Beginnings

It's almost exactly a week before we head out to Senegal. I am incredibly excited for this adventure, though I must admit I am also a bit intimidated - it's hard to try and visualize something so far beyond my usual realm of experience! Still, as the time to leave approaches, I am finding that my nervousness is negligible compared with the enthusiasm I feel about this opportunity to learn about a new culture and expand my worldview.

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For those of you who I am meeting for the first time, (albeit through cyberspace), my name is Deborah Galaski. I am a junior Religion major at Oberlin College, originally hailing from Amherst MA. I have lived in the co-ops at Oberlin since my freshman year, which has been a deeply formative and positive experience. My co-op experience has caused me to develop an interest in the idea of intentional communities, so I am particularly looking forward to learning more about how the EcoVillage structure works in Senegal.

I found out recently that I will be living with Khalifa and Maba Diof and their four children, as well as another American student on the program, while in Yoff. I am greatly looking forward to meeting them - I am told that no one in the family speaks English, so I guess this will be a good test of how well I have retained my French skills! I am hoping that I will (re)gain my French proficiency quickly, and am excited about the prospect of learning and communicating in Wolof.

I am looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you, and will write more once it is underway. Until then, be well. Deb