Tales of a Traveling Teacher

As to be expected when traveling, often, things are unexpected. Senegal has had even more unexpected adventures than most. We’ve come to realize that Senegalese time is not the same as ours. Things have rarely, and I may even be able to say never, gone according to the plan or the schedule. For example, our plan yesterday was to go to the bird park, come back and change, then go to our host’s home for lunch. We met at nine, but didn’t leave until at least half past. The bird park was about an hour and a half away, and we were going to take a two hour boat trip when we arrived. I’ll give you a moment to do that math…. We ate the best meal yet, our home-cooked lunch, at five. Today, we were set to leave at ten (more on our amazing village visit on a later post). Around eleven, we got in the car, drove fifteen minutes and then waited at a gas station for about an hour. I should note here, that none of this has seemed to bother the locals. It seems to be the way of life. They are patient, ...

Today, the seven of us that are in Saint Louis, along with our gracious host teachers visited Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary. Rather than try to describe the day with words that fall short, I’ll share a few of my many photos from our two-hour boat ride. (Don’t worry, it was not a three-hour tour.) We were RIGHT on the border of Mauritania today! Melisha and I on the boat. I believe these are both African fishing eagles. I believe the one in the photo above is younger and that is why he lacks all the white. He appeared to be bored of the conversation. I did NOT expect to see monkeys! They were shy, but nevertheless, I got to see them! Sometimes, it’s the familiarities of home that are the most welcome of sites. The storks must not have had any babies to deliver  today. Traffic jam. I know this is not a great photo, but it is proof that I did see a crocodile! We did see him closer, safely from the boat, but he very quickly said, “See you later” or perhaps it was “After a while”! Flam...

“The Atlantic Ocean divides us, but everything else unites us.” - Mouhamadou For our first few days in Sénégal, much of our time was spent in the hotel conference room. I will admit that when I saw this on the schedule, I was not thrilled to be traveling to another country to then sit in a conference room. However, our presenters, and the information they shared were so fascinating and helpful, that I was incredibly thankful for this time. The conference room was lovely, and our tables were set up in a horseshoe shape, so that we could all easily see one another and interact. Birds chirped just outside and a sheep baaaed from somewhere nearby. Ousmane and Mouhamadou were excellent presenters, patient with our questions, and eager to share about the country they love. We started off by talking about schools, which is obviously why we are here. We learned that many schools now offer some sort of meals for students to ensure that not only can they learn, but they are fed. School in Sénéga...

I will be honest that entering a high school terrifies me quite a bit. Kids are much bigger than I am, they don’t walk in lines, and they walk with incredible confidence. Plus, most of them are great deal taller than I am! So, our visit to the high school was way out of my realm! We went to visit a large school in Dakar with over 2000 students. The other two schools we had been to were all one story classrooms around an open courtyard. This one was several stories tall still overlooking a huge courtyard. One incredible teacher invited us all into his classroom. So, not only did he have 30+ students, but about 20 US visitors along with several other teachers from his own English department. How incredibly brave! He was teaching English to students that were nearing graduation. Keep in mind, this is at least each of their third languages. Many of them are also taking additional languages. His lesson during our visit was on writing an argumentative essay. So, not only are these kids learn...

I will admit it. There are times that I attempt to hide it, or even try to deny it, but I am an elementary school teacher, through and through. I felt it as soon as we stepped foot on the elementary school campus. The middle school was a bit out of my comfort zone, but despite the fact that the elementary school was an ocean away, and in a completely different setting from what I am accustomed to, some thing about it felt like home. (Although, maybe it was these guys that made me feel at home!) As enthralled with us, the visitors, as the middle school students had been the other day, the elementary school students sort of waved, and got on playing their games with one another. We arrived just before class as we can and were impressed to see many assigned students around the campus, completing jobs like sweeping the pathways.  I got to watch a fifth grade class during a spelling lesson. The lesson was in French, as almost all formal education is in Senegal. This is the students...

Asala Maaleekum  For the past several months, since knowing I was coming to France, I have been studying French. I should have been studying Wolof. French is the national language. It is the language that is used in schools to teach children. However, it is not the language that is most commonly spoken. In 1960, Senegal gained its freedom from France. However, the freedom was one through agreements and promises, not through battles. Because of this, France still has a bit of a hold on the country. Schools teach everything in French. When you enter into middle school and high school (and sometimes even elementary school), you add another language to the list that is already twice as long as most Americans. But, before entering school, you would have only spoken Wolof with your family and friends. It is the native tongue to a large percentage of Senegal’s population, so it is the most commonly spoken language. Although everyone here speaks French, it is looked at as arrogant f...

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, t...

Today was difficult and amazing. Our morning started with fascinating talks about Senegalese culture, education, language, history and politics. I’ll share more on that later. Then, this afternoon, we went to Goree Island. Dakar is the most western point of continental Africa. A short, fifteen minute ferry ride off the coast is a small island. The island is beautiful, colorful, and a UNESCO Heritage Site because of the atrocities that were once committed here. For two hundred years, the small island supported the business of slave-trade to Europe and the Americas. Today, for that reason, it is one of most highly visited sites in the country, while also being a retreat for the wealthy. The island is small, about 1800 residents. We walked around most of the island in a very short afternoon. And yet, for quite some time, this tiny island created unimaginable horrors for millions of people. Enslaved people were brought to this island, and immediately separated from their families, and put ...

When I travel, I always have a wide variety of feelings. Of course, there is an overwhelming excitement, but there’s also a bit of a sadness. Saying goodbye, even for only a brief period of time, is always hard. I must admit that with this trip came a bit of anxiousness. Sure, part of that was traveling to a country unlike any I felt like I have been to before, but part of that was also meeting new people from around the country that I would be spending my every waking hour with for the next two weeks. Let me say now, that that part of the anxiety is gone! Today was long. There’s no easy way to put it. It was a two hour flight to Chicago, eight hours to Brussels, and six hours to Dakar. Plus, of course, layovers in two cities as well as time going through customs and exchanging money. From the time I left my house to the time I stepped foot into the hotel, it had been well over 24 hours. My mind and body are tired, but eager to start fresh tomorrow. I met many of my colleagues in Chica...