A Tale of Two Visits

Our days have been so very full and while I have so very much to share, for now, I will focus on two significant visits of our day. 

First, was the visit to the US Embassy in Dakar. Ten years ago when I did a Fulbright exchange program in England, I was thrilled to go to the US Embassy in London. I had built it up in my mind that we would meet the Ambassador, have cocktails in his living room, and they would secretly have planned for the Queen to meet us. Shockingly, that is not at all what happened. Instead, we were ushered into an incredibly drab auditorium for a briefing, and then ushered out the back door. While an incredible honor to be invited into the embassy and get to speak to diplomats that work there, today’s visit was much closer to reality than my first envisionings.

To visit the embassy, we had to surrender our passports to the officials, as well as our cell phones and watches. Yes, it sort of felt like the state testing. We were ushered across the gorgeous grounds, through another security, and into a lovely, very modern conference room. There were cushiony chairs, large tables, flags and technology for presentations. Being back on US soil for a few minutes today was unexpected and welcome: I got to flush the toilet paper and drink out of a water fountain! We were honored to speak with several officials at the embassy, although I am amiss to report that I do not remember their names nor their titles.

The first man that we spoke with was the highest of the officials that we spoke to. I believe he is close to the top here. He was welcoming, generous, and freely shared about his experiences. With pride, he told us that he truly felt like programs like this, were the best forms of diplomacy. He said that opportunities like this build relationships and knowledge that grow through generations that will make a difference in our country’s relationships for years to come. He talked also about what a leader Senegal was in the area and how many programs they ran in west Africa from the offices in Dakar. He said what was very impressive was how strong the country was in so many ways (for example, GDP and clean energy) despite the low ranking on the human development scale.

After that, the conversations became darker. First, the man in charge of safety at the embassy talked to us about dangers that we might encounter. I will be very honest, that, although some of it sounded terrifying, I believe if you asked people what they might encounter, in certain areas of our hometowns, we would see much the same. Plus, very few people here have guns. Also, we heard from the embassy doctor, who told us about wonderful illnesses we might encounter like malaria, and of course, diarrhea.

The public relations spokeswoman spent a lot of time with us today. She was an absolute delight. Mostly, I loved hearing from her about what it was like to live in other countries around the world with her family. We loved learning from her about the ends and outs of her job, and what life was like in Senegal. I’m honored she would take that much time to speak with us!

After a group photo, which we hope to get a copy of at some point, we were ushered back out through our two security points, and returned our items. For the afternoon, we went to visit one of the top middle schools in the city. 

What do you picture? What do you anticipate seeing at a school in a country like Senegal? 

Being in the school today was an absolute delight. You could tell all of our hearts were lightened by the visit and reminded by why we are here. But I must admit, I was surprised by this city school.

The school was about 450 students, with class sizes ranging from 35 to 70. Yes, 70 in one classroom. The classrooms were rows of wooden desks that seated two or sometimes three children with very few supplies in the classroom and a chalkboard at the front where the teacher taught from. Girls made up about 2/3 of the students. It is possible that this is because, for so long, women were not given the same rights to education, and now they are ensuring that they receive what they deserve!

There was a large open courtyard in between the classrooms, where children could gather and I’m certain that soccer could be played. 

The kids were equally as thrilled to see us as we were them. We tried to try to carry on conversations with us as we tried to find commonalities and crossover’s in our languages. We had conversations with some of the teachers and found that, despite the huge differences between our school resources, we are seeing some of the same difficulties in academic motivation. 

Today was a mix of uplifting and heartbroken. I am amazed by what these teachers are doing with these students despite the lack of resources that I so often feel are crucial. The Senegalese people, for so very many reasons, are truly amazing.