Excuse the brevity of this post, I am not a huge fan of typing on cyber cafe keyboards, and I don't have my computer or an internet connection here in Saint Louis. I got here yesterday evening, and saw the Talking Horns from Germany and then Géraldine Laurent from France.
(The website is saintlouisjazz.com if you want to check it out.)
The hotel I'm staying in is Hotel du Palais. It's more of a motel than anything else, but after calling close to 15 hotels and hostels and hearing that everywhere was full, I was just happy to get a room! It's clean and inexpensive, however, and located right in the middle of the main island, which is perfect.
I love Saint Louis, but my impression last time I was here was one of calm breezes and tranquil streets. Not so this crazy festival weekend - its much closer to the atmosphere at a Dakar outdoor market. It's a lot of fun, but trying to wander around on my own and enjoy the sighst is absolutely impossible. I'm constantly harassed and people try to sell me things or ask me to buy them powdered milk (??) or beg from me. If nothing else, then some random Senegalese teenager will start walking around with me helping me find things and refuse to leave my side. They don't outright ask for anything, and I can't ask them to leave me alone because they're just being helpful. If I ask them why they're walking around with me, they tell me they enjoy my company. Uhhhhh, okay.
I'm going to make a serious effort today to ignore everyone and get some alone time. There's so many things to eat and buy and take pictures of!
More on my new homestay in Dakar when I get back. Hope you all are well... leave your address if you want a postcard!
Mariama
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Good Rade
It's the end of my third day in Dakar, technically. I'm still here in the hotel, Good Rade, until Wednesday or so. I'm going to stay here until I move into my homestay, which was provided by my NGO.
Yesterday, Sunday, I went to visit my old host family for lunch. It was wonderful to see them all again. I think I surprised my host brother and sister and mother and father by giving them huge hugs. Can't remember if that's how you greet people ever in Senegal, but they've hung out with enough Americans to not be too shocked. They're all doing really well. The twins were there, because they're home from school, and the older brother, Babocar, who was in France the whole time I was there, is home now, too. So for once it seems the whole family is under one roof. My host mom even remembered that my grandmother had been sick and asked after her, which was really sweet of her. (They've had a lot of American students and I know they sort of blur together sometimes.)
My host brother drove me to a market so I could get a cell phone and SIM card, which I did. Then I headed back to the hotel, and got some food at the bakery next door. Things are low-key for now. I visited SIT today, and my internship. My boss, Ismael Diallo, was happy to see me and told me that tomorrow we would work out my work and travel schedule and talk about the homestay he's set up for me.
Ate yassa poison today for 600cfa. That's $1.20, and it was delicious!
Also did some shopping, mainly just to walk around downtown and remind myself what I love about Dakar and why I'm here. It's quite odd to be here without other students. I imagine that the hardest part of being here will be finding people to go out with or eat out with. (Not that I lack for friendly overtures, I received three implied marriage proposals today.) Still, I'm happy to be here and OH, I forgot to say, the weather is AWESOME!
I almost wish it was worse, so that I could adjust to that and then know that it couldn't get any hotter. Instead, it's balmy, breezy and sunny. I'm not even sweating! I know July, and maybe even June, will be much more humid and hot, but for now it's glorious.
That's all for now, I'm gonna go to sleep and have some anti-malarial-induced dreams!
Mariama
Yesterday, Sunday, I went to visit my old host family for lunch. It was wonderful to see them all again. I think I surprised my host brother and sister and mother and father by giving them huge hugs. Can't remember if that's how you greet people ever in Senegal, but they've hung out with enough Americans to not be too shocked. They're all doing really well. The twins were there, because they're home from school, and the older brother, Babocar, who was in France the whole time I was there, is home now, too. So for once it seems the whole family is under one roof. My host mom even remembered that my grandmother had been sick and asked after her, which was really sweet of her. (They've had a lot of American students and I know they sort of blur together sometimes.)
My host brother drove me to a market so I could get a cell phone and SIM card, which I did. Then I headed back to the hotel, and got some food at the bakery next door. Things are low-key for now. I visited SIT today, and my internship. My boss, Ismael Diallo, was happy to see me and told me that tomorrow we would work out my work and travel schedule and talk about the homestay he's set up for me.
Ate yassa poison today for 600cfa. That's $1.20, and it was delicious!
Also did some shopping, mainly just to walk around downtown and remind myself what I love about Dakar and why I'm here. It's quite odd to be here without other students. I imagine that the hardest part of being here will be finding people to go out with or eat out with. (Not that I lack for friendly overtures, I received three implied marriage proposals today.) Still, I'm happy to be here and OH, I forgot to say, the weather is AWESOME!
I almost wish it was worse, so that I could adjust to that and then know that it couldn't get any hotter. Instead, it's balmy, breezy and sunny. I'm not even sweating! I know July, and maybe even June, will be much more humid and hot, but for now it's glorious.
That's all for now, I'm gonna go to sleep and have some anti-malarial-induced dreams!
Mariama
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Maangi fi!
Maangi fi rek is the response to 'Nanga def?' The whole exchange means, basically, 'What's up?' and 'Nothing much'. But literally maangi ri rek means 'I am here, only'.
And I am here. In Dakar. I got here yesterday, around 6am. My allergies/congestion meant that our plane's descent and landing into the International Airport of Leopold Sedar Sengor in Dakar was marked, for me, by intense head and ear pain and vague thoughts that I might be about to die of an aneurysm. The guy next to me, who was continuing on to Capetown, kindly gave me some gum and seemed completely perplexed when I (wincing and teary-eyed from pain) managed to start bouncing in my seat with joy and excitement as we landed.
So, what I'm trying to say is that even though I still have a headache, I'm freaking out and thrilled to be here.
Well, also, I'm thrilled that I passed the visa and security check, considering that I forgot my yellow World Health Organization card that certifies that I got my yellow fever shot. You're not allowed to enter the country without it. Mine is in my mom's purse. See, mom, I TOLD you I was forgetting something important! And you were like, it's okay, whatever it is, it's not important, we can mail it! And... well, you were right. They didn't even ask me for it. :)
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT TO BE TAKEN AS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FELLOW TRAVELERS TO TRY AND ENTER AFRICA WITHOUT YOUR YELLOW WHO CARD! Seriously, I'm gonna have to have my mom and dad mail me mine just in case anyone asks for it.
Gee, this isn't very interesting yet, is it? Well, I couldn't sleep on the plane, so I slept most of yesterday, and haven't really done anything yet! I'm staying at Good Rade, the hotel where my SIT study abroad group was put for orientation last fall. This means that everything is familiar, from the staff to the rooms to the mind-blowingly delicious croissants and weird water with food coloring and sugar that passes for orange juice.
I'm off to visit my host family and the store now. I promise that future updates will be less about airplane headaches and more about Culture and Experiences and Learning and such.
jamm ak jamm,
Robin who is Mariama again
And I am here. In Dakar. I got here yesterday, around 6am. My allergies/congestion meant that our plane's descent and landing into the International Airport of Leopold Sedar Sengor in Dakar was marked, for me, by intense head and ear pain and vague thoughts that I might be about to die of an aneurysm. The guy next to me, who was continuing on to Capetown, kindly gave me some gum and seemed completely perplexed when I (wincing and teary-eyed from pain) managed to start bouncing in my seat with joy and excitement as we landed.
So, what I'm trying to say is that even though I still have a headache, I'm freaking out and thrilled to be here.
Well, also, I'm thrilled that I passed the visa and security check, considering that I forgot my yellow World Health Organization card that certifies that I got my yellow fever shot. You're not allowed to enter the country without it. Mine is in my mom's purse. See, mom, I TOLD you I was forgetting something important! And you were like, it's okay, whatever it is, it's not important, we can mail it! And... well, you were right. They didn't even ask me for it. :)
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT TO BE TAKEN AS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FELLOW TRAVELERS TO TRY AND ENTER AFRICA WITHOUT YOUR YELLOW WHO CARD! Seriously, I'm gonna have to have my mom and dad mail me mine just in case anyone asks for it.
Gee, this isn't very interesting yet, is it? Well, I couldn't sleep on the plane, so I slept most of yesterday, and haven't really done anything yet! I'm staying at Good Rade, the hotel where my SIT study abroad group was put for orientation last fall. This means that everything is familiar, from the staff to the rooms to the mind-blowingly delicious croissants and weird water with food coloring and sugar that passes for orange juice.
I'm off to visit my host family and the store now. I promise that future updates will be less about airplane headaches and more about Culture and Experiences and Learning and such.
jamm ak jamm,
Robin who is Mariama again
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Direct from Jersey...
Hey, all. I am staring my blog again before i return to Dakar for my (supposed) internship with The SEM Fund - hopefully I'll keep you posted here on what I'm doing. It all depends, of course, on how much computer access I have, and how the power outages affect my stay. Not sure exactly where I'm staying or what I'm doing, so far, so it should be quite the adventure. But clearly I'll be saving the world and empowering women, so stay tuned!
(And leave me lots of comments to keep me sane as I sweat to death in my favorite mosquito-ridden country).
Avec beaucoup d'amour et gros bisous,
jamm ak jamm,
Robin
(And leave me lots of comments to keep me sane as I sweat to death in my favorite mosquito-ridden country).
Avec beaucoup d'amour et gros bisous,
jamm ak jamm,
Robin
Thursday, December 11, 2008
chanting on the shores/ of africa
As I predicted, my huge research project has led to radio silence. So sorry!
I’m now at Mbour, with the other students, in a nice hotel on the beach. The weather is perfect, and the beach is fantastic. In fact, it’s almost chilly at night! We are giving our oral presentations of our final projects here, letting our fellow students know what we’ve been up to for the past month. Some of us have been away from Dakar, including myself. I’m presenting tomorrow with the last batch of students. We’ll head back to Dakar on Saturday morning and our flight leaves on Saturday night. (I stay over in Paris for a few days, but then I’m home again. Too surreal to even contemplate right now…)
My ISP has been an intense experience. I traveled to two villages for about a week each, and then spent the last two weeks in Dakar, doing more research and writing the final paper. Anyone who wants to see a copy of my paper or power point presentation when I get back, I LOVE talking about my subject so feel free to ask!
I think I might be the luckiest out of my program, in terms of farewells. I’m the only person who knows for sure that she’ll be coming back here again (inch’Allah) so it makes it easier to say goodbye to Senegal. Easier, but still not easy. I can’t even begin to imagine the culture shock of being back the US but right now I just don’t want to leave this country. We went to watch a lutte (Senegalese wrestling, the national sport here) on the beach. It was sort of a theatrical presentation for the tubabs/tourists, with dancing and such, so it felt a little fake and voyeuristic at first. (This is a resort area with lots of French vacationers). However, it was such an incredible display that I decided that if they were willing to share their culture with me, I wasn’t going to waste time feeling guilty about it!
Today we also visited Joal and an island made entirely of seashells. Really! It is an interesting place, because the majority of the population there is Catholic, quite the opposite of Senegal. There was a very beautiful church, with mosaics and modeled after the traditional African hut (but, obviously, bigger…) instead of the european-style. I really enjoyed it, and our guide was quite nice. He spoke good English as well. Maybe if I can convince my parents to visit me in Senegal I’ll take them back there… just a thought.
Too many thoughts! I’m insanely excited to be coming home, and insanely excited to stay in paris for a few days and visit the friends I have there. (Both French and American study abroad students.)
That’s all for now, sorry to be brief, but it’s so odd having less than 48 hours left on this continent that I find it hard to organize my thoughts. Love you all,
Robin
p.s. My mom asked me to summarize my findings of my ISP in 25 words or less. Even better, here’s a haiku:
Senegal is poor
Can micro-credit change things?
The answer is yes!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Oh, you haven't seen the last of me.
You might be thinking that you're done with me. That, seeing as how I'll be home in less than two weeks, and leaving Senegal in about a week, you won't have to be reading this blog much longer. (I mean, I don't even know who is reading this exactly, but...) So you think you're done with my travels, eh? Well, guess again. I give you: Direct from Dakar, Part Two: The Internship!
Today I can finally say with certainty that I will be back in Senegal next summer for my CISLA internship! (cisla.conncoll.edu will explain that further, if you're interested). I'll be back here in late May, and working for The SEM Fund/GENSEN from May 25th until July 31st, based here in Dakar. I'll be traveling around however, to the ecovillages (including Diourbel and Palmerin, where I have already visited) to do work for the NGO. It's not completely clear every specific of what I'll be doing, but I'll likely start out doing journal entries for Kiva.org, and collecting data for the NGO on their loan recipients. I think if all goes well and I settle in nicely, they're going to ask me to teach some technical skills classes in some of the villages. What they really need is business management. While I'm not exactly qualified for that per se, I am in touch with a woman here in Dakar that runs ANOTHER NGO which teaches women about business management. So, hypothetically, she could teach me to teach others. Also, I could definitely give English, French, or technology (computer) classes, on a rather informal basis.
Anyway, this is all very exciting, because most students in my CISLA program don't get their internships confirmed until next semester. I'm always stressing at the last minute about things, so it is a huge (and exciting) relief to have dates and accomadations set! My program pays for my housing and such, so that I can work for the NGO for free. So, that's it. I'm definitely coming back. This couldn't come at a better time, because I definitely don't want to say goodbye to Senegal. If I didn't have so much work to do on my ISP still (I'm writing the report and preparing my presentation now) I would be freaking out about leaving. At least this way when I leave I can say... "ba bennen yoon, inch'allah!" ('till next time, god willing).
Yay!
Today I can finally say with certainty that I will be back in Senegal next summer for my CISLA internship! (cisla.conncoll.edu will explain that further, if you're interested). I'll be back here in late May, and working for The SEM Fund/GENSEN from May 25th until July 31st, based here in Dakar. I'll be traveling around however, to the ecovillages (including Diourbel and Palmerin, where I have already visited) to do work for the NGO. It's not completely clear every specific of what I'll be doing, but I'll likely start out doing journal entries for Kiva.org, and collecting data for the NGO on their loan recipients. I think if all goes well and I settle in nicely, they're going to ask me to teach some technical skills classes in some of the villages. What they really need is business management. While I'm not exactly qualified for that per se, I am in touch with a woman here in Dakar that runs ANOTHER NGO which teaches women about business management. So, hypothetically, she could teach me to teach others. Also, I could definitely give English, French, or technology (computer) classes, on a rather informal basis.
Anyway, this is all very exciting, because most students in my CISLA program don't get their internships confirmed until next semester. I'm always stressing at the last minute about things, so it is a huge (and exciting) relief to have dates and accomadations set! My program pays for my housing and such, so that I can work for the NGO for free. So, that's it. I'm definitely coming back. This couldn't come at a better time, because I definitely don't want to say goodbye to Senegal. If I didn't have so much work to do on my ISP still (I'm writing the report and preparing my presentation now) I would be freaking out about leaving. At least this way when I leave I can say... "ba bennen yoon, inch'allah!" ('till next time, god willing).
Yay!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Apologies and excuses!
Sorry for not posting... we are moving into the crunch week of our ISP, when we're supposed to be putting all our data together and analyzing and writing and... you get the picture. Very busy.
I have finally gotten to experience a little of the Dakar nightlife, however, by helping Zoe do "fieldwork". Ha. Somehow her project means that she has all this insider information and contacts in the high-flying nightlife of Dakar, so we went out the past two nights to a restaurant and a club and danced and had some fun.
Also...
... I saw Youssou N'dour! Now I can leave Senegal happy! We heard him do a few songs at this big free concert at the stadium here. We also some of the other big names of Senegalese music, but I must admit I don't really know any of them. Except for Titi, a female singer who is insanely popular here, who sang right after Mr. N'Dour. It was very fun, and VERY interesting to see the cultural differences in crowd reactions and shows of appreciation.
Sorry, sorry, sorry, I really have to work, though! So many stories and pictures for you all when I get home though... which is not very far from now!
I have finally gotten to experience a little of the Dakar nightlife, however, by helping Zoe do "fieldwork". Ha. Somehow her project means that she has all this insider information and contacts in the high-flying nightlife of Dakar, so we went out the past two nights to a restaurant and a club and danced and had some fun.
Also...
... I saw Youssou N'dour! Now I can leave Senegal happy! We heard him do a few songs at this big free concert at the stadium here. We also some of the other big names of Senegalese music, but I must admit I don't really know any of them. Except for Titi, a female singer who is insanely popular here, who sang right after Mr. N'Dour. It was very fun, and VERY interesting to see the cultural differences in crowd reactions and shows of appreciation.
Sorry, sorry, sorry, I really have to work, though! So many stories and pictures for you all when I get home though... which is not very far from now!
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