Who: Janelle, a junior at Rhodes College; a Religious Studies major, French minor, and social worker to-be (perhaps!)
When: August 20th through December 19th
Where: Dakar, Senegal-- a teeming city of over 2 million and the westernmost African capital. Famous for its legendary hospitality, Teranga, Senegal is home to the baobab tree, ornate mosques, beautiful beaches, portions of the Sahara, lots of mosquitoes…and Suffolk University, where I’ll be taking classes!
How: I’m going via CIEE, the Council on International Educational Exchange. Once in Dakar, I’ll be living with a host family, that is after week-long crash courses on Wolof, the local language, and Senegalese culture and survival!
Why: The hard question— the one my parents always follow up with, “Don’t you know that they speak French in France??” The (long) answer would be that I love people and languages, and I hope to one day combine these passions by serving French-speaking African refugees in the U.S. I hope to learn about the way culture impacts effectiveness of service, the way culture shapes a language…and in the meantime enjoy the rhythm of the mbalax music, the hospitality and stories of the people, the African sun—and yes, I’m bringing loads of sunscreen!
I want to attempt to live out what the French author Christian Saglio describes as « le tourisme intelligente » : « De ne plus ricocher sur le pays, en manquant tout, mais de pénétrer dans l’intimité des familles, c’est à dire d’approcher l’âme , » which means, for those English-speaking folks,
“To no longer ricochet about the country, while missing it all, but to slip into the depths of the families there, which is to say, approach the soul of Senegal.”
Though my access to internet might be spotty at times, I’ll try to semi-regularly scribble quick updates of these attempts!
A bientôt, Janelle
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