Les bebes et ma petite soeur

This is my little cousin Fatima - her sister Ajou took the picture but it was slightly difficult considering I had the strong of my camera around my wrist to prevent a breaking event. Ajou loves taking pictures, she is quite the photographer.

From Left to Right: cousin Ajou, sister Marianna, cousin Fatima, moi.

Baby sitting and validated cultural acceptance - I'd say I'm part of the fam clan!

Setting: I was sitting in one of the bedrooms with Marianna (hsis) and two little cousins who are precious girls of 2 1/2 and 4. We were watching a channel equivalent to Animal Planet while playing "peek-a-boo" with blankets. My hmom came in and we had the following exchange in French:

N'Diaye (hmom) - "Lacey are you leaving anywhere?
Moi - "No."
N'Diaye - "You are staying here for a while?"
Moi - Yes, I am not leaving, I do not have anything else to do today."
N'Diaye - "Good, I am leaving with the girl's parents. I'll be home later. Au revoir!

That was it, she was gone... and I was home alone watching over three little girls who spoke two languages, one which I understand about 10 phrases in. No fear, all went really well. By the time the parents came back I had played tons of games, had photo shoots (the 4 year old loved taking pictures which was a bit difficult since the little one wouldn't let me put her down for the majority of the time), and I had rocked both babes to sleep. I was pro. The girls were so much fun - they talked slow for me so that was absolutely adorable. The 4 year old kept touching my face and playing with my hair; she would start on my forehead and rub down to my chin then to my neck and up my scap playing with my hair. Precious. Also, it was hilarious because before I rocked them each to sleep I was sitting in the living room watching TV with Dany while both the little ones were climbing on and off my lap. There was a point where I was holding both in my lap and they were pushing eachother fighting for my "chest space" to rest their heads. Dany just laughed at me. It was hilarious and somehow, though it seems impossible still, I worked out a deal to hold one at a time and that is how I worked my magic in putting them to sleep. Wonderful moments.

There are also plent of random moments here in Dakar. The moment I had gotten the 4yr old to sleep two large men with a large suitcase each entered the house followed by a petite Belgin girl. I had no idea there was a girl coming to live with us. Basically a long story short, she 22, from Belgum, and not good with different cultures. She was very nice but only lasted THREE nights at our house! She moved out on the 4th day! I came home from class and my host mom said she left and now the kids were asking her iof I was going to leave! Her and I found it humorous and talked about how I loved it here and how I was different. Also, my host father talked to me about it and just does not understand the girl. We have had great discussions since then about cultural integration and the reasonb behind living in another country as well as the test of personal strength. Basically the family told me that they appreciate me and I think that was probably one of the greatest moments I have had here - it feels amazing to be validated through mixed languages and awkward experiences, especially since I was never really sure before then how they felt about me. Side note - the kids are talking to me a lot now and asking me to do more things; they are precious and still rockin' out to Justin Beiber and Rihanna! haha!

I must leave for lunch but don't you worry, next time I will teach you all about sheep sacrifices and naming ceremonies! Love to all!

Never ending hop-scotch games and adolescent boys who love Rihanna - qui est ma famille!

The day I was dropped off at my host family’s house was probably one of the most nerve-racking days I’ve ever had. It was Monday, the day after we flew into the country. The morning began with an informative introduction to the ACI Baobab Center with the director/co-creator of the ACI Baobab facility. Then we toured around a nearby neighborhood in order to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings. One great thing about this program is that they have us find landmarks wherever we go so if we ever get lost we know how to describe to a taxi where to take us or find our way on our own through these landmarks. We found out how free the women really are behind scenes during our lunch around 1pm and then around 4pm we had a family orientation session. Our housing coordinator discussed the typical cultural/common sense "dos and don'ts" and answered questions we had (there were a couple students extremely nervous who asked quite a few nitty-gritty questions that were a little too situational... it was amusing). I was not nervous until the 5 o'clock hour. This was when all 5 of us Linfield Students hopped into a van to be dropped off one-by-one at our houses. I was last. At first I thought it was a good thing but by the time we had dropped off the other 4 girls and were on the way to my house I was shaking. I had no idea where I was in comparison to the Center because we had gone down so many little roads into different directions and into different neighborhoods. I was sure I was going to forget the Wolof greetings or the little French I knew. I thought I wouldn’t' be able to pronounce anyone's names and most of all I was afraid that my host parents wouldn't speak much French. I WAS WRONG. I have a very nice family and everything went well, my Wolof greetings included! When I arrived my 17year old brother (or he is 19, I cannot figure it out yet) shyly greeted me with a slight glance, a soft "Bonjour," and a light hand grab as he quickly took my suitcase to my room. Led through an outside hallway into a courtyard with a huge, beautiful tree, I was greeted by my host father and mother. They were very nice and my father showed me my room as well as gave me a tour to the restroom, the visiting area, and the living room area. I was given my own set of keys to the front gate, my room, and the living room so that is great. My room is off of the kitchen separate from the house; the setup is perfect considering it allows me to do my own things as well as be part of the family. I love the courtyard - the courtyard is where I get to write my letters and watch the kids roller blade, swing on the tree, and bike around in circles dodging the close-lines and the sheep. Yes, I almost forgot, we have two sheep that look like goats to me.

My family is amusing - I have three brothers, Dany (17 or 19), Moctar (14), Mohamed (12), and one sister, Marianna (9). They are a ball of joy. Definitely a group of adolescents with sporadic mood swings. However, they are fun and have spunky humors. The boys LOVE Rihanna and sing her music all of the time! It is hilarious, especially when I am sitting in my room with the door open and can hear them across the way singing in high-pitched tones or hear them singing along with the TV. It is cute. Marianna LOVES hopscotch. I taught her how to play and now she asks me to play every day which is fun, but also hot; I start sweating after 3 hops in this heat. Basically my host-siblings go back and forth between our house and their neighbor's house as well as hang out glued to the TV or venturing around the courtyard doing random rollerblading tricks/bike tricks/jump-rope things. My host mom works diligently all of the time. I think I have only seen her sit in front of the TV three times without work in her hands. My host father is a funny guy - he walks around all of the time dragging his feet so you can hear him a mile away. He does not work at the moment because he does something in the fishing industry and it is not the season so... he roams around or ventures out... I'm not really sure. They are all a bit quite when it comes to me. There is a bit of a language barrier but it is getting better and the more time I spend there the more they talk to me, include me, and make jokes with me. It is a nice process. Well, that is my family! I hang out mostly with Marianna, playing games, or with Dany because he talks with me the most. He is at the age where music, cameras, computers, and anything different than home is "cool". Also, there is this one tela-novela translated into French that we watch every night... it is so good! I am now glued to the cheesy, racy, drama. Well, off to a soccer match! Tout à l'heure

Pokey fish teeth

I arrived at the Dakar airport around 4am on Sunday, June 12. We had absolutely no idea where to go or who was picking us up. All we knew was that we had to pick up our bags and find a person we were assuming would be holding a piece of paper that said something in the nature of “Linfield.” I was given a glimpse of the beauty within the Senegalese culture Stepping off of the plane I was instantly overcome by sweet, thick, warm oxygen. It was as if Africa had been waiting to fill my lungs with the gift of Senegalese air.… yes, I felt slightly romantic as I stepped off of the plane, especially since after many years of desiring to travel to Africa I was doing it. I made my way from the plane down the stairs and hopped onto a large blue buss used to cart people from the planes to the actual airport. A woman garbed in a shimmery-bright-pink-blue floraled- traditional female Senegalise outfit. Her matching headdress sat promptly upon her as she offered me the seat next to her. I did not feel out of place though because there was a middle-aged American couple in front of me and in front of them there was an English national Rugby coach speaking with a young Senegalese man. Thus far, I was not exactly the minority but that changed as soon as I stepped off of the bus into the customs area.
While standing in line near the customs desk I simply took in the beautiful clothes and couples that walked by or stood next to me - even without traditional clothing on, ALL of the Senegalese travelers were dressed fashionably flawless in their nice jeans, colorful shirts, frighteningly white shirts, snazzy shoes, watches/jewelry, and pretty bags. Even the guards holding medium sized guns were pleasant to look at in their bright blue-camo uniform. (I said medium sized guns because compared to Guatemala and Mexico, the guards here are pleasant looking and tend to have smaller, less intimidating guns. I like it.) I was first to reach the desk to get my passport checked. The man helping me greeted me with a huge smile and proceeded to compliment the shell necklace I have tied around my neck… lightly put, I was already nervous because no one else had been smiling or talking to us (especially the TALL armed guards walking around as well as the one standing behind me) so when this man who held the power to allow me into the country started speaking randomly about my necklace in an accent my ear was not accustomed to I was slightly shocked. It put me at ease a bit though. Next, avoiding the men who wanted to help us for a small sum of money, we found our bags and then met the random person from the Baobab Center who was holding a piece of paper with “Linfield” written on it just like we had hoped. From the airport we took an amusing bus ride to an apartment where we were to rest and sleep until we were picked up on MONDAY. We had about 30hours to do do…well…your guess is as good as mine because we had no idea. Exhaustedly delusional and completely unaware of our whereabouts except that we were “near” the Baobab Center, we slept until breakfast at 8am.
I woke up for breakfast super sweaty. My body had not adjusted to the humidity and I slept hard so the result was sweaty crevices and ultra curly hair. Anyways, breakfast in Senegal consists of tea or instant coffee and French bread. The bread is usually accompanied by some sort of spread – the spreads vary from place to place but a few options I have had are butter, cheese spread (Laughing Cow which you can get in any American store), fruit nectar, or peanut-chocolate sauce that resembles Nutella. Speaking of Nutella, in the super markets here in Dakar, Nutella is sold… it tempts me each time I walk down the aisles.
After much confusion and discussion, we decided as a group to find an internet-café nearby since we were told by the Center that there was one close by in a letter from the Center. The café ended up being exactly next door so we paid for an hour’s worth of internet to send our families the “ I am alive and safe” email. We decided to be adventurous and took a walk around the block but after careful consideration decided it was more beneficial to for us to stay inside, rest, and not get lost in a country where the majority of the language spoke we do not yet understand. Side note – in case you weren’t aware, the “official” language in Dakar is French but that is only because the country was colonized by France. In general, the Senegalese speak their native tongues in their homes, to the elderly, when greeting people, and in general day to day conversation with people in the community. French is spoken in school, in educational programs/organizations, official documents, among/between businesses, and with other countries. Thus, while I am here I will be taking intensive Wolof in order to more fluently speak with the Senegalese people I meet as well as more efficient understand/learn the culture here.
Lunch was a daunting task for me but, I must say that I did swell. I ate the lovely fish you see in the pictures above. I apologize if this is culturally rude but to my surprise the fish was quite tasty… I was expecting something far less delightful, especially since I would have considered myself a picky eater then. The fish went really well with the rice and deliciously spiced sautéed onions. However, because I was a newb at eating fish with their heads still attached, I did prick my finger on the teeth and scare the begeebers out of myself. It was hilarious; the girls definitely got a good laugh from me.

Ba beneen. (Until next time.)

I am sweating profusely... oh, and loving life!

Bonjour from Dakar! As many know I am currently studying abroad in Senegal, Africa for the fall semester of my senior year at Linfield College. In thanks to my lacking ability to keep in touch with those in my life, I am entering upon the world of blogging. I must admit, I do feel a bit of pressure to be profound and sound amazing in this blog. Thus, I feel it is my duty to be upfront with you in saying that yes, I will attempt to be entertaining, meaningful, and interesting but at the same time I am simply seeking to share my life abroad with anyone who is willing to read my words. My intention for this blog is to provide people with glimpses of my life experiences. One delightfully silly aspect of blogging is that I feel as if I am connecting with people… even though I have no idea who, or if anyone, will read these posts.
Just a heads up on two items – When I refer to time I am speaking in Senegal time so if you want to know what you were doing while I was doing whatever I write about or want to know what time I post my blurbs etc., subtract 7hours :D So it begins...