Living Routes: Senegal 2005 Fall

Au Revoir

Because I have less than one week left here in Senegal, I have been trying to squeeze as much family time in as possible. I have made such wonderful relationships with my family I feel, honestly, like one of them. Even though I still have those days when I�m so tired I feel like one of those clueless exchange students, my family spoils me and is patient with me. My father, Djibbi, invites me to help with the study group at night when he takes in a large group of all his nieces,...

Coming to an end

It is Sunday, Dec. 4. I have no idea how I find myself here, having come to the end of this grand adventure. In less than a week, I will be leaving Senegalese soil. Leaving with no idea of how or when (if ever) I will return. I wish I could wrap up this weblog neatly, with some type of deep insight into my experiences here that would benefit everyone who is reading this, some sense of closure that might apply to your lives as well, but that is not possible right now. I know that my life...

Nder Visit - Pictures and People

Ok, here are some of the people who helped make Nder what it was. My host family: Pape Niang. I spent most of my afternoons talking with Pape, eating watermelon and drinking ataaya, as he tried to convince me to find a Senegalese husband. He spoke fluent french, and kind of reminded...

Nder Visit (First Entry)

I am not even sure how to begin writing this entry. Nder was a truly amazing experience, one that I find difficult to put into words, but I will attempt to do so here. Be prepared for a slight bit of rambling and - as always - if you get tired of the narrative skip ahead to the next entry to see some pictures. So. We arrived in Nder on Nov. 8th. I ended up staying with a different host family from our previous visit, which ended up being an excellent idea, as I was much more...

Giving thanks to N'Der

Where do I even begin to describe the experience of my past month living in N�Der ? Sitting here at the computer right now seems like the absolutely wrong way to approach it because I know there is no way to convey the appreciation and love I feel towards this village and the people within it, nor the beauty of the area, the lessons I learned, and the experience I lived. I don�t know how I can portray enough my life there, the lives of those who live there, and how we came together for...

Laundry and Farewell - Katie

I woke up this morning at 7 am so I could attempt to do laundry. Our host families are paid to do it for us, and although I felt bad about it because I feel too spoiled sometimes, I now realize if I had to do mine own all the time I would be perpetually dirty/soapy. That's because washing clothes here is extremely, impossibly hard, and I understand why Kayla's fingers were actually raw and cut after she did hers the other day.

Korite - Katie

Ramadan is over and everyone can eat! The moon allowed the last day of fasting to be Wednesday, and therefore everyone could gorge on Thursday. However, Korite was very different than I imagined, or at least very different than typical Western holidays. It consists of a eating, of course, but whereas in America food is available throughout the daty, here it is still served in the lunch and dinner schedule. Thus, I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the usual times, but the meals consisted...

N'Der - Katie

Going back to village life was really nice after spending 2 1/2 weeks back in Dakar. Although I love Yoff and my family here, the traffic, pollution, and heat really start to weigh down on me after a while. Thus, returning to the countryside, although in a completely different part of Senegal, was a relief.

Korite

Today my mother Ndeye and I went to the mosque in the morning - or, more precisely, to the large sandy area outside of the mausoleum where the Mahdi/Prophet of the Layene sect is entombed - to celebrate Korite, the festival which marks the end of Ramadan. She gave me this beautiful tradition boubou to wear, which was great though somewhat hard to walk in. Here's a picture of me in it:

Nder, Visit #1

We spent the past four days in the village of Nder, situated in the northern desert of Senegal (sahelian region), bordering the Lac de Guiers. During our time there we got to know the villagers and conducted an Appreciative Inquiry in groups along each one of our 5 project themes: Organic Agriculture, Feminine Entrepreneurship, Ecotourism, Education and Nutrition/Health. I really enjoyed the time we spent in the village. The heat was extremely intense during the day, which meant that...