So I haven’t blogged in a few days. I guess I will catch you up on what has been going on in Dakar the last few days.
Monday we didn’t go too far; we had orientation here at L’Epicea. After a full morning of orientation, we ate our first Senegalese meal, ceebu jen. Ceebu jen is rice and fish with vegetables cooked in a tomato sauce. To eat the meal you are seated on a mat around a large bowl. You aren’t given any silverware and are only allowed to eat with your right hand (it is considered impolite to use the left hand in Senegalese culture). To eat the rice, you roll it into a ball with your hand and pop it in your mouth. If you want fish or vegetables, you pull off a piece with your hand and wrap it in the rice. C’est tres delicieux. Later in the day a few of the group went for a run and rock climbed at the beach.
Tuesday we had our first trip into SIT. The first day at school is supposed to be the day students receive syllabi and hear teachers lecture all day about what they are going to be learning. That’s not the case for SIT students. We were each given an object with cultural significance and four questions. We had one hour to go outside and find the answers. Armed with only a little knowledge of spoken French and what I thought was only a bag of sand and roll of plaster, I set out with my partner to discover how truly amazing the Senegalese were. What I thought would be a difficult task turned into a lot of fun. I found out that what I thought were random objects were actually used to make henna. I may have to try it while I am here!
Today we rode to school in cabs, and I never feared for my life more in a cab than this mornign! I thought New York drivers were crazy; however, they aren’t nearly as bad as Senegalese. If there is too much traffic, people here will literally drive on the sidewalks. It’s ridiculous! Today we also had our first Wolof lesson. So as the Wolof say…
Jerejef, ba beneen yoon!
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