Sweet silver bells...

Check it out! I was searching for Christmas songs the other day when I came across an awesome website that has a free, live, holiday radio station playing non-stop Christmas music from November 20 to December 26. It is an "American Sixties Radio" station dedicated to the American Sixties but for the holidays they share ALL types of Christmas music with us! I was quite excited considering I do not have all of my Christmas music here with me in Dakar! I hope you enjoy it as I do!

http://www.americanchristmas.ca/


Also... I would like to suggest to you or remind you of The Oak Ridge Boys. The photo below is the album photo of an absolutely classic, as well as one of my dearest favorites, Christmas albums.

Well, I simply wanted to send a little Christmas love.... sometimes I have to remind myself that it is December, the month of family time, hot chocolate, blankets, fudge, popcorn-balls, and reading by the fire... especially since it is bright and sunny here :)

Cheers,
Lacey

Nostalgia

I was just thinking about the time before I returned to Senegal so I started looking through photos and felt I needed to share some of them with everyone because sometimes photos carry words. Before I left for Senegal I cooked dinner, watched sunsets, and watched movies with my lady-friends, I went camping with Dad for a few days, I visited Melissa & Michael and I was in Redding for a bit with Mom when Gramma & Papa visited. There was much more than that, like great discussions, wonderful phone calls, big dinners, "see you laters" in the grass under tall oak trees, walks, tea dates and lots of shared love... unfortunately, we cannot capture every cherished moment with a camera.... or perhaps that is what makes certain moments so cherished? Yes, I think so. What do you think?

I hope you enjoy the photos.

 

Leaving Melissa & Michael to head to Grants Pass - they helped me a ton with packing and preparing for Senegal as well as spoiled me with delicious food, relaxation, and snugly dog time.

  

Dad and I went camping at Humbug for three nights - it was wonderful! I read us a book that a dear friend of mine recommended and now I will recommend it to you: "Hector and the Search for Happiness". Anyways, besides camping we feasted on homemade salsa and beans with Eva and the house!

Gramma & Papa's visit in Redding! We all swam and had taco night with my homemade beans and veggies from the garden. Michael Emmitt is such a good little swimmer!

Mom, Michael Emmitt, Melissa, and I in the back-seat of the car at 4am on the way to the Portland Airport to see me off to Senegal! We were accompanied by a little Michael Jackson on the radio that morning, ha!

Michael Robinson and I at the airport... that morning was rough.... oh how this life provides us with decisions and experiences that carry feelings of all emotions.

Linsey aka Lin Bird. I love her. One of our last visits before I left.

Pretty Miss Dayna - aside from soulful conversation and an attempt to watch the sun-set we were able to GARDEN together one beautiful evening out in the country.

Arielle y Hilda - We cooked a lot together that last week in the apartment AND ate enough ice cream for at least 8 people!

Beautiful Hilda y yo - our last evening together at the apartment after having lived together essentially for 3 years. I made us strawberry margaritas to share in celebration of our next life leaps!

Lovely Katie and I - a little foot massage and a few scalp scratches are some of the greatest "see you laters" I've ever had!

"Time After Time"

I think it is neat how humans can be surrounded by different languages or different cultures and yet still have a song from their own culture pop into their mind at any given moment. I am also shocked at the many "expressions" we have in English... with teaching English classes I have essentially learned that we speak in "code" and do not even realize it. Perhaps that is an exaggeration... but it is also most defintiely partially accurate.

My work is going well; sometimes it is slightly overwhelming but I am managing. This evening I have a "reunion" with all of the parents of my students in the high school level. I get to share with the parents how I run my class, what my expectations are, and how I am a good professor for thier children. I am not necessarily nervous, but at the same time, there is a lot of pressure considering French is not my first language, I look as if I am the same age as their children, and I am new to the school. All will be well.

I am moving into my apartment today and tomorrow! Alxhumdililah! This last weekend Moussa helped me buy a bed in town and then a cousin of mine (Fatou; she is very sweet and yearns to have more freedom) went with me to the market to buy cleaning supplies as well as tubs for laundry etc. Tomorrow Moussa and I will search to buy a fan because it is still quite warm here and then after that we'll find a small propane tank that I will do all of my cooking on! All is coming along; I should be getting my keys this evening, inshalla!

I am missing everyone quite a bit these days. I am ready to hang up the many photos I carted all the way here to Dakar. Also, I am ready to sleep in until 6am without hearring the goats "baaaaaaa" me "Good Morning!" at 5:30 each morning :)

The older of my younger host brothers, Dany, turned 18 on Wednesday, October 5th and then the next evenign, Thursday the 6th he left for France! He is going to finish his studies there through a program where he will start working at the same time. The house has not been the same since he left. The kids are different and well quite frankly, a little more moody. I understand the situation though; the house is still in mourning. Dany had a presence at the house that everyone, including me, misses. The family is starting to evolve as the children gow up - in the near future Mactar or Mohamed will be finishing their studies and trying to travel as well. I am enjoying observing, processing, and althouth in a different light, experiencing these evolvements of life within the family.

I found out a piece of troubling news this week: Linfield is considering, well more than considering, in the process of terminating the Senegal study abroad program as well as the Francophone African Studies curriculum and professor's position. I, as well as a fez Linfield Alum and current Linfield students and professors, are currently writing letters to the President and the Dean to express the importance of maintaing the program at Linfeld. Please keep this in your thoughts this week... there are expereinces to be had, opportunities to be granted, and human connections to be made through these programs.

I feel as if there are many more items to share but alas, I cannot. I must head off to the parent-teacher conference! Below are a few pictures and there are more to come this weekend!

Cheers,
Lacey

 

Sometimes there are small riots in the road when the power out last for long periods of times - they consist of burning brush in a throwing rock and garbage onto the road for the police to clean.

Sometimes there are small riots in the road when the power outages last for long periods of times - they consist of burning brush in throwing rocks and garbage onto the road for the police to clean.

Moussa and Me at the beach.

Sarah (lively Italian volunteer), Mary (conscientious American student), Mathias (polite and spunky neighbor-boy), Marianne (bright little sister), Mohamed (definite adolescent stage younger brother :), et Me

These next 6 pictures are of the apartment I stayed at during the first week I was in Dakar - it gives you a good sense what apartments for rent are like... my apartment pictures are coming SOON!

salon/living room

salon/living room

cuisine/kitchen

chambre/bedroom

toillette/bathroom

Miss Dean in Dakar

The room falls silent as the students see me enter the room. While I am approaching my desk sitting on the instructor's platform at the front of the classroom, they all stand up next to their desks waiting for me to address them.

"Good Morning, Class!" I say with a smile.
"Good Morning, Miss Dean," they respond politely.
"How is everyone today?" (I always check in with my students)
"We are fine thank you, and you?"
"I am quite well this morning, thank you! (short pause) Alright, you may be seated."

... and that is how I begin my classes each morning.*

 Alas, I once again begin my blogging... again. I am here in Dakar, Senegal where I am teaching English, History & Geography, and Civic Education as well as job searching and volunteering. It is a good life, a spry life.

Today makes one month from the day I left Portland. Goodness, it is incredible how fast time flows around us. During this first month I have began a new job, apartment searched, visited several families here in Dakar, and of course, visited the beach a couple of times. Life in Dakar is as it was yet, with differences here and there. Perhaps the differences aren’t so much that the ways of life or the people here have changed but the context in which I am living my life here has changed.

All is well... and HOT. I find is completely and utterly interesting how often people tell me it is hot here... well not just tell me, but tell themselves and others over and over and over and over again. The climate is extremely warm and humid, especially since we are still in the end of the rainy season so each person I chat with commiserates with me by telling me, "Woa, il fait chaud aujourd'hui!" or "Phoo, dafa tang!"


Slowly I will share with you how my work began, how it was seeing people again for the first time after 7 months, what it feels like walking down new and many-a-time-traveled roads, or how it feels beginning life after studies in a different country. However, as to not overwhelm you with loads of information, here is where I am at:

* Dakar is lovely and terrible at the same time - people, roads, smells, languages, noises - it is inevitable to experience the topsy turvy-ness of emotions but one thing is certain, I still absolutely adore the Senegalese’s culture
* It has been incredible visiting my loved ones and friends... life has blessed me with beautiful relationships in different countries.
* I am starting the 3rd week of teaching here at Cours Sainte Marie de Hann, a large, excellent, private school in Dakar. I have 6 different classes, teaching over 200 students in just 20 hours a week. I have three senior year English classes, one sophomore year English class, one 7th grade English class, and then with those I am teaching History & Geography as well as Civic Education to an 8th grade class in the bilingual program here. I am teaching in the classroom 20hours but realistically I am working between 35 to 40 hours a week. My schedule is still fluctuating, meaning the exact days and hours of my classes keep changing so I hope in the next two weeks it is altered to allow me more time for another job… or a bit of rest.

* All of my students at the high school are bigger than me and at least ¾ of the students in my middle school classes are bigger than me.
* I have found an apartment! Alxhumdililah! However, I still living with my Senegalese family because the apartment is still being built. It should be finished before the 15^th of this month (inshalla)! It is going to be beautiful, I will post pictures soon.

* I cannot post pictures on my blog because at the moment the card-reader in my laptop does not work so I cannot take the pictures off of my camera. I will post them as soon as I can!
* My internet access is unstable - for example, Sunday I was able to find the time to send out a list of emails but the internet was down so I was not able to connect with anyone. Needless to say, please be patient with my communication, or lack there of.

* I am still processing this “life-change” of mine. There are those days where I feel invincible, yet, as expected, there are those days where I feel completely conquerable. Living a life where I feel I belong in more than one place at a time is not exactly easy or simple. Though the most prominently practiced religion here is not my own, I feel the faith around me and it helps; it feels good to be surrounded by loved ones who hold such great faith. By the by, I am blessed to be where I am and thankful for the love and support I receive… it gives me strength when I am missing those in my life in the United States.

* Forgive the typing errors... these damn French keyboards are a bit tricky!

* Lastly, I didn't know it was humanly possible to sweat as much as I do these days :) 

Cheers,

Lacey

A VERY part-time job.

Hello!

Sheesh, these weeks of summer fly by without a warning. One moment it is Monday morning and then next it is Sunday evening. When you are in transition time often feels heavy, though at the same time I am continually surprised of how fleeting it is.

Aside from family visits in Redding, Grants Pass, and Vancouver and a camping trip where swimming, hiding from blue dinosaurs with my two-year old baby brother, birthday cake, Harry Potter 7.2, crabbing, and ABBA/Ace of Base jammin' took place, there have been a few developments in life.

I have a VERY part-time job! Yes! Alxhumdiliay! I have been exchanging emails with a school in Dakar, Cours Saint Marie de Hann, and have sucessfully procured a guaranteed 4 hours a week teaching position in a bilingual program. The school has bilingual education programs where students begin courses in French (the national language of Senegal) but then a second language is integrated in increasing amounts each year of school so that by the time the students are in middle school and high school they are taking courses souley in the second language becoming fluent. I have been assigned to teach a geography course in the English bilingual department, teaching 13 & 14 year olds in quatrieme, the third year in secondary school. I am delighted to have this opportunity! Also a substitute, which they do not have many (or any) considering they try to have the staff in the English bilingual department be native speakers. As I was interviewing (or really simply being offered the position) with the headmaster, Madame Cuenot, she mentioned that faculty is still fluctuating and will continue to fluctuate until September so as it gets closer to the beginning of the school year, it is possible that she will have more hours or classes for me to teach. In the end, it feels wonderful to have at least a part-time job because it supports my hopes of supporting myself to live independently in Dakar.

As for a different topic - here is a link to a radio show I was interviewed on. The show is called Positively Healthy. Basically I was contacted by the radio show host who asked me to air with him because his show is about engaging in conversation with those who are making positive impacts on lives and who are striving towards some sort of worthy cause (I know, "worthy cause" is a very subjective term). Anyways, despite the fact that I am not fond of attention like this, I was urged and The first 10 or so minutes are slow but I think the interview's content improved towards the end. NO PRESSURE to listen to it, but I thought I would pass it along.

http://www.kcnr1460.com/Show/archive/dr_trudi_pratt

Oh, also, below is a link to a blog someone in the McMinnville Community wrote about me - it was written about a month ago during a time I was helping behind the scenes of a student and professor collaborative research project here at Linfield through the Linfield Center for the Northwest (where I have been employed the past 3 & 1/2 years).

http://ipnc25.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/behind-the-scenes-lacey-dean/

Well, that is all the news for now! Thank you for your support!

Cheers,
Lacey

Happy Birthday Dad!

Thank you for dinner Mom!

Love you.

Melissa crabbing.

Me measuring the crab to find the keepers!

Papa, Me, Melissa

Papa, Michael, Mike, Melissa, Me

So it ends and then begins... again...

Hello! Though it has been quite some time since I last wrote in this little blog of mine, I have decided to continue my posting for this next life stage of mine. I hope you enjoy my updates, perhaps profound thoughts, or simple tidbits of information, sadness, joy, or contemplation I can muster out. I plan to share what is taking place in my life, providing a glimpse of what I am seeing and experiencing in this world.

As for a quick update -  I apologize if some readers already know any of this information - I graduated from Linfield at the end of May with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Francophone African Studies. I am currently working two jobs at Linfield - assistant for the Linfield Center for the Northwest/ Professor Jeff Peterson's assistant and I am on the Linfield Paint Crew which is a part of the facilities team here on campus. Aside from painting or working on project proposals, grants, and scheduling items, I am living with two dear friends while attempting to connect with my other dear friends and family. Life's relationships demand quite a lot of energy but it is worth it when you are blessed to have the people I have in my life. I have also been, as a friend of mine would say,  "working out my brain." I am reading books for pleasure, a pastime that has until recently, unfortunately been lacking in my life.

Oh, and do not let me forget to share the news! I am returning to Dakar, Senegal on September 4th. This is the main reason behind my intentions of writing on this blog of mine. I intend to narrate my journeys, share stories, and provide a voice to my experiences. It is a way for me to share and connect with others. I encourage comments and would love to hear from you. If you feel more comfortable sending me emails instead please do! Though with no pressure, connection and communication with you is warmly welcomed and needed. 

In closing, I hope you enjoy my updates and photos. Below are a few pictures from graduation weekend.

Cheers,

Lacey

The Graduate (great movie)

Eva, me, Dad

Sister Melissa, Me, Brother in law Michael

Mom, Me, Sister, Mike, Michael Emmitt

Me and Dayna

My Friends

I have strengths. So do you.

I am enrolled in a Regional Interdisciplinary Internship program for this last Spring semester of my undergraduate career. The program consists of collaborating with a community organization where the intern completes 180 hours volunteer work and then attends a handful of seminars with other participating Linfield student interns. For the seminar aspect of the program, we do occasional blogging for various support/feedback, write reflection essays as the semester progresses, and read a book, all of which we discuss and process as a collective.
The required text is a book called Now, Discover Your Strengths written by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. Part of the experience in reading the book is taking an online Strengths Finder test that produces a list of your top five strengths ranked by prevalence, according to Buckingham and Clifton. I was extremely nervous to take the test as these sorts of activities are not exactly enjoyable for me. However... well... I was not exactly disappointed with the results... and well... perhaps they really do represent my character well...

Empathy

You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament—this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings—to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.

Connectedness

Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close friends in the face of life’s mysteries.

Belief

If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics—both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. “I know where you stand,” they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.

Intellection

You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on your other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like to think. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection. You are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. This introspection may lead you to a slight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideas that your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental hum is one of the constants of your life.

Developer

You see the potential in others. Very often, in fact, potential is all you see. In your view no individual is fully formed. On the contrary, each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. And you are drawn toward people for this very reason. When you interact with others, your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them grow. And all the while you are on the lookout for the signs of growth—a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, a glimpse of excellence or of “flow” where previously there were only halting steps. For you these small increments—invisible to some—are clear signs of potential being realized. These signs of growth in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.

Words in Snapshots

Lately I have not known which words to share, spread, or contemplate. My mind, well our minds I am sure, are constantly processing and reflecting. There is plenty I would like to say, I simply have a difficult time choosing the items to put into this little page of mine. Given this difficulty, I chose an outlet other than words. Here is a small selection from the many pictures I took in Senegal. I thought perhaps a few photos containing snapshots from my perspectives might say enough this time. To see them larger just click on them. I hope you enjoy, cheers!