Archives: September 2005
Fri Sep 30, 2005
it's a party
I mentioned in a recent blog the challenges of negotiating the social situation here, but this past week has been an excellent one for socialization. First of all, five of the girls on the program have started taking an african dance class. We're learning contemporary, modern and tradtional dances from the local griot (kind of like a traditional bard), Bath. It's really fun, and, for someone who has no rhythym, the steps are surprisingly easy to master and look really cool when they're all put together. On monday night, we went to a drum circle, and our teacher was there and made us do our routine for everyone. It was really fun - such a joyous event and people here are incredible dancers! I think they were pleased that we made an effort to join in the celebration. In fact, the best part of the night was probably when one of the men who were dancing in the middle pulled my friend Kristin into the circle and tried to show her this certain step, and she totally mastered it. Everyone watching was like "wow, look at that white girl dance!" It was awesome!
More...
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The Culture of Food - Katie
I want to explain a little about the culture of food and meals here, since meals set the schedule for the entire day and are the center of social activity, and are therefore very important.
The family meal is nuclear: in other words, the plate is the nucleus and the people form the bubble around it. Although most of my family eats with spoons, other families that are more traditional eat with their hands, a practice that involves one-handedly rolling the food into a ball that you can pop into your mouth. This is more difficult that it may at first sound, since the food you are rolling consists of rice, maybe a meat, and oil…3 things that don’t exactly amalgamate. But since I am given a spoon at every meal, I am free to eat without dealing with an oily mess all over me.
More...
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Sat Sep 24, 2005
Ecotourism & Orchestre Baobab
Last night was one of the most fun nights I've had thus far. I got to go see my Wolof teacher, Rudy Gomis, play with the Orchestre Baobab at a club in Dakar! It was really awesome afro-cuban music. The band is incredible, and really well known (they've played with Dave Matthews and Trey Anastasio and have toured all over the world), and it just radomly happens that Rudy like to teach Wolof in his spare time when they're not on tour. Crazy, huh? He's an amazing teacher, and such a wonderful person, so it was exciting to get to see him in his element, doing what he loves to do. I'll be sad when our Wolof classes are over!
More...
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Toubab Diallo/social life
Hey Everyone,
Sorry it's been a little while since my last post - we were away last weekend at this beautiful (though touristy) place called Toubab Diallo. It's interesting how different the flora/fauna are in different parts of Senegal - for example, on the ride down there (a somewhat long and harried bus trip, on which I successfully managed to negotiate the price in Wolof - score!!) we saw these amazingly huge trees (alas, I couldn't get a good picture) with monkeys in them, which you definitely would never see in Yoff. The trip was a good chance to get to know the other Americans on the program a lot better, which was fun, and I think I am making progress in getting to know the Senegalese students here better too.
More...
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Mon Sep 19, 2005
Life in Senegal & Toubab Dialo - Katie
New pics!!!
http://community.webshots.com/photo/456517181VngdRl
I apologize for the lack of blogs because the keys on my laptop decided to stop responding, and the computer technition is out because of the horrible incident of the death of his baby. It really puts things into perspective, that while I am horribly annoyed and frusterated because my computer doesn't work, this man is having the hardship of his life because his country doesn't offer enough skilled labor and affordable healthcare to prevent something that could have been so easily fixed in the States. It makes me feel so spoiled to have all the medical help I need at my fingertips, and makes me realize just how unfair this world is.
Anyways, I am slowly but surely becoming more accustomed to Senegal and the life I have found myself in. The weather makes me sweat 1 gallon rather than 2 every day, the taxi's veering at me at 90 mph no longer make my heart stop, and I can vomit for 24 hours straight and just accept the fact it was bound to happen sometime. Yesterday I even ate a fish (whole) with my bare hands!! Like whoa for the vegetarian.
More...
[0] comments (445 views) |
[0] Trackbacks
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Sun Sep 18, 2005
Photos available! (sort of)
Hey Everyone,
So I went through this whole ordeal to set up a page online where people could view my photos, but apparently I have to send an invitation e-mail to you, in order for you to be able to see them. If you want to check them out send me an e-mail with "photo request" as the subject and I'll send you the invitation. Sorry about that, I know it's kind of inconvenient. I'll keep posting photos on the blog as well.
Be well, D
ps. for those of you who I am meeting for the first time through cyberspace, e-mail me at dgalaski@yahoo.com
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Thu Sep 15, 2005
An amusing cultural anecdote
My host sister here, Marie (she's 18), has recently decided to make it her personal mission to get me to eat more. The other night the electricity went out at the house for about 8 hours (not an uncommon occurence) so the whole family and I sat out in the alleyway at night on these little benches they have, where it is both cooler and where we could see by the moonlight to chat with eachother and with the passersby. To pass the time, Marie made this really yummy byssop (?) juice, and tried to get me to drink several cups of it. While it was tasty, it was also quite filling, and we had already eaten dinner, so I tried to refuse the second cup she offered me, but she wasn't having any of that. So I tried a different tack - I told her that if I kept eating so much I would get fat. Now, in the states, because of the standards of beauty, most women would take this as reasonable excuse and not press you any further. Marie only laughed at me, and insisted that I drink another glass. Her motives for getting me to eat more became clearer to me last night at dinner.
More...
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Visit to a local school
Today, my Senegalese friends Rokhaya and Ndeye Fatou took me to visit the local school's summer program after our own classes at CRESP were finished. Rokhaya works as a camp counselor there in the evenings, in addition to doing the Living Routes program at CRESP. The two of us had previously discussed our similar experiences as teachers/camp counselors, and discovered our shared interest in education.
The visit was a great experience for me on two levels. First of all, it was nice for me to be in my own element, or at least closer to it. Children are easy for me to communicate and play with, and I don't feel as silly stammering along in broken Wolof as I feel with adults. And despite the language barrier, the environment was quite similar to the day camp I worked at this past summer. Being in such a familiar environment made it easier for me to interact with the other staff there as well. As I joked around with them and watched the counselors helping the five year olds get dressed after bathing in the ocean, I felt that I easily might have worked there as well.
More...
[0] comments (448 views) |
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Tue Sep 13, 2005
Ross Thuotte's Weblog
Hey, I'm also blogging about my Living Routes semester in Senegal –
check it out here!
[0] Trackbacks
[0] Pingbacks
Sat Sep 10, 2005
Classes begin and some random thoughts
Classes have gotten into full swing this week. I am taking Wolof at the Baobob center about half an hour away from Yoff, where I am living with a host family. It's been really interesting to learn the local language, and everyone seems to appreciate my fumbling efforts to speak it, although after the very basic "how are you doing" I have to switch into french. Still, it's been nice, especially because some of my host brothers and sisters don't speak any french so this is the first time I've really been able to communicate with them. We have also begun our Ecotourism and Sustainable Development classes, which are both extremely interesting, and the visiting professors we;ve had thus far have been awesome. It is nice to get the school aspect of things underway, I think we were all getting a little antsy, trying to adjust to being here but not having any projects to sink our teeth into. It's been a bit hard to follow 2 hour lectures given entirely in french - I can't stop paying attention for a second without getting totally lost! Still, I'm in a much better position than some of the other students who don't speak any french at all, and I think I've been getting the main idea of everything.
More...
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Fri Sep 09, 2005
A little wet - Katie
09/08
I’m writing this at 7 am because as I woke to go for an early morning jog, the weather decided to attack. Even though it did seem a too little dark for 7 as I opened my shudders, I assumed it was a combination of my drowsiness and morning clouds. No. About three seconds after turning away from the window, in the amount of time it took for me to walk across my room, I begin to hear a loud thundering coming through the streets. This wasn’t like lightening and thunder thunder, no, it was like a train had suddenly emerged from the ocean and was making its way through the fragile town of Yoff. Immediately I went back to the window, but it was too late and my shudders begin to frantically bang back and forth. I heard pots and pans falling in the other rooms, market stalls being blown over on the next block, and actually felt like I was in the movie Hook and about to be abducted by pirates.
More...
[0] comments (1140 views) |
[0] Trackbacks
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Thu Sep 08, 2005
L'appelle and the Islam of Yoff - Katie
9/06
Yesterday was the “L’appelle”, a day in the Layenne sect of Islam (based here in Yoff) when the 2nd profit and reincarnation of Muhammad gave his first speech, 150 years ago yesterday. There are different sects of Islam all over the world, with the most traditional based out of the Middle East for the most part, and others that divide and create a more personal religion. That is was happened here, when Seydina Limamou, a black fisherman, was born in the late 1800’s and became known as the reincarnation of the profit (the Mahdi), and a man that the people could worship and believe in here on their own land rather than a years walk away. The Mahdi told the villagers to end the social stratification that was plaguing Yoff at the time, preached for equality and care for the poor, and basically behaved like a modern day Jesus… minus the walking on water stuff. However, because the profit has now been reincarnated, the Layenne sect believes that the end of days is coming soon, basically judgment day will arrive shortly. Although I am not too fond of this particular view of the religion, the social services and aide it offers to its members are amazing, along with the fact that it is one of the only branches of Islam that allow women inside the Mosque to pray and also preaches the benefits of education and literacy for all.
More...
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A Weekend in Senegal - Katie
09/04
I’m not sure how it didn’t occurred to me sooner that as of now I am living in a completely different universe than most everyone else I know. Perhaps it was after I bathed in a bucket and then dressed in my room without with a mirror for miles, or maybe it was after I bought a Popsicle and as I stepped out of the store watched it steam in the evening heat. Possibly it was when I returned home as the call to prayer rang throughout the streets and walked inside to see my father performing his prayer in the living room, or when I went to my classmate Kristin’s house to see that her family owns a goat that lives in a sandbox in the living room. You see, there are so many things here that appear to be the antithesis of Western comfort that I feel I should be homesick or unhappy or at least a little scared. However, I think that there is so much to see and smell and experience here that I have no time to feel any of these.
More...
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Wed Sep 07, 2005
The Vegetarian meets a Sacrifice - Katie
*Sorry for the delayed blog. I've been having trouble with the internet. I will continure where I left off*
*** SEE MY PICS AT http://community.webshots.com/user/katiepaulsenegal ***
O9/02
Today I watched the sacrifice of two goats, rode a rickety, jam packed autobus, and sweat like I had never sweat before. Just another day in Yoff.
Starting with the sacrifice, our group was invited to a spirit ceremony where we were to honor the garden god who had been seen in three dreams of different individuals, and therefore trying to contact the human world. A sacrifice of two goats had been decided (since the ghost asked for two) and their blood was spilt in the family shrine, located in the backyard (if you will) of the family. The shrine consists of an area roughly the size of a small apartment bedroom, laid with a dirt floor, covered with a thatch covering, and filled nearly from front to back with large clay pots filled with sticks and water. Each pot represents a previous appeasement to the spirits who “drink” the water each week so that it must be refilled.
More...
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Tue Sep 06, 2005
L'appelle de Layenne
Today (Sept 5) is L'appelle de Layenne, a festival of the local Islamic brotherhood. It marks the 125th anniversary of the first sermon given by the Mahdi, a man from Yoff who is believed by the Layenne brotherhod to have been the reincarnation of Mohammad. Mohammad apparently said before his death that he would return as a member of another race, and all the pictures of this man depict his wearing both a white and black cloth to illustrate that Mohammad came once as a "white" (Arab) and once as a "black" (Senegalese).
More...
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Mon Sep 05, 2005
Ile de Goree
It is my fifth day in Senegal, and I am settling in more day by day: slowly getting used to the HOT WEATHER, different (but yummy) food, cultural greetings etc. So - Na guen def, everyone? (That's how you say "how are you?" to a group of people in Wolof) The other students on the program and I have been spending a lot of time together, and I feel I am beginning to make some friends.
More...
[0] comments (1156 views) |
[0] Trackbacks
[0] Pingbacks
Thu Sep 01, 2005
Arrival & An Animal sacrifice
I arrived in Senegal yesterday morning, a bit jet-lagged but excited for the beginning of this experience. I am staying very close to CRESP (the center of the Living Routes program) with Ndege Saml and Macoumba Ndoye, and their three children. I was initially a little nervous having never done a homestay before, but they have been very welcoming and I am already feeling more comfortable. The have even given me a Senegalese name - Daba, after my host mother's sister (although sometimes they call me Fatu as well, not sure why.)
More...
[0] comments (1165 views) |
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My first day - Katie
What’s more than the mental culture shock that can hit you when you are suddenly plunged headfirst into another culture is the physical shock of the air when you step off of the plane. I decided this today when I moved off of the South African Air Boeing I had been on for the previous 8 hours, a carefully tempered environment that was as cool and dry as the Colorado mountains I lived in for the three preceding months, and found myself suffocating within seconds in the one-hundred degree heat and one-hundred percent humidity that engulfed me.
More...
[2] comments (1120 views) |
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it's a party
I mentioned in a recent blog the challenges of negotiating the social situation here, but this past week has been an excellent one for socialization. First of all, five of the girls on the program have started taking an african dance class. We're learning contemporary, modern and tradtional dances from the local griot (kind of like a traditional bard), Bath. It's really fun, and, for someone who has no rhythym, the steps are surprisingly easy to master and look really cool when they're all put together. On monday night, we went to a drum circle, and our teacher was there and made us do our routine for everyone. It was really fun - such a joyous event and people here are incredible dancers! I think they were pleased that we made an effort to join in the celebration. In fact, the best part of the night was probably when one of the men who were dancing in the middle pulled my friend Kristin into the circle and tried to show her this certain step, and she totally mastered it. Everyone watching was like "wow, look at that white girl dance!" It was awesome!
More...
[0] comments (994 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
The Culture of Food - Katie
I want to explain a little about the culture of food and meals here, since meals set the schedule for the entire day and are the center of social activity, and are therefore very important.
The family meal is nuclear: in other words, the plate is the nucleus and the people form the bubble around it. Although most of my family eats with spoons, other families that are more traditional eat with their hands, a practice that involves one-handedly rolling the food into a ball that you can pop into your mouth. This is more difficult that it may at first sound, since the food you are rolling consists of rice, maybe a meat, and oil…3 things that don’t exactly amalgamate. But since I am given a spoon at every meal, I am free to eat without dealing with an oily mess all over me.
More...
[0] comments (976 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Ecotourism & Orchestre Baobab
Last night was one of the most fun nights I've had thus far. I got to go see my Wolof teacher, Rudy Gomis, play with the Orchestre Baobab at a club in Dakar! It was really awesome afro-cuban music. The band is incredible, and really well known (they've played with Dave Matthews and Trey Anastasio and have toured all over the world), and it just radomly happens that Rudy like to teach Wolof in his spare time when they're not on tour. Crazy, huh? He's an amazing teacher, and such a wonderful person, so it was exciting to get to see him in his element, doing what he loves to do. I'll be sad when our Wolof classes are over! More...
[0] comments (504 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Toubab Diallo/social life
Hey Everyone,
Sorry it's been a little while since my last post - we were away last weekend at this beautiful (though touristy) place called Toubab Diallo. It's interesting how different the flora/fauna are in different parts of Senegal - for example, on the ride down there (a somewhat long and harried bus trip, on which I successfully managed to negotiate the price in Wolof - score!!) we saw these amazingly huge trees (alas, I couldn't get a good picture) with monkeys in them, which you definitely would never see in Yoff. The trip was a good chance to get to know the other Americans on the program a lot better, which was fun, and I think I am making progress in getting to know the Senegalese students here better too.
More...
[0] comments (482 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Life in Senegal & Toubab Dialo - Katie
New pics!!!
http://community.webshots.com/photo/456517181VngdRl
I apologize for the lack of blogs because the keys on my laptop decided to stop responding, and the computer technition is out because of the horrible incident of the death of his baby. It really puts things into perspective, that while I am horribly annoyed and frusterated because my computer doesn't work, this man is having the hardship of his life because his country doesn't offer enough skilled labor and affordable healthcare to prevent something that could have been so easily fixed in the States. It makes me feel so spoiled to have all the medical help I need at my fingertips, and makes me realize just how unfair this world is.
Anyways, I am slowly but surely becoming more accustomed to Senegal and the life I have found myself in. The weather makes me sweat 1 gallon rather than 2 every day, the taxi's veering at me at 90 mph no longer make my heart stop, and I can vomit for 24 hours straight and just accept the fact it was bound to happen sometime. Yesterday I even ate a fish (whole) with my bare hands!! Like whoa for the vegetarian.
More...
[0] comments (445 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Photos available! (sort of)
Hey Everyone,
So I went through this whole ordeal to set up a page online where people could view my photos, but apparently I have to send an invitation e-mail to you, in order for you to be able to see them. If you want to check them out send me an e-mail with "photo request" as the subject and I'll send you the invitation. Sorry about that, I know it's kind of inconvenient. I'll keep posting photos on the blog as well.
Be well, D
ps. for those of you who I am meeting for the first time through cyberspace, e-mail me at dgalaski@yahoo.com
[0] comments (406 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
An amusing cultural anecdote
My host sister here, Marie (she's 18), has recently decided to make it her personal mission to get me to eat more. The other night the electricity went out at the house for about 8 hours (not an uncommon occurence) so the whole family and I sat out in the alleyway at night on these little benches they have, where it is both cooler and where we could see by the moonlight to chat with eachother and with the passersby. To pass the time, Marie made this really yummy byssop (?) juice, and tried to get me to drink several cups of it. While it was tasty, it was also quite filling, and we had already eaten dinner, so I tried to refuse the second cup she offered me, but she wasn't having any of that. So I tried a different tack - I told her that if I kept eating so much I would get fat. Now, in the states, because of the standards of beauty, most women would take this as reasonable excuse and not press you any further. Marie only laughed at me, and insisted that I drink another glass. Her motives for getting me to eat more became clearer to me last night at dinner. More...
[0] comments (934 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Visit to a local school
Today, my Senegalese friends Rokhaya and Ndeye Fatou took me to visit the local school's summer program after our own classes at CRESP were finished. Rokhaya works as a camp counselor there in the evenings, in addition to doing the Living Routes program at CRESP. The two of us had previously discussed our similar experiences as teachers/camp counselors, and discovered our shared interest in education.
The visit was a great experience for me on two levels. First of all, it was nice for me to be in my own element, or at least closer to it. Children are easy for me to communicate and play with, and I don't feel as silly stammering along in broken Wolof as I feel with adults. And despite the language barrier, the environment was quite similar to the day camp I worked at this past summer. Being in such a familiar environment made it easier for me to interact with the other staff there as well. As I joked around with them and watched the counselors helping the five year olds get dressed after bathing in the ocean, I felt that I easily might have worked there as well.
More...
[0] comments (448 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Ross Thuotte's Weblog
Hey, I'm also blogging about my Living Routes semester in Senegal –
check it out here!
[0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Classes begin and some random thoughts
Classes have gotten into full swing this week. I am taking Wolof at the Baobob center about half an hour away from Yoff, where I am living with a host family. It's been really interesting to learn the local language, and everyone seems to appreciate my fumbling efforts to speak it, although after the very basic "how are you doing" I have to switch into french. Still, it's been nice, especially because some of my host brothers and sisters don't speak any french so this is the first time I've really been able to communicate with them. We have also begun our Ecotourism and Sustainable Development classes, which are both extremely interesting, and the visiting professors we;ve had thus far have been awesome. It is nice to get the school aspect of things underway, I think we were all getting a little antsy, trying to adjust to being here but not having any projects to sink our teeth into. It's been a bit hard to follow 2 hour lectures given entirely in french - I can't stop paying attention for a second without getting totally lost! Still, I'm in a much better position than some of the other students who don't speak any french at all, and I think I've been getting the main idea of everything. More...
[0] comments (953 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
A little wet - Katie
09/08
I’m writing this at 7 am because as I woke to go for an early morning jog, the weather decided to attack. Even though it did seem a too little dark for 7 as I opened my shudders, I assumed it was a combination of my drowsiness and morning clouds. No. About three seconds after turning away from the window, in the amount of time it took for me to walk across my room, I begin to hear a loud thundering coming through the streets. This wasn’t like lightening and thunder thunder, no, it was like a train had suddenly emerged from the ocean and was making its way through the fragile town of Yoff. Immediately I went back to the window, but it was too late and my shudders begin to frantically bang back and forth. I heard pots and pans falling in the other rooms, market stalls being blown over on the next block, and actually felt like I was in the movie Hook and about to be abducted by pirates.
More...
[0] comments (1140 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
L'appelle and the Islam of Yoff - Katie
9/06
Yesterday was the “L’appelle”, a day in the Layenne sect of Islam (based here in Yoff) when the 2nd profit and reincarnation of Muhammad gave his first speech, 150 years ago yesterday. There are different sects of Islam all over the world, with the most traditional based out of the Middle East for the most part, and others that divide and create a more personal religion. That is was happened here, when Seydina Limamou, a black fisherman, was born in the late 1800’s and became known as the reincarnation of the profit (the Mahdi), and a man that the people could worship and believe in here on their own land rather than a years walk away. The Mahdi told the villagers to end the social stratification that was plaguing Yoff at the time, preached for equality and care for the poor, and basically behaved like a modern day Jesus… minus the walking on water stuff. However, because the profit has now been reincarnated, the Layenne sect believes that the end of days is coming soon, basically judgment day will arrive shortly. Although I am not too fond of this particular view of the religion, the social services and aide it offers to its members are amazing, along with the fact that it is one of the only branches of Islam that allow women inside the Mosque to pray and also preaches the benefits of education and literacy for all.
More...
[0] comments (1088 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
A Weekend in Senegal - Katie
09/04
I’m not sure how it didn’t occurred to me sooner that as of now I am living in a completely different universe than most everyone else I know. Perhaps it was after I bathed in a bucket and then dressed in my room without with a mirror for miles, or maybe it was after I bought a Popsicle and as I stepped out of the store watched it steam in the evening heat. Possibly it was when I returned home as the call to prayer rang throughout the streets and walked inside to see my father performing his prayer in the living room, or when I went to my classmate Kristin’s house to see that her family owns a goat that lives in a sandbox in the living room. You see, there are so many things here that appear to be the antithesis of Western comfort that I feel I should be homesick or unhappy or at least a little scared. However, I think that there is so much to see and smell and experience here that I have no time to feel any of these.
More...
[0] comments (1448 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
The Vegetarian meets a Sacrifice - Katie
*Sorry for the delayed blog. I've been having trouble with the internet. I will continure where I left off*
*** SEE MY PICS AT http://community.webshots.com/user/katiepaulsenegal ***
O9/02
Today I watched the sacrifice of two goats, rode a rickety, jam packed autobus, and sweat like I had never sweat before. Just another day in Yoff.
Starting with the sacrifice, our group was invited to a spirit ceremony where we were to honor the garden god who had been seen in three dreams of different individuals, and therefore trying to contact the human world. A sacrifice of two goats had been decided (since the ghost asked for two) and their blood was spilt in the family shrine, located in the backyard (if you will) of the family. The shrine consists of an area roughly the size of a small apartment bedroom, laid with a dirt floor, covered with a thatch covering, and filled nearly from front to back with large clay pots filled with sticks and water. Each pot represents a previous appeasement to the spirits who “drink” the water each week so that it must be refilled.
More...
[1] comments (1932 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
L'appelle de Layenne
Today (Sept 5) is L'appelle de Layenne, a festival of the local Islamic brotherhood. It marks the 125th anniversary of the first sermon given by the Mahdi, a man from Yoff who is believed by the Layenne brotherhod to have been the reincarnation of Mohammad. Mohammad apparently said before his death that he would return as a member of another race, and all the pictures of this man depict his wearing both a white and black cloth to illustrate that Mohammad came once as a "white" (Arab) and once as a "black" (Senegalese). More...
[0] comments (1368 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Ile de Goree
It is my fifth day in Senegal, and I am settling in more day by day: slowly getting used to the HOT WEATHER, different (but yummy) food, cultural greetings etc. So - Na guen def, everyone? (That's how you say "how are you?" to a group of people in Wolof) The other students on the program and I have been spending a lot of time together, and I feel I am beginning to make some friends. More...
[0] comments (1156 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Arrival & An Animal sacrifice
I arrived in Senegal yesterday morning, a bit jet-lagged but excited for the beginning of this experience. I am staying very close to CRESP (the center of the Living Routes program) with Ndege Saml and Macoumba Ndoye, and their three children. I was initially a little nervous having never done a homestay before, but they have been very welcoming and I am already feeling more comfortable. The have even given me a Senegalese name - Daba, after my host mother's sister (although sometimes they call me Fatu as well, not sure why.) More...
[0] comments (1165 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
My first day - Katie
What’s more than the mental culture shock that can hit you when you are suddenly plunged headfirst into another culture is the physical shock of the air when you step off of the plane. I decided this today when I moved off of the South African Air Boeing I had been on for the previous 8 hours, a carefully tempered environment that was as cool and dry as the Colorado mountains I lived in for the three preceding months, and found myself suffocating within seconds in the one-hundred degree heat and one-hundred percent humidity that engulfed me. More...
[2] comments (1120 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
