2012-10-26
I met this one girl in Dakar. She was cool; she took me out dancing one night. Brazen would not describe her but the slang word “sassy” will. Her false name is going to be Alpha; not exactly a pseudonym since the name perfectly describes her. Catholic, Senegalese, single mother were my very first impressions....
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2012-10-23
1993. A special year for planet Earth, for I was brought into this world. It also happens to be the year my host sister, Daba, was born. I seemingly won the geographic lottery by being born in the U.S., while the cosmic forces fated that Daba should be dropped down in the village of Medina...
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2012-10-20
I’m living in a village named Sebikotane. Technically it is the outer, outer rim of Dakar, Senegal. But if it were up to me, I would place them in different galaxies. Although this village has 25,000 people and a paved main road, it is incredibly different than Dakar. Differences can be caused by many factors; geography, socio-economic standings, how...
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2012-10-16
When I told my host family in Dakar that I would be going to Kebemer there were no words of encouragement. “Tres difficile” my host grandma said to me as she shook her head and wagged her finger, “not Dakar.” As the exchange of gestures and a few words went on I started to get...
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2012-10-16
Today is my first Ecuadorian Holiday. Wednesday was 192 years since the independence of the coastal city of Guayaquil, but we get work off on the following Friday to make a long weekend. For the past 24 hours there’s been a rare abundance of traffic through Los Bancos as Quiteños head through the cloud forest to...
Read More2012-10-15
Hello all! Here is a video that describes a little bit of my first month here in Ecuador. Hope you enjoy! Also, people have asked for my address. So anyone who would like to mail anything, please send it to: Jackie Brown Global Citizen Year Hernado de la Cruz N31-37 y Mariana de Jesus Quito,...
Read More2012-10-10
The voice coming out of the television screams. French. 1 million words per minute: Protests. Riots. The American Ambassador, killed in the Libyan embassy. I tune in, as my family continues to nonchalantly eat Ceebu Jen from the communal bowl. An American. A Youtube video. September 11th. “Innocence of Muslims.” A blur of confusion. I...
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