Twelve mosquito bites, two bottles of bug spray, and one week later I have survived my first week in Africa. Today, we have completed the homestay portion of our trip and are now traveling six hours from Dakar to St. Louis. But I still can’t believe I have been in Africa for one whole week, it seems like months have passed. Even though Dakar and Washington D.C. are quite different from each other, I find many similarities between each city. Like in Washington D.C., the traffic in Dakar is very unpredictable and so is the road rage. However, there aren’t many rules to protect the safety of pedestrians crossing the streets. Also, all of the kids in Senegal are very into pop culture and can sing all of the lyrics to every Rihanna and Chris Brown song ever made. The difference between D.C. and Dakar in my opinion is the differences between the values. What I love the most about Senegalese values is the emphasis on community and hospitality. In America, it is quite unusual to greet the strangers that you see on the streets, but in Senegal, it is encouraged to greet everyone you meet. It’s like everyone in Senegal is one big family. Almost everywhere you go, someone will greet you with, “Salaam Malaakum”, which means “may peace be with you” in Wolof. It’s like everyone you meet is a member of your family, not a competitor or stranger. It is a nice change from the fast paced competitive vibe in America. Even though Senegal is a francophone country and I do not speak French or Wolof, language has not been a barrier either. Spanish has really come in handy on this trip. In my host family, no one spoke English and my roommate and I could not speak French either. Thankfully, my host mother spoke the tiniest bit of Spanish and together we communicated through a made up language of broken French, Spanish and over emphasized hand gestures. Actually, the majority of my communication with Senegalese people on this trip has been a version of this made up language. It is times like these when I feel especially grateful for Holton’s language program.
Though I will miss the errand runs to City Dia, and the sights, sounds, and the interesting smells of Dakar I am quite excited to explore St. Louis. St. Louis is similar to a tropical version of Williamsburg, VA. The buildings are constructed in the French colonial style and the island is full of culture, history, and personality I felt like I had been taken back several hundred years. This evening we took a historical tour around the island on a horse drawn carriage ride. The island is gorgeous in the evening, especially as the sun sets, the vivid hues of the sky blended well with the bright tones of the pink and yellow houses. St. Louis is also a lot calmer than the bustling streets of Dakar. Everyone seems to take their time and relax more here, even the vendors are calmer here. I must say St. Louis, is probably my favorite place in Senegal so far. I could stay here forever.
Unfortunately we only have a few more days left in Senegal, and then we return to Washington D.C. I neither look forward to nor dread the end of this trip. But I cannot wait to come back home and share what I have learned about myself with my family and friends. I also cannot wait to have my favorite snack, apples and peanut butter, and catch up on my missed episodes of The Glee Project again. Until then, as a vendor told me today, “I shall treat each day as an adventure and cherish all of my experiences as an opportunity to learn.”
-Gabi
