1. Watching guys running towards a moving vehicle in order to be able to get in it.
2. Taking the public bus early in the morning and being able to see the city wake up.
3. Eating oily street omelettes and sugary nescafé.
4. Eating around the same bowl with my family.
5. Walking through the fields of my village with other fellows in order to see the sunset.
6. The chaos of big cities in Senegal.
7. Our primary students coming towards us and saying: "Maitresse, j'ai pas compri"
8. Seeing my host mom's face light up to the sound of music
9. The sound of Sereer Laala language
10. Eating with my hands
11. Watching people dance while they feel the music
12. The parties such as Khawarés, Soirées, Mbilims, baptisms, etc
13. Helping my siblings with homework
14.Walking around the village and saying hi to everyone
15. My language instructor, Kouly Mbaye
16. Sitting under a tree all day
17. Being able to read so much
18. Bus/car rides where I can just think and absorb everything that's going around outside
19. People being extremely generous and helpful. (Teranga)
20. The beautiful baobabs
21. Washing the bowls with my little sister as we talk about our days
22. How cheap the country is
23. The friends I've made here
24. The bonds with my family and community
25. Going to mass on Sunday and seeing everyone with their beautiful tailored outfits
26. The unique taste of Café Touba
27. Walking every morning to the boutique to get my morning bread
28. All the students in our CE2 class
29. The feeling after scrubbing the dirt off my feet at the end of each day
30. Switching between 2-4 languages every day.
31. Being squished into the back of an old pick-up truck, surrounded by dozens of women and their children.
32. Witnessing the women and girls defy gravity by carrying literally everything on the top of their heads.
33. Yassa Guinar, Mafé, Ceebujen, Cebon, and all the senegalese dishes
34. Spending almost 100% of our time outside
35. Burning, roasting, cooking and shelling peanuts with my siblings
36. Adventuring with other fellows in the city
37. The random moments we usually have that usually lead to great things
38. Having the time to really think about myself and the world around me
39. The constant: "I love you, do you have a husband?" 2 minutes after meeting someone
40. Little boys manning their horse carts while standing up
41. Joe from the boutique
42. Feeling a part of the community as people call me by my name and stop me to talk with them
43. Laying down in bed with my siblings and giggling or talking about random things
44. Not being under the stress that academics and western society usually give you
45. Living in the complete day to day present
46. When my host mother calls me her daughter
47. My grandmother coming to me and telling me she is drunk minimum 3 times a week
48. Having to bargain absolutely everything
49. The culture of joking with everyone
50. Not having internet connection all the time
51. The other fellows.
Thanks to Izzy who helped me create this list of just some of the things we will miss about Senegal!
