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...