1/13/09
Bonjour a tous!
Today is my third day in Dakar and I thought I would start sending out updates from Senegal. If you don't want them or know someone else who would like me to email them, just send me an email.
After a series of really awful issues with planes, Laura and I made it to Dakar at 6 in the morning. We were picked up at the airport and driven to a hotel/apartment type thing (we're still not sure exactly what it was) where we had an apartment to stay in for the next two nights. Apparently that day we were supposed to rest, so we sat there with nothing to do trying not to fall asleep so we could fix our sleep schedule. Not the most exciting start and we didn't manage to stay awake. People came in our room and brought us food every so often. The first Senegalese food we had was some spicy chicken and rice which was pretty good... the weird cold pea and lamb stuff that came later was less appetizing and we wished we had saved the million loaves of bread they brought us in the morning.
The next day was our first real day. A man named Pape Samba came from the Baobab Center where we are taking classes to bring us there. It was sort of difficult for me to understand him, but by now I am doing a lot better understanding French. After a brief orientation a lady gave us a tour of the surrounding area. It is all very interesting. The city is very nice though they could do with picking up their trash. There are also lots of sheep in the streets. Our guide showed us how to eat with our fingers like real Senegalese people. Even though it had been a really long day, we went with Pape Samba to see Youssou N'Dour, the most popular musician in Senegal, at a fancy restaurant called Just4U.
Today we had our first lesson in Wolof, the other language besides French that is common in Senegal. Then we moved in with the families that we will be staying in for the rest of our three weeks in Dakar. My family is very nice. At first it was a bit awkward because they were just watching TV and speaking wolof and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, but then Alejandra, the other American who is staying with them and Coumba, the 7 year old granddaughter came in and I got to know them. Coumba is very cute and asks if she can have everything I own. I met some of Alejandra's Senegalese friends and Mohamed, Coumba's dad, showed me lots of pictures that other students who stayed with them had taken. Luckily, there is wireless somewhere around here that we can pick up to the house, so I have all the internet connection I could want. I will hopefully be in touch again soon!
I hope things are well over in les Etats Unis!
Love,
Christiana
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