Hello Everyone!

I have arrived safely in Senegal! After 40 hours of traveling and long lay-overs, I flew into Dakar around 12:30am on Jan. 21. It was all a blur to me in the beginning, especially because it was now time for me to speak my broken French as much as possible. Korba picked me up from the airport and was holding a sign with my name on it so I could easily find her. The problem was, after leaving the tiny airport and stepping into the humid night, there were hundreds of people waiting for the new plane arrival. I must have looked like a lost puppy because an airport security man came up to me asking if I needed help. He took my bags and we set off into a tunnel of people, mainly taxi drivers, trying to meet up with Korba. Once we found the taxi, we waited for one more student to fly in and then we were off to our hotel for the night.

The air was hot and dusty. Luckily, I was half asleep when we were driving to the hotel because traffic here is such a headache. I still close my eyes at times when Im driving in a taxi. There are no seatbelts in the back seats, and they told us that if there were seat belts that would allow them to drive more dangerously! So I guess I'm happy there arent any seat belts??? ha ha

After getting about 3 hours of sleep due to nerves and jitters, I met the rest of the MSID group for breakfast, which consists of fresh bread and instant coffee. We headed back into town near the airport to exchange our money into CFAs....more like funny money to me...lots of colors and 430 CFAs equals $1. Once we had our Senegalese money we piled back in the bus. All this time I was wondering where our suitcases were but one we started dropping off each student ,I realized that our suitcases were on the roof and the driver would have to climb up there each time to figure out which one to take down!

We finally reached my house after 3 hours of driving around the city. I live in the district called Liberte 3. My stomach was flip-flopping as I walked up the stairs to my house. It is more like an apartment building where my host family has one entire floor for themselves but it is open to the other staircases. Right away I met my host mother, Binta, one of Dakar's best bakers. She greeted my with a huge smile and a hand shake. She explained to me how I will have a roommate who is also from the States. This information really helped to calm me down. Later in the night I met my host brother, Pascal, who is 6, my host sister, Raissa, who is 14, and Lani, my roommate from Ohio. The African Cup is currently going on right now so I watched two soccer games and French dubbed MTV with Raissa, which is quite hilarious! For dinner we had a shrimp salad on a large serving platter because in Senegal it is common for the entire family to share on huge plate and sit around the table eating together. This time we used forks (always with your right hand!!) but last night I had a Senegalese orientation where I learned how to eat an awesome spicy rice dish with my hand...Im hoping my technique will get better over time!

So..situations with the showers you may ask? hmm... well ours does not work so Im taking bucket showers. Actually a lot easier than I thought, but still cold. Lani taught me the trick to getting into the bathroom without having little visitors...and in little visitors I'm talking about the cockroach family that lives in the corner of the bathroom. All you have to do is turn on the light and tap on the door a few times to let them settle back in their hole and then it's smooth sailing! haha

Yesterday the MSID group went o Goree Island, which was the last destination for all slaves in Africa before being sent off to Haiti, the US, and Brazil. It is a beautiful island where all of the houses are painted with bright reds, yellows, and greens. We chatted with two Senegalese women in French and in a little Oulof on the ferry...not knowing that they owned shops on the island and that this was the beginning of their tricks to make sure we remember them and buy something from their shop. "Remember me? Martha! You're my sister!" So..In the end I bought three bracelets and a necklace, all for probably more than I should have paid, which was maybe $5 all together. Another technique I have to get down is bartering...it's a lot harder than I thought because I smile too much!! We went to the slave house where the director of the building told us about each room. There was a doorway in the back of this open air house that was, for the slaves, their last place to see Africa. Once they stepped out of the doorway they walked onto a wooden dock and onto the ship.

After a long day of walking, gulping down as much water as possible, taking notes and drawings in the museums that we visited...I was TIRED! But my night was just beginning. Since I arrived a day later than everyone else, I missed the first day of orientation with lessons on Senegalese customs, traditions, and home life. After "eating around the bowl" and drinking :a Gazelle, a local Senegalese beer, we all sat down for dessert to just chat. Since religion is one of the most important things in a Senegalese person's life, that subject came up. It doesnt matter what religion you are whether it be Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or other...the Senegalese just believe that it is important to believe in something. So when two of the girls with me said that they havent been baptized, the director of the orientation asked with a little smile on her face "So that means I can baptize you? Maybe in the ocean tomorrow?"

That's about it for today...more adventures and crazy stories ahead! Right now I'm sitting in my computer lab at school, which is called the West African Research Center. It's beautiful, all open air, and extremely relaxed. Third technique to get use to...dont worry about the time. We'll get there eventually...which is basically the mind set of the Senegalese. Sometimes professors show up for class 20 minutes late and sometimes not even at all!

My African tan is slowing coming...my freckles on my nose have already appeared!

I love you all and hope you are surviving the bitter Midwest winter! I'm trying to send sunshine your way!

I LOVE YOU!

J 'arrive...(I'll be back)

Love always, Martha aka. Amanita (my new Senegalese name given to me by my host mother )