Hope you all have a wonderful week.
Wish me luck!

Peace.