2011-10-05
It’s easy to feel competent. Easy, that is, until you find yourself spending the week in a Senegalese village with only a basic knowledge of Wolof and no Western toilet! During my first week of village life, my name became Awa, after the first of my father’s two wives, and my journal became my new best...
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2011-10-04
Hey everyone, Asalam malekum, I probably didn’t spell it right but it means, “peace be upon you and upon you be peace”. There are a lot of pains made here to ensure ones individual peace and many questions in Wolof are answered smilingly with the phrase “Jamm Rekk” – peace only. I have never felt...
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2011-10-04
Back in the United States, people sometimes ask me, “what type of Asian are you?” This sort of question makes me believe that I am some sort of species, ready to be examined for my assumed virtuoso violin skills, mathematical prowess, and whether or not I eat with chopsticks every night. I tell people that...
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2011-10-03
Pelourhino resides in the Centro Histórico of Salvador, Bahia. Its cobblestone streets and colonial architecture holds the largest accumulation of historic wealth from the seventeenth and eighteen centuries in the Americas, and remains as a mark of national identity for Bahians all across the state. Watch the video to learn more!
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2011-10-03
I’ll start with the first day and we’ll see how far we get from there. Saturday was a day filled with anticipation. Those of us unlucky enough to know just enough Spanish to get by had to go to class for a final cramming-session before loading into buses and heading to our eventual long-term...
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2011-10-03
I am very excited to announce that you will be spending your year as a 2012 Global Citizen Year Fellow in ECUADOR!!! My family and friends breathed a giant sigh of relief. I almost felt like crying. My heart had been set on going to Senegal where surely, few others would dare to venture. How,...
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2011-10-03
“¿Puedo lavar mi ropa?” I sheepishly held up my jeans, filthy from a long day cleaning up tree limbs outside for my apprenticeship at El Parque Amazónico. It was 5:30 on Friday afternoon, and my host mother was lounging with my baby brother, Aron, in the evening light. She glanced at my displayed garment and smiled...
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