Faatu

Last night I spent most of the evening hanging out with Faatu, one of my family's two maids. The other, Awa, I don't think likes me very much. But Faatu and I are becoming good friends. She showed me how she cooks dinner and has been teaching me vocabulary in Wolof. I, in turn, have been teaching her how to say things in English. It's a fantastic partnership. She gets so excited when I say things to her in Wolof! We've exchanged cell phone numbers, and she told me that when I get married she is going to fly out to the US. Haha.

We also have had some interesting conversations about her thoughts on living in Senegal. She's not a fan. I was kind of surprised at first to hear her talk about how much she dislikes Senegal. However, after she explained herself I started to understand where she was coming from. For me, Senegal is great. I love the weather and the people. Plus, things are very inexpensive here when compared to American prices. However, as far as Third World cities go, Dakar is extremely expensive to live in. Electricity prices, in particular, are outrageous. Faatu is from Dakar and has lived here her whole life. Her family is here and her job is here. But given the opportunity, she would leave Senegal for Europe or the US in a heartbeat. When I asked why she didn't like living in Senegal, she spoke mostly of a lack of economic security. "Il n y a pas a'argent en Senegal" or "There is no money in Senegal." Her boyfriend, who lives somewhere in the area surrounding Dakar, can't find work.

In fact, 50% of people can't find work. This means that many people, Faatu's boyfriend included, have started to look outside of the country for work. While he hasn't had any luck finding a job yet, the chances of him finding work in Europe or the US are much more likely than here in Senegal. For someone like Faatu, who was not born into a wealthy family and didn't have access to a lot of education, the options for work and the ability to move up in society are limited. This is why she works as maid for my family. She works 7 days a week and her day starts at 5 or 6am. It doesn't end until we've all gone to bed, between 9m and 12am. While working as a maid is certainly preferable to being unemployed, I cannot imagine that this is how Faatu wants to spend the rest of her life.

I can't really offer a solution to this problem right now. I guess that increased education for the lower classes would be one answer. Hopefully, by the end of the semester I will have some more insights into the unemployment and poverty problems here in Senegal. Now, however, it's time for me to walk home and eat the lunch that Faatu is making.

Pictures from Campus and the Beach

Weekend With the New Fam!

I am officially all moved in with my host family! There are roughly 11 people including myself living in the house. The weekend at home was interesting and I am just beginning to get the hang of life with my new family. My mom, Rama, hasn't been around much. I rarely see her. I spend most of my time with Fanta, Baba, Mohammed, and Bébécheik. Fanta is my host sister and Mohammed and Bébécheik are her two sons. They are 9 and 7, respectively. I am not sure how Baba is related to the family, but he's 20. The two little boys are great. They come and hang out with me all the time. We sit in my room and take pictures on my computer. They love playing the games on my cell phone, too. On Friday night, they discovered my Sharpie highlighters, and they love to color with them.

The family dynamic is really relaxed. Everyone is friendly and calm. The little boys are very well-behaved and polite. On Saturday, Elise came by and a bunch of the CIEE girls who live in my neighborhood went exploring. We met so many people and visited some cool little stores.

Yesterday, Sunday, I was so sick. I woke up at 3:50 am and felt like I was dying. I spent from 6am to 8am throwing up. It was terrible. So, instead of going downtown with the rest of the CIEE kids, I spent the day in bed. The boys came and hung out with me for a bit, and the maid, Fatu, brought me food in my room. There was a wedding going on outside with lots of great music. Later on, I watched a couple football matches and a bunch of American rap videos with Baba. Luckily, I woke up this morning feeling SO much better.

I just finished up my first class in Dakar- Crises et Regelement, which is taught in French. I enjoyed it and I think that will be a super interesting class. It's all about conflict in Africa. I can't wait to really start digging in.

Orientation Week in Dakar

I have officially been in Dakar, Senegal for just over 4 days now. I arrived, along with the 50-something other kids on my program, late on Sunday night. The week has been an absolute whirlwind of meeting new people, learning new customs, and seeing new places. The night we moved here, we were taken to two different hotels. I am currently staying at L'Epicea. It's pretty fantastic, despite the cold shower that never fully stops running and has filled our bathroom with a centimeter of water. We have wifi, a tv, and a bed. What more do you need?

Senegalese culture is unlike anything else that I have experienced. Hospitality and greetings are exceedingly important. It is a serious offense if you do not properly greet someone that you come into contact with. This doesn't mean a simple "Bonjour. Ca va?" You need to ask about their family, their day, and exchange all kinds of niceties before you can continue your conversation. There are two main languages in Senegal: French and Wolof. I am fairly proficient in French, but Wolof is something completely new. There are a surprising number of citizens in Dakar that don't speak French, but only Wolof. Therefore, we had two "Survival Wolof" classes this week, in which we learned how to properly greet someone (Salaamaalekum), how to express basic needs, and how to bargain for a taxi. I love Wolof so much and I can't wait to begin actual classes on Monday! It is a very interesting language that is completely different from all the others that I have studied.

Yesterday, a group of 7 girls including myself went downtown to buy cell phones. It was pretty epic. We went down to the Sonatel store, but to get a good deal on a phone you have to buy it from one of the street vendors outside. So, all of us toubabs (white people in Wolof) went outside and were immediately surrounded by men yelling at us in French, shoving phones at us, and grabbing at us. I haggled with the guy and got a fair price (15000 CFA or a just under $30) and then helped some other girls bargain for their phones. I even got one girl out of a scary situation where two vendors were arguing over which one of them was going to sell her a phone. It was super intense and there was a lot of French being spoken really fast and lots of yelling. Over 50% of the Senegalese population is unemployed, so when there is an opportunity to make some money people take it very seriously.

That afternoon we watched a documentary called Democracy in Dakar, which is about the 2007 presidential election, mostly in relation to Senegalese hip-hop artists. It was SO GOOD, and a former CIEE student was one of the producers. If you can get a hold of it I highly recommend giving it a watch. It does a really excellent job of telling you about the political situation in Senegal, which is not as happy and peaceful as they try to make it out to be. Although Senegal is one of (if not THE) only African countries that have never had a coup d'etat, a majority of the country is unemployed and most people are really unhappy with President Wade and the pseudo-dictatorship he has going on. I am really interested to learn more about the political culture here as the semester continues.

I also got to learn about my host family yesterday as well. We all move in tomorrow afternoon. It was so exciting. My mom is named Rama Wade and she lives in Sacre Coeur 3 (one of the neighborhoods in Dakar). She is the second wife of a man, so my host dad only comes by once a week. I also have a host sister and a host brother, who are both older. My brother is 24 or 25, and my sister has two small kids around 5 and 8. They all live in the house together, and we have two maids! Weird. I get my own room and the housing director said it is a very nice and calm house. Apparently a lot of the women in Sacre Coeur 3 are second wives, so there aren't a lot of husbands around all the time, but all the women hang out and are close. There are also about 5 other girls on my street, including right next door to me and across the street.

Today was the most relaxing day we have had so far. First off, I got to register for classes. I placed in to French Advanced One, so I can take as many classes as I want in French. So, I am taking a course on international law in French, a course on contemporary Senegalese culture in French, Wolof, and an education and culture class in English. I honestly am really excited for classes to start because they all seem so interesting.

Tomorrow is a big day. Half of us are going to Baobab Center in the morning for a cross cultural orientation. This will be the first time that we eat "around the bowl" in the traditional Senegalese way. I can't wait. Then tomorrow evening we move in with our host families. It should be a really exciting and really important day and I can't wait to see what my new family is like!

I tried to upload images but it didn't work...

Last Few Days in Paris

After Versailles, we spent the entire following days at the Louvre. It was the biggest thing I have ever been in. I felt like you could have fit 4 of the MFA in there. I could have spent days in the Louvre. We saw everything from (of course) the Mona Lisa to Napoleon's Apartments. Amazing. Napoleon's Apartments were among my favorite things there. It was like walking into his house and they were the most lavish and extravagant things ever. I can't even imagine my house being anything like that. However, there was a huge long table that would have been super convenient for neighborhood parties. I think it held about 40 people, which is just big enough for us.

The next day was Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and Musée d'Orsay. It was the longest day ever. Climbing to the top of Notre Dame was exhausting but well worth the hike. The view was beautiful. You could see all the sights of Paris from up there. I took some sweet pictures of the city and all the gargoyles. I loved the gargoyles! It was like each one had it's own personality and they were really interesting.

I also absolutely loved Musée d'Orsay. There was so much Monet, Degas, Gaugin, and Van Gogh. Degas is probably my favorite artist, so I was really excited to get to see so much of his work in one place. We ate dinner in the restaurant at Musée d'Orsay, which was ridiculous. There were chandeliers over every table and it felt like we were in a super fancy restaurant.

The last couple days in Paris were spent walking around the city and seeing what else was around our apartment. We went shopping, walked through the Jardin de Luxembourg, and ate at an awesome creperie. Overall, Paris was a fantastic experience. Honestly, the only complaint that I have is that the apartment was small and smelled bad. But other than that, it was great and I would definitely do it again. Next time, though, it will have to be during the summer.

The French are Much Kinder Than One Would Expect

So, as the internet did not work in my apartment in Paris, I am making one post to cover the entire expanse of the trip from my hotel in Dakar.

Day one in Paris was rough. My flight arrived to Charles De Gaulle at around 6am. My mom's flight was scheduled to arrive around 9:40, so I went to the train station, bought tickets, and waited. After about 5 hours of this waiting I start to get nervous. Her flight was supposedly on time, but the airport couldn't tell me whether or not my mom had been on it. So, I did what any 20 year old young woman would do. I called my dad. I was pretty frantic and I think he could tell. He calmly explained that my mom had missed her connecting flight and was due in later in the afternoon. She had been attempting to email me, but they make you pay for internet at CDG. So, I checked my email and then checked on my mom's new flight. Which was canceled. She wouldn't be getting to Paris until the following morning.

This mean traveling to the apartment in Paris by myself, with no map. My mom emailed me directions and I was on my way. This was a very difficult task, as I was already exhausted from the day and had to carry my two huge suitcases, backpack, and purse with me through the Paris Metro. This is not easy and I do not recommend it. Once I was off the Metro, I set out to find the apartment. The Parisians were super helpful in pointing me in the right direction. Then, once I got to my street, a nice man in his mid-twenties helped me carry my bags all the way to the apartment door.

Then I slept until 4pm the next day, only waking up to let my mom in at 11am. She also promptly fell asleep.

Day two in Paris went much better. Once we woke up at the crack of sunset, we went out to see the Eiffel Tower at night. It was amazingly beautiful. We were there for the lights going off at 10. Then we walked over to the Seine and across the bridge. It was a lovely way to spend our first real night in Paris.

We slept in the next day as well. Then, we went shopping in the BIGGEST DEPARTMENT STORE I HAVE EVER SEEN. It was incredible. It was like an entire mall in one store. After that, we went to Champs Élysées to see the Arc de Triomphe at night time. At this point, we had only really seen Paris during the night. Most of my pictures from Paris overall are at night.

On our fourth day in Paris, we were determined to see some semblance of daytime. So, we woke up early and were on our way out of the city to the Palace of Versailles. Versailles was among the most magnificent things I have ever seen. It was absolutely phenomenal. There were more rooms than I could count, each one covered in paintings, gold, and chandeliers. The furniture was absurd. Each of the beds had ostrich plumes on all four posts. After touring the castle we went outside for a brief walk through the gardens. When I say brief, I mean that I was freezing and wanted to go inside, but my mom really wanted to see the statues. I really wish that we had been there during the summer, as the gardens were amazing.

Okay, I thought that I could put all of Paris in one post, but I need to study for my French placement exam tomorrow. So, tomorrow I will update with the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Notre Dame, and (hopefully) the first two days in Dakar.

Address in Dakar

If you want to send me mail while I am in Dakar, send it to this address:

Abbey Hargreaves

c/o CIEE Study Center

BP 16423

Dakar, Fann

Senegal

I really like postcards!

Leaving Forever!

Today is the day that my mom and I head out to France. Tomorrow morning at 6:05 am I will arrive in Paris. We'll be there for the next 8 days. So far, the plan is to go to Versailles, Notre Dame, The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, and a whole bunch of other touristy things. Then, my mom is back to the States and I am off to Dakar! I get to Dakar on the night of the 17th.

I guess it is probably time to finish packing, since we are leaving for the airport in an hour...