After 23 hours logged in airports or on planes, I have landed in Dakar! Even on approach, I could see the differences between Senegal and Wisconsin. Dakar was easily spotted below us, as it sticks out from the mainland. The ground is a beautiful red color, and neighborhoods are not set up in neat rows making shapes you can see from above. It was beautifully unique, which brought the excitement of arriving to an unmeasurable level.
Upon landing, it was your standard customs/immigration scenario. Our bags seemed to trickle out slowly, but they all arrived allowing the adventure to begin! We left the airport to get into our vehicle. Our luggage was loaded on top of the van! We were impressed it all fit, but the driver did leave the tollway a little early on the way to our hotel because he was a bit worried about some police ahead not appreciating our load.
On our drive to the hotel, we got lessons in Wolof, the cultural language of Senegal, which is not taught in schools at all! Students are taught in French (the national language), though they are starting to make the move to teach English in elementary schools now, as some nearby African countries have changed their national language to English. We also got a tour and some brief history of Senegal along our way, too! I was really struck by the contrasts in this country- really old buildings next to new ones, cars and trucks driving alongside horse and carriages…I can’t wait to see more!
We arrived at the hotel and watched as our bags were untied and brought down off of the van. It was too early to check in, but they had a brunch for us – a nice buffet of many things. Some we knew what they were, and some we did not. We were a bit tired, but that didn’t stop us from creating some guesses on what we were enjoying! The star for me was a porridge with a sweet milk sauce, and a donut hole-like thing that tasted like oranges!
After that, we went outside to visit the ocean. We are staying right off of the Atlantic Ocean, and the view is incredible. I had seen in some of my pre-adventure research that Senegal boasts some of the best surfing in the world. It only took us a half of a second (and it would have been less if we had more sleep) to see why! Huge waves! We watched some guys diving under the water to catch some sea creatures, but couldn’t figure out what they were catching. The men looked so tiny out in those giant waves! The sun was shining, with not a cloud in the sky…temperature was in the 70s (unverified by any apps).
We all went to our rooms then for a nap and to freshen up, and then we had our orientation meeting. At this meeting, we talked over the updated itinerary for the next few days and the nitty gritty details to get us by until our more detailed sessions start tomorrow.
We wrapped up the night with a delicious dinner at a restaurant with an incredible view! It actually got chilly at night (borderline cold…just not Wisconsin cold…according to my app this time, it’s 70 degrees 😂). We got to walk to dinner and back, and one of the members of the cohort and I went to the oceanfront to take a picture of the moon. There were a lot of people down there- we were very surprised!
I have taken my anti-malaria pills, and I’m finishing up my blog while watching Senegalese TV (entirely in French). For security reasons, I will not be giving you a teaser of what we’re doing tomorrow, but I promise it will be interesting!!!
This is the coolest no horn sign I’ve ever seen. So very detailed…
Car Full of Harmony 