Check! Another First Week of School Down

I just finished my first week of school. This year I’m teaching 15 energetic second graders. My day involves a lot of wiggly children, some tattling, enthusiastic learning, loud voices (I need to work on that one stat), and hugs all day long. The latter is a novelty for me because I’m used to teaching older kids – they usually don’t pass out affection for free. Anyway, my class is very diverse. I have students representing: Sierra Leone, Spain, The Congo, Germany, Belgium, Nigeria, The Gambia, Burundi, America, Japan, and Paraguay. Most of my students speak 2-3 languages, and they are quite the adorable bunch!

No Lights, No Action

We were told before coming to Dakar that the city experiences power outages. I guess you don’t realize until you are in a situation how often it occurs and how it feels. At my place, the power goes out every 2 to 3 days. Sometimes it simply flickers and comes back on… other times it is out for a mere 30 minutes. Usually it is out for a number of hours. Today, it was out for 7 hours.

So, you have some options here:
• A sweaty, hot nap
• Read a book and sweat
• Go to school and hope the power is on there
• Try and find a friend that has power or a generator running

Or...????? I’ll be working on building up my alternative plans. It appears that I'm going to need them.

Je Suis Désolé = I Am Sorry

I’m bordering on criminal! I’ve been driving my car around without license plates for the past week or so. (The Embassy helps us secure plates, but it takes awhile.) I’m not sure when I’ll get them, and I didn’t feel like leaving my car sitting in the school parking lot for another month or so. Anyway, this is a common problem for new, incoming people that purchase cars. You wait around until all the paperwork is final (and in your name) to legally drive, or you take a gamble and drive before you technically should. Anyway, the key word in the previous sentence is GAMBLE.

I was driving down the street the other day and there was a cop standing in the middle of the road. He made eye contact with me and waved me over to the side of the road due to my lack of plates. To say the least, I was freaking out!! He asked for my papers. Je suis désolé…I don’t have any. He asked for my license…Je suis désolé again. (We’ve been told not to give them the originals because they’ll keep them. Some people even make fake IDs or keep photocopies in the car.) Anyway, he kept asking and asking, and I kept saying, “Je suis désolé, je suis désolé…” And let me tell you, I truly was!

Finally, he made me turn my car around and pull in next to his police car. He whipped out an official looking pad of paper (for a ticket?) and that’s when I tried sliding some CFAs his way. A crisp 5,000 CFA bill ($10) would do the trick...or so I thought. He immediately wrote 20,000 ($40) CFA’s down on his pad of paper. This went back and forth for awhile - me claiming that I only had the 5,000 CFAs, and he demanding that he wanted more. In the end, he did take my bribe money and quickly slid it under the 'ticket' pad and waved me off. I'm still shaking in my boots.

Random Pictures from Senegal

Blame It On The Rain…

It’s been raining an insane amount lately. For the past 3 days, it’s rained everyday…anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes of HARD rain. Mother nature is not fooling around here because she always throws some lightening and booming thunder in as well. The streets are flooded and my little feet & shoes are getting wet. I drove through a street the other day that was completely covered with brown, murky water - about half a football field’s worth. Fun times in the car!

I OWN this Town

I love my new car!!! It’s possible that Hagrith (of Harry Potter fame) was a previous owner, and it makes me feel powerful every time I hoist myself up into it. Watch out all you measly little Hondas and Peugeots...

Îles des Madeleines

A group of us went to a small island off the coast of Dakar called Îles des Madeleines last weekend. The island is uninhabited and it boasts some bizarre rock formations. There was a small, clear lagoon and 2 small sandy beaches there as well. It was a wonderful day!

2 Cats and a Temporary Roommate

I would like to highlight one of my new coworkers /friends named Bex. She interviewed for and accepted a job with the school mid August and then caught a plane 4 days after being hired to come to Dakar. (Someone quit at the last minute for personal reasons.) First reason I'm writing about her – she’s cool. Number two – she’s currently my roommate. Her apartment was infested with cockroaches when she arrived (they were to the point of helping her cook dinner...in a non helpful way), so I told her to move in with me until the insect BOMBING. Anyway, it’s been great having a roommate. We have pillow fights every night and stay up late talking about boys (do you believe me??!!). Anyway, Mikado and Jude moved in as well – her two adorable cats. It makes me miss Brill.

The Corniche

The other day I took a walk along The Corniche (Core-neesh). The Corniche is the main road that runs along the coast in Dakar. It was built a couple of years ago (just dirt roads before that), and links up many different neighborhoods in the city. People are always running and exercising on it, and it’s lined with palm trees. There are some stunning ocean views from it! By the time I returned home, I was wilting from the heat. It’s near impossible to find a cool part of the day to exercise in Dakar.

One Step Away from the Altar

Who knew I needed to move to Senegal to finally have so many people interested in marrying me??? Yoo hoo! Yes, Caucasian women are very popular in Senegal…I guess my skin color equals a better life in most peoples’ minds. Or, could it be that someone fell in love with me in the span of a 10 minute cab ride? Hmmm, possible. Anyway, I’ve been asked a zillion times if I’m married, been offered digits, and been asked for mine as well. My, my, my…

Dinner with a View

I went to a really nice restaurant on the ocean tonight. Delicious chicken and seafood! And you can't beat the view...

Pool Party!

The new hires are extremely social and fun at my school. I'm laughing a lot and enjoying meeting and spending time with all of the different people. For this year, a group of 13 new teachers were hired. You pretty much spend 24/7 together for a week before meeting the rest of the staff, so you get to know each other a fair bit. People have come from other international schools in Korea, China, South Africa, Scotland (me!) and Ecuador. Some of the newbies are straight from the states as well.

Some Senegalese Food

The school provided a delicious Senegalese lunch one day for the new hires. The dish was called…(actually, I’ve no idea)… and consisted of rice, carrots, cucumbers, hot peppers, tomatoes, meat, olives, hard boiled eggs and pickles. It was very spicy and delicious!

The Downside

Okay, I had to quickly follow up the last post with another highlighting some darker aspects of life here – just in case you were getting too rosy a picture. There is always a flip side of the coin…

Some parts of living in Senegal are hard to swallow. Especially downtown, there are a lot of kids begging on the streets. They hold out cans and constantly follow you around as you walk and shop. It’s heart breaking! You would like to give all of them money, but we’ve been told to be careful in these situations. It is likely that they have to give or ‘report’ the money to someone at the end of each day. So, who really benefits from money given to them? It’s kind of like a Slumdog Millionaire scenario. Some people from my school give them food or a small toy in lieu of coins, but others do give money from time to time.

Trash, trash, trash! And then mix some more trash in there just for the heck of it. There’s always trash around Dakar - everywhere you go. The city can’t handle, or doesn’t have a system in place, for handling the garbage its inhabitants produce. Seeing heaps of trash, of all sizes, on the side of the road and around town is a common sight.

Food & Safety

Some people have emailed me certain questions about life here. I thought you all might find the answers interesting…

There are, for lack of a better word, normal grocery stores here. The nicer ones are French style and considered expensive by the typical Senegalese person (on par with American and UK prices). They look like a grocery store you would find back home – clean, bright, and more importantly, air-conditioned. You can even buy luxuries like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. A small pint is around 10 US dollars!

Then you have the local markets. Bustling, vibrant, often smelly places where you bargain and wind through narrow walkways to acquire goods. The prices are cheaper, and most people have domestic help who shop at the markets in order to get good prices. As a Tubaab (remember this word?) it’s very difficult to get fair prices in the markets.

Senegal is a peaceful African country. I walk to and from school every day on my own, and I feel safe. I admit I’m a bit of a chicken, and thought I would be scared living here, but the people aren't intimidating. Some people stare at me a bit when I’m out and about, but not often. A smile goes a long way…and I pass a lot of them out for free. Sometimes I’ll see someone looking at me in a somewhat serious way, and I’ll smile. More often than not, an answering smile comes back, and I follow up with a greeting. What looked like a furrowed brow was just someone studying someone else. It wasn’t meant to look menacing.

We’ve been told there are a few choice streets to avoid downtown (I live about 10 min. outside of downtown), but it's otherwise fairly safe around. Senegal has a low crime rate as a country. The streets are constantly buzzing... Everyone has a guard for their house or apartment building, so people are always on the street watching out for places and possessions.

L’école

I’m really pleased with my school and new classroom. You can tell pains are taken to keep things clean, and everyone is eager to help. Examples: The other day some of the cleaning ladies were using soapy water to scrub and clean every single one of the Everyday Math Manipulatives for the new school year. (My teacher friends will understand.) By no means is it perfect, but so far, I’m really impressed!

Yes…I am a Tubaab

I’ve been called many things in my lifetime (all vastly complimentary of course), but for some reason I love the word Tubaab - pronounced two-bob. Maybe I like it because with all the new French and Wolof words thrown my way, I can actually remember this one. Anyway, here’s an example of its use in context. Let’s see if you can figure out the meaning…

We had a Senegalese guide take us on a tour of some markets in Dakar the other day. At one point, we saw raw shea butter and we were discussing the medicinal and general wonders of it. I asked the guide if the use and smell of shea butter in any way attracted mosquitoes (turns out it doesn’t) because I’ve had a problem with them nibbling on me as of late. He laughingly replied, “That’s because you’re a Tubaab!” Yes...I am a Tubaab.

Greetings – Senegalese Style

Greetings are the backbone of any conversation in Senegal. Do you need to take a taxi or buy something at a store? Don’t launch into business right away…first start with wishing the person a good day and ask them how they are. It can quickly go back and forth as follows: Bonjour! Ça va? Ça va bien, merci. Ça va? Ça va. Once you have the pleasantries on the table, it’s then considered polite to attend to other needs. If you know the person and/or see them on a regular basis you wouldn’t just stop with the back and forth Ça va-ing. After the initial greetings above, you would ask about one’s family, then their mother and father. Maybe then move on to their job and ?? Obviously your French or Wolof (local dialect) needs to be at a certain level to accomplish the additional greetings, but you need to make an effort and attempt the basics. And, people will say everything is fine – even if it’s not! Here are a few things to keep in mind: If you don’t greet a Senegalese person properly, they will consider you rude. If you greet them earlier in the day, and then see them later in the same day, greet them again. They consider it insulting if you don’t!

*And yes, I'm feeling much better. Thanks everyone!

I'm Rather Like Snow White You Know

Just like Snow White, I was done in by a tempting, delicious red apple. “Here, my little pretty. Eat this, Crystal,” the wicked witch cackled. Didn’t I learn anything from the fairy tales my mom read to me growing up? (Side note: Hi Mom! I miss you too…)

Anyway, I ate said apple yesterday, and it obviously wasn’t washed properly. (I used some bleach in the washing water, but I think it needed a little more germ killing power. Today, someone told me that a dunk in just boiled water is an additional preventative washing technique.) Anyway, within 2-3 hours of eating the apple, unpleasant things were happening on both ends of my body. Oh well! I do know that I need to gain some immunities while here in order to survive. Might as well start early, but my stomach probably disagrees. She is not a happy camper.

P.S. – Sorry for the bodily function references. I’m just portraying the r*e*a*l Africa from a ‘fresh off the plane,’ foreigner’s perspective.

45+ Minutes of Terror

Last night there was a tremendous tropical storm - thunder, lightening, wind (my windows were rattling like crazy!), and pouring, slanting rain. It started slightly before 4 a.m., so it was too dark to take pictures. Tree branches were whipping this way and that and rain was absolutely pelting down. Once it ended, I did a quick inspection of my place…the kitchen and office had various puddles of water in them. The power was out around 2 hours as well.

At this point, I’d like to put a big thank you out there to Michelle & Jill, my friends from my previous school in Scotland. They gave me a little battery-powered lantern as a gift before I left, and I used it after the lights went out to study my French!

Rooftop Dining

Our director had us over to his house for a delicious dinner yesterday. He has a picturesque patio on the top of his place…amazing sunset opportunities!

First Day: Way to Make an Impression

My first day of work was also my third day taking my malaria pills. Let me get the bottle right now because I have something important to share from it...(2 minutes later)...okay, I'm reading directly from the direction usage:

Take this medication by mouth on an empty stomach...

So, I took my pill on an empty stomach 15 minutes before my director picked me up on Monday morning. Now, imagine this little pill traveling down into my tummy and meeting up with a bunch of FIRST DAY nerves. Well, they fought it out, and the outcome was not pretty. So, my director showed up with me looking a bit green around the gills. I assured him I was okay, and we continued on to the van. I jumped in with all my new coworkers (some I had met, and some not). We were about 5 minutes into the trip when a few things started to happen: 1) Crystal started to heave 2) Someone yelled to pull the van over 3) I jumped out of the van and vomited on the side of the road - several times 4) Me again...I made it to school and then proceeded to get sick two more times outside during the introductory meeting.

Well, what do you think of that first impression? To their credit, everyone was incredibly sympathetic and kind.

And no, I can't include pictures of this one.

The Kicking Apartment

One word can be used to describe my new digs - E*NOR*MOUS (please draw out each syllable as you pronounce it). I've been given a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom apartment for just little ol' me. My shipped boxes should arrive tomorrow, so it will be nice to decorate with some of my personal items. Overall, I notice a lot of white walls, so I'm going to put up my existing art and then buy some African art as well.

I would like to highlight the first and last pictures I posted. The first is my new best friend that I'm considering marrying. Yes, that would be Mr. A/C. Lovely guy. The last takes me back to my college days...cheesy, striped couches from the 70's. Yeah!

The Smell of Africa

I made it safe and sound to Africa!

It didn't take long for the humidity to greet me once I stepped foot outside the plane. I also noticed a smell right away...heat mixed with a dose of vegetation. A heavy smell full of things to come. A smell that, at this point, equals Africa in mind.

Above are the first pictures I took outside my apartment sliding glass door.

One More Week until liftoff...

Summer...sigh! It's drawing to a close, and I've enjoyed seeing all my friends and family during my time at home. Some of the places I've visited and things I've done:

Seattle, of course

Cannon Beach, Oregon

Coldplay Concert

Portland, Oregon

Kirkland Wine Festival

The Big Island of Hawaii

Lafayette and McMinville, Oregon

Death Cab for Cutie Concert
Columbia Winery

One more week = Senegal