Bonjour tout le monde!
I thought it would be a good idea to begin this blog with the first day I arrived in Dakar so that I could note all of my initial impressions. Though I was pretty nervous getting on the plane in D.C. and unsure of what exactly to expect, I was also reassured when I took my seat next to a Senegalese woman and started chatting with her. By the end of the conversation, she had said, “Yow, danga baax,” which I poorly translate to “You’re cool” or “You’re ok” and had invited me over to her house for dinner once I was settled in Dakar. This approachability on her part reminded me of something I always seem to forget until I’m actually in Senegal – people tend to be so friendly and talkative. And when we actually touched down, this phenomenon continued as my friend picked me up from the airport, as did the Assistant Governor of Rotary District 9100 (in West Africa) who then drove me to my apartment. This continued even on my quest for an ATM and a place to purchase a cell phone, where the clerk lit up when I attempted salutations in feeble Wolof and preceded to chat with me even though I didn’t understand any of it.
Other things to note initially – it is unbelievable hot. I am sitting under my mosquito net typing this and watching beads of sweat roll off my brow onto the couch. The humidity is the worst; it genuinely feels like you could slice through the air it is so thick. Also, the smells of the city are so intriguing; that is the best word I can use. Because its so hot, everything lingers, so you go from your home that always vaguely smells of Senegalese incense, to the street that kind of smells like goat + car exhaust + perfume of those walking by + hot ceebu jen (fish and rice) being prepared all smashed together. It is truly overwhelming.
I am settled nicely into my apartment, and am glad that I found such a nice place. Additionally, while the power seems to go out pretty routinely, we seem to be in a power grid that does pretty well. We have much fewer power outages than in other parts of the city and that means all sorts of wonderful things, notably, that my food will not spoil, and that my fan will work all night long.
I am going to the university and ASBEF on Monday to get a better sense of when I can start classes and begin work on my service project. All in all, I am thrilled to be here, and grateful to the Rotary Foundation for making such an opportunity a reality for me. I will continue to post as I learn more about what my life in Dakar is going to look like.
Ba beneen (until next time),
Shani
