2011-11-02
I’m the first to admit that my Spanish speaking skills are not that great. I’m also the first to admit that I possess incredibly perfectionist tendencies. The combination of these two led to a month and a half of silence: I only spoke when asked direct questions, or felt threatened. My silence ended about twenty...
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2011-11-02
For the past two months that I have been in Senegal I have been trying to learn and see as much as I can: from studying Wolof and French every day, to cramming in visits to all the markets and beaches of Dakar. As many of my friends and family at home can attest to,...
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2011-11-02
During my week spent in my village I was asked too many times to count, “Are you married?” And when I responded “deedeet”, or no in Wolof, that first question was immediately followed up with “Why not?” I find that I am still working on an adequate response. At first I responded with “Je suis tres...
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2011-10-28
You are sitting outside watching the last beams of sun disappear behind the mountains when the news reaches you. The man who brings it expects nothing more of you than simple acknowledgement, yet curiosity brings you to the communal building where all are gathered. A woman has died today, and a vigil of silence is...
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2011-10-28
Being without certainty of practically any demand given to me is slowly forcing me to silence impulsive behavior. Any time I assume I know what someone is saying in Wolof or French I make a mistake. I attempt to show them that I understand by saying something which proves I am listening. By doing this...
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2011-10-28
My brother’s high school I visited was not at all what I was used to, and the most similar aspect of the school day was that teachers taught and students studied. My brother told me that school started at 7. But this was Ecuador time, and people didn’t start arriving, even the teacher, until much...
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2011-10-25
Everyone is dead. Well, not really. But it really looked like it. In a matter of seconds, the entire hundred-something people who inhabit my village cleared out. Women screaming. Men sprinting for the road. And then silence. I was dazed, sitting alone under a tree that had previously been bustling with life and conversation that...
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