Today for our arts seminar, we gave oral presentations on urban art forms in Dakar. My presentation lead me and a friend on an exertion to discover mosaics in Dakar. Another student's presention, however, captured the true essence of Senegalese culture. For his presentation he visited a silk screening studio; he had experiences that were very different from his previous experiences. What are normally very difficult to get into in to he had no trouble entering the studio; not only that, but the artists invited him to help with the silk screening. He statedthe main difference lies in the fact that Americans are told that time is money and the only value lies in the final product. One lesson that Americans can learn from the Senegalese is that it is not always about money or reaping rewards; it is about what you learn in the process of getting there. Even though Dakar may not be modern in all aspects, you can always be sure that you have a friend everywhere. People on the road always greet each other and will be known to be late places because they were caught up in conversation. However, if someone were late to meeting someone in the States, he would be judged as impolite and rude. Studying abroad in a place such as Senegal is going to completely transform my perception of the world; this is only just one characteristic I can become a western attribute one day. Now that I have successfully been procrastinating writing a paper by writing a blog entry instead, I will leave you with two quotes. They both capture the essence of what the west can learn from a small West African country.
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill
"Here, [in Senegal], we give more than we get." - Bouna Fall
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