I'm too disorganized today to write a real post, so instead I'm going to write my thoughts.
Tonight is a party night. I'm hoping it's a little less of a party than last week, though. We're having a surprise party for Meredith's host brother, put on by my host brother. Should be fun, but Saturday morning we leave early-ish for a trip out to Goree Island, which used to be a holding place for people to be sold out as slaves.
Today we had class all day. I went home for lunch and fell asleep on the couch. I've been frustrated with things regarding Caleb lately, so I'm hoping to resolve that soon. I don't especially want to be out all night, but I also don't want to miss out on social interaction.
Last night I had a lot of trouble sleeping because the power kept going out and it was ungodly hot. I wound up laying in bed naked and sweating and wishing the fan would just turn on. But it didn't for a long time and it was too hot to sleep.
I get mosquito bites all the time. I got three while eating breakfast this morning. Everyone here drinks Nescafe with lots of sugar and powdered milk as coffee. For breakfast every morning I'm given some bread, butter, marmalade, and cheese, plus a mug and Nescafe or tea, powdered milk, and sugar cubes to drink. Lunch is generally some sort of rice and meat and sauce dish. Today it was fish balls (as in balls of fish, not fish's balls) and veggies and rice, and it was very spicy.
There are cats everywhere. Feral, scrawny, mangy cats. But I love cats, so I always want to pet them even though they're gross. There are some dogs, too. One tried to attack me once, but it was fine in the end.
I went running this morning with Liz. It's kind of lousy running in Dakar because the sidewalks are potholed and crowded and the cars have awful exhaust and there's trash everywhere...
I want to work out twice a week, but I may have to find an alternative to running because motivating myself to run is unlikely to work out.
I think that's all for now. Leave comments because they help fill the emptiness. Or because I like them. Either one.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Quick Note
I forgot to mention yesterday that we found out we would be spending TWO WEEKS in a rural village. Not only that, but we will not all be together. There will be two of us per village. There's an odd number of us, so I don't now whether they'll do one group of three or one group of one. Probably three, though. I'm terrified about the rural visit, but I know it'll be one of the most impactful things I can/will do here. I keep telling myself that the benefit of feeling totally freaked out and insecure so much of the time is that I will get more out of study abroad than most people. Yay Africa!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Homesick?
I feel kind of lousy today because of things pretty unrelated to my Senegal experience. Caleb wants to take some time off from talking to me to get his bearings as a newly single man, so I have to adjust to that. My grandmother is in the hospital and is quite sick. I have something gross going on with my toe, and even though it wouldn't make any sense, I'm afraid I have shingles again.
Some things here are funky.
Trash. There is a lot of trash in the streets. There isn't a good trash collection company, and the government-run one went bankrupt a few years ago. It's very hard to find a trash can around here, so it's hard to avoid littering. Walking through markets or through poor districts, you end up just walking on layers and layers of rubbish. Also, it smells bad.
Horses. There are a shocking number of people who have horses and carts here. It seems like there aren't any laws regarding what these horses can do...not that there are any apparent traffic laws, either. In fact, I haven't seen a single traffic cop here. Most taxis make un-promising noises and have cracked windshields. Horses will make U-turns over medians. Cars will drive up on the sidewalk. The roads are potholed and awful. There are few to no street signs, and no one knows street names.
Sand. When we first got here, I thought, "Wow, there's a lot of mud here." I think today was the first day since we've been here that has not rained, so I got a taste of what it's like when all that mud is sand. There's a lot of it. I feel like my feet are always dirty. It's not so much a feeling, really, as a reality. This is kind of a problem since I have some issue with my right foot. It's like a series of blisters along the crease between my smallest toes, and it's been getting worse since we got here.
Altogether today, I'm tired and shaky and stressed and missing the comforts--luxuries, really--of home. Like having salad every night and not having to wonder whether it will make me sick. And having vegetables with dinner. And being allowed to eat just until I feel like stopping. And sleeping in a huge, cushy bed.
Today I discovered that my host sisters sleep 4 to a bed, so I feel kind of guilty that I have my own room and still think it's sort of lousy.
Can't wait to get used to all this...DIFFERENCE. It's good for me.
Some things here are funky.
Trash. There is a lot of trash in the streets. There isn't a good trash collection company, and the government-run one went bankrupt a few years ago. It's very hard to find a trash can around here, so it's hard to avoid littering. Walking through markets or through poor districts, you end up just walking on layers and layers of rubbish. Also, it smells bad.
Horses. There are a shocking number of people who have horses and carts here. It seems like there aren't any laws regarding what these horses can do...not that there are any apparent traffic laws, either. In fact, I haven't seen a single traffic cop here. Most taxis make un-promising noises and have cracked windshields. Horses will make U-turns over medians. Cars will drive up on the sidewalk. The roads are potholed and awful. There are few to no street signs, and no one knows street names.
Sand. When we first got here, I thought, "Wow, there's a lot of mud here." I think today was the first day since we've been here that has not rained, so I got a taste of what it's like when all that mud is sand. There's a lot of it. I feel like my feet are always dirty. It's not so much a feeling, really, as a reality. This is kind of a problem since I have some issue with my right foot. It's like a series of blisters along the crease between my smallest toes, and it's been getting worse since we got here.
Altogether today, I'm tired and shaky and stressed and missing the comforts--luxuries, really--of home. Like having salad every night and not having to wonder whether it will make me sick. And having vegetables with dinner. And being allowed to eat just until I feel like stopping. And sleeping in a huge, cushy bed.
Today I discovered that my host sisters sleep 4 to a bed, so I feel kind of guilty that I have my own room and still think it's sort of lousy.
Can't wait to get used to all this...DIFFERENCE. It's good for me.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Just another week in the life of a study abroad student.
Here I am, in Dakar, having had what may have been the most eventful week of my life, and I'm feeling reasonably un-phased. I'll start with a list of things I'm surprisingly used to.
-Time differences: Getting out of the house takes AGES, and if we bother to plan to do something at a particular time at all, we can count on leaving at least 2 hours late. Also, everything happens slower here. Simple "Hi"s on the street can turn into 15-minute conversations (with strangers) if you're not careful.
-Attention: Being white here is quite an experience. We get attention from men (though no proposals yet)...more on that later. Every taxi that drives by honks at us, since we couldn't possibly be planning to walk to our destination. Lots of people call "toubab" as we walk by. Toubab just means Caucasian. It isn't an insult, just a category.
-Food: Every meal involves tons of starch. I'm used to eating a lot of veggies and fruit and a little meat, some cheese or yogurt, and some sugar every day. Here, I eat bread and tea for breakfast (I sneak some cheese onto my bread), rice and sauce and meat for lunch, and the same for dinner. Sometimes, we use bread to eat dinner. Also, my host dad is constantly telling me to eat more. I say "J'ai bien mange" (I've eaten well, I'm full) and set down my spoon and he says, "Non, tu n'as pas bien manger. Mange plus." (No, you haven't eaten well. Eat more.) Youssou, my host brother, said he's afraid I'll return to the U.S. skinny and my family will think that they didn't feed me well enough.
-Power outages: EVERY day in Dakar, there is at least one power outage. Often, there's more than one. I carry a flashlight around (thanks, Afnan, for donating yours!) just in case. It doesn't bother me much any more. We're actually having a power outage as I'm typing this up. I'll just have to save it and put the post online later on.
Here are some things that I haven't adjusted to:
-Restrooms: People here simply use toilets differently. It's always a gamble when I go to use a restroom whether it will have a toilet seat, whether it will have toilet paper, whether it will have soap, and whether the toilet will flush. I don't like how unreliable it is that my "needs" will be met, but it is slowly becoming less and less of a problem.
-Gender relationships: The way men and women interact here is different, though less so than I was expecting. I have an easy (and fun) time teasing guys when they flirt with me, but also just teasing in general. It's good French practice, too. I did get myself into kind of a mess earlier, though. More on that later (I'm hoping to build suspense here).
-Wolof: I can't speak pretty much any right now, so there is a lot that I can't understand. To make things better, I have trouble understanding French spoken with a Wolof accent...which is what everyone speaks here. My Mama asked me earlier "Do you understand French?" and I said yes, but it was hard to understand it with the local accent, and she said, "Ah, you understand French, just not me!"
-Families: Who lives at my house?? I have no idea! And I don't know where they sleep at night! More people keep showing up and I don't know whether they're permanent residents or whether they're just visiting. I don't know what their names are or how they're related. I'm really confused. But, in the end it doesn't really matter.
Okay, now for some anecdotes. These are the most recent, most memorable things that have happened to me. Mom, don't freak out. I'm doing great.
First is clubbing. On Friday night, some friends and I went out clubbing with my host brother Youssou and some of his friends. I had a great time dancing and then at 5:30 or so, when we'd finished, we went to a bakery for breakfast. We had pastries and hot chocolate, and then went home. When we got there, Youssou offered to give me a massage before bed, and then tried to kiss me. I said no and kicked him out, and then felt uncomfortable all Saturday morning. In the afternoon, when I was out with friends, Youssou texted me and apologized for behaving inappropriately. He said he felt uncomfortable all day knowing that he had done wrong to his "sister". I'm pretty sure that nothing else will happen, and I know to be on my guard now. But if anything does happen, I can always ask to be relocated. As it is, I really like my host family.
The more recent incident was notre sortie a la plage (our outing to the beach). Youssou and his friends and my friends and I went to a beach today, on a hot, lovely summer afternoon. Then there were thunderstorms. Then we played Frisbee. Then I got hit in the head (not too hard) with a soccer ball. Then this guy with a machete ducked behind me when I was sitting under our beach umbrella and another guy with another machete ran straight at me to try to get to the first guy and then they danced around me brandishing their machetes at each other...across me. After just a few seconds of this, they ran off somewhere and half the population of the (packed) beach followed. I guess they broke up the fight and no one was hurt, but it was very exciting. I'm still slightly on edge from that adventure.
All in all, I am doing fabulously and getting my bearings and such. There's a lot more adjusting that I'll have to do, but I'm in a good place and surrounded by fabulous people.
Now if only the power would come back so I could post this online and go to bed...
-Time differences: Getting out of the house takes AGES, and if we bother to plan to do something at a particular time at all, we can count on leaving at least 2 hours late. Also, everything happens slower here. Simple "Hi"s on the street can turn into 15-minute conversations (with strangers) if you're not careful.
-Attention: Being white here is quite an experience. We get attention from men (though no proposals yet)...more on that later. Every taxi that drives by honks at us, since we couldn't possibly be planning to walk to our destination. Lots of people call "toubab" as we walk by. Toubab just means Caucasian. It isn't an insult, just a category.
-Food: Every meal involves tons of starch. I'm used to eating a lot of veggies and fruit and a little meat, some cheese or yogurt, and some sugar every day. Here, I eat bread and tea for breakfast (I sneak some cheese onto my bread), rice and sauce and meat for lunch, and the same for dinner. Sometimes, we use bread to eat dinner. Also, my host dad is constantly telling me to eat more. I say "J'ai bien mange" (I've eaten well, I'm full) and set down my spoon and he says, "Non, tu n'as pas bien manger. Mange plus." (No, you haven't eaten well. Eat more.) Youssou, my host brother, said he's afraid I'll return to the U.S. skinny and my family will think that they didn't feed me well enough.
-Power outages: EVERY day in Dakar, there is at least one power outage. Often, there's more than one. I carry a flashlight around (thanks, Afnan, for donating yours!) just in case. It doesn't bother me much any more. We're actually having a power outage as I'm typing this up. I'll just have to save it and put the post online later on.
Here are some things that I haven't adjusted to:
-Restrooms: People here simply use toilets differently. It's always a gamble when I go to use a restroom whether it will have a toilet seat, whether it will have toilet paper, whether it will have soap, and whether the toilet will flush. I don't like how unreliable it is that my "needs" will be met, but it is slowly becoming less and less of a problem.
-Gender relationships: The way men and women interact here is different, though less so than I was expecting. I have an easy (and fun) time teasing guys when they flirt with me, but also just teasing in general. It's good French practice, too. I did get myself into kind of a mess earlier, though. More on that later (I'm hoping to build suspense here).
-Wolof: I can't speak pretty much any right now, so there is a lot that I can't understand. To make things better, I have trouble understanding French spoken with a Wolof accent...which is what everyone speaks here. My Mama asked me earlier "Do you understand French?" and I said yes, but it was hard to understand it with the local accent, and she said, "Ah, you understand French, just not me!"
-Families: Who lives at my house?? I have no idea! And I don't know where they sleep at night! More people keep showing up and I don't know whether they're permanent residents or whether they're just visiting. I don't know what their names are or how they're related. I'm really confused. But, in the end it doesn't really matter.
Okay, now for some anecdotes. These are the most recent, most memorable things that have happened to me. Mom, don't freak out. I'm doing great.
First is clubbing. On Friday night, some friends and I went out clubbing with my host brother Youssou and some of his friends. I had a great time dancing and then at 5:30 or so, when we'd finished, we went to a bakery for breakfast. We had pastries and hot chocolate, and then went home. When we got there, Youssou offered to give me a massage before bed, and then tried to kiss me. I said no and kicked him out, and then felt uncomfortable all Saturday morning. In the afternoon, when I was out with friends, Youssou texted me and apologized for behaving inappropriately. He said he felt uncomfortable all day knowing that he had done wrong to his "sister". I'm pretty sure that nothing else will happen, and I know to be on my guard now. But if anything does happen, I can always ask to be relocated. As it is, I really like my host family.
The more recent incident was notre sortie a la plage (our outing to the beach). Youssou and his friends and my friends and I went to a beach today, on a hot, lovely summer afternoon. Then there were thunderstorms. Then we played Frisbee. Then I got hit in the head (not too hard) with a soccer ball. Then this guy with a machete ducked behind me when I was sitting under our beach umbrella and another guy with another machete ran straight at me to try to get to the first guy and then they danced around me brandishing their machetes at each other...across me. After just a few seconds of this, they ran off somewhere and half the population of the (packed) beach followed. I guess they broke up the fight and no one was hurt, but it was very exciting. I'm still slightly on edge from that adventure.
All in all, I am doing fabulously and getting my bearings and such. There's a lot more adjusting that I'll have to do, but I'm in a good place and surrounded by fabulous people.
Now if only the power would come back so I could post this online and go to bed...
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
In Dakar!
Written 9/7/10 at 7:58pm
I am at my host family's house. At first I was slightly horrified because I arrived as my host mom was in the middle of bathing, so she'd just thrown on some clothes and answered the door for me. The whole time she was (very warmly) greeting me, her shirt was trying to fall off. It succeeded right after she showed me my room and I said I'd like to unpack a bit. One great thing she did was to take my hand and say, "Welcome to my house. You are now a part of my family."
She has since asked me about myself a bit, told me that I'm in my own house, and told me to ask if she says anything that I don't understand to anyone (meaning, when she speaks Wolof in front of me). I think dinner is soon--it's Ramadan still, but it's just gotten dark out.
Aside from my host mom, there is also an older man, two grown young women, and a guy about my age. I guess the three kids (Youssu, the guy, being the youngest) are my host mom's and then there's a young kid who belongs to the second daughter.
Later:
Dinner was cheb bu jen, a fish dish that is the signature of Senegal. It was delicious.
Last night I slept poorly. It was a combination of jet lag, heat, mosquito bites (5, despite my netting...which it turns out has holes in it), and needing to pee but not knowing how to get light in the bathroom. That's the one thing that's really getting me still: the toilets here don't have seats--you're expected to squat over them. They also tend not to have toilet paper--everyone rinses off with water from the adjoining shower instead. Everything is working out well, though. I'm looking forward to seeing how the next few days go.
Oh, one more thing. The end of Ramadan is soon: either Friday or Saturday. On that day, known as Corite (ko-ree-TEH), we have the day off to hang out with our families. It's a fancy occasion, so we went out today to the marche (market) to buy ourselves Senegalese outfits. Mine is yellow with white lace. I'll try to post pictures.
I am at my host family's house. At first I was slightly horrified because I arrived as my host mom was in the middle of bathing, so she'd just thrown on some clothes and answered the door for me. The whole time she was (very warmly) greeting me, her shirt was trying to fall off. It succeeded right after she showed me my room and I said I'd like to unpack a bit. One great thing she did was to take my hand and say, "Welcome to my house. You are now a part of my family."
She has since asked me about myself a bit, told me that I'm in my own house, and told me to ask if she says anything that I don't understand to anyone (meaning, when she speaks Wolof in front of me). I think dinner is soon--it's Ramadan still, but it's just gotten dark out.
Aside from my host mom, there is also an older man, two grown young women, and a guy about my age. I guess the three kids (Youssu, the guy, being the youngest) are my host mom's and then there's a young kid who belongs to the second daughter.
Later:
Dinner was cheb bu jen, a fish dish that is the signature of Senegal. It was delicious.
Last night I slept poorly. It was a combination of jet lag, heat, mosquito bites (5, despite my netting...which it turns out has holes in it), and needing to pee but not knowing how to get light in the bathroom. That's the one thing that's really getting me still: the toilets here don't have seats--you're expected to squat over them. They also tend not to have toilet paper--everyone rinses off with water from the adjoining shower instead. Everything is working out well, though. I'm looking forward to seeing how the next few days go.
Oh, one more thing. The end of Ramadan is soon: either Friday or Saturday. On that day, known as Corite (ko-ree-TEH), we have the day off to hang out with our families. It's a fancy occasion, so we went out today to the marche (market) to buy ourselves Senegalese outfits. Mine is yellow with white lace. I'll try to post pictures.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Paris!
I made it to Paris! In a few hours I'll leave for Dakar, and tomorrow I'll meet my host family. I've discovered that I need to have called the bank to let them know I'm going to be in Dakar for 6 months, so until my mom lets them know, I won't be able to use my debit card.
I'm really excited.
I'm really excited.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Leaving Home
I keep thinking: I hope this is the hardest thing I have to deal with in my study abroad experience. I'm sure it won't be, though. And really, what foreign study program would be complete without a total meltdown?
This morning I left home with two rolling suitcases and a backpack (messenger bag, actually) and said goodbye to my parents and Caleb. I'll see my parents again in December--I'm really looking forward to their visit, and I'll miss them in the meantime. Saying goodbye to Caleb was (is) painful because I really have no idea when I'll see him again. Because of that, we are broken up, and that's tough. I know things will work out in some way that will turn out fantastically, but right now I just can't imagine what that will look like.
Thankfully, I'm spending tonight and tomorrow with Colleen in Detroit. Hopefully I'll be able to gain some composure and get my bearings before I leave the country tomorrow night and lose both of those things.
This morning I left home with two rolling suitcases and a backpack (messenger bag, actually) and said goodbye to my parents and Caleb. I'll see my parents again in December--I'm really looking forward to their visit, and I'll miss them in the meantime. Saying goodbye to Caleb was (is) painful because I really have no idea when I'll see him again. Because of that, we are broken up, and that's tough. I know things will work out in some way that will turn out fantastically, but right now I just can't imagine what that will look like.
Thankfully, I'm spending tonight and tomorrow with Colleen in Detroit. Hopefully I'll be able to gain some composure and get my bearings before I leave the country tomorrow night and lose both of those things.
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