Wolof Wallace: Final Reflections/Family and Friends

My time in Senegal is coming to an end and there are questions which I am asking myself to try to conceptualize what this three and half month experience has meant for me. What have I learned? How have I changed? What will I take away from this experience? How will this experience impact my actions in the future?

Before coming to Senegal I hadn't ever been to a country in Africa. I thought studying abroad Senegal would be an invaluable opportunity which would open my eyes to the realities faced by those in developing countries. I believed viewing first hand and learning about these realities would allow for more development and growth in my own character, rather than time in a first world country like France. I was also interested in improving my French, although this only happened on a small scale due to the fact that most of the time people in Senegal speak Wolof. However, I am not disappointed by how much my French has improved, because I have found that my experiences in this country have not only been extremely informative, but also very self-reflective.

Another motivation for coming to Senegal was the fact that I was ready to be in a country where I was the norm. I explained to my mom that my experience in Senegal was fundamentally different than all of the other students because I am black and I am a male. She appropriately said this was the the only time in my life where that was case because it is black males such as myself who often victims of the many forms of systematic oppression ingrained into our American society. However, in Senegal, the color of my skin and my gender made my transition into Senegalese culture and society much smoother than that of the other students in the program. Some of them deemed the fact that I had an easier time in Senegal as my "Black Privilege". The dichotomy of being the only African-American in an American program, while being in an African country was also truly an experience in itself for me.

My black identity meant that I didn't know how it felt to the be the only "Toubab" in my village/city or how it felt to be called "Toubab" by all of the children. This was something which many of the students found to be problematic and it lent to the feelings of resentment towards the Senegalese understandably. The students were not only being singled out by the color of their skin, but they were also being grouped into one conglomerate under the label of "Toubab", despite their differing ethnic identities. Krishna, an Indian-America , as well as Marcos, a Brazilian, Eura, a Korean-American and Jack a Caucasian-American, were all called "Toubab" at one point or another by the Senegalese. I myself did not have a direct relationship with the word "Toubab", as it was never used by the Senegalese to identify me, at least as far as I know. Although there were some instances in which some of the students would inquire from the Senegalese if I, as an African-American, was a "Toubab" as well. We received mixed answers to this question as majority of the time they said that I wasn't because of the color of my skin, however I remember one person saying I was because I was American.

My male identity meant that I was never proposed to men on the street or asked about my marriage status by anyone. Sometimes people asked me if I had a Senegalese girlfriend, but that question was always in my interest and not purposed towards the interests of the other person. In contrast, for the girls in our program, the men who asked them about their marriage status usually did so because they were interested in having them as wives. I am sure that many of these situations on the streets, in their homes and in their work places would have been categorized as sexual harassment. The girls in our program also dealt with other situations in their homes such as when one student was once asked to move from her place at dinner with the men of the family one night to go eat with the women and another was asked to cook her father eggs, who asserted that all women can cook. These are just a few of the experiences of the other female students that as a male in Senegal I did not have to deal with. While I benefited from my male identity in Senegal, I realized that it was because of the patriarchal Senegalese society which is entirely founded on a definition of Senegalese women as subservient.

Senegalese society is entirely dependent on the very women whom its culture oppresses. The women are the ones who are required to do all of the household work, cook for the family and provide for the children. It is always the women who serve as maids in the households and it is the young Senegalese girls who are given away by their fathers for marriage. Senegalese women consistently are shorted by a society that they support and uphold. The belief in the inherently subservient nature of women was even supported by one of our "Professors" at the Western African Research Center. He defended with his life the belief that it is the women's responsibility to prepare meals for the family and do the housework. He asked us if we had spoken with any Senegalese women who were unhappy with their position. He then asserted that because we had not had such conversations with Senegalese women about their unhappiness, then there was no reason to change the culture. Disappointingly he was our Economics "Professor" and he failed to acknowledge the fact that the oppressive nature of Senegalese culture in regards to Senegalese women was also a hindrance to the struggling economy. We explained that it was unrealistic and unfair to expect the women to have a job which was equally as demanding as that of a man and also have the full responsibility of taking care of the family. Although the same professor was replaced after the fourth week.

In Senegal there is a clear duty to ones family and community, which at all times comes first before the interests of the individual. I think many students witnessed this emphasis on the community before the invidual to be a premise on which women accepted their position in society. This was also the justification that our Economics Professor used as he explained that each member of the family has a role they play in that family unit. For the women, that role is often one of subservience. I had an interesting conversation with a friend about the individual versus the community, but in regards to gay marriage. My friend who I was talking with spoke of another Senegalese friend that he had who was gay. After coming out to his mother, his friend left Senegal, since homosexuality is forbidden by Senegalese culture and more that 97% percent of Senegalese don't approve of or believe in homosexuality. What I found interesting was how my friend disapproved of his friends actions because he thought that by declaring his sexuality and leaving Senegal, he let down his mother, his family and his community. He said that he had a responsibility to his community and he failed. He thought that if anything he should have repressed his sexuality and remained in Senegal for his mom, who had given so many years of her life to raise him and with his actions he had essentially abandoned her.

I recognize that this fortified sense of one's duty and one's place in the community as a staple of Senegalese culture is problematic in many respects. However this focus on the community has also been a very refreshing break from the extreme focus on the individual that I feel in the United States. I will miss the sense of community I felt every time I sat down for a meal with either of my host families as we always shared one plate. I will miss being in households which are not not only individual family units, but who are also truly a part of the greater community. Overall there's a level happiness and satisfaction with life that I witnessed and sensed in the Senegalese people which I feel doesn't exist as universally in the United States.

While my status as a straight, black, male positioned me as the norm in Senegalese society and undoubtedly played a role in the acceptance that I felt by the Senegalese, I did feel that my relationships and interactions with some of the Senegalese were impacted by my status as an American. Many of the Senegalese would ask for things such as visas, money, articles of clothing or just anything I could physically give them. This was something that happened with all of the students in the program and we all reacted differently to it. Their requests never angered me because I realize they were only a result of their perception of America as a place of wealth, a perception for which I would not fault them for having. My sister joked that she thought no one in America was poor, which I had to refute. I understand that her point was likely that the poverty in Senegal is more serious than that in America, which I would not deny. However, I explained to her that not everyone is a beneficiary of American wealth due to the gross inequalities that we have in the country.

My host mom in Kaolack, Binta Sarr, has a son who lives in New York right now on a visa. My brother Amadou explained to me that he, the brother in New York and Khadim had entered the visa lottery together and the brother won, so he went to New York. I spoke with numerous people about the difficulties of obtaining an American visa and how the process is not only expensive but largely based on luck. Each time I have these conversations about visas I think about how my American privilege has allowed me to enter this country with ease and how I have the liberty to return to America when I want. If anything being in Senegal made me aware of the extreme privileges of my middle class American status. I recognize that as an American I have more of a liberty to travel and see different parts of the world than many of the Senegalese who I met. Additionally I recognize that this liberty is often a matter of whether or not one has the financial means to be able to travel. This is why I understand and I am not angered by the Senegalese who ask for things based on the assumption that Americans who come to Senegal have money, because often times it is indicative of some level of disposable income.

Studying abroad in Senegal I have had the unique opportunity to visit this new country and witness realities of other people from a position of privilege and the knowledge that it is not my own reality. I had a conversation with my friend Khadim about the significance of my time in Senegal. Something he said to me which really stuck was the importance of being dropped into this new society and have the ability to be able to adapt to an entirely new culture. In America I realize that I exist in certain places like California and New York. In those places there are of course changes which happen everyday, but there is certainly a pattern to my day to day life. My time in Senegal has provided me with a temporary departure from that pattern of life to experience different realities of the Senegalese people. I have seen the places that they call home, the places where they go for entertainment, how they pass time, how they interact with one another, the things that they give value to and overall just another way of life. Witnessing the culture of the Senegalese and adopting their manner of living as my own over the course of the last three months has given me a new perspective on my own life and how I live it in America. This is especially important to consider in the conversation of development because not everyone in has had access to the type of education or travel experiences which have been fundamental in helping me understand and broaden my perspective of the world around me.

During my time in Senegal I have had the unique opportunity to visit and spend time in so many cities throughout the country including Dakar, Toubacouta, Saly, Mbour, Kaolack, Touba and Fatick. I have experienced the vibrant night life dance scene of Dakar as well as the traditional dance scene in the villages and in the city, both essential aspects of Senegalese music culture. I have been to beautiful beaches of Dakar, Saly and Mbour, which have all been incredible. I will always remember the sights of the bustling market places of HLM, Soubedioume, the Fois as well as the Village Artisinal and the Grand Market in Kaolack. I am very appreciated of the Ataya tea making lessons from my brother Amadou, which I will surely be making use of in the states. I am most thankful for my two amazing host families who welcomed me with open arms and they took me in as a member of their family. I know that I have two families in Senegal with whom I can stay if I come back.

Overall I am happy I came to Senegal because for a semester I got to explore an entirely new country and myself in the process. Being a student at any college, it's easy to get lost in the stress of student life. I often got so caught up with the lists of things to do, assignments to finish, tests to study for and clubs meetings to attend and taking a break from that pace of life was a good decision. In retrospect I can definitely say that it was one of my greatest life experiences.