le nouveau et le maintenant// new and now

I've been really bad about blogging because I'm working on a ton of stuff! However, tomorrow I leave to stay with a family on a farm in Théis for a week. There will be no wifi and I recently ran out of data...so... I will not be available. I figured I should offer some updates before I leave.

1. Last weekend I went to Madeleine Island. It's the world's smallest national park!!! I posted some photos. It was really cool because it seemed absolutely untouched, unlike most national parks I've been to. In fact, I only saw one "informational sign," an arrow that read vers l'arbre principal (toward the main tree). I thought this was crazy because the island was covered in trees, but there was--in fact--a main tree. And it was very hard to miss. This boabab tree was insane!! Our tour guide said it had been there for 2 centuries.
2. One time my nanna pointed out how trees determine a place not just how they look but by how they make the air sound. When you listen to the wind in one place it's seldom like the wind in another. I'm still trying to figure out how to describe it here.
3. I started my new internship on Tuesday! My first internship was at a really cool women's rights organization, but I decided I wanted to work with children. This summer I interned at a women-focused nonprofit and although I felt passionate for its mission, I learned that I'm not as passionate about the type of work it entails. I don't want to write grant proposals, and that's what most of these organizations need. So, I ADVOCATED for myself and was able to switch to an informal school in downtown Dakar. The school is one room with about 20 children and 4 adults. It is run, has singlehandedly been ran for the past 40 years, by a man who funds it using money he makes from selling crops by the pink lake, where he lives. The children were learning french and one of the girls was learning english (as a linguistics and international development major my mind is running with linguistic imperialism theory and I really know I'm gonna have to write a very long extended essay about that later for this blog). I'm really excited to get to know my supervisor better. Wow. This internship is going to mean so much to me I'm gonna write a lot about it I just don't have anything concrete to say yet.
4. Thursday was Hijri New Year, marking the beginning of a new Islamic calendar year. The first day of the year is observed on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. We ate a ton of couscous and everyone cross dresses! Kids run around asking for money and treats! It felt like an odd combination of all my favorite American holidays.
5. School has been good! My professors are really passionate and helpful :)
6. Family is good! My french is definitely improving so I feel closer to my siblings!
7. Observation: Humor permeates every interaction in Senegal. It's definitely forced me to grow a thicker skin for the time being! It's interesting though, because my professor says that humor has prevented a great deal of conflict. For example, it is standard to make fun of someone based on their last name immediately upon meeting them. It's cool how humor has a way of cutting tension across all cultures. Also cool to see how it manifests place to place!  
8. I'm about to go speak sereer for a week, which is another new language for me! Just keep pilin em on.
9. I have a ton of ideas for blog posts that I haven't to because I've been working on a lil movie for September and writing songs and doing my homework and like living here, but I'm about to have a ton of time on my hands! Prepare for content overload in a week (I say to the 3 relatives that still check this blog). Hehe.

Bisous xx