January 09th, 2019 |21°F 🌨 O'Hare International Airport Chicago, IL
“The best journey takes you home.”
For some reason, today I am not nervous. This will be my 4th time in my 20 yrs flying on an airplane, and this will be my 2nd international flight. I remember last January when I flew to Spain, I was very nervous. But today it just feels like I'm flying home, a home I've never been to before, but a home that I would like to become more familiar with. I've waited and dreamed for so long to return back to Africa, and I'm looking forward to my first experience back home in Senegal.
January 10th, 2019 | 77°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
“It’s really beautiful. It feels like God visits everywhere else but lives in Africa.”
- Will Smith
After an 8hr flight to Madrid followed up with another 3 hr flight to Senegal, I have finally landed in Senegal!! It feels surreal to actually be on the continent of Africa. I can't wait to arrive at the hotel so I can shower because I feel disgusting. After receiving my luggage I went to the bathroom and boy was I in for a surprise. The toilets were squatty potty's. I had never seen them before but had only heard of them. The experience wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though.Upon arriving at our hotel, our beautiful hotel, the Raddison Blu, I took the best shower of my entire life. Our hotel is lavish and reminds me of a hotel from a movie. The water is filtered here so I don't have to worry about getting sick from the water which is something I am pleased about.The rest of the night I rested and we ate at a buffet. This was my first experience eating authentic Seneglese cuisine and I was more than satisfied. The fried shrimp was the best part of the buffet in my opinion. A big part of Senegalese cuisine is fish and seafood, so I'm looking forward to eating more of it during the trip.
January 11th, 2019 | 77°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"Meanwhile the underlying structural problems in American politics and government are systemic and prevent us from solving our most intractable challenges."
-Larry J. Sabato
Bonjour! We had our first French class lesson today lead by my favorite profe Isabel! We learned basic French introductions so that we can start a conversation with anyone. I'm excited that I am learning French because knowing how to speak it will allow me to brag that I can speak 3 languages.Following our lesson we met the former Prime Minister of Senegal. I was very intrigued by his experiences and some of the background he gave about the country. With my interests in Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Political Science, I couldn't help but compare Senegal and the U.S. from a politcal and sociological standpoint.The things that stood out to me the most was the information he gave about the political parties, crime rates, and the relationships between people with different beliefs and opinions in Senegal.One student asked how many political parties were in Senegal and which one was the majority. In the U.S. we are most familiar with the Democrats and Republicans plus other smaller parties. However, the former prime minister stated there are over 1000 political parties in Senegal. The best part about it is that there is not a political divide. He described that many people have different political beliefs and opinions, but it never affects their relationships and friendships.Today in the U.S. it's difficult to have relationships with people from different political parties especially with the president that is in office now. Like James Baldwin said, "We can disagree and love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist." I feel as if this quote is very relevant in the U.S. but not in Senegal in regard to political differences. Likewise, in Senegal there is religious diversity. 95% of the country is Muslim, but there are Buddhists, Christians, and other religious groups living amongst each other. Even more, they have no problem recognizing other religions and celebrating religious holidays that are not their own. They are even open to marrying each other. I like how open the country is to different religious and political beliefs. One thought I had while writing this blog post was whether they are this open when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community since they're so open about many other things. It's a question I wish I would've thought of during the moment the former prime minister was here.On the other hand, the former prime minister explained poverty is the biggest problem in Senegal; however, there are very low crime rates. He discussed how people hustle in Senegal so they can make a living. While driving around in the city of Dakar people have come to the windows and crowded the bus we are riding in to persistently ask us to buy what they are selling. Poverty is a result of what we've been seeing. I've seen a variety of products like fruits, nuts, shoes, pillows, and jewelry being sold. On the other hand, in the U.S. there is a correlation between poverty and crime rates. Criminology focuses on how sociological factors affect crime rates and poverty is one of them. Because people are poor they sell drugs or steal which sometimes results in them going to jail. Whereas here, everyone is hustling. I've seen women with babies on their backs while they try to sell me the products at their shop. You would think that would mean Americans need to hustle more to dig themselves out of poverty, but when there are systemic structures that prevent people like Black Americans from being successful, hustling is not the complete solution.
January 12th, 2019 | 79°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today." - Malcolm X
Today we went to see the African Renaissance Monument. In order to get to the top we had to climb over 100 stairs and my legs were burning by the time I got there. But I still looked good!The monument is the tallest statue in Africa. It represents the future and symbolizes the opening of the continent to the rest of the world.There was a lot of controversy on whether it should be built or not because of the cost, but the monument is here now and it's here to stay. We went inside the Monument and learned many interesting facts. It is made of bronze and is geographically facing the Statue of Liberty in New York which I thought was the most interesting fact.Inside the monument there were a lot of statues on the first level. The statues represent the development of the country and the effects of colonization. The statue pictured below represents what mankind will look like years from now because of colonization. As you can see the man looks broken down and crumbled.Following the museum we went to the market where there are many many people selling a variety of different things. This was my first experience at a market and I was terrified. The people will not leave you alone and beg for you to buy their products. Even when you say no they continue to follow you and sometimes grab you to make their product sound more convincing. These people are persistent. But I'm thankful for our bodyguard who has been a lifesaver. I always feel more safe when he's around.For lunch I had calamari and plantains! This meal was delicious. The lime topped off the meal and made it perfect. I was full for the rest of the day after this meal.To end the day we attended the Maison Des Cultures Urbanes de Dakar where they did an AMAZING drumming performance for us. We were able to interact as the two dancers a part of the performance came off the stage to bring students up to dance. My sis Adwoa pulled me up to dance on stage and I'm happy she did because I had a fun time. Eventually we all got up to dance at the same time and it looked like we were having one big party.
January 13th, 2019 | 80°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing." -Marcus Aurelius
Longest day of my life. Today we attended a wrestling match. We departed from the hotel around 12:30pm to drive to the biggest wrestling match in Senegal that was highly anticipated. The competitors were Balla Gaye and Modou Lou. We arrived around 1pm so we could grab good seats. However, we did not leave until 9:30pm. I was not able to entertain myself with my cellular device during the 8 hrs because we were advised to leave them at the hotel since it was a high risk of our personal items being stolen because of pickpocketers. However, this was no regular wrestling match. There was one miniature wrestling match before the big match, unexpected fights in the stadium, dancing, and rituals for hours before the match. The funniest thing is the actual match lasted exactly 5 minutes and 30 seconds. We waited hours to see the biggest match of the year for a 5 minute match. Even funnier was that the underdog won, Balla Gaye. He was expected to lose but came out with the victory. One thing I did notice though is the energy in the stadium that was filled with about 60,000 people. Their high energy lasted the entire time. People in the stadium danced, chanted, and yelled the entire time while waiting for the match to begin. I couldn't keep the same energy as them, but I was happy I was able to experience an important part of Senegalese culture.
January 14th, 2019 | 79°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
“Home is where one starts from.” –T.S. Eliot
Today I woke up feeling a little nervous. I knew what to expect of this day because today we were visiting Goree Island also known as Île de Goreé. First, I was nervous about the boat ride from Dakar to the Island because I had never been on a boat before. 2nd I was nervous about the emotional experience. I knew coming to this Island would be an emotional experience because of its tragic history.For those of you who are not familiar with the significance of Goree Island, allow me to give a brief history of the island. Goree Island stands as a memorial for countless victims who passed through Africa's slave trade. The island, originally owned by the Portuguese but was later taken over by the French after a European rivalry between the English and French, offered the perfect geographical location to take control of the slave trade. The reason behind this European rivalry is because the owners of this island would be economically successful. Even more, on this island was the "House of Slaves" where slaves waited to be taken away from their homes. I was able to go into the rooms where slaves waited. There was a tiny room and our tour guide informed us there would be 20 people in this room at once. They would eat and use the bathroom in this one room. 20 of us went into the room and it was squished. There was barely any room to breathe. I couldn't imagine being in that dark, crowded room that also served as a bathroom, against my will. I can't imagine what that felt like. In addition, there was the "Door of no return." This is the door slaves went through to load onto the ships to be taken away from their homeland, a homeland they would never see again. Looking at this door and the view of the ocean imagining African slaves with their chains getting onto the ship was emotional. It's like you could feel their spirits in the place.However, when we were given the tour, our tour guide said "Welcome home." Our ancestors walked through the door and never returned, but I have returned years later as a reincarnated form of my ancestors; it feels good to be home.This place has been used as a memorial since 1944 and they have preserved its originality and authenticity by not doing barely any reconstruction. Therefore, the place looks almost exactly like it did years ago during slavery.Later in the evening we watched a film called "Traces of the Trade" where the Dewolf family discovered they were descendants of the largest slave trade family. 9 family members decided to travel and trace back the family history. They gained a new perspective from this journey and wanted to take further actions. As White Americans they wanted to help with the divide between blacks and whites, but were unsure of the next steps.Following the film we had a very in depth discussion about what do we think White Americans could do to help with the divide. It's a very good question but not an easy one to answer. We all agreed that white people should be allies and treat the word ally as a verb and not a noun. More importantly, we agreed that words are power. Therefore, our words should be used to promote change and help close the divide.
January 15th, 2019 | 79°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows."
Safari! Safari! Today I was able to see a variety of animals in their natural habitat. Wild animals were what we saw, but the safari was mellow to say the least. My favorite animals were the monkey's. There were so many of them, and they were so cute. Some of us threw out fruit for them to eat such as bananas and oranges. The monkey would hurry to grab the fruit and run away.We did a lot of driving to get there and from the safari which resulted in sleeping on the bus for an hour or more. However, the long drive was well worth it when we made it to lunch. My meal was delicious. I ate a very popular Senegalese dish named Thiebou jen followed by dancing. Unexpected dancing. It's all of Roger and Isabel's fault, 2 of our Carthage faculty on the trip. Randomly they got on the dance floor and started to do the salsa. Everyone was staring at them originally but ironically everyone was dancing, including the waitresses and bartender, within the next 30 minutes. The positive energy in the room was vivid. Everyone was dancing off the food and having a good time while waiting to get back on the bus and head back to the hotel.With the day being so beautiful, we all went to the beautiful pool upon our arrival to the hotel.For dinner I had a FANTASTIC meal with friends thanks to my sis Asmau. She met the chef of a local restaurant called Little Buddha at a hotel gym and they exchanged contact information. He invited her to come to the restaurant for dinner and she invited me and some others to come with. When we were given the menu, the prices of the meal were VERY expensive so Asmau asked if the chef could come out. He came out and we explained how we could not afford a meal at this place and we were going to leave. He lowered the prices for us and brought out so much food for our group of 6. We were all so thankful.To end the night I went outside to view the Atlantic ocean which is right outside the back doors of the hotel close to where my room is located. It was one of the most peaceful moments as the sound of the waves filled the air accompanied by a view of the moon and stars.
January 16th, 2019| 79°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"If you never dare to get your feet wet, you will never get to witness the greatness of the waves."
Today was filled with a lot of activities! We started our day off by visiting the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar that opened not long ago in December 2018. Even though every thing was in French and it was difficult to understand, I took a lot of information away and I was fascinated by everything I learned. There were 3 things that stood out to me the most at the museum.First, I learned that Africans made a way for the creation of Suduko using the magic square and group therories. Ironically, I played this game on the plane ride to Senegal and I could not even conquer the easy level. It's a game that requires a lot of thinking. I didn't know that Suduko was created with different math concepts and I definitely didn't know Africans used these concepts before Sudoku was a thing.Second, I thought it was interesting that the Egyptians used mummification to preserve the dead so they could have eternal life. It's even more interesting that this is included under the category medicine.Third, the picture of Touissant Louverture, a leader in the Haitian revolution is what interested me the most. I have heard his name before but have never researched him or the Haitian Revolution. Seeing this has made me more interested in learning about his role in the Haitian Revolution and the Haitian Revolution in general.After the museum we went to visit Lac Rose, the Pink Lake. In order to see the lake in its pink state, you have to visit it by 2pm because the sunlight combined with the lake's high salt concentration causes the lake to be pink. However, it's impossible to swim in the lake because of the high salt concentration; you can only float. In addition, the lake contains this salina bacteria which some say has benefits. I decided to put my feet in the water to experience how it felt.We ended the day by getting a little wet or very wet I should say. I rode on a Quad bike for about an hour. It was the most fun I've had on the trip. During the ride we passed the Atlantic Ocean and stopped to take pictures. We were all feeling adventurous so we decided to jump in the ocean despite not having swimsuits. My long skirt was soaking wet especially because there were so many waves, but I didn't care because I was having a good time. Think about it; when is the next chance I'll get to jump into the Atlantic Ocean?
January 17th, 2019| 79°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. Kennedy
Not only is the focus of this trip language, but also economics and education. Visiting the Seed Academy today was a part of learning about economics and education in Senegal. The Seed Academy is the first basketball student-athlete academy in Africa. The academy provides high performance basketball training for both high school males and females along with many academic resources such as tutoring and college prep. Even though a big part of this organization is basketball, they stress that education comes first. The goal of every student athlete is to attend university upon leaving the program. They are more concerned about their academics than their basketball careers. They ask how they're doing in school before they ask how well they are doing on the court. They emphasize how their basketball career could be over in a blink of an eye.In comparison to the U.S., I have personally witnessed the opposite from my African-American peers and their families from being a student-athlete in high school. Originally the intent is for academics to come first, but in the end the intentions do not remain the same. For example, growing up I knew a lot of African-American families who pushed their children to excel in sports so they could have a free college education. They focused so much on sports training that their children didn't care about their grades because they thought they were going to be professional sports players. Their mentality was to help build up themselves and their families through a professional sports players' income, if that were to happen. Education quickly became unimportant because of sports, which should not be the case.On the other hand, at the Seed Academy their focus is to get a college education so they can return to Senegal and help build their community and their country. One of the representatives from the Seed Academy who spoke with us said his favorite quote from John F. Kennedy, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." This is the mentality that they instill at Seed Academy. With the unemployment rate in Senegal being 60%, this program will economically help Senegal in the future when these students graduate with college degrees and return to Senegal to help their country. This makes the U.S. look selfish with their intentions of receiving a college education. With America being such a capitalistic society, money is an important factor when choosing a career. Therefore, some Americans solely focus on receiving a college education so they can have a steady income and success. Wanting success is not a bad mentality, but we should also think about how we could use our careers to make both our lives and the lives of others in our community and country better. Seed Academy exemplifies this mindset, and I think it is a mindset more Americans should adapt to.
January 18th, 2019|75°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."
-Malcolm X
IQRA is an Islamic International school that started in 2010 with 20 students. The school was founded by Madame Sharr, who is now also the director, and she is from Brooklyn, New York. She recognized the school system in the U.S. was not what she was looking for, for her child. Therefore, she decided to move to Dakar to start her Bilingual academy which serves children as young as 2 years old all the way up to the 12th grade. She started the school with all grade levels. Usually when someone starts a school they start off with K4-1st grade then work their way up by gradually adding more grade levels. However, this brilliant businesswoman started it all at once in a residential home. Now with the increasing amount of students enrolling, the school's campus is very large as the lower grade levels and high school are separated within a couple of blocks.We went to visit classes K4-12th grade and all of the students are so intelligent. When we visited the 5 year olds they were learning Arabic, which is one of the 3 languages they learn at this age as they also learn French and English. In the K5 class one boy recited his numbers in both French and Engish and another class with the same ages were reciting the alphabet in Arabic. By the time they are 10 or even younger, they can speak 3 languages. Madame Sharr explained that it doesn't matter how old a child is, they will accept them into the school and they can learn something. Even more, the school is inclusive. With the school being Islamic, they offer classes where students read the Quran. However, the school doesn't force its students who practice other religions to take these classes. They accept students of all religions and allow them to express their religious beliefs freely.In addition, I like how the director, Madame Sharr keeps in touch with the students that graduate from the school. She checks in to see how they are doing at their universities and if they need any assistance.Even more, the school is American accredited which encourages students from the U.S. and many other countries to enroll.Overall, I was throughouly impressed with how intelligent all the students were especially at a young age and how dedicated they were to their studies. Even though a large group of us came into each classroom to observe, the students did not lose their concentration. They were still paying attention in class and pretended as if we weren't there. The director said she is looking for more teachers with the amount of students enrolling increasing this year. She encouraged us to apply after graduating from Carthage. I gladly took her business card and will be considering the offer to work this upcoming summer to help at the summer camp or after I graduate.
January 19th-20th, 2019|76°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you."
-Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
This weekend was dedicated to relaxation. We were able to take a break from traveling and actually sleep in. This was well needed. We took a boat to an island, which I was not excited about as I am not a fan of water, and we explored the island for the day. While exploring the island I was able to find an aloe vera plant and some flowers to place in my hair. I took some of the aloe vera to use on my skin for later. Also, I was able to sit in the sun and tan so that I can have a winter tan when I return to the snow in Wisconsin :)I'm also very happy I got to drink my favorite drink here in Senegal. It's pineapple soda also known as Gazelle Ananas here.
January 21st, 2019 |77°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Today we visited 2 more schools in Senegal. The first school we visited was named École LGI Mbao. There are 70-80 students per classroom, which teachers in the U.S. would not be happy about. We went to visit many of the classrooms and the children LOVED interacting with us. They even taught us a handshake. The students were so excited to see us. Once they were released from class, all of them came and shook my hand. All the girls did a curtsy while shaking my hand. I was surrounded by kids for about 5 minutes as every one of them wanted to shake my hand and greet me.I also like their way of teaching at this school. They really focus on the students individually and finding what each student is good at. They understand that "one size fits all" is a concept that does not work. One of the students from this school received recognition for dictation in French which is not easy to earn. In addition, they use no technology in their classrooms. Many of the classrooms were just desks and a chalk board. Another thing that we noticed is the placement of desks in the classroom. In the first classroom we visited, the desks were in rows, but the 2nd classroom the desks were grouped together. This small change in the desk arrangement is essential for learning. It's important for children to learn how to collaborate and work with others at a young age.On the other hand, the last school we visited is an IB school called The International School of Dakar. The average cost to attend is $25,000. In my opinion, the school is Amercanized. It looked similar to the private high school I attended. It had a gym, outdoor track, basketball court, library, band room, and well organized classrooms with technology at the tips of every students fingers. However, this was my least favorite school. The school favors students who have more, specifically whose parents have more financially. Only 5% of the students are Senegalese. 5%. We asked questions about government aid and scholarships they could make available to local Senegalese people who want to attend this school and none of that is available. There used to be a scholarship to help get more local Senegalese people to attend this school, but it is no longer available, and they could not give us a reason why.In my opinion, it seems as if this school is benefitting off of African land but doesn't care about its people. They explained that many of the teachers at this school are from the U.S., and the number of teachers of color is few. I don't think it's ironic that this school was built in Dakar, one of the safest cities in Senegal, specifically so they could make money. This school lacked the passion compared to all the other schools I visited. The other schools I visited could tell me what colleges and universities the students attend after graduating and what scholarships and recognition they received. But when I asked about this, the IB school could barely give me an answer. To me this shows that they're more focused on the money and not actually how the students are successful after graduating from their school. The fact that they couldn't tell me about the scholarships students receive after graduating shows that students are not getting a bang for their buck. Granted they may be learning a lot at this school as many students graduate witn a bilingual degree in French and English, but they are not getting back as much as they should for the $25,000 tuition they are paying yearly. To me it seemed like a modern form of colonialism. They are acquiring land in a country that is not their own, occupying it with students, and exploiting Senegal economically. This school is for the benefit of themselves and not the benefit of the community and the people of Senegal. It's unacceptable that only 5% of the students are Senegalese when the unemployment rate in Senegal is 60%. They are not doing anything to help Senegal economically nor to help its poverty rates decrease compared to the other schools like the SEED Academy.Like I stated before, this school was made to serve those who have more. When you have more, you can attend schools like this one and receive a prestigious bilingual degree. Nonetheless, this is also known as privilege.On the other hand, there are a lot of comparison that can be made to the American educational system. First, I feel like we are becoming more technologically advanced. I have noticed that we are relying on technology to aid with education as if it is neccessary. This is becoming the norm when it doesn't have to be. When comparing all 4 of these schools, only the last one that costs $25,000 has technology; however, based on what I've seen, their students are no smarter than the students at the schools without technology. A lot of creativity comes out of having less. Technology does not have to be the answer to make students excel and have success.Second, the American school system acts as if a student has to be a certain age in order to learn a skill. The 5 year olds at the IQRA academy knew how to multiply by the end of the school year. Like one of our professors Dr. Hancocok said, "No child can rise to low expectations." During our discussion on the bus ride back from the schools our professor explained how she tried to push schools to teach algebra at a younger age but the school pushed back because they thought kids couldn't learn algebra at such a young age. This is clearly not true seeing the amount of languages and mathematics these young children are learning at IQRA.Last, the IB school was the only non religious school. Because Senegal is a Muslim country many of the schools incorporate religion into the curriculum. I believe incorporating this is creating more open minded students especially since they accept students from all religious backgrounds. However, I do not believe religious schools in the U.S. are creating more open-minded individuals. The high school I went to does not accept people who have different religious beliefs. I remember one girl came to school with a Hijab on her head and she was told to take it off. Of course not all schools in the U.S. are like this but this was my personal experience and I believe that type of environment creates close-minded individuals.Overall, I think there are many things the U.S. educational system could learn and incorporate from the academies and schools Seed, IQRA, and École LGI Mbao. These things are very small, but they could be very impactful to the future generation of students in the U.S.
January 22nd, 2019| 78°F ☀️ Dakar, Senegal
"Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."
-Bill Drayton
Today we went to an orphanage and went to a place where we saw how waste is being reused to help the environment. We were able to interact with the children in the orphanage, but we were unable to take pictures with them so here is a picture of Winnie the Pooh that was at the orphanage. We learned both places are forms of sustainability and social businesses. The orphanage has a daycare service that charges local community members to subsidize the costs for the children at the orphanage so they can receive a free education. The second place was a form of environmental sustainability where trash was turned into reusable and sealable items.I think Senegal should continue to build more social businesses. Given the lack of purified water in Senegal, I think the country could benefit from a social business that involves sustainable water. There could be small water purification stations throughout the community. The sale of purified water bottles could subsidize the cost of the purification stations for the community members; however I think a lot of charitable funds such a donations would help this business be the most successful.For lunch we ate one of the most popular dishes in Senegal called Thiebou jen. We ate on the floor in groups and we all ate out of one dish. The meal is consisted of fish and rice, and it was very good!
January 23rd, 2019|78°F ☀️ Touba, Senegal
Assalamu alaikum
Peace be unto you
Today we visited a mosque, La Mosquée à Touba. The women had to be completely covered with a long dress or skirt and our head wrapped. I enjoyed the experience even in the 80° weather. We learned about Amadou Bamba the religious leader in Senegal who founded the mosque in 1887 and his importance and contributions to the Islamic religion. I personally enjoy learning about different religious beliefs that are not my own. I've especially always wanted to learn more about the Islamic religion because learning about slavery has always made me feel disconnected to my Christianity roots. I remember reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X where he talks about Christianity being "the white man's religion." This is because, in many instances, Africans were baptized in the name of Jesus; they went down in the water as an African and came back up as a slave. The Africans praised Allah, but when they became slaves they were forced to praise Jesus. They were striped of their religious beliefs because of slavery. However, to be clear, this has not influenced me to throw away my Christian roots; I just sometimes feel a disconnect because of history, and it just makes me think.
January 24th, 2019 - January 25th, 2019|88°F ☀️ Nangane Campement, Senegal
"May the Lord bless you and keep; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
These last 2 days have been filled with a lot of driving. We have relocated to another city in Senegal that is close by Gambia, another West African country. We stopped at a fishing village and took a boat ride to an island. The picture above is one I took at the Catholic church we visited on the island. Usually the displays in the church are usually of a white male at the top, but this display is of a black female at the top, which I believe represents the Virgin Mary. I just thought it was interesting how this display reversed the roles. It shows how one little detail can make a big difference.
January 26th, 2019 - January 28th, 2019| 80°F ☀️ St. Louis, Senegal
"I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up and was not happy.”
-Ernest Hemingway
We have made it to the final city we will be visiting in Senegal, St. Louis. I am happy I was able to explore the city these last few days and communicate with the locals with the little French that I know.However, to end the trip, we had a very thought provoking class discussion that ended with a question presented by Dr. Hancock: "Can education be oppressive?"This is something I never thought about until she asked it. However it is oppressive and the question has not left my mind from the time Dr. Hancock asked it. Of course I have thought about how oppression is a result of systems and who is in power.Professor Isabel brought up a point that I never thought of and would like to read more and learn about. In Senegalese schools they learn about French leaders and French history, but they do not learn about the history of their country. This is a result of colonization. We see similar things in America where the history of indigenous people and African Americans are thrown under the rug. We learn Christoper Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but we don't learn about how he treated the Native Americans, how he took their land from them, and how he brought over diseases that killed them. Yet, we still have a day that celebrates him and his "discovery." We only learn about slavery because of the Civil War. We learn very little about chattel slavery and scrape that under the rug . In other words, everything is white washed and eurocentric. I've never looked at this on a larger scale, but I'm happy this question has allowed me to do so. I've only looked at oppression in the U.S., but to see the effects of colonization on countries like Senegal is sad. It's sad to see their history is not even taught in schools. They have to educate themselves just like African Americans and other minority groups do in the U.S. because our full history is not taught in schools.In addition, one student made a very good point about how in the U.S. till this day, there are disagreements about Confederate statues such as Robert E. Lee and whether they should be taken down. However, he explained if students were taught the history behind the confederacy in schools, there would be no arguments about whether these statues should be taken down or not. This is a result of schools not teaching the entire history.Even at Carthage with the required Western Heritage course first year students take, there is a lack of diversity in the selection of textbooks and the course is white washed to say the least. There is one black author that we glance over, WEB DuBois, but compared to the other authors, Shakespeare and Jane Austen, their works are read more in depth in this class than DuBois. If the class is supposed to showcase intellectual authors, they should include a diverse group of authors and not solely white authors.On the other hand, education can be oppressive because of privilege and who has more. In the movie we watched at the beginning of this trip called "Traces of the Trade" the family in the documentary, the Dewolf's, one of the males discussed how he was a third generation ivy league graduate. Princeton is the university he graduated from if I can remember correctly. The point is, he said even if he grew up in a different environment and in a family that didn't have ivy league graduates, he still would've went to an ivy league. However, I have to disagree. Imagine growing up as a first generation student whose parents didn't have the opportunity to go to college. This student may have the intelligence to get accepted into an ivy league school, but do they have the resources to get accepted into this school? Thankfully I was a part of a college prep program that taught me about the college application process, deadlines, FAFSA, scholarships, grants, etc all things my parents weren't familiar with because they didn't go to college. However, every one does not have those types of resources available to them because of the way they grow up. Therefore, growing up as an ivy league legacy gives someone more of an advantage to get into an ivy league school.All in all, education is oppressive on a global scale not just in the U.S., and I am happy the class conversation we had opened my eyes to the global view of systems that keep people oppressed.
January 29th, 2019 - January 30th, 2019| 52ºF Madrid, Spain
“Then one day, when you least expect it, the great adventure finds you.”
– Ewan Mcgregor
So! Our 4hr flight from Dakar to Madrid was scheduled for 10:35PM (Dakar time). However, while we awaited to get on the plane, we received an email saying our connecting flight from Madrid to Chicago was cancelled. The weather in Chicago had reached an all time low and the temperatures were colder than some places in Antartica! Therefore, cancelling the flight was the safer option. This meant that we would be stuck in Madrid for a day, which I wasn't upset about. As much as I was ready to return home, I was excited to return to Madrid where my first study abroad journey started last year! I loved Spain last year, and I knew I would love it again for this one day. Thankfully, because our flight was cancelled we received free hotel accommodations along with free meals breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We arrived to our hotel in Madrid around 6:30am. Breakfast started at 7am, and it was delicious. I finally got to enjoy chocolate con churros again after a year. I was so happy! Along with that I had waffles, pineapples, oranges, and a croissant. Lunch and dinner were just as good. The following day we took a train to the city and did some exploring and went to the historical museum, Museo del Prado. I saw a lot of the art that I learned about in my Spanish culture classes. It was nice to see the pictures I learned about in a book come to life.Following the museum I went to a store to buy a hat, gloves, scarves, and a turtleneck. It was cold (50 degrees) and rainy in Madrid, which was completely different from the 90 degree weather in Dakar. I didn't have any of my luggage, so I only had the bare minimum. Next time I travel, I'll know to be more prepared. Even though I didn't have the essential clothing, at least I had the other essentials: Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, lotion, etc. While I was buying the essentials, we ran into a protest. I remember last year when I was in Spain, there were taxi's everywhere, on every corner and every street; that was a cheap way of getting around. Instead, today we had to take an Uber to get to the train station and there were no taxi's. This was because of the protest. The taxi drivers were on strike and were protesting because they want tighter regulations on ride- handling services. There were a lot of bombs and police everywhere. Surprisingly, I was more intrigued than afraid as I watched the protest and listened to the bombs.Also, I enjoyed practicing my Spanish in Spain. It was an adjustment going from a French speaking country to a Spanish speaking. I found myself saying "oui" instead of "si" the first few hours in Spain, but eventually I adjusted. This trip has opened my eyes that I can learn another language and actually be trilingual. I've always wanted to learn Spanish and only Spanish, and I never thought I would learn another language. I plan to study French seriously when I return home especially since there is a possibility I will be returning to Senegal in the summer. Even though my French is still very poor, going to Senegal was just the beginning. In a weird way, I feel like my Spanish improved from going on this trip. I used it often when I didn't know the words to say in French since many of the words are similar as both of the languages are derived from Latin.On January 30th, we were able to get a flight from Madrid to Chicago. The 8hr flight had a lot of empty seats, so I managed to snag a window seat despite the anxious feeling I have watching the plane take off and land. But the only way to get over a fear, is to face it. That's why I prefer window seats because Lord knows I'll be taking many more flights in the future, and this will not be my last adventure.Thank you Senegal and thank you Spain for making my first month of 2019 memorable.