Ever since I stepped foot off of the plane in Dakar, I have felt a sense of insecurity because I am an evident outsider trying to look into a new culture. Each day I have been slowly immersing myself into the Senegalese culture by communicating with my family, learning from my walks to school, and eating with my hands while "eating around the bowl." It was not until our field trip to the many different neighborhoods of Dakar that I felt like a true outsider and that I would be seen as looking down upon a certain culture. Yet, from this field trip I was able to witness a new sense of community.

On Saturday, January 26th, our group took a field trip to every place in Dakar. At each place we stopped, we learned about the unique communities that make up the great diversity of Dakar. We also saw the great disparities between the neighborhoods, from the overwhelming European resorts that are as big as a village to the unique, tight-knit community that bases their life around a tree. Every Senegalese person that I have greeted on the street, welcomed me with a smile, yet I still felt strange as I disrupted their lives with my curiosity and my camera. As I would look out of the window, I would even see the alarming differences within nature; trash thrown about on a beatuiful beach or amazing pink flowers growing up barbed-wire fencing.

The neighborhood that still amazes me to this day is the area where they base their life around an enormous tree. Once we entered through a small doorway that was located in the center of chaos and confusion, there was a sense of peacefulness and a calm community working together. I smiled as I heard the sweet singing voices of the children memorizing the Koran and saw their colorful clothes swaying back and forth. The goats were laying down in the shade with the stray dogs and all I wanted to do was take out my camera and start taking pictures. Yet, I have been refraining to do so because I don't want to look like I'm looking down on their way of life. Even though the people living in this community do not have everything that I own, they are still able to live life happily with what they have. Based around this tree was a school, food, a small market, and community support.

In the end, what this field trip truly taught me was the great sense of community of the Senegalese people that I wish to see more in my community at school. It is the sense that your neighbors are looking out for your personal well-being at all times and helping you and your family succeed. Every day I am learning more and more about the Senegalese culture and way of life. Even though I may feel like a stranger for most of this trip with mixed emotions of being scared, enlightened, surprised, or happy, I will still keep the memory of this extraordinary community with me.