I've reached an important milestone. I had my first normal poop today. Alhamdulilaay! My strategy? Lots of apples and fiber supplements. I guess rice is a pretty strong "stopper".
Other than that, this week has been relatively uneventful, "relatively" being the operative word. Ellen, Lauren, and I have done more navigating of the city on our own, without Senegalese guides this week. We've bargained hard for some good taxi prices, we've had our first taxi break down mid-ride (don't worry, we arrived at our destination safely because our driver hailed another taxi for us, and didn't charge us anything), and I almost got hit by a bus. There isn't even a real story with that last one, just a classic case of Grace-not-looking-where-she's-going.
Academically, I feel like this week might be the calm before the storm. We had three classes cancelled and haven't had any significant homework due. Next Tuesday, however, we leave with one of our professors to go north to Saint Louis (an old colonial city, and the first capital of Senegal) for two weeks. We will each be staying with a different host family during our time there and touring various agricultural and production facilities along the Senegal River.
Upon our return to Dakar, we have two days before our "ICRP Prospectus" is due: 3 pages written in French detailing the aspect of Senegalese culture we would like to observe/investigate for our ICRP. ICRP stands for Inter-Cultural Research Project, and it will be what I will be spending my last two months in Dakar working on. It could take almost any form, but the key elements in my experience must include learning something that will benefit me later in life, closely experiencing an aspect of Senegalese culture, and then comparing it to the States. Also, three other courses have smaller similar assignments as final projects we have to begin working on soon. All include finding a location to make observations and conducting research on the topic.
I feel overwhelmed by all of the projects. There is by no means a lack of interesting subjects I can study, but at this point in the process, there are so many unknowns swirling around in my head and the amount of work seems enormous. More on the direction of these projects later---
I'm really looking forward to this weekend. On Sunday, we will take a short day trip to attend mass at a monastery just outside of Dakar. The monastery is famous for its Gregorian chants (think Monty Python, Dad) and goat cheese they produce to earn their living. This peculiar combination sounds very appealing to me, but I am also looking forward to a quiet Sunday morning, and a chance to relax and gather my thoughts.
Until next,
gk
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