I'm here in Dakar, Senegal. WOW!!! I've traveled a lot, have seen many different places, but had NO clue this place would feel so different than everywhere else. Clearly the fact that I am trying to settle here instead of just touring around is a major source for my sentiments. The extremes: poverty, excessive wealth, pollution, breathtaking bluffs overlooking the ocean, villas, aluminum shacks, mercedes, 30 year old mini-buses with double the number of people they technically should carry, aggressive and harassing vendors, potholes the size of Comerica Park, mud and impassable roads when it rains, unbearable dust and humidity when it's not raining. That's the lay of the land. The people: smiles, generous with their time and assistance, love to laugh, sympathetic to my transition period and cultural shock, everyone in the country smiling all day while fasting because it's Ramadan, people sleeping on cardboard on the sidewalk or under a truck in the middle of the day because they're so hot and tired from not eating.
At some point I'll get used to this living surealism; right now it's fascinating and fatiguing.
There you go, a glimpse into my world on September 18. Next Tuesday I meet with someone from the Ministry of Education who will tell me what school I will teach at, as classes do not begin until the first week of October. I've been spending my time adjusting--which honestly has taken more effort than I could have ever imagined; navigating bureaucracies and utility companies and repairmen to get working internet, running water, etc; and attending intensive language classes in Wolof, the dominant tribal language of the country--which has proven to be much fun.
Saturday I'm leaving the big city for the first time for some R & R at a seaside resort about 2 hours south.
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