It has been quite a while since I have written. Second semester classes have officially started, I am currently interning at an NGO and and starting to work on my expose that corresponds with my study abroad here.
The internet has been down on campus for about the past week, but luckily it's back up and running! I also have internet here at my internship which makes it convenient. Not much has happened since the last time I posted but here's a quick overview:
- Spring Break! Joleen and I took a 3 night 4 day vacation to Warang, a city of about 5,000 along the Petite Cote of Sénégal. It ranks among one of the cheapest vacations ever ($50 total for lodging, food, transportation and all meals.) but also one of the best. We spent our time lounging by the pool, walking to the ocean, hanging out playing cards, and wandering around Warang. Modou and his friend Ado came to visit for a day. Quite enjoyable, although I must say the whole first semester felt like spring break so it didn't feel much like a break.
- Second semester officially started! I am taking three classes: 18th Century French Literature, History of African Politics, and Sociology of Identities and Cultures. I have massive amounts of reading for the literature class but since I'm not as busy as I am at Madison it should be a lot easier to get done. All I need to do now is find the motivation...
- I met up with Claire and Clementine after being apart four years! Claire was my host mom from France on an exchange program I did in high school. Her daughter, Clementine came and stayed for a month summer after sophomore year high school at our house in La Crosse and I stayed at there house for a month the following summer. Claire works here in Senegal and travels here about two weeks every month. We went out to dinner and after some talking I found out Claire works for and NGO here in Saint-Louis. Thanks to Claire, I now have an internship at Programme d'Appui Communautés Rurales (PACR) which deals with rural development in the Saint-Louis region. So far the internship involves lots of Excel spreadsheets, but it is an excellent experience and helps build a foundation for potential after-college endeavors. I have the opportunity to visit development sites, gain work experience, and learn how NGOs function in Senegal. It great!
- I still continue to volunteer teaching english at Ndata Yalla, an elementary school in Saint-Louis, every Wednesday. Some days are definitely harder than others (like the ones where I lose control of the class and they start jumping on the desks...) but as a general rule the two hours go by quickly and I'm back to campus before I know it
- Most of my days here look like this:
1:30: Eat lunch
1:30pm-3:00pm: Lounge
3:00pm-5:00pm: Make senegalese tea
5:00pm-7:00pm: Lounge, read, clean [This is sport time for the boys]
7:00pm-9:00pm: Eat dinner
9:00pm-2:00am: Make senegalese tea, do homework, play cards
2:00am-11:00am: Sleep
The exceptions are, however, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, when I have class. And now that I have my internship I think this will change up a bit too, but for the most part it's an accurate description of my past 4 months...
That's about all I have for now, but I miss you all, hope everything is well, and best wishes from Senegal!
Love,
Hannah
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