Dakar, Day 2

Today started with an incredible breakfast at the hotel! I tried so many things that I’ve never had before (I avoided things I’d eat at home, other than that fruit). I’m not sure what all I ate, but my favorite was a spicy chicken! Who wouldn’t like spicy chicken for breakfast? 😂

We then got a briefing on what the education system in Senegal looks like and the history of how it has worked and changed over time. It was fascinating.

A very interesting belief we were told about is “Behind any difficulty there is easiness; behind any easiness there is difficulty.” This really resonated with me, as I can see that balance within my own life. I also think this is a great philosophy to teach students as often the students I teach see themselves as “not good at something,” when they can work a little harder now to make it easier to learn later, or the opposite- when students think they are really good at something that came easily to them, but then have a problem persevering when it gets hard. I can also see this when listening to people’s life stories- often people say “I’ve always had it rough…that’s just how I live…nothing ever goes right for me.” This then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, instead of people persevering and trying new opportunities to leave the situation they’re in.

After this session, we went to the US Embassy in Dakar. If you ever find yourself at an embassy, don’t take pictures outside! We had some of our group get in trouble for doing so before we went inside. The embassy in Dakar is the head embassy for Western Africa, so a lot of our government agencies have offices there. USAID was a big part of the help the Senegalese received from the US for programs, so they are now trying to recover from the cuts. What I found incredible though was how the people here are viewing that as an opportunity to move on from assistance and work harder to help their fellow people. What a great story of perseverance! So many lost their jobs, but rather than feel sorry for themselves, they are moving on so that it can’t happen to them again!

We then headed to lunch at another beautiful restaurant. The menu was entirely in French, and Mrs. Nanneman (my high school French teacher) would have been proud as I translated for my colleagues sitting by me.

After our delicious lunch, we were back learning about Senegalese family, food, and culture. This session was fascinating! No matter what age you are, your father is in charge. He makes all of the decisions for the family and is in charge of supporting the members of the family. Families are huge in Senegal. Everyone lives together (grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, sons, daughter-in-laws, children) and it is not uncommon for there to be 10 people sharing a room. Also, Muslim men can take up to 4 wives. The first wife is usually chosen for you by your father, but the other wives are up to you to choose. It is the husband’s job to take care of the wives and prevent them from fighting- to accomplish this, the man must not favor one over the others.

Food is eaten with your hands out of one community bowl while sitting on the floor. Men get one bowl and women get a different one. Kids are not allowed to grab from the middle of the bowl or talk during meals. You may also only eat with your right hand, and if you drop something, you need to eat it (no food goes to waste).

We also learned about the core values of Senegalese people, but I’m going to circle back to those on another day. I have some ideas on how I want to link them to my classroom, as they are all great lessons that I think students should really hear! I know they will find them fascinating!

After dinner, I exchanged my crisp US dollars (could not have any wrinkles or rips) for West African francs. Mrs. Nanneman would again be proud because the man ran out of money the first time and I was able to ask when more was coming, when the office closed, and other useful knowledge. I’m not sure my grammar was 100% correct, but the man understood my attempts and I understood his French responses. I was really proud on that as I actually tried to form sentences and questions that involved various verb tenses. It was quite the mental workout!

It was now time for dinner, and we had a buffet at the hotel restaurant that was delicious. It has been really nice eating in this area, as IREX has booked these places due to their reputation. This means we haven’t had to be as vigilant about worrying about food prep procedures and drinking water/ice cubes. I will need to remember to be vigilant when out in my community.