Monday was a bleh day personally but the week overall has been great. Power outrages were relatively rare this week (I can’t help but wonder if the problems throughout the Arab world and in a few other African countries might be to thank for that) and even more importantly I am starting to get settled in and finding a routine. Dakar, though certainly still foreign in MANY ways is becoming less intimidating. With patience, friends, and time, which is a loose concept here anyways, it’s possible to have great adventures out of what you initially think might be a boring day of classes. (Tip: buying things makes the transition easier as long as you spend within reason. It’s a great way to interact with locals, especially in a country like Senegal where haggling is part of the culture – I bought two paintings last weekend for only 6 bucks!)
The two classes I’m taking as electives started this week (my Atlantic Slave Trade professor was travelling and my History of Islam professor was sick so I had neither of those classes last week). Both professors are very impressive academically and I have no doubt I will be learning A LOT over the next three and a half months. In my Atlantic Slave Trade class I have a book report and a 10-15 page paper 1.5 spaced to write but I’m excited about that. My book is about the Middle Passage and I’m thinking about writing my paper about the impact on African elites after abolition (it’s easy to forget that Africans did profit from the slave trade).
Today made History of Islam worth the entire semester if I learn absolutely nothing else (which is highly unlikely). The class on Thursday is scheduled for 2:30-4:15. The professor, Dr. Kébé, asked us what time it was at about 3:45 and told us he had to leave at 4 because he had a student presenting. What he made a little less clear was that he wanted us to follow him so at 4 we all (all being 4 of the 5 people in the class) packed our bags and followed him to a car where he indicated we were to sit in the back. Squeezed very tightly in the back seat we took a short ride to Université Cheikh Anta Diop where his student was presenting.
When we got to the school there were seats saved for us in a room full of the student’s peers as well as local religious leaders. At 4:15 she started presenting what we later found out was a master’s dissertation about Islam in international organizations, followed by feed back Dr. Kebe, the president of the university, and the former president of Amnesty International in Senegal who is currently a professor at Cheikh Anta Diop and a member of the international board of Amnesty International out of London. After an hour it was determined that she had in fact passed.
We were invited to join the reception in the room next door afterwards and had our photo taken with her as well. We also met and spoke with the former president of Amnesty International in Senegal and that was just a bit more than exciting. Dr. Kebe offered us money to take a taxi back to campus but we declined and decided to walk. Ultimately we took a taxi back to campus because we got lost but I’m pretty sure we actually got a fair price (perhaps only a few hundred CFA above what we should have paid).
This afternoon in particular was certainly not what I expected when I walked in for my afternoon 2:30 class but with each passing day I’m discovering more and more that the Senegalese don’t feel bound to a particular schedule (or informing you of your role in it) and that can lead to fantastic experiences and meeting people that you might never meet otherwise. For somebody like me who likes to be in control, following others blindly is difficult but it is worth it to awkwardly follow your professor, squeeze in a back seat with three of your classmates, and listen to somebody you didn’t know existed two hours early.
All in all I think the weekend bodes well (in case I haven’t told you my school week goes only Monday thru Thursday…Friday is a free day so people who have internships can work on those). Tomorrow I have the first of five African Drumming classes sometime in the evening and will take a walk around my neighborhood maybe buy an ice cream in the afternoon. Saturday I shall hopefully do most of my homework and Sunday if all goes well can be a day of complete relaxation.
TTFN!
p.s. I come home in 100 days! The time is flying by!
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