This semester has been... eventful. So many new experiences, with travel, food, people, customs... And now, I'm home again, back in my tiny Massachusetts hometown- it's a far cry from Dakar, the bustling capital of Senegal. But I've only been home about 5 days, and it's still hard to truly process how this experience may have changed me (besides the henna that's still on my hands).
I believe it will take a lot more time and probably re-entry into the GW school & social environment to really conceptualize what about my outlook on the world has changed. So, to finish off this blog, I'll talk about what I can understand at this point.
What I'm Glad to Leave Behind:
- Bathrooms with only sometimes-working water and no toilet paper
- Eating red meat almost every single day
- More frequent street harassment and marriage proposals
- Not being able to understand the Wolof or Pulaar conversations around me
- Lack of washing machines, dryers, or dishwashers
- Weekly power outages
- The neighborhood chorus of obnoxious sheep and goats
- Street cats and dogs
What I'm Going to Miss (or am missing already)
- My little host brother Mohammed and his toy cars
- Cafe Touba in the street for 10 US cents
- Haggling with taxis and in markets
- Tailored clothes from the fabrics you chose yourself
- Speaking French and hearing myself improve
- Ataaya with the Ouakam kids
- The balmy temperatures of winter in Dakar
What I Am Bringing Home
- Two bags of Cafe Touba that I'm learning to brew myself
- 'Wax' fabric for my mum and bracelets for my friends
- Huge Senegalese flag for my dorm room
- Much more functional French vocabulary and ability
- Better appreciation of my privileges here (especially technological)
- Improved awareness of strong and weak sectors of development in Senegal and similar countries
- Experiences of living in a part of the world that most of America knows little-to-nothing about