dalal ak diam, bienvenue, welcome!

Dalal ak diam, Bienvenue, Welcome! Follow along with my journey to Senegal this fall in stories, quotes, and pictures.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Why Senegal?

Wow! I can’t believe how time flies. Since my last post, I have turned in my visa application and been to see the travel doctor (after vaccines for yellow fever, meningitis, hepatitis A, typhoid, and a polio booster I don’t need shots for 5 years!) While two months seems like a long time to wait when I think about things like finding out my host family and internship, it seem so short when trying to arrange to hang out with as many people as possible before I go.
As you are reading, besides thinking about the “where and “when” aspects of the journey (and all the things needed to make it possible), you might also be asking about the “why?” aspect. Why would a young toubab (more on that later) take a semester to venture across the ocean from the US to Senegal? The story actually starts with an awesome family who encouraged me to ask lots of questions about the world and then showed me ways I could discover answers. Later came two middle school teachers, one who introduced me to the rich history and cultures of Africa, the other who got me reading, writing, listening, and talking in French (and English). So three years ago, when I opened the Learning Abroad Center catalogue looking for that all-important “international experience” (TEFL/TESL, Language, and Global Studies/IR majors, you all know exactly what I mean) Senegal jumped out at me as a great option. In Senegal, I could develop my French skills, begin learning another language [Wolof] and experience living, studying, and interning in the developing world. To learn more about the program I will be going with (MSID-Senegal) check out the U of M’s Learning Abroad Center website
Or you can ask me, because I almost have it memorized ;)