Class? Nah, I'll play the drums

This past week has been one that I’ve really enjoyed. After French and Wolof class each day, we got on a bus and went to the “Theatre de Sarano” in downtown Dakar. The theater is where many of the plays, ballets, and performances that come to Dakar are held. There, we spilt off into two groups and alternated between an hour of West African dance classes and djembe (West African drums). Going into these classes, I thought that they would be a “West African dancing and drumming for dummies,” kind of thing. Both classes, however, were surprisingly tough and intensive. I usually try and make an effort to either go run or play soccer on the beach after school lets out, but the dancing and drumming classes this week provided exercise enough. When I sit back and thought of the fact that I’ve been taking drumming and dancing classes instead of ‘Biology of Plants’ like I probably would be at Davidson right now, a smile creeps onto my face.

I mentioned beforehand that the food here makes your taste buds jump for joy. SIT gives us 3000 CFA per day for lunch (breakfast and dinner are provided by our homestay) which gives us a pretty large amount of quality restaurants to choose from. What I didn’t mention was that some of my friends and I found a small restaurant/shack where we can eat a full meal during lunch for 700 CFA, which is equivalent to about $1.35 US. We’ve become such regulars that the guy who runs the place ask us which plate du jour we’d like for the next day. It’s like our own personal, made-to-order restaurant. It’s great.

When I think back to the fact that before I left, I thought I was going to lose weight here in Dakar, I laugh. I eat like a king here. Every night my family and I sit down for dinner around 9:30 pm (normal time for dinner in Senegal), with a huge platter of food laying before us. Most of the meals consist of rice, “pates” (small strands of pasta), or potatoes. One of these three things is usually enveloped in some sort of sauce with either chicken, fish, or beef to top it off. If you know me, you know that I couldn’t ask for anything better.

Speaking of food, I brought my small packets of Tony Chachere's seasoning with me here to Dakar, as I do most places. I had initially forgotten that I brought them, but conveniently remembered about a week ago. I wasn’t sure whether I would offend my family by using it during dinner, but I figured the best way to find out was to give it a shot. After I pulled it out, they all asked what it was and I explained to them how in New Orleans, we put this seasoning in most of the stuff we eat. They tasted some, and now they’re hooked! My cousins and brothers have it with their meals seemingly every night and my mom has asked if I can cook the family some New Orleans food. I was both pleased and relieved that they liked it so much. Looks like mom’s going to have to send some more over here before I leave.

As one might assume, I don’t spend a lot of money here at all. The dollar is worth a lot more than the CFA, which works out great for students studying abroad here. Just to give you an idea of some of the things I spend money on in Dakar, here’s what some of the things I have on a daily basis costs in American dollars:

2 bananas on the way to school: $0.30

Yassa Poulet for lunch: $1.35

Carrapide (local form of public transportation) to the beach after school: $0.25

A kilo of clementines (about 20): $3.00

…And ya’ll thought the value menu at McDonald’s was a good deal.

Visit to Gorée

On last Friday, the group visited Gorée, which is a small island about 2 miles of the western most point of Dakar. Gorée is also where countless slaves were held before they made the trek through the Middle Passage during the Atlantic slave trade. On the island, I experienced a collision of complex emotions. The island itself is absolutely beautiful, and the view that one has when standing on top of the cliff will leave you speechless. The immense magnificence that the island possesses, however, seemingly juxtaposes its ugly past. As I stood in one of the tiny cells where men, women, and children were packed like cattle, I looked out of one of the cracks in the brick wall and saw the vast beauty of the Atlantic Ocean. It was a cruel paradox. It was a powerful experience, walking from cell to cell, knowing that quite possibly, some of my ancestors may have been held on this very island before being shipped off to the United States. To think that this was the last they would have seen of their homeland made my heart plunge. Nonetheless, it was a good and in I think necessary experience for me to have. 

So I've never done the whole blogging thing, but I figure my first trip to Africa isn't a bad time to start. Today was my eleventh day here and so far it's been absolutely amazing. My blogs or photos won't be able to do justice to the experiences I've has thus far.

For the first few days we stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of Dakar, so that we could get adjusted to the time difference, the weather, and basically prep for our impending experience. During this orientation period we would spend the mornings getting "the breakdown" of Dakar from our SIT coordinators: Soleye, Bouna, Sarah, and Ami. They would prepare us on what to expect from our homestay families, downtown Dakar, the food, the culture, as well as the the do's and don'ts of Senegal. 

In the afternoons we visited various cartiers (neighborhoods) of Dakar, and at night we would have a different traditional Senegalese dish. The national dish here is Ceebu jen or thieboudienne, which is rice, fish, and turnips. It's not bad, but my favorite food so far is easily yassa poulet. It's sautéed chicken and rice covered in this delicious spicy onion sauce. It's like a little piece of heaven comes down and touches my tongue every time I eat it. 

The dynamic of the group is really good. Everybody gets along really well and seem excited to be here. There are 18 girls, and 3 guys. I was prepared for such a ratio because for some reason not a lot of guys decide to go to West Africa for their semester abroad. It might be that not a lot of us take french classes but who knows. 

After a few days, we moved in with our homestay families. I was a bit nervous because they don't speak English so I was going to have to speak french all the time. But I'm going to have to go ahead and say that my host family are probably the nicest, most patient people on the planet. They do a great job of being extremely hospitable, yet also treating me like a normal part of the family instead of a guest, which I appreciate. I have 8 brothers and sisters, most of whom are adults that work in other countries. There are however, three grandchildren in the house by the ages of 2, 3, and 4. So needless to say, there aren't many boring moments. Between the karate chops, hide and go seek, and horseback rides, I can always count on them for a little entertainment. Three of the brothers live in the house and two other cousins. I actually can't really tell who lives here and who doesn't because different people are coming in and out of the house all the time, and there's always somebody new at the dinner table each night. I share a room with my brother Abdou. He's 22 and is a student at one of the local universities. I'm the only person in the SIT program who has a roommate but I'm actually pretty happy that it ended up this way. I can talk to Abdou about things that probably would not be as easy to talk to my host parents or professors about. Plus I can get everything from the perspective of someone around the same age as me, which I find really helpful and refreshing. He and my other two cousin often spend nights staying up and talking about our political, religious, and social views until the wee hours of the morning. 

SIT does a good job of maintaining a sense of order, while at the same time not over-structuring our day. We have three classes per day. It varies between French, Wolof (unofficial language of Senegal, spoken in most households), an Arts and Culture Seminar (visits to museums, sculptures, as well as dance and music classes), and a Field Study Seminar. The professors who teach us French and Wolof are all really chill and are all Senegalese. Everything is discussion based, as opposed to lecture based, which I couldn't be happier about.

We have every Wednesday off and today we spent the day at the beach. I think it was called N'Gore but I'll have to check on that. The weather was probably around 80 and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Avery and I played beach soccer with a bunch of locals who seem like they do nothing but play there 24/7. Beach soccer is definitely tougher than soccer on grass and the dynamics of the game are alot different. It's a lot of fun though. Before a group of like 20 other people joined we had a little game of Senegal vs. America going. We held our own, but ended up losing. It seems like these guys could run forever. But I can promise that there is going to be a lot more beach soccer where this came from.

There are so many things I could go on and on about and so many incredible experiences I could delve into. It's crazy to think that I've been here less than 2 weeks. I've already learned so much about Senegal and myself that I had no idea about before. This trip will definitely be an experience that juxtaposes what I deem "the norm" and will challenge me in a multitude of ways. But I think I'm up for the challenge...