La fin du semestre

Studying for finals and writing papers becomes infinitely harder when…

-The electricity is always out.

-It is impossible to remain connected to the school’s wifi for five consecutive minutes.

-The “library” on campus is a spot to hang out and chat.

-In order to research, you have to rely on a proxy server from your home university with access to scholarly databases.

-You don’t have internet at home, and everywhere on campus closes by seven P.M. on weekdays but doesn’t open until three P.M. on weekends.

-You know you have papers due, but you don’t know when they’re due, what they’re supposed to be on, or how long they are supposed to be.

-Half of the French final is based on something never covered in class.

-Assignments and tests completed two months ago have yet to be graded and returned.

-There is a lovely beach across the street that is constantly calling my name.

-My left eye has decided to get some sort of weird infection and burns incessantly.


It is December 6th and it is still SO hot… I mean at least 90 degrees everyday. For a while it was cooling off at night, but as of late it is hot as ever while I’m trying to sleep. Even worse is that at any given point in time, there is about a 25% chance that the electricity will be working, and thus, no fan. Some neighborhoods in Dakar have been without electricity or water for days at a time. At night when the power is out I lose motivation to do anything other than sleep.

Just two weeks remain, yet home still feels so far away. I imagine how Chicago must look right now: covered in snow, about 80 degrees colder, all the houses covered in lights and decorations all over stores. Here, the gas station has some decorations, but that’s it… not that I was expecting a predominantly Muslim country to get excited about the holiday season.

I’ve realized that the thing I miss the most is being able to relax. This may sound weird, because I spend entire days reading or at the beach. Even so, I feel like I’m always on guard, even when I’m at home or school. Four months into my study abroad experience, I still am afraid of stepping on toes or committing some cultural insensitivity. I also feel like I never have any space. I have my own room, but every time I hide out there I feel guilty for not being in a common area of the house. African cultures have a much different concept of space, and I’m constantly reminded of this when people stand uncomfortably close behind me at the store or practically sit on top of me on car rapides. I cannot wait to be able to come home from school or work, sprawl out on the couch, watch my favorite T.V. shows, and more than anything, feel completely comfortable.

Yesterday a bunch of CIEE students got together to watch Elf (my favorite Christmas/holiday movie). While it was wonderful to watch, it made me incredibly homesick. I’ve mentioned several times already in this blog how my emotions are harder to control here, and such was the case while watching the movie. Just hearing “You make me feel so young” by Frank Sinatra in one of the scenes made me tear up because it reminded me of home so much. I was in good company though. Some people even baked cookies for this event!

Two finals, one presentation, and three papers left to go.

Et puis, la fin du semestre… inshallah!