Salaa Malekum!

Packing to leave was an extensive process, including treating my clothing with a mosquito repellent called Permethrin and containing the next six months of my life to two suitcases.
When we flew into Senegal, it was 7am local time. I did not feel well rested- my back ached between my shoulders, and I never slept for longer than 30 minutes at a time. Upon the plane’s descent, the tiny palm trees, white boxy buildings, and sand looked like they were little plastic toys. Finally, the strange calm I felt when I left home for the airport subsided and gave way to excitement. I was finally here in Africa---
Ellen, Lauren, and I are staying at a small apartment in Dakar for the first night (tonight). Today we enjoyed our first Senegalese meals! Breakfast was waiting for us when we returned from the airport, and consisted of bread and some thick stew prepared by a nice man named Gom (we’re guessing he’s hired help in the complex, but nobody took the time to explain who he was, and he couldn’t speak French). Then we hit the hay hard, and were woken up by a woman we didn’t know ringing our doorbell. When we opened the door, she walked in without explanation and said it was time to eat. Still groggy and confused, again we assumed she was hired help and had a lunch of rice and grilled fish. It was a bit of a challenge figuring out to dig into the whole fish we were presented with, but it ended up being quite tasty!
After that, we headed to the Baobab Center (where we will be taking classes) and were taken on a little tour of the surrounding area. Things I noticed: the rigor mortus cat we passed laying in the storm drain, no trash cans, and therefore tons of trash in the roads. The highly perceptive among you might notice these are things located on the ground. Ah! Good point! Walking in Dakar is unlike walking anywhere at home- sidewalks aren’t large enough to accommodate street vendors, pedestrians, and people hanging out on blankets outside their home. We were constantly shifting from walking on the road, to the uneven sidewalk, and teetering on the curb when there was traffic coming both ways. It made it hard to look up and around at where I was. For those of you whom I told I wanted a study abroad experience unlike anything I’ve ever done before, that’s certainly what I’ve got.
There is so much more I want to talk about (child beggars, language barriers, mystery meat, etc.) but I can’t possibly cover it all in one entry, and this one feels plenty long to me.
Love from Dakar!