The last day in the village was more than I expected. I have learned many things here. For instance, my new name is Indate, I love kids, and I found my inner African. The day’s events started with teaching of the 5th graders in the elementary school. Being the oldest students, they were easier to keep under control but not easier to teach. These kids have already developed their accents and language, so it was harder to teach them English pronunciation. I named one of the boys in the village Anthony but his Senegalese name is Badara. In In Austin’s class, they asked the students to say “My name is..”. When Badara stood up he said, “My name is Anthony.” His response meant so much to me. After the class we went to some of the houses of the girls in the village. I stuck close to Danette because I needed her to translate for me. I speak absolutely no French. I noticed that the one thing everyone was able to talk about was dancing. The popular dance “Chaka-goun” was the dance everyone wanted to see the “Toubabs “, or “Westerners”, do. After visiting some of the homes in the village, we took lessons from a local high school girl. We learned four different dances and my favorites were the Louisa and the “Chaka-goun”. The dancing was in preparation for the big village party in the evening. Just before the party we played one final soccer game. The boys scored most of the goals and tried their best to avoid passing the ball to us. Finally, we all dressed up for the party and some of us got henna. The party was crowded and festive. The first thing I noticed was the preschool girls and boys dressed in traditional Senegalese wear. They put on a little play before the party started. I remember one boy pulling off his fake moustache. After the play, the DJ called each one of us up and handed us diplomas that recognized our community service efforts at the school. After the presentation of diplomas, we performed the dances we learned for the community. The best part of the entire night was when I danced with some of my Senegalese friends. I felt free and alive with every movement, letting my body flow to the music. This was our last opportunity to bond with the kids in the village and we all took advantage of it. Tomorrow it will be sad to leave our friends at N’Diawdoune, but we leave with the knowledge that a new group of juniors will continue to nurture and deepen our relationship with the community.
-Antoinette
