Day 1!

AH! Back in my hotel (Good Rade) at the end of my first full day in Dakar. I'm finding that I vascillate between sheer excitement and various states of being overwhelmed. Little things like getting directions to a jazz club proved more challenging than I would have guessed (two friends of mine had to speak to a nice hotel bartender at least three times before he finally just had a friend of his lead us there) but in general, the language barrier could definitely be worse. I'm feeling much more comfortable about my french skills now that I see how shaky other people are feeling. (That sounds horrible, I know, but so much of communicating in a foreign language is confidence, I've discovered, and I am absolutely expecting to make a fool of myself frequently for the next few weeks.) I now know three questions/answer phrases in wolof, which is pretty cool. Sadly I didn't have a pen with me when I learned them so I've already forgotten how to say "and you" in response, but I have faith that it will come to me "petit à petit" as one prof. told us today.

Generally today was very slow. We're still being oriented, discussing our expectations and fears, asking questions about cultural faux-pas (pl.) and trying to remember everything we're being told. We had lunch at a Senegalese restaurant right down the street, which was delicious. I already forget the name of what we ate --jab el jam? I promise I will learn it soon -- but it is the national dish of Senegal and is basically comprised of fish and rice. Delicieus. After lunch I took a nap (I can already tell that I will be loving this afternoon rest situation... I kept thinking how proud of me Burt and Suzanne would have been for taking a successful nap) and then we continued with the orientation work in the afternoon. For dinner we went back to the same restaurant, this time without program staff, and had chicken and french fries. I'd say that I felt cheated out of local food, except that then we experienced our first of what I imagine will be many rolling black-outs, and I was releaved to be able to still grasp at french fries while I talked to my new friends in the dark. (No worries -- within five or ten minutes the power was back. But I may bring my head-lamp with me from now on.) This may be one of the only times I eat this kind of food with a knife and fork -- soon it will be communal bowls and my hands. I wonder how close it will be to Ehtiopian food...

Speaking of my new friends, I'm really thrilled with the group of people I've met so far. Everyone seems interesting and lovely. I'm definitely the wildcard in terms of my interests -- I'm the only political science or economics major, and I'm also one of the only people who isn't at least minoring in French -- but that just highlights for me how cool it is that I'm really doing this. We start dancing on Friday I think (!!!) and my heart almost skipped a beat when I saw it on the schedule. There are studio art workshops and long excursions to other parts of the country... It looks more and more like the adventure of a lifetime. Even though I'm waking up at 7:30 tomorrow morning (ugg) I can't wait for it all to continue.

I also had the opportunity between orientation workshops and dinner to wander around Dakar with a large group of other girls on the program. Besides feeling like a HUGE group of tourists, it was incredibly comfortable and interesting. The city feels very safe. And to be honest, it looks much like I had imagined. Some of the houses are beautiful, with Arabic-looking architecture and Spanish-style roofs. (I'll try to take some pictures soon and post them for you.) There are also definitely tin shacks, maybe not right next to the bigger houses but not far away. There are horse-drawn carriages next to taxi cabs, and goats tied up near boutiques. It's not jarring, which perhaps means I was well prepared? I keep feeling like the culture shock will set in, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week or next month, but for now I feel okay. Not like a local by ANY means, but mostly comfortable. I'm getting a slight sense of what I can wear, for example I passed women today wearing beautiful boubous (traditional looking African dresses, coming down to the ankles with either t-shirt or full-length sleeves) and on the same sidewalk would be a woman wearing tight jeans and American-brand tennis shoes. I'm still not sure what "poor" is yet, but I know that will come. I've already learned important details though, like not to call women's children cute (it's a sign of bad luck that it might fade,) and to be careful when taking pictures that you get the consent of all subjects, especially children. The women and children seem absolutely beautiful, though. Thin women, curvy women... Everyone seems to glow. Young children walk on the sidewalks, sometimes far ahead of their mothers, looking up at you with beautiful eyes and smiling.

The roads are fascinating: there are multi-lane highways right next to dirt roads. Cars seem indifferent, though very few look to be of any recent make or model. Sanitation is also very different. There are few garbage cans, and there is no way to recycle plastic bottles. I had a really hard time bringing myself to throw a huge 1.5 litre bottle into a garbage bin earlier, but I guess I'll adjust soon. Other things I will need to adjust to include above all, the humidity. My hair is almost 3 inches shorter and incredibly frizzy. I need to go buy some moose, for sure... Ugg I felt vaguely ridiculous all day, and pretty vain as I put my hair up and down over and over and over trying to look even remotely nice.

Well, it's after midnight so I think I am going to retire. I'm still figuring out how exactly I want to use this blog... As this post has developed, it seems part journal-entry, part daily recounting... Anyway, perhaps it will remain just that. It's odd to think that I've only been here for a day, and that today was a very slow day! There is definitely big stuff still to come this week; tomorrow we visit the SIT villa for the first time and I will see our program headquarters and classroom space. Very exciting. Jusqu'à demain! Bon soir!