Asalaama alekum! Lu bees?

Bonjour mes amies, comment ca va?

Hello everyone ! what's new ?

I can't believe it's almost March ! February seems to be flying by, but I'm really having a great time. It's the end of the school week here -- tomorrow the group is leaving for a week-long trip to Kedougou which is in the south eastern part of senegal, where we will be staying in various rural villages. I'm excited for the trip! It'll be nice to have an opportunity to get out of Dakar and to have a change of pace.

Overall, everything here has been going really well. I'm enjoying my classes, eating well, joking around with my host family, learning how to do laundry, and loving everything that Senegal has to offer. The other day a member of my host family braided my hair, so I'll be rocking "les tresses" for a little bit! I had tried to explain that I really only wanted her to do a few so I could see how it looked, but the next thing I knew my entire head was braided. I guess something was lost in translation. mais c'est pas grave, everyone at school was really jealous the next day.

Last week we had a dance and drumming workshop downtown at the national theater. Each afternoon we spent an hour learning djembe, with one of the most accomplished drummers in Senegal, and traditional Senegalese dance with a hilariously intense Senegalese performer. The dance was tons of fun, though its difficult to find the beat in the music and definitely an hour long workout, and djembe was a lot harder than I had imagined, but also an absolute blast. Everyone was really patient and helpful, and it was definitely a great experience.

Last Saturday the group went on a day trip to Mbour, which is a town about an hour and a half south of the city on the coast. There we went on a mini Safari in wildlife reserve that is home to a variety of herbivores-saw some giraffes, gazelle, rhino, beautiful birds, crocodile etc. and of course tons and tons of beautiful baobab trees. We then spent the afternoon at the beach, swimming, reading, and playing soccer before heading back to Dakar. Saturday night we found ourselves again at the national theater, this time to watch a "ballet", which what was apparently a very important and glamorous event- our djembe teacher invited us during class earlier that week, and helped us get in through the back entrance because we weren't dressed up enough to get in the front door! But the performance was absolutely amazing, and it seemed like a mix of traditional dance and music and more modern, cosmopolitan scenes. Senegalese "ballets" are much more vibrant and energetic than what I'm used to- during the middle of some songs members of the audience (mostly women) would get up and start dancing, eventually finding their way to the stage, where it looked like they were all having a great time.

After school one day this week I went with a few friends to another part of the city where an ndeop ceremony was taking place. An ndeop is a community event that is held to help cure someone of mental illness. I don't think I can appropriately describe all that we saw, but it was basically a gathering of over 100 women at the end of a dirt street, circled around a group of women dancing and drumming, what looked like fighting, seizing, and clapping, etc. I'm not sure if there was any sort of methodological routine, and am unsure of the reason for the majority of what happened, but it was definitely a sight to see. I also felt very welcomed there and part of the community instead of like an outsider, because people went out of their way to make sure that we had a seat and could see what was going on.

Crazy and exciting things happen all the time, it sometime seems like too much to take in. But I also find myself having the most fun when I'm able to just sit at home and have Attaya, Senegalese tea with my uncle and his friends. The Senegalese usually have 3 cups of jasmine tea, a gathering which can last anywhere from about an hour to all afternoon. An extra cup is always prepared for someone who decides to stop by without warning! It's great to be able to relax and chat and joke around with the people around me. I really appreciate how welcoming and patient everyone has been, they have really made me feel so comfortable here.

All for now, but I'll write again soon!

Please let me know how you all are doing, I miss you and am thinking of you!!

Bisous,

Love,

Erin

xo