Tag: africa

Found yourself going to Senegal for a Fulbright program? Maybe you are looking for a new adventure and are going to become a tourist to Senegal. Either way, here are the things I packed and wanted to know that will help others as they prepare for a trip to Senegal.

Packing list: 1) Grayl water bottle – I brought this, but we purchased bottled water before we left Dakar in enough of a quantity that I didn’t need this. It was nice to know that I had it in case I used up my water, though. Piece of mind is everything when dealing with water you cannot drink coming out of the sink!

2) Insect repellant – I brought hefty spray with DEET. My travel companions had DEET wipes – these were the best!

3) Pepcid chewables – a friend had recommended taking these daily as a preventative medication. I packed it and used it when I needed it, but did not use it as frequently as she mentioned.

4) Liquid IV – I drank one of these each night before bed to replace the fluids and electrolytes I lost sweating all day. Senegal is hot, even if you are not in the hottest desert areas. Even with the ocean breezes when we were out of the school, I was sweating a lot.

5) Febreze – I bought a travel-size spray bottle of Febreze to spray my clothes. I only packed a week’s worth of clothes, but was there for 2 weeks. As a result, each outfit got worn twice, and there weren’t much for laundry options. Febreze prevented me from being stinky while being sandwiched in the back of a car with my two travel companions.

6) Toilet paper – Bring it. You will need it. They don’t use it. ‘Nuff said.

7) Hand sanitizer – same story. And, do you really ever travel without it?

8) Power adapter AND converter – you will need this one:

9) While we’re talking about power – bring a power bank for your phone. You will take so many pictures and videos and your phone will constantly be looking for wifi and cell coverage that the battery will drain fast. You don’t want to be without battery power while you are out exploring. I usually gave my phone an extra zap of charging during lunch just so I could top off the tank, so to speak.

10) If you are traveling for a Fulbright, you will need to bring gifts for your host teacher, the students, etc., as they will be showering you with gifts and you want to be able to reciprocate. For this, all teachers who host Americans have been to the US, so I asked my host teacher what she missed from being in the US. She mentioned certain lotions and chapsticks she can’t get in Senegal, so I brought a bulk thing of Carmex for her (her preferred chapstick). I also collected books, card games, and other English learning aids from my school families to donate to her school. I know one of my travel companions brought chalk as well, as supplies are hard to come by. For the students, I had the students I work with make postcards for the Senegalese students – they talked about their favorite things and what they do in their free time. Sara had her students make postcards and then had a QR code for students to scan with their phones to see pictures of her students. I also had the students from my school design a sticker that represented Senegal and the US together, and had it made through Sticker Mule. I handed those out to everyone, and adults and students alike loved them. The students also really loved trying American candy! We were there for Easter, so I also brought jelly beans to share with my host teacher’s family who had us over for Easter dinner. I did not want to come empty handed! Hopefully this helps get you started with some brainstorming.

11) Dramamine – even if you have never been carsick in your life, the roads are very bumpy and rough and the driving is a bit more erratic, so people in my cohort who don’t usually have a problem with this found themselves struggling a bit. Bring some just in case.

12) Snacks – the eating schedule in any foreign country tends to be different than what you are used to. It’s always good to have snacks because you never know when your next meal will be. Even knowing this, we sometimes had to fight off hangry feelings!

13) Your adventurous spirit – travel to any foreign country is a gift. You obviously wouldn’t choose to do so if you weren’t adventurous. However, sometimes when you get tired, you just want to curl up and go with what you are most comfortable with- whether it’s a meal choice, an activity choice, or choosing to just go back to the hotel. Fight these impulses. Traveling somewhere different is tiring, both mentally and physically, but make the most of your experience. Try the weird-looking food; go to one more museum. You won’t regret it when you are back in the comfort of your own home. I promise.

Other tips for travel beyond what to pack- I sprayed all of my clothes with permethrin. I had a friend who happened to have an extra bottle of the stuff, so I sprayed all of the clothes I was bringing. It helped a lot.

I got the following immunizations: from the travel clinic – yellow fever and typhoid. From Walgreens – meningitis, a measles/mumps/rubella booster, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. The travel clinic recommended that I get the other vaccines from Walgreens due to the fact that the travel clinics do not accept insurance (mainly because insurance doesn’t cover the usual travel immunizations), so the ones insurance does pay for can be received at Walgreens. The travel clinic also gave me a prescription for the anti-malarial pills and a basic antibiotic for any stomach issues I might develop while traveling and eating things that are different than at home.

Be prepared to negotiate – both market purchases and taxis involve haggling. It was not uncommon to offer a seller 1/3 of what he or she was asking as my offer. My host teacher and the country host both said we would end up paying more because our skin was white and they knew we were American. Do not be afraid that you will insult the seller, as this is part of the back-and-forth that takes place. If you watch two Senegalese people haggle, there is a very awesome rhythm to it, and it looks heated. It isn’t, and both parties usually smile at the end.

ATMs – if you plan to use ATMs for local currency, some of our cohort had a hard time finding some. The one in our hotel was broken most of the time. It is hard to exchange money in some areas. There is a currency exchange in the airport, and we had one in our hotel. I changed over all of the money I got from my Fellowship, hoping that I wouldn’t go over that amount. It was totally fine. Many of my colleagues had a hard time, and Senegal is not known for taking credit cards anywhere (including stores, taxis, museums, and restaurants).

GPS is inaccurate in Senegal. Drive times are very wrong and routes your driver will take are often not in the maps. Make sure your itinerary is not tight time-wise, as you will not get it all in.

Going to a school? Know that the students will laugh when they see you. It took me a long time (ok, like a few uncomfortable minutes) to realize that they weren’t laughing AT me- they were nervous to meet me. Don’t be afraid to approach students (they’re going to call you over to them anyway) and just talk to them – they will be nervous about their English skills and you will be nervous about your Wolof and French skills, but it will be so rewarding for you both!

Trust your instincts- some of our cohort members had moments that were really rough. There are bad people everywhere in the world- people who will try to take advantage of your desire to help. If it starts feeling wrong, contact your IREX in-country consultant. They will help you, and they can’t do that if you don’t tell them what is going on as it is happening. Don’t wait until you return to Dakar.

If you are a Fulbright fellow- finish your website deliverables before you leave for your trip. Then you can just focus on your guiding question, and enjoy the experience. When you get back home, you will be so busy processing what you just did that you won’t really want to hammer that out, too.

The absolute best part of the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program is visiting the schools, getting to know the students, and getting to teach with our host teachers!

Because of this experience, I really got to see what school in Senegal is like. These are my observations to help paint a picture of what life is like for Senegalese teachers and students. I know many of the people I’ve talked to have asked about schools in Senegal, so here you go!

1. There are anywhere from 60-90 kids in a class. I was in a school that housed middle and high school students, and the high school students all sat three to a desk. The room is FULL!

2. Everyone walks to school. It is really cool to see all of the students parading down the dirt road to get to school each day.

3. Teachers use a chalkboard and chalk to teach to their students. There aren’t projectors, wifi, computers, etc. in every classroom, though there were 3 computers in a room that could be used if someone needed them. However, don’t feel sorry for these teachers – they are incredible teachers regardless of what resources they have! In fact, I learned a lot by watching these masters hold the attention of a room packed full of students.

4. The classrooms have an open-air feel, as they don’t have window glass, and the doors are kept open for cross breeze. It never felt really hot in the classrooms, despite it being in the 90s temperature-wise, and having no air conditioning.

5. On Fridays, students can wear whatever clothes they would like, rather than the school uniform they wear the other days of the week. Friday is a religious day, so students come to school in fancy dresses and formalwear. It is very different than what the students in my school choose to wear on their Fridays (jeans and t-shirts)!

6. School break runs from June to October, as this is the rainy season. There is a lot of sand and dirt everywhere, and the classrooms would get horribly hot if they had to close up the windows and doors, so students have off.

7. Students have free periods in their schedule, where they hang out in the courtyard and just talk. This is unsupervised time.

8. Food is sold for students during the day, and students eat it during their free blocks.

9. Substitute teachers don’t exist. If the teacher can’t come in (illness, family event, conference, etc.), then the students just don’t have class that day.

10. Punishment (both in class and with the headmaster) involves students kneeling on the ground with their head up against the wall or blackboard for a length of time. I did see this, but did not take pictures of that! It’s bad enough being in trouble – no one wants to see a picture of themselves in trouble on the internet!

11. Students generally like school. The majority of them have a positive attitude in class and really participate in classroom discussions.

12. The headmaster or headmistress (principal) is the teacher in the building with the most seniority.

13. Teachers in Senegal are placed in their first teaching job. After that, they can choose to go wherever they would like to teach when an opening comes up.

14. Teachers are required to retire when they are 60 years old. The teachers are very upset about this, as once you are a teacher, you may not hold another job. Once you stop working your teaching job, you can’t make money anymore, so people go from a decent wage to getting paid nothing and living in poverty.