03/02/09

Hi Everyone,

For the last four days Maman and Papa have been on a trip with their French friends.  I’m pretty sure they went to Casamanse, but it was definitely somewhere with a beach.  I was a little afraid that with them gone, Danielle and I would have no one to talk to, but it turned out to be fine.  Antoine has definitely warmed up to us, and we joke around with him in the typical Senegalese fashion.  It actually took Danielle making fun of him to break the ice with him.  I’ve also been talking to Therese (or Kenjo as the family calls her, and no I have no idea if that’s actually spelled).  She’s generally a happy, fun person, and I like spending time with her.  I think has helped that I’ve been trying to offer to help more often.  

We’re never asked to help with anything, but as members of the family, I feel like we should help with the work.  We did dishes once, and I’ve been offering with varying success since then.  Many of the other students’ families don’t want them to help, but our family doesn’t feel that way.  Often times by the time I get home from WARC it’s too late to help with any dinner prep.

I think I have gotten more comfortable here in general, so that definitely helps my interactions with the family.  Also, being more comfortable makes it easier to communicate in French because I’m not as afraid to make mistakes.  I can usually understand what people are saying as long as they’re not talking too fast.  There has been another French visiter staying at our house for the last couple of days.  He is a retired Frenchman who works with a humanitarian group helping orphans in Casamanse.  This foundation helps the single mothers send their children to school, and even follows the progress of their education through university in Dakar if they get that far.  So, to connect back to French I had a long conversation with this French gentleman about the foundation’s work and goals.  It was mostly him talking, with occasional awkward questions from me, but I was happy I could understand him.  

Today I had my first agriculture and the environment class since last week was cancelled, and I like it a lot.  From the overview of the class it sounds like we’re going to be talking about some pretty interesting stuff.  I was glad to be in a class where I finally have some knowledge about the subject matter.  I’ve realized since coming here it’s kind of strange do a study abroad program that’s so different from your major as mine is.  Almost everyone else is majoring in international studies, development studies, or anthropology, basically they’ve all taken several pertinent classes.  Actually though, I’m happy that I have the opportunity to spend this semester learning about development and Senegalese culture, because African studies is definitely not a normal part of the Agroecology major! 

Random Notes

-I’ve discovered I really like Fanta, a fruit soda.  It’s basically sugar, fruit juice, and carbonation, but it’s good.  There is also pineapple soda which is good.  Also for Evan, I got apple tisser (or however you spell it) on the plane, and it was good too. :)

-My Wolof teacher is awesome and teaches us completely random phrases, like what to say if you’re really angry that some guy is flirting with you. 

-sometimes classes are cancelled or start early and no one tells you.  The Senegalese in general are much more flexible with time than the Americans.  Noon might mean, twelve thirty, one, or actually noon, it’s impossible to know.  I guess that’s why the Wolof proverbs we’ve been learning keep talking about being patient! 

Love,

 Mel

L'Atlantique

I like the ocean.

Pictures

Atlantic coast in Dakar

Statue at entrance to slave house.

 

L'Ile de Gorée from ferry.

31/01/09

Hi Everyone,

So today is Saturday, and I’ve successfully finished my first week of classes. I seem to be on track doing all the touristy stuff in Dakar. My environment and agriculture class was canceled on tuesday, leaving me with a whole day free, which I used to go to the beach.

I went with the Papa and his French guests (a couple) to L’Ile de Ngor, a beautiful little island with two beaches. It was sunny and warm, but I didn’t brave the water. I had a bit of an adventure getting there, because I decided last minute to go, so the others had already left. So, I took a taxi, but the taxi driver ignored what Papa told via telephone to drop me off at the pathway to the beach. Instead I found myself in a little town square sitting on a bench next to some sheep. This wouldn’t have been any problem except I had no idea where Papa and the others were waiting for me, since his directions to the taxi driver had been in Wolof. After a few minutes a nice man showed me the way down to the beach were I found the group. Excepting this little hang up, the day went smoothly, with a little walk around the island, lunch at a nice restaurant, and some sun bathing. It reminded me of vacation last summer hanging out on the beach with Nancy, Phoebe, and Sarah. L’Ile de Ngor is definitely a tourist place because the people in the boat over were almost entirely white. I wonder if the Sengalese have a different beach where they go, or if swimming and sunbathing is mostly a western thing. Either way, I won’t know for a while since the Senegalese probably don’t go now since it’s “winter” and all. Also a weekday is probably not prime time for going to the beach since most people would be working.

Even disregarding my canceled class, I don’t spend as much time in class here as I’m used to (no labs to monopolize my schedule!!!). I made a little chart with my class schedule since that seemed easier than trying to write out an explanation. (sorry it's blurry, it uploaded strangely).

So as you can see my program is structured with each class meeting infrequently but for a long time. Most of the professors give us a short break in the middle of class, which is especially nice during the three hour language classes (it helps my head hurt less :) This class load is 12 credits, and I’ll get another four for my internship.

So far I’ve been satisfied with the academic level of our classes, and pleasantly surprised by the quality of the other students. My fellow students are really a participatory, interested, and smart group. I have much to learn from most of them, since for the most part they are anthropology or international studies majors, and have studied international development and culture much more than me. It doesn’t bother me, but sometimes I feel a little behind when the book and movie references start flowing since I haven’t read/seen most of them.

Today at lunch time I helped cook for the first time. I was just sitting near the kitchen when some garlic cloves and a knife appeared in front of me, and just like that, I was helping. I could tell that my host sisters, cousin, and the maid didn’t think I’d done much cooking before because I was the designated peeler (garlic, onions, and potatoes), and when I finished something it was celebrated. I was kind of glad I got the easy jobs, because honestly beyond peeling, many of the tasks are accomplished differently here. The women don’t really use the stovetop like we do (many families don’t have an oven and stove). They cook more things over this big gas burner that’s about floor height. Also, there is a metal like thing they put charcoal in, and then place pots right on top of the charcoal. That seems to be the slow boil method for meat, while the gas burner cooks the veggies, rice, or fish for the upcoming meal.

Everyday my host sisters come home from school at lunchtime to help with the lunch preparation, and dinner prep is also started. For a while I was amazed in the evenings how fast they cooked fairly complicated meals, but now I understand their secret. Our host mom doesn’t seem to cook at all. Today when my host sisters were at school, my cousin Virginie and the maid did the cooking. In the evenings Cathy and Therese (my host sisters) do all the cooking and the dishes. A little different than our house, right mom?

I understand that it’s a different culture, but it doesn’t sit well with my that the men do absolutely nothing around the house. The women spend hours each day preparing what I consider big meals for both lunch and dinner (rice, vegetables, fish, and always some sort of homemade sauce for the fish), and the men do nothing except eat and leave. I think my host brothers and father have ever washed a dish, or a single garment in their lives, even though no one here has a dishwasher or a laundry washing machine. The worst part for me, is that they completely take the women’s work for granted. Often there isn’t even a thank you given to the cooks, and it’s clearly an expectation that the women will do all the household work.

One reason that families can operate this way is that single adults don’t live apart from their families. In many families, there is more than one adult female to help with the work, and because the men never live in a household without women they don’t have to learn how to manage the house. Also, aside from helping other families with household work (maid or laundress) women usually don’t work outside of the home, so they are able to manage the household upkeep.

As far as the work itself, the biggest difference is the amount of time it takes to accomplish the same task. For example, all the laundry is done by hand, so on Wednesdays there is a laundress who come to the house and spends hours (I went to class so I don’t know what time she left) doing everyone’s laundry. But, each person has to wash their own socks and undergarments, and I’ve definitely decided that the washing machine is my new favorite appliance. I’m working on being more patient, but doing laundry by hand is mind numbing work. Since the cooking and household chores take so much time, it is harder to spend time with the women of the house, and I was glad to be included in their work today.

28/01/09

Hi everyone,

So, today I’m using blog writing as a homework procrastination, since youtube and facebook aren’t accessible without internet access.  I can’t post anything without internet, but I can still write.  Perhaps my thoughts and insights will be more clear if I write more often.  Good enough reason for me to write...not that homework procrastination needs to be justified.  I’m feeling more reflective today, so skip this entry if you want to know the nuts and bolts of what I’m doing, but if you ask me, that’s the boring stuff.

 

One of my goals with choosing Sénégal to study abroad was to avoid a study abroad experience spent solely or even primarily (ideally) with other Americans.  Thus far, it has been harder than I expected.  I spend a good bit of time with my Sénégalese host family, and having gotten a taste of the homestay experience, I would have it no other way.  However, as far as other social interactions the other Americans in the program are the natural, comfortable choice as far as friends.  It seems awkward and rude to always be asking our host siblings to take us places, and equally so to spend time with them and their friends.  Perhaps it would be different if they specifically invited us, but that hasn’t been the case so far.  In the last couple of days, we have just started to regularly talk to our host siblings.  They didn’t have that initial interest us being foreign or different, because this family has had many foreign students, so it took more time than I expected to break the ice.  Still, I don’t expect to all of the sudden become a regular part of their social lives.  

 

So, in order to really “make friends” with other Sénégalese our age, we need to find a way to meet some in a socially accepted and safe way.  As of now, I’m kind of coming up blank on how to do this.  Also, I’m questioning my original expectation of being able to create real, meaningful friendships in the time I have here.  The language barrier is the first obvious challenge, but beyond that it’s hard to come to definitive conclusions about social interactions in a different culture.  For example, when I’m discerning who is really a “friend,” whose standard am I using to determine how friends act, and the expectations of said friendship?  

 

Beyond social differences, there are also economic motivators for getting to know an American.  It’s not really possible distance yourself from that part of your identity, and the connotations of wealth that accompany it.  Some people are obvious in asking for influence or financial aid, but others take a more subtle route.  We’ve been warned about Sénégalese seeking friendships and even more dangerous, relationships, for their own financial gain.  While I realize this reality, the accompanying suspicion is distasteful to me, and not fair to the Sénégalese with good intentions.  Actually, this issue of judging character is universal, but I feel comfortable trusting my judgement when interacting in English, in a culture familiar to me.  It’s completely different here where I know that it’s more probable that I’ll be taken advantage us, and it’s much harder, and sometimes practically impossible, to tell what is fair treatment.  

 

Honestly, I think I’ve concluded that I don’t really have enough time to “integrate” into the Sénégalese culture.  The program is designed to dig as deeply as possible into the Sénégalese culture, but even then, really we’re still just looking and trying to understand.  How much is it possible to change your life outlook and cultural bias? And if the American bias cannot be shed, then what does it mean to “integrate” into a society?  Surely, it’s possible to become at least moderately comfortable with daily life and language usage, but is this “integration?”  I think of it similarly to the difference between sympathy and empathy.  It’s possible to observe and understand another culture, but does one ever really know another culture in the sense of a shared worldview?  So, thus far, I have many more questions than answers, but perhaps this glimpse into the complexities of cultural exchange is an important part of what I’m here to learn.

Love to all,

Mel

26/01/09

Dear Friends,

It’s been only slightly longer than a week that I’ve been here in Sénégal, but I feel like I have months worth of stories to tell.  Perhaps I will try to update more often, but the unreliable internet makes that difficult.  There is wireless internet at WARC (West African Research Center) where I take classes, but fairly often their wireless router can’t connect to anything.  It’s kind of refreshing to not be completely connected 24 hours of the day, but more often it is a patience test.

I arrived at JFK airport with hours to spare, and the flight over was really unremarkable and surprisingly easy.  I watched my last American movies and tv shows, or at least the last in English, since Sénégalese tv is inundated with American influence.  My first night in Dakar was spent at a hotel, with the other students in MSID (Minnesota Studies in International Development).  The first two days were mostly the MSID staff talking to us about Sénégalese life, what to do around our host families and other orientation stuff.  

On the second day of orientation we met our host families, so our hotel stay was short lived.  I live in SICAP Baobab, which I think is a mostly Catholic neighborhood, since there are several churches around us.  My family is also Catholic, although only some of the family members seem to actively practice.  They have had previous foreign students, some of whom I think made bad impressions, but it means the family knows better what to expect from us, and is very accommodating.  The food is good (lots of fish), and Danielle (my roommate) and I have a nice room with our own bathroom.  Our house is about a half and hour away from WARC, and it’s not a hard walk.  

Getting around Dakar is interesting.  At first I didn’t understand why everyone was walking in the roads, but then I realized there are only sidewalks about half of the time.  Taxis are comparatively cheap, but you’ll get ripped off unless you haggle well since there are no meters.  Fares change based on where you’re going, how many people are going, time of day, and how much the driver thinks you’re worth.  One of these days I’ll get up enough courage to take a “car rapide” which is basically a little bus, usually stuffed beyond capacity with guys riding on the bumper. 

The third day of orientation we went to L’Ile de Gorée, a small island of the coast of Dakar.  It was a exportation place during the slave trade, and we toured a recreation of slave holding house.  Also, Gorée has the first African women’s museum.  I’d like to go back, because I was feeling nauseous and wasn’t paying very close attention.  Other the day and night before Gorée, I’ve felt fine which is pretty good as far as adjustment sickness goes.  

Last Saturday, the group went on a bus tour of Dakar to get a sense of the city and see some important places.  It was interesting, and my favorite part was just seeing different spots along the coast, since there are some beautiful rock formations and beaches.  While I’m glad we went, I wasn’t crazy about feeling so much like a tourist.  A group of 14 white people screams tourists with money to spend, so everyone tried to sell us stuff.  Actually, this happens every day as we walk to school, and it seems more normal now than a week ago.  I can understand the the street venders are trying to make a living, but the sad requests for money come from the street beggars.  They are usually young boys at coranique schools sent out to beg for money for their schools.  The young ones just come up to you with their can walking along asking for money, but the older boys have learned to do tricks to earn money.  I don’t know if the schools are really that desperate for money, or if there is some other motive behind why they send out so many boys to beg.  Regardless, it’s disturbing to see so many boys spending their days begging instead of actually being in school.     

With the exception of Wolof, classes started on Monday and show great promise of being really interesting.  We had a little preview of the classes, with each professor explaining some of his or her philosophy to help choose classes.  Although, most of the classes are mandatory, each student only has to choose a “track,” which is basically an area in development in which to specialize.  I’m pretty set in environment, ecology, and sustainable agriculture.  We can also audit another track if we want, and I’m considering auditing the education and literacy.  We started Wolof last Friday, and Sidy, our professor, is really funny and animated.  I like him a lot, which is good since we have Wolof for 7 hours per week. 

All of our orientation and classes have been in French, and language has been the biggest challenge so far.  While there are cultural differences and things to learn with living in a host family, the language barrier is more difficult to deal with, at least so far.  Danielle is very good at French, and is much better at speaking than me.  I can tell that my comprehension, and speaking to a lesser extent has already improved, so I have hope that by the end of the class period, or at least by the end of the semester I will be able to more easily express myself.  I don’t know how much French practice I’ll get during the internship phase, since it is fairly likely that my host family won’t speak French.  I’ve heard that French is much less common outside Dakar, but maybe I’ll be lucky and they will speak at least some French. 

If I didn’t know that it was designed to convey the best cultural and Sénégalese experience, I’d say that this program is an exercise in lingual frustration.  The students arrive with various levels of French competency (in my case, most of the others are better than me), and we take classes in French and study French.  Then most people leave Dakar for their internships, and go somewhere that speaks Wolof, the language they have only been studying for a little over two months.  And, I’ve heard stories of students who were placed in villages and families where no one spoke Wolof or French.  Anyway, I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.   

Love Always, 

Mel