Year: Class of 2011
Hometown: New York, NY
Majors: International Studies and Africana Studies
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I knew I wanted to study abroad starting in high school, and maybe even earlier. I had imagined myself going to France, given the fact that I started taking French in middle school. I definitely surprised people when I announced I wanted to study abroad in Dakar, Senegal. West Africa is certainly a world away from Europe.
For me, the choice was logical. At Hopkins, I am an International Studies and Africana Studies doublemajor. Given my study of French as well, a French-speaking West African country was the ideal place to choose to study abroad. Some people asked me why I was not going to Paris if I wanted to improve my French, but for me, coming to Senegal was about more than French. I wanted the chance to live in Africa, to experience a culture and history that I had previously only studied. In my mind, study abroad is the chance of a lifetime—a time when your opportunities really are endless and you can choose to live and study virtually anywhere in the world. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. And I did just that.
Senegal is a fascinating country. The country is 95% Muslim (I interestingly enough live with a Catholic host family). The official language is French, but the majority of the population cannot understand French and speak Wolof (a lesser number speak other “maternal” languages including Pulaar and Serer). The city of Dakar is extremely international, with many organizations and groups having headquarters here and a large number of international residents (including French, American, Lebanese, etc.).
I have called Dakar home for the past two and a half months and will be here for another six weeks. While I attend classes with fifty other American students, I live with a Senegalese host family and take most of my classes in French, so I have been able to truly experience life in Senegal. I eat meals with my family around the bowl, sometimes even using my (right) hand. I know how to greet someone properly in Wolof and ask about his or her health and family. I can bargain for a taxi.
I feel lucky that I have been able to experience so much. I have explored Dakar—the neighborhoods, markets, beaches and restaurants. I have met incredible friends through my program,who go to colleges all across the United States. I have also gotten to know neighbors, family friends and other Senegalese host families. I have been able to travel: to the beaches on the coast, to a rural village for a week, to southern Senegal and to the Gambia for fall break.
While I have certainly learned a lot in my classes (French, Senegalese Culture and Society, Wolof, International Crisis Management in African Countries and Colonization and Decolonization in Senegal), I am also learning so much outside of the classroom. I have learned how to navigate language barriers, with the help of my dictionary and the patience of my host family. My French in turn has been forced to improve. I have learned cultural differences: not giving compliments, being a member of a family (versus being an individual), polygamy and the importance of Islam. I have learned to adapt to the heat and to love rice.
I have come to love the little things about Senegal: hearing the call to prayer at six every morning from the mosque near my house, ceebu jen (the national dish of rice and fish), being able to communicate in Wolof with people on the street, the amazing Senegalese teranga (hospitality), the car rapide system (buses/vans that take you around the city). While part of me is excited to return to the US and to family and friends and eventually Hopkins in the spring, I know I am going to miss Senegal.
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