Tour of Dakar and Host Families

Today is the day that we met our host families. I will chronicle the rest of the days activities for the purpose of memory and keepsake, however the main event was meeting the families that we would be living with for the next 8 weeks. The day began with what I now know is a traditional Senegalese breakfast which is a baguette, a croissant, a cup of hot tea and orange juice. Although very simple the breakfast is very filling and I enjoyed it very much.

After we had breakfast we brought our bags down from our rooms and loaded the bus for what would be our first tour of Dakar. During the tour we stopped and got out at numerous landmarks and views around the city while our instructor Wally told us about all of the history of the different monuments. The first stop was the Porte du Troisieme Millenaire.

Port du Troisieme Millenaire

Here's the view from behind the Porte du Troisieme Millenaire of the coast of Senegal.

The next stop was the Presidential Palace, which was located on one of the main avenues in Dakar, Avenue Leopold Sedar Senghor. The current president of Senegal is Macky Sall and his 5 year term began in April 2012.

President Obama & President Sall

The Presidential Palace Gates

The next stop was one of Waly's favorite places in Senegal, the Bunker at the very south of the city.

A goat who was on the Bunker 

Also we saw a home on the Bunker which was very interesting as well. 

One stop during our tour was of the African Renaissance Statue which is the tallest statue in Africa. It is very controversial statue as its construction was criticized by many because the President, Abdoulaye Wade spent $30 million on it. Also it points to the west, which is controversial given the history of colonialism in Senegal and Africa.

The African Renaissance Statue

This was the view of Dakar from the base of the statue.

At one point we got out of the bus in downtown Dakar walked around the city which was extremely busy and it reminded me a lot of New York in that it was organized chaos except more chaotic which made the organization even more impressive. We then returned to the WARC for lunch after which we spent some time writing our own personal blogs in the computer room and resting/cooling off after walking around in the hot sun during the tour. This was valuable time for reflection as I began to think about my time in Senegal so far (it had only been two days but it seemed much longer). 

Then before we knew it Ala stepped in and told us that our host families were here and it time for us to meet them. Before meeting my host family I was very nervous just as well as the rest of the MSID students because I knew that this family would be a huge part of my stay here in Dakar. I also anticipated that I would be in Dakar for the second half of the program, the internship phase, so I may even be with this family for the entire three months. As we walked out I saw of group of Senegalese people, most were women in their traditional wardrobes and a few were younger looking men in their late 20s. As I was looking for the person or people who represented my host family I saw a woman who was holding a folder that appeared to have my name on it. As I approached her she said “Chris? Awww tu es jolie, tu resembles mon petit fils” You are pretty you look like my grandson”. I explained to her that I was a student from the US who studied in New York and was from Sacramento, stumbling across my words as I went. Looking back this is all information she likely knew because it was in the packet. We then departed for the house. 

When we arrived I was surprised at the size of the villa because I expected to be cramped in a small space with many children as I knew many people lived in the house with Mama Fatou. However she took me upstairs and showed me that I would have my own room, a great privileged given the status of some people in Dakar. After unpacking some I lied down and fell asleep, as it had been a very long day. I woke up a little dismayed as I smelled very delicious food and thought that I had missed dinner. Mama Fatou asked my little brother to show me where the store was so that I could purchase things in the future. He took my hand with his small hand and guided me right there as it was right around the corner. As a token of my appreciation I gave my little brother a glow in the dark bouncy ball and  I told him to bounce it to see the effects. After running downstairs with it to show people he immediately started playing soccer with it, which surprised me however I should have known. 

Then as the family member started to trickle into the courtyard we then sat down for dinner. My first dinner consisted of chicken and onions over frites et lettuce. Describing the contents of the dinner however do not do the meal justice because it was amazing. The way that Senegalese people traditionally eat dinner is by gathering around a large plate which they all share. They used their hands to pick up the food and they often use bread to assist in scooping the food up. As we sat around this very large plate eating I thought about how such an everyday experience for the Senegalese could be such a special experience for me. After dinner Mama Fatou cut up mangoes which we had for dessert. These mangoes were delicious as well, some of the best I've ever had and extremely sweet.

Primier Jour en Dakar

Today I arrived in Dakar. This trip is something that I have been thinking about for the longest time, ever since I  attended a discussion on studying abroad in french speaking destinations other than Paris at Reid Hall (a Columbia extension). Over the last few months I explained to friends and family many times that I would be studying abroad during my fall semester in Dakar, Senegal. Many of them did not know where it was and I explained to them that it was the most western point of the country of Senegal and of the continent of Africa.

Everyone I told about going abroad would always ask, "Are you excited?" "Are you ready to go to Africa?", and I would answer with an unsure affirmation because I never quite knew for what I was supposed to be excited. I had done a lot of reading on Dakar and read news about what was going on in the country, but any feelings of excitement that I had never exceeded my feelings of nervousness, so I didn't think my excitement was ever genuine. Coming to Senegal was something I only talked about but never quite wrapped my mind around completely. My feelings prior to arriving in the country and this continent could really be summed up as nervous anticipation of an experience that I knew could not be anticipated. The one thing I did hope was that this experience would help develop my perspective on my own life and the lives of those around me, a change that I knew wouldn't just occur from the trip itself but it is something for which I would have to work. However today was the day that all of these thoughts of anticipation came into fruition.


I left last night at 10pm from JFK airport after my Uncle Sonny dropped me off, the last goodbye for the next 3 ½ months.  The plane flight was 7 hours 15 minutes which isn't bad at all considering that I made the 4.5-5.5 hour flight from NY to CA twice in the last 10 days. The flight went very smoothly and I was able to sleep for a good portion of it, missing both the dinner and breakfast that they served on the plane. However when I did wake up I was in Dakar, which was a surreal moment as I had finally arrived and I kept thinking, “Wow I’m finally here.” I had talked about this trip so much and now I was here. I then began to think about my friends at the school who I had just seen the night before. They had just begun their academic at Columbia, a school full of stress which leaves you thinking that you never have enough time, always moving from one thing to the next, trying to make the next deadline, finish the next essay, study for the next test, make the next club meeting, all in one of the world’s busies most fast paced cities. I needed a break from it all and this trip provided that break for me. 

I saw men riding horse carriages around the city among the cars and motorcycles.
After waking up we left our bags in the hotel and headed over to the WARC for our first traditional lunch in the country which we had during our orientation. While our instructors Waly Fale and Maria went over different essentials of the program we shared a combination of delicious drinks among the 15 of us. After the drinks they brought out 4 large plates of food and 4 or 5 people ate from each plate in a communal style. 

When we exited the plane and went through customs and I then received my first 3 month visa. We then went into the baggage claim area, only a few steps away from where we got our visas and I got my first look at the composition of our MSID 2013 group. First thing I notice about the group is that there are 13 participants in the program this year and I am 1 of 3 males on the trip and the only African American. I was not surprised by this fact being that a majority of the students are from the University of Minnesota or schools in Minnesota (5% Black), however it was a bit ironic being that we were in Africa. 

We boarded the bus on the way to the hotel where we would be staying during our first night. On that first trip through the country I noticed how undeveloped the city was which I found very surprising. I thought that because Dakar was the politial and economic capital of Senegal that it would be more like some of the cities in the US but this was not the case. During the trip I saw buildings which looked like they had been started but there was no intention to finish them as there were no workers currently working on them.

When we arrived at the hotel each of the participants went up to our assigned rooms to drop of our bags and settle in. Both I and my roommate jack took naps as were jet-lagged and entirely new experiences can often be tiring.

Here is a view from the hotel window looking out onto the rooftops of Dakar. 

After we all finished eating we had three different teas, which is a tradition after a Senegalese meal. All of the flavors of the teas and the drinks we had had before the meal were so distinct as they were flavors and aromas I had never tasted before. For each round of a tea the woman preparing the tea poured the tea from the kettle into each of the cups then she carefully poured tea from each of the cups into other cups which I think was for cooling purposes.

After drinking the teas and finishing up the orientation we returned to the hotel. That night a few of us did a little exploring around the area near the hotel before dinner time and we went for a drink at the nearby store which was nice and relaxing although I was still pretty tired. For dinner we had chicken and frites, which was in stark contrast to the traditional lunch we had earlier, and with the dinner my first day in Dakar was over.