2015-03-20
Dearest Big Sister, Today was my little host-sister’s 7thbirthday. She asked me this morning to take lots of pictures during the party she would have in the evening, so I had to walk for forty minutes in the hot, dry sun to get to Sophia’s house, so I could borrow her camera. As I walked...
Read More2015-03-20
Three things about names in Senegal: #1. Senegal has weird names. The most common name for women is Fatou, which is also the Wolof word for “death”. I havenÛªt deciphered the meaning. Some men are called Magget, the Wolof word for ÛÏold personÛ. Why someone would call a baby ÛÏOld PersonÛ is beyond me, but...
Read More2015-03-11
The picture above is a drawing of Senegal’s first president, Leopold Senghor, known also for being one of the most successful West African poets of the 20th Century. Anecdote 1: I sit around the communal bowl for lunch. The usual gang (mother, siblings, and cousins) comes around as well. One person is missing: Hadjiata, our...
Read More2015-01-15
Season’s Greetings! Let’s talk about greetings, shall we? Here is a: Guideline for Greeting in Senegal Step 1: Wish peace on the person you are greeting. They shall wish peace back. Step 2: Ask how they are doing. They shall respond by saying that they are here. Step 3: Ask about their family. Expect to...
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2014-10-21
I write these words on October 15th. While I will still write seven blogs, it won’t all be done in a week. I chose that quality is better than quantity and took my time with my blogs. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the role language plays in society, mainly because of all the...
Read More2014-10-16
Escribo estas palabras el jueves, 9 de octubre de 2014. Ayer dije que escribiría un blog pequeño cada día de esta semana, cada uno sobre una característica distinta de Senegal. Cuando le pregunté a mis amigos qué querían saber, tuve varios que me preguntaron sobre Ebola. Aunque no era algo a que le quise prestar...
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2014-10-13
I write these words on Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 Despite having what I believe to be an above-average capability to understand and respect other people’s points of view, I never understood “the country folk”. Being raised in a mainly urban setting for my entire life, it became increasingly hard over the years to comprehend why...
Read More2014-10-13
Escribo estas palabras el miércoles, 8 de octubre de 2014 Aunque considero que yo tengo una Buena capacidad de comprender y respetar los puntos de vista de otras personas, jamás llegué a comprender a la “gente del campo”. Como fui criado en el área urbano toda mi vida, se me hacía muy difícil comprender por...
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2014-10-13
The wise King Solomon once wrote: “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.” -Ecclesiastes 8:15...
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2014-10-13
I write these words on Thursday, October 9, 2014. Yesterday, I wrote that I would write one blog per day, each one concerning a different characteristic of Senegal. I also asked a few friends if they had anything specific they wanted me to talk about. A couple of them mentioned Ebola. Since I wish to...
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2014-09-26
I wrote these words on Friday, September 19th. I have now been in Senegal for three weeks and away from home for a little more than a month. It’s been a while since I’ve last uploaded a blog, and I know that many of you are very curious about what I’ve been doing and—more importantly—how...
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2014-09-08
Nota: La mayoría de mis blogs saldrán unos 10-14 días después del dia que los escribí. Esto se debe principalmente a mi poco acceso al internet y al tiempo que toma revisar y aprobar mis escrituras. Escribí esto durante una noche de insomnio en mi segunda noche en Senegal. Es un poco largo, así que...
Read More 2014-09-08
Note: Most of my blogs will be uploaded about 10-14 days after I actually wrote them. This is due to several factors, the main ones being: lack of access to internet, and the revision and approval of my blog. I wrote this in a night of insomnia on my second day in Senegal. It is...
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2014-09-07
Tengo dos otros blogs sobre mi tiempo en entrenamiento que están en el proceso de ser completados, pero después de hoy, siento la necesidad de romper el orden cronologico que quise mantener para mi blog. Escribo estas palabras en la tarde de 25 de agosto de 2014. ¡Saludos! Sé que muchos de ustedes quieren saber...
Read More 2014-08-31
I have two other blog posts about my time in Pre-Departure Training in the process of being completed. But after tonight, I feel the need to break the chronological coherence I had planned to maintain for my blog page. I write these words on the evening of August 25th, 2014 Hello, guys! I know many...
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2014-08-18
Escribo estas palabras en la mañana del lunes, 11 de Agosto de 2014. Hoy, muchas de mis amistades comenzaron sus semestres escolares. Yo, en cambio, me encuentro sentado en un Denny’s vacío en la Chardon, aquí en Hato Rey. Me estoy cuestionando si debo practicar mi francés—que está medio sala’o—o si debo tomar ventaja de...
Read More 2014-08-18
I write these words on the morning of Monday, August 11, 2014. Today, most of my friends started their school semesters—high school, college or otherwise. I instead, am sitting down alone in a Denny’s diner in the heart of San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’m questioning whether I should start studying my French—which I am slightly...
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