I leave for Senegal tomorrow! In the meantime, I'm frantically trying to gather last minute things that I need and pack. I also have one last shot to get this afternoon. I don't know what number shot this is, but it's definitely over ten. The people at the health department downtown have gotten to know me pretty well over the past couple months.
I found out some details about my host family. They live in a northern residential area of Dakar, about 20 minutes from downtown. The house is conveniently located in the same neighborhood as the center where I will take my language classes. In addition to the parents, there are four children in the family: Dany (15), Moctar (12), Mohamed (10), and Marianne (6). I believe a niece, Fatou (16), lives with them as well. It should definitely be a busy household. I received an email from the language center which provided these details about my host family. However, the bottom of the email stated that this information is supposed to be indicative but not necessarily accurate, because changes may have occurred. Also, in Senegal, "it is not recommended to count the number of people in a household or even ask how many there are for 'mystical reasons'. Also, due to the extended family system, people may show up anytime." So I'll find out the real details of my family when I arrive. I believe the "mystical reasons" refer to curses. There are no numbers on the houses for addresses with the belief that this omission makes it more difficult for people to place a curse on a house. Not counting the number of people in the house is probably related to that.
The schedule for this weekend: I leave tomorrow night from Detroit around 10:30pm. I should be in Dakar by about 6pm on Saturday (Dakar time, so noon Chicago time). I will be picked up at the airport by someone who works at the language center, and they will take me to my host family. Then I'll relax, rest, and hang out with my host family until 9:30am on Monday when my orientation at the language center begins with a guided walk through Dakar.
Please keep me and my travels in your prayers! Thank you!!
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2 comments:
I got your postcard today...from when you were in Costa Rica. Odd that the postmarks in Costa Rica look so similar to the postmarks in Grand Rapids Michigan.
Hope your flight went well!
Sorry I missed your call when you were at the airport. Do you have a phone in Dakar? I am buying an international card so that I can talk with Ryan and Leslie.
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