Youssou Ndour

Last night I saw Youssou Ndour in concert. If you are not familiar with him, I suggest you look him up online. He is very famous in Africa and ESPECIALLY in Senegal since he is Senegalese. He performs all over the world, including in the United States so that is neat. Although he is a musician by profession, he holds quite a bit of political power and he owns one of the six privately owned television stations in all of Senegal. Yes, his presence is highly noticed and scrutinized by the government. He is for the people, thus the people here adore him - and when I say people, I mean people of all ages.
The concert was a unique experience - off and on groups of men or groups of women broke out in traditional dance, forming circles or lines with the same rhythm/movement or creating dances where one person passes the "spotlight" to the next. The people were constantly making new friends and dancing with people they have never met before; that is simply because in this culture everyone is friends with everyone, not just at concerts. I have many friends all over the area I live in and my Senegalese friends are constantly chatting with new people when we go places; the lifestyle here is based on community, thus, life is calculated and judged on communal strength. Back to the concert, it was lovely to turn around and see a group of 3 or 4 men grinning and dancing back and forth with each other as if they were communicating like family. The dancing here is a form of communication; it is connection building. For example, last night I went to the concert with three other Linfield ladies and then two Senegalese men. We met one other young Senegalese man and he joined us in dancing, the boys danced together, he danced with us girls, and then after the concert he came to eat with us, chatting it up and exchanging phone numbers. We danced with others but he stuck with us the most.
The music itself was fantastic. The musicians are very talented and the vocals were excellent - there is definitely a different sound to the vocals, or obviously music in general here. Also, the drumming was incredible. The beats make you feel soooo good and because I did not grow up with the dancing styles here the dances feel unique to me. It is fun to dance the Senegalese style - at the clubs there is a mixture of Senegalese music with the traditional beats and then other hip-hop/rap, a lot of it American of French so it is fun to switch between the dancing styles. The concert was definitely pure Senegalese.
Well, there is a tid-bit on music culture - here are a few pictures and a couple of videos - if the sound on the videos is not good I apologize, but at least you can see what it looked like at the concert. Oh me goodness, I almost forgot! After the concert we went to eat at this neat bar/night cafe place AND I actually ate chicken by choice, chewed it, and loved it. It was the first time I actually enjoyed the meat itself; it was a perfectly white, fresh, flavorful barbecued chicken breast. I doubt this will happen again though, I am very picky with the meat I eat :)

My girlfriend Jenna and me.

Jenna, Ndiaw (my friend Arielle's neighbor and nice guy who helps us get places, shows us around, and has random connections to games, concerts, etc. here in Dakar), Me

JJ, Arielle, Jenna, Me

Youssou Ndour

Video of a an incredible, crazy dancer - I didn't get him dancing much because I was so distracted by it and watched instead of took videos :)

Oh my goodness, yesterday was one month!

We visited a few other universities and study centers in order to familiarize ourselves with other available resources - there are computer labs and libraries at other learning facilities we can use. My friend Jenna took this picture of us: Avalon, Me, Arielle, JJ, and Samba (he is our guide and fantastic resource here; he takes us places when we need help or if we are uncomfortable to go somewhere alone).

My friend Jenna took this picture as well - we went simming at the olympic sized swimming pool here in Dakar. In this photo: Me, Jenna, JJ

There were massive diving platforms - we did not get to use them because we were not there during the diving hours but at least we got to swim and watch the kids dance to the loud music playing!


We, the Linfield Students and students from Kalamazoo went to Goree Island for a day so visit the maison des esclaves and a few other museums. The beach was gorgeous and there is a very unique culture on the island... like... well it is a mixture of westernized tourism, cultural heritage pride, and day-to-day life activities.

Me with our three guides - they are young women the center hire to help with orientation year after year. Here we are eating lunch while staring at the beautiful ocean.



maison des eclaves


This is a snap of a really neat mural on building


Goree Island


Last weekend I went with a group of friends to the beach in an area of Dakar called Yoff - we rented an apartment for two nights and just relaxed for a 2 day vacation. This was the lovely view from our balcony.

Tid-bits of Dakar

Our lovely tree and my host sister playing on our swing.

Just a bit of silliness really - I was laying on my bed and this is what I see out of my door

My bed.

Me on the second night - I have bronzed A LOT since this picture.

Before I get to that goat sacrifice I feel the need to share some tid-bits of randomness with you. Although there is definitely a routine in life here, NO DAY IS EVER THE SAME as another day.

• The first time I used the bathroom at my house I got stuck inside of it. I could not open the door. I stood inside panicking, racking my brain on how I was going to shout or explain in French that I was locked in. I was so scared because there is only a key from the inside. Eventually while I was fidgeting with the lock someone yanked open the door. Thank you Pape (hosty-pop). While chuckling he animatedly explained that I simple needed to use a little gerth when opening it.
• I do not chew my food. Well, that is a partial lie. I do not chew the meat I eat… I swallow it. I know, it is terrible but... I can't chew it, I will gag. There is simply tooooooo much meat. It is especially difficult for me when I do not know what type of meat I am eating or that the sheep lying in front of me in delicious sauce had been standing next to me breathing the same air 4 hours earlier. However, I would say I am doing really well for a vegetarian of over 5 years before this trip.
• I love the night life here – I also did not know that it was humanly possible for men to move their bodies the way they do here! Ha ha ha!! It is fantastic to watch.
• Sometimes random women ask me if I need my clothes washed. I used to be slightly confused but figured out that they offer to wash them assuming to be paid if they do; it is job they are asking for. Women ask many people here because money and work are a struggle to find so here Americans, Europeans, or most anyone are great people to ask. I politely decline.
• Fanta and Coca Cola here are the best! No high-fructose corn syrup? Yes please.
• Sometimes people who visit Africa during the rainy season get terrible allergies... I am one of those people.
• I was taking a late night walk with friends and saw the first homeless child sleeping in the bushes. His pillow as a large empty tomato sauce can. The image broke my heart; I wanted to go put his head in my lap and take away the loneliness that was exuding from his sleeping body.
• The flavor or the food here is incredible! Delicious! I am served sauteed onions basically every day and I cannot get enough of them. The food dishes all have rich seasonings and are delightful... as you can tell, the meat is just a little difficult for me to handle.
• A social norm with taxis is that the drivers sometimes make noises, "pss, pss" out of the window or honk if they are available. Being a white girl, EVERY single taxi honks at me if not once, then twice. During orientation sessions we discussed how there are definitely other intentions for some of the honking...
• I secretly have dance parties in bed under my mosquito net – my family has no idea I can actually dance :)
• My host father is a HUGE TALKER. One of the ways I discovered that I am part of the family are my non-verbal interaction with my siblings. The kids are constantly motioning to me when our dad is BS-ing.They motion behind his back when he is wrong or lying. It is hilarious; he is innocently talkin’ it up but it is fantastic when the kids stick their little finger out and wiggle it back it forth at me while he is still talking – it is incredibly difficult for us not to bust-out in laughter in front of him. Words are most definitely not always needed in life.
• I have conversations with random people in the streets every day. A huge cultural aspect of daily life is the greeting exchange. It is very important to say hello and greet people in Wolof, taking the time to ask how they are as well as ask about their family. I talk to random men and women most everyday; because I am obviously limited in speaking the Wolof language, once the Wolof exchange is finished we chat a bit in French. It is wonderful language practice and I feel great after most conversations because the people here are genuinely interested in speaking to me.
• I did not believe the people at the Center when they told us that physical affection, as in a smack or punch in the arm or a nuggy or head pat can create a bond with family members… well… they were correct. I have punched my brothers a few times in the arm and now they talk to me a heck of a lot more. I am more of the loving type though so usually I pat them on the head or do fake nuggies.
• There are patches of sand everywhere here. There are also piles and piles and piles of shells in random places. I mean Dakar is a small peninsula but I do not live near the beach and my house is surrounded by sand.
• I am in hip-hop, R&B, and RAP heaven. The consistent dance beats in my mind help keep a happy heart.
  
• I hand wash all of my undergarments – I find it quite enjoyable.

That is all for now. Loves.

Pictures of the street school

They were definitely pulling on my neck and my arms so it was a little tricky to take their photo.

She was beautiful. This portable had holes everywhere, I was a little nervous when I sat inside.

They loved pictures. They giggled so much when they saw this one.

These two adorable boys wanted me to take a lot of pictures with them. The little boy in the red walked around with me holding me hand for the majority of the time he was with us.

This man is an instructor there. He asked me to take this photo of him and the poster.

A classroom is not classroom without a tree growing through it.

A wooden chalk board.

This is a classroom. There is no room for class with the tables covered in random items, books, dusts, eating utensils etc. The mosquito net was a good indication that people sleep inside of the room as were the items of clothing and scattered, tattered shoes.

These were the desks the little girls were sitting at when we arrived - at least 30 years old.

There is not a great waste-management program here - there are random garbage piles throughout different quartiers or down-town sections. Here is the one near where we visited. However, I must say that I have never lived with or seen such sustainable practices in daily life as there is here. The daily routine of having a home (cooking, laundry, taking care of kids, cleaning, etc.) probably results in 1/5 of the waste in homes in America.

We walked in behind the big yellow truck in this picture. Behind it is an alley-ish road that leads to different little living sections, vendors etc. but it is all dirt and no man-made roads.

Street Schools

We visited a "street school" last week. Basically "street school" refers to schools that are either literally taught in the street because of the lack of facilities or schools that are taught in random, run-down portables or at ancient wooden desks behind houses etc. We learned that the education system is in need of reform. Many people teaching children are not certified teachers, simply volunteers or random people recruited within the community. Thus, many children are not taught correctly and taught incorrect items - for example with writing, improper rules are taught etc. This is not to say that the entire education system is faulty here. In actuality, there are very high-standards within the education system that require dedication and great intelligence. Those who excel in school are provided with greater opportunities. The education system in Dakar is slightly difficult to comprehend not because it seems as if there are two extremes: either students are discriminated against because they are not bright/qualified enough to meet the high standards, or students are not given proper educational experiences. I have not quite figured it out though because there are quite a few universities, colleges, and learning centers here as well schools of all different levels - education is such an important and prideful aspect of life here and yet there are many issues connected with it that are consistently discussed.
Our Linfield group took a van to an impoverished area in the city of Dakar to visit a school and speak with the children and their instructor. The children were precious as well as slightly forward. They wanted their picture taken over and over and held our hands and arms like we were treasure. The times that were most awkward were when the kids wanted us to buy their parents items for sell or when we were walking in small alleyways between houses being shown different food stands etc. I simply felt bad for being there. It was a slightly overwhelming experience because I did not want to take pictures and be the "American" coming into the "slums" to take pictures of the "poverty stricken children" but... our guide, the instructor man, and the children insisted on us taking pictures. I only took pictures in the school areas and not of the people living, working, or sleeping in the many nooks and crannies of the community-maze. Here is a glimpse of the experience - note: some of them are blurry and a little off because the little-ones were pulling on my arms and squirming about as I took them. Also, as a concluding thought - I believe I might volunteer at this "school" (even though it is difficult for me to call it an educational space) once in a while as a decent human act even though I doubt my presence will provide much help to the children's future - maybe I can simply be a friend.