As I am in a completely new culture, I keep referring back to the culture shock curve so dutifully taught to SIS majors in the class Cross-Cultural Communication. I am definitely past the “honeymoon” period, where everything is exciting just because it is new. I am pretty sure that I hit the bottom when I was sick and in the events leading up to when I was sick, because everything was just so frustrating and I really just wanted to be out of the foreign and into the familiar again. Now, I would say I am back on the rise. I have really accepted the fact that Whole Foods and Starbucks will not be in my life for the next few months, and that prospect does not seem so scary anymore. I have started to form a daily routine, which is important for me, no matter where I am. I have even started to appreciate the lack of internet, it keeps me from constantly being on my computer and checking Facebook. Soso is awesome and is super chill about everything.
There are a few things that still bother me, such as the fact that vendors here always try to make me pay three times more than what something actually costs. On Sunday a few of us went to Sandaga, which is the major downtown market in Dakar. We were in a fabric shop, and the owner of the store tried to charge me over 30,000 CFA ($60) for two sarongs and a piece of fabric. I knew that there was no way that the stuff was worth that much, and I managed to get the price down to 12,000 CFA (about $24). I know that that was still too much to pay for those items, but it took five minutes of negotiating to get the price that low and I was quite frustrated.
Everyone here cannot wait for the rainy season to be over. This is the hottest time of year, and the rain makes the air much more humid and everything dirtier. This is also the time of the year when mosquitoes are most vicious, and through my personal observation they seem to be getting worse each day.
For my internship/community service seminar class I will be working with an organization called the Centre Internationale pour la Promotion du Leadership Féminin (CIPFEM). This organization was started by CIEE students a few years ago and continues to be led by students. I will be dedicating one day a week to tutoring/mentoring local girls and helping carry out projects promoting leadership for girls in schools in the area. I’m really excited to start working with this organization. My entire freshman year of college I worked with D.C. Reads, where I mentored three seventh grade girls. I’m curious to see how my work with CIPFEM will relate and differ from D.C. Reads. Education is a pivotal element of international development, so I hope that this will allow me to learn much more about the field. I start next Friday.
I will also be starting African dance classes soon! I learned about African dance in one of my classes, Dance and Society, last semester, and I’ve seen it performed a few times. It looks so fun, and I cannot wait to take these classes.
Anyway, that's my update. Ba beneen yoon!
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