Hello!! Apologies for not writing sooner...especially to my mother.
I arrived in Dakar and the trip was incredibly incredibly smooth. I will post a few limited pics that I have right now. I will take more tomorrow and post them asap.
Dakar is a fascinating city. There are incredibly huge mosques and people in the streets at prayer time on straw mats worshipping. Everyone speaks very French very very fast. There are boulangeries selling baguettes next to mango carts. It is insanely hot for most of the day but then in the evening there is a wonderful wind that comes off the ocean that makes me feel like I am living at the beach. In fact..the ocean is only 10 minutes away by taxi - and there are miles and miles of gorgeous coastline. There is, of course, pollution and poverty - but it is not overwhelming (at least after living in Delhi for a couple months...). It has been hard to adjust to the insane wealth disparities. It's something I am still trying to wrap my mind around (there is a very nice Porsche in the President's son's garage..and a couple families living in makeshift tents nearby)
The kindness and welcome I receive here is by far the most incredible thing yet. Both ex-pats and Senegalese alike have been more welcoming and kind than I could have every expected. I have not for a moment felt alone, in danger, or even seriously nervous. I've realized that the quickest way to make friends is to mention anything to do with 'Obama'. I spent 10 minutes today trying to convince the guy I was buying fruit from that I had taken a picture with the president before he was elected. I don’t think he was convinced, but he gave me a much cheaper mango price than I had gotten before.
I am interning for the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for West and Central Africa. It has already been an amazing experience. The people at the office are incredibly kind, and extremely patient with my French. I am living with two UNAIDS staff and they are both very kind. Our little house is great and it is only a ten-minute walk from the office. I am living across from the President's son, which is interesting. Word on the street is that he spends most of his time in Paris with his family. The three armed guards outside his compound are very nice - they too are very patient with my French.
Evyline, one of the people I am living with, has been unbelievably kind in helping me navigate the basics of surviving here. She has lived in Africa for many many years and I am always amazed by her stories. She took me to see a fantastic NGO near the Centreville where people living with AIDS create beautiful art mostly out of recycled materials. Their profits help sustain the compound where they live. I think it was there that I was most touched by how kind and welcoming people are here. It is really stunning.
Anyway, I will post more pictures asap (hopefully tomorrow). These last few days have flown by. More soon!!
smiles,
c
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