Day 10: More Beach

I haven’t been able to post for the past couple of days, as always, it’s been quite busy. Today was Friday, and it began with a lecture on Senegalese history and the influence of Islam here. Our professor was very animated, enthusiastic, and clearly intelligent, and he said that he had been teaching since 1972. Anyway, the lecture was completely in French, and instead of taking the two hours the he was allotted, his lecture lasted three hours. My comprehension and attention level rapidly declined after the first couple hours, as the lecture turned out to be twice as long as the longest class I’ve ever had, not to mention, it was completely in a foreign language. After lunch, we had French class, completing a very intense day of schooling; something we’re not all used to yet.

Something we are used to however, is going to the beach. While most New Englanders are preparing for the fall and eventually winter, we know that we’ll be swimming till the program ends on December 10^th. Today, everyone in our group came, and we met a few of the Senegalese students there as well.

The power went out at around 1930, just in time for the sunset. I watched the moonrise and looked over the dark city from the comfort of my roof. Power outages have never been this cool. Rich and I ate alone with our mother (by candlelight), and we were given a huge platter of couscous and beef. I ate more than I ever knew that I could. (Note: the Senegalese do not drink anything while they are eating. While it has taken some time to get used to, I now do the same thing. This is supposed to be healthier, and also contributes to my ability to eat more, as I‘m not filling up on liquids.) Rich and I then departed for Cresp, where we Americans just kind of hung out. After getting home, I went up on the roof of my roof to lie down and watch the stars. A “sister” and a “cousin” in my family came up to say hi, and asked me what I was doing on the roof. I told them I was watching the stars. They laughed at me. I guess stargazing isn’t popular here. I won’t let that stop me.