Dakar, Senegal

It has been so long since I last wrote. Life has been very busy onboard with final exams, Christmas, crew change, new staff and students and first semester floaties going home. After leaving Morocco, I ended up getting sick with one thing after the other. Unfortunately, I did not get to see Las Palmas in the Canary Islands (also we were in dry dock), but I eventually recovered and was up and running for the sail to Dakar. 

There is no one word to describe Senegal. The culture there is again very different from anything I have ever been exposed to. There were lots of ups and downs about the experience here but being in Dakar and exploring the surrounding areas was truly amazing. What were the downs? How could I regret anything about my amazing adventure to West Africa? Well … it all started in the first ten minutes of shore leave. Firstly, we drew lots of attention from the locals. Street vendors followed us for several blocks trying to sell us their merchandise. There were women with baskets perched on their heads filled with brightly coloured bead necklaces and handmade dolls, young boys walked alongside us trying to sell us sunglasses and a variety of artists wanting us to buy their work. It seemed as though because we were white, people assumed that we had money and were ready to buy. People were CONSTANTLY bothering us to buy their goods. It was really exhausting and we had to look out for each other as the throng of people that circled us wherever we went in the city could easily separate us. Anyway, before we could make any purchases. we had to get some money. I was the last in line for the bank machine and, just my luck, the machine swallowed my visa card. So, I had no money although eventually I managed to get some exchanged so no harm done. Another downer was that everything I ate did not like me. I was sick every single day while we were in Senegal. No details necessary, but it was not fun. Don’t get me wrong, none of these unfortunate events made me regret my time in Senegal. In fact, I learned a lot from the “downside” and it made my experience more real. 

Because we were in Senegal for such a long time, we did lots of really cool things. First, we met with Senegalese youth from an organization called SYTO (based in Senegal; promoting youth travel and cross-culture experiences). The students joined us in various activities throughout our stay in Dakar. On the first day that we met with the students, we each presented a skit to teach each other about our cultures. Their skit was about traditional lifestyles among different Senegalese tribes. Our drama team did a skit called ‘A Day in the Life’ where they demonstrated everything we do on board from wake-ups to galley duties. Then, a well-know storyteller came and we all sat in a massive circle around the room and listened to his tales. After lunch, we had a discussion forum were we split into groups and talked about things related to Senegalese culture such as politics, daily life, youth unemployment issues etc. It was really cool to talk to people around our age and have them participate in the other cultural activities we did. 

We also worked with the American ‘Peace Corps’ organization on a cultural project. For my cultural project, I chose to go to a nearby village called Popenguine and paint two new kindergarten classrooms with pictures and the alphabet. 

We also spent time playing with the kids and talking to the CYTO students. Being able to speak French was SO useful. Lots of the CYTO students could not speak English, and as one of the few French speakers I could easily communicate with them and I made some great friends.

Another thing we did in Senegal was travel up to the SOS Village Orphanage in Louga. The bus ride from Dakar to Louga was five hours in the blazing heat. We sat in uncomfortable seats with sweaty backs. One of the buses had a tire blow out when we were in the middle of nowhere, which made the trip a little more eventful. About one hundred children lived in the  SOS Village. There were ten houses, each with a “mother,” host and ten kids of mixed ages, genders and religions. This is where my French was most useful as I made some strong connections with some of the older girls living at the orphanage. I had a lot of fun and I was surprised by their quality of life in the orphanage. They are very lucky to be there. The children there have a “mother” to care for them, a safe home, food to eat and a decent education.

One of the girls African braided my hair, I read French stories with another and we played some basketball all together. While they braided my hair in African braids (which was really cool!), we all talked about their daily lives and hopes for the future. A girl named Jatis told me that she wants to be an airplane pilot when she is older. That same girl gave me a small leather bag. She insisted I keep it to remember her. I was hesitant to accept because she has so little but she persuaded me to keep it and in exchange I gave her a pair of earrings as a gift. Her generosity and thoughts behind her actions were overwhelmingly selfless. She was so kind and considerate. It amazed me how she could have so much happiness and joy even when she lives everyday without parents. I learned a lot at the orphanage and this particular memory will stay with me forever. I will remember those girls and their hardships; but most of all I will remember their joy. They have a good life, even if they have no parents and they are so thankful for what they have. 

We also took a quick trip over to Goree Island, which was one of the main slave trade ports and the ‘muster point’ where slaves were organized before being shipped over to the Americas. Millions of slaves died because of the terrible living conditions in the slave houses on the island and millions more passed through before crossing the Atlantic. It was sad, but quite incredible. The island itself was beautiful with brightly coloured buildings, cobbled streets, music playing and the feel of paradise.

On our last night in Dakar we went to a drumming and dancing festival that was put on especially for Class Afloat. We learned some traditional Senegalese dancing (which, in our culture may be considered vulgar and very sexual, but is perfectly acceptable in Senegal). Four dancers (all men) in very revealing lion costumes danced with energy that I have never seen before. It was INCREDIBLE. Little kids from the surrounding neighbourhood also joined us in the dancing and we had an amazing night full of music and laughter. I loved it.

My time in Senegal really changed my idea of ‘Africa’. There is no single story of Africa, which is something I have learned for sure. The idea of Africa as one entity is entirely untrue. Senegal was so different from Morocco, which is so different from every other country in Africa. They each have their own traditions, values and beliefs. I also learned many things from the people of Senegal including some of their core values and morals that are evident in their community. Something that was really neat about Senegalese people was the fact that whenever there was food, it was shared equally among everyone present. The people always wanted to make sure that everyone had enough to eat and no one was left hungry. I also learned, from the more impoverished people that I talked to, that no matter your situation or your standard of living, there can always be love, joy and peace. The people who had barely enough food to feed their families still smiled and laughed. This taught me that happiness is more than meeting all of your basic material needs. There can be joy no matter what. Happiness is a lot bigger than money. 

Can’t wait for the Atlantic crossing! Catch ya in Fernando ...