First few pictures, more to come!

Across the street from the hotel

Our hotel

not-so-petit dejeuner (sorry about the glare)

Hanging out on Mama Honorine's roof-top patio

Mama Honorine's

First Glimpses of Senegal and the not-so-petit déjeuner

It was so exciting yesterday to meet the rest of my study abroad group! There are 18 of us in all representing states from California all the way across the country to Pennsylvania and Virginia. So this morning at 2:30am central time, our South African airbus landed in Dakar. The flight was enjoyable (plenty of free movies/TV that you could choose and the first hot meal I have eaten on a plane in a long time) but long. No matter how nice the service is, airplane seats just aren’t designed for sleeping (at least the economy ones I’ve sat in).

We landed just before sunrise and took the “special limo service” i.e. the required shuttle bus everyone had to ride about 30 to 40 feet to the customs from the airplane’s door. At customs, I had my first Senegalese French conversation when a customs officer starting talking to me in Wolof. When I mentioned I don’t speak Wolof yet, he quickly translated “Tu t’appelles Fatou n’est-ce pas*? [smile]” ha, ha very funny. I knew that carrying around my 50lb olive drab canvas duffle from the army surplus store (very cost effective and durable!) and wearing the sun hat I couldn’t fit in said bag was just asking for it.

My second conversation was at the hotel, where the program staff brought us for one night as we transition in. I successfully got the wi-fi instructions and password from the receptionist so I was able to tell you all I arrived safely, probably even before you got up this morning! First, we dropped our suitcases off and had petit-déjeuner (breakfast), which surprised me. When I was asked “thé ou café” the lady brought out the tea I requested, *plus* an orange juice, half a baguette, and another sort of unsweetened pastry, wow! After what I could finish of not-so-petit-déjeuner, we took a little tour of the neighborhood, which is not quite where we will be living, but it’s our first taste of Dakar on foot. We saw some people sweeping their front porches, two guys driving a horse-cart, and Pierre, a Senegalese who we found out is retired from working with the US state department. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the city later today.

*So, your name is Fatou (a female Senegalese given name), right?

Less than 24 hours to go...

Sorry that this blog post is so overdue! I have had a very busy month of August finishing up work, moving out of my apartment, finishing a Fulbright ETA application, packing, and most importantly seeing friends and family. In the days and weeks to come, I promise the blog will keep better pace with my adventures in Senegal.

It's still sinking in that I will be on an airplane over the Atlantic (my first crossing!) less than 24 hours from now. With all of the preparations leading up to my departure, it is hard to come up with an exact description of how things are right now. Exciting? most definitely! nervewracking? a little. Chaotic? possibly...

Many of you know that I like to find out the stories behind the facts, which is how I remember them and usually share the facts too. Chaos is an interesting word so I looked it up, and discovered that "chaos" actually comes from the Greek for something vast and empty, a void.

This definitely contradicts what I have been up to, because the last few weeks have been full of wonderful bon voyage get-togethers, conversations, hugs, and well-wishes from family and friends that I have enjoyed so much. Full of anticipation as I found out my host family, starting going shopping with my mom, and the trip started to become more real. And let's face it, as much as I rearrange items, my suitcase is just plain full. These weeks have also been full with little time to rest or contemplate that I will be leaving the country for a few months (hence, the infrequent blogging).

But interesetingly enough, the word "chaos" came to its modern meaning of "confusion" in the 1600's through theological use, when it was used to describe the void at the beginning of creation. So everything might feel chaotic right now, but I'm going to go with the second meaning of chaotic and trust that God's going to work everything out (including possible Hurricane Irene related flight delays, baggage/packing woes, and the inevitable feelings of mixed excitement and anxiety that go along with traveling away from home for a while.)

I'm signing off for now, but I'd like to thank you all for your love, encouragement, and support and look forward to future pictures and posts!