Dakar. May 3rd, 2003.

(email)

I've been in Africa for about 3 days now (after a 36-hour set of flights). It took 5 planes to make it here from SLC, but that's the price you pay for cheaper tickets. I had a long layover in Madrid, however, and got to wander around downtown and take in a bit of Spain.

I'm currently in Dakar (the capital of Senegal). It really is a different world here and I'm still adjusting. It's very hot and very humid, but we're near the ocean and the breezes make it liveable. Our hotel is nice and all our rooms have balconies that hang over the ocean. I can
hear the waves pretty loud at night -- it helps me sleep. I've been having a great time! Already we seem to have gone everywhere around Dakar, taking in the culture. Our classes are taught by writers, visiting professors, and other public figures. Today we were taught by Senegal's best known journalist. The co-director of the program is a famous writer who is a friend of the President. She's been getting us into places we couldn't get into alone.

The marketplaces are crazy! Everyone tries to sell us stuff -- sometimes the most bizarre things. Most don't take no for an answer so we have to be pretty rude to get them off our backs. I'm learning how to haggle -- I think I'll be coming home with lots of souvenirs.

The people here are great. The majority of them are incredibly nice. Their culture is open and warm and it's easy to make "instant friends." We already have a group of young Senegalese who wait outside our hotel for us to come home so we can talk and hang out a bit. The children are adorable. I brought lots of little gifts to give them. They get so excited over the smallest things.

A big part of the population live in poverty and most of Dakar would seem a ghetto by our standards. But Senegal is actually the most well-off country in West Africa. The government is stable and democratic, and a lot of emphasis is placed on the arts. In consequence, all the great artists of West Africa come here.

Tonight I'm going to a concert and tomorrow we're visiting the island of Goree (which was originally a slave colony).

Hope all is well back home. Take care!



The restaurant outside our hotel.