Asalaam malekum! nanga def ?! bonjour mes amis, comment ca va ?!

Hello from Dakar, Senegal !

I've been here for about a week and a half now and just wanted to let everyone know that I've arrived arrived safely and am having an amazing time ! The flights from JFK and Paris went smoothly, had lots of bonding time with the group in the airports, and I would say that the culture shock/ adjustment period are probably going about as smoothly as possible.

We arrived in Dakar late last Sunday night and had a week of orientation. During this time we got to know the other students in the group, the academic director and other program coordinators, professors etc, became familiar with the city, and learned a ton about Senegalese culture.

Dakar is a big city, on the coast, with a very built up downtown area. My neighborhood and where I take classes is more residential, and the other students are living with families in all different areas.

Classes started on Monday and so far I am really enjoying them. It seems like a completely different approach to an academic semester and is incredibly focused on cultural immersion. I'm taking an introductory Wolof class (their regional language and what most people speak on the streets and at home here) a French class, where we will be correcting grammar and pronunciation, reading newspaper articles and novels, and having discussions, a field studies seminar, to show us different techniques in field and participatory research in preparation for our independent study project, and a seminar on Senegalese arts and culture, which involves a lot of workshops and demonstrations in Senegalese dance, drumming, and other arts. At the end of orientation last week we had a short tour of "le village des arts", which is a small community of artists who have studios funded by the government-later on we'll get to take a few classes in either batik making, glass painting, bronze sculpture, or Senegalese ceramics!

Besides the workshops our classes are held at the SIT (school of international training) villa in point E, an area of Dakar with lots of restaurants, an Olympic training pool, and tons of other students.

I'm living with a local Senegalese family in a neighborhood which is about a 10 minute walk from school! My family is very nice and has had other students stay with them before so they pretty much know the drill. Senegalese families tend to have tons of people living together under the same roof. I live with a young mother and father, (soukaya and papis) who are probably in their 30s, and who have 2 small children, kadija and amadou, both under 3 years old. Soukaya's sister also lives with us and shares a room with their mother, and the brother of Papis, Samba has a room upstairs. Also living in the house is a nanny and maid (which is common for Senegalese families and not anything like the American concept of a maid) who I've become very friendly with and who have been overly welcoming and friendly towards me.

The national dish of Senegal is fish and rice, which I've been eating quite often. The food here overall has been very good, and I am always encouraged to eat more! For dinner every night we in a circle with a big platter in the middle from which everyone eats. Usually at home the family members speak wolof to each other, so its difficult for me to understand and contribute to the conversation, though whenever I ask questions or they address me we speak in French. Though I still have tons to learn, I definitely feel very comfortable with my French when talking with my family or speaking to people in the city. I think the hardest part has been accepting that I'll be making tons of mistakes and getting over the fear of approaching strangers, but everyone is always very impressed when we greet them in wolof.

I'm out of time at the cybercafé, so will have to end here, though there's tons more to tell you!

Overall I'm having a great time and am loving it here.

I miss you all and cant wait to catch up! I'm thinking of you and hope that all is well at home

A bientot!!!

Love,

Erin