jour 1

As I’m writing this, I’m listening to a mix of a prayer call and political vans broadcasting campaigns speeches (as election day is this coming Sunday), so I don’t even need Spotify playlist anymore for background music :)

Today was packed with sightseeing. We rushed to get ready and had croissants and café in one of the student’s apartments. Then we set off for a tour of the city. First stop was La Gare de Dakar (the train station). Historically the station connected Cameroon, Nigeria, and Senegal to transport natural resources to the ports in Senegal.

Next visited La Place de L'independence. In 1958 Charles de Gaulle gave a famous speech for the liberation of Sénégal. All of the French colonies were officially liberated in 1960 except for Guinea and Algeria

Interesting facts

- Ethiopia is the only African country to have never been colonized

- Liberia was the only colony colonized by the United States

- Ethiopia and Haiti are laregely recognized in “le monde noir”, for never having been colonized and the revolution (respectively)

After lunch we made our way to the West African Research Center (WARC), located about a 30 minute walk from our apartment, where we will be spending most of our time and taking class. The neighborhood is very quiet, located in Fann Résidence which houses several embassies and larger homes.

After walking back to the apartment, our landlord was intent on showing us the washing machine he had just installed for us on the roof. He was very excited to show us the washing machine he had just installed for us on the roof next to the goats. We finished the day by watching the sunset over Dakar.