Well, I’ve made it. I safely arrived
in Senegal on Friday, although it seems I’ve been here much longer
than that. Perhaps its the sun, or the importance of greeting each
person you pass, or the streets made of sand, tiles, cement, and
paving stones, but its easy to fall into the rhythm of Senegal. We
spent two nights at a nice hotel, living a bit of a tourist life:
seeing Dakar by day and swimming in the pool at night.
While at the hotel I was pumped for
the real journey, meeting my
host family and digging into daily life. I moved into my homestay in
the Maramoz neighborhood on Sunday morning. And it is real: the bed
is real, the walls are solid, my host family walks and talks – the
complete package.
Reality, when one is imaging it, is not very akin to reality when one lives
it. While I was getting ready for my vague, but enticing, “real
journey” I was not expecting to be overwhelmed by the sounds,
languages, and people around me. I was not expecting to be a little
underwhelmed by myself. The first morning I felt my eight years of
French had taken a leap out the window and my confidence with it. I
found myself exhausted by the total newness.
But a new day and a little rest can make a big difference, or better yet a
series of small differences. I came home for my lunch break after my
first day of class to a Maman who wanted to be absolutely sure I ate
before I left again. (The lunch was amazing, I’ll eat whatever she
gives me, she’s such a good cook.) And after a full belly, a little
review of French, and a happy morning spent with friends my
confidence and eight years of French were crawling back in through
the window.
It is difficult to be present in what appears to be mundane moments. For
example, today I was resting and my little sister told me to go to
Mama. I thought my host mother wanted to talk about something but she
was just watching television and wanted me to be with her. I pushed
away thoughts about awkwardness or how boring t.v is and tried to be
in the moment. At home my best friends are those with whom I do next
to nothing with. Its only when I’m establishing a new friendship that
I feel the need to go to the movies or get coffee together. What an
amazing thing that my host mom brought me directly into the
comfortable do-nothingness of great friendships.
