7 minute read
Discovering Senegal
Trip opens window to culture, colonization, and culinary world
by Jael Guest, Honors Ambassador and Foreign Languages major
Fighting the crisp sea wind, I brush away my bangs and shield my eyes to gaze over the city of Dakar. Soaring 171 feet above me, a proud family wrought in bronze lifts their eyes to the horizon, to a future of liberty and prosperity for the continent.
As I stand in the shadow of the Monument de la Renaissance Africaine, the tallest statue in Africa, I feel a thrill of excitement: I am realizing my dream of experiencing this beautiful country after nearly a decade.
Since high school, international travel was less of a wish and more of a goal set in stone for my undergraduate years. I have specifically wanted to visit West Africa since I started taking French eight years ago. The first day of class, we looked at a map of la Francophonie, “the Frenchspeaking world.” How vast it was beyond the little country that birthed the language! And what a tragic, complex, and relevant history behind the language’s widespread influence.
In terms of academic study, I was immediately drawn to the linguistic and cultural intermingling of French and local languages in former French colonies. I also added Arabic as my second language of study since a significant portion of French-speaking Africa is Muslim. Senegal is not just a former French colony but also was the center of French activity in the region throughout the slave trade and colonization.
After spending a life-changing year in Caen, France, through an MTSU exchange program, I returned to the States last June restless and ready to travel again as soon as possible. The History in Senegal program had been ruminating in the back of my mind since I learned about it at the annual study abroad fair my freshman year. What could be a more perfect follow-up to a year in France than a trip to the former capital of l’Afrique Occidentale Française?
Led by MTSU History Professor Aliou Ly and his childhood friend (and professional tour guide) Chérif, the trip was history-on-location at its finest. Both native to Dakar, Dr. Ly and “Uncle” Chérif guaranteed a safe, smooth trip and were able to give us invaluable insight wherever we went. We spent 18 days staying in hotels across several significant cities, including Dakar, Saint-Louis, Touba, and Saly.
First, we spent several days in the capital Dakar, soaking in our first impressions of the culture and people of this bustling coastal city. One of the first things I noticed was the color.
In contrast to the flat, dusty landscape, the people of Senegal imbue their daily lives with vibrancy: from the vehicles—colorful public buses, elaborately painted fishing boats, cheerful patterns added to horse-drawn carts—to the buildings—inspiring murals and quotes from African leaders found in even the most humble of locations—and, of course, the people themselves—most women, no matter their economic status, dressed in splendid colorful patterned dresses that flowed to their ankles, along with matching headscarves and brilliant jewelry. '
The men could easily match the women in elegance and color with their traditional garb: long pants with a matching knee-length tunic, usually embroidered around the neckline, and sometimes with a small cap to top off the look.
Every day, breakfast began with fresh local juice and a rigorous discussion on some cultural or political details of Senegalese society with Dr. Ly. At every location, Dr. Ly and our guide, Cherif, would give us a wealth of historical and cultural information while leaving time for questions. Not only at monuments and museums, but every bus ride, meal, or errand was ripe with conversation. We also learned from other locals.
For example, we had a lengthy discussion about community values and women’s roles in Senegalese culture with two of Dr. Ly’s nieces-in-law when we visited his home in Dakar. Another day, we spent the morning with the English club at Cheikh Anta Diop University. The students told us about their studying and living conditions, their experience with the education system in Senegal, and their ambitions and dreams. We asked them many questions, but more importantly we became friends.
Some days were full of fun and excitement. We witnessed the vibrant culture at the Village des Arts, the deep sense of community at the naming ceremony of Dr. Ly’s grand nephew, the wonder at African wildlife at the Reserve de Bandia, and the joyful freedom of Senegalese music and dance around a campfire in the desert.
Some days weighed heavily on all of us. From Dakar, we took a boat to Gorée Island, a preserved remnant of the transatlantic slave trade. We walked through a slave house where enslaved Africans were once held in abhorrent conditions before being shipped to the Americas. Similarly, our days in Saint-Louis, the oldest French-built city on the continent (1673), included many discussions of the destruction wrought by colonization on the region. Other topics we studied included widespread corruption in the economic and administrative systems today, neo-colonialism, lack of government-funded infrastructure, economic challenges due to polygamy and high birth rates among the poor, and obstacles for students seeking opportunity in a strained education system.
Some days were simply about observation. Religion plays an essential role in Senegalese society, but nothing like the highly polarized, politicized culture war in the U.S. Senegalese religion is fundamentally local and divorced from politics. It is hard for Americans to fathom a cultural attitude toward religion that could prompt the 94% Muslim population to elect a Catholic man as their first president after gaining independence in 1960. We stopped in the religious city of Touba to deepen our appreciation for Senegalese Sufi Islam, its influence on cultural values such as hard work, faith, and communitymindedness, and its role in fighting colonization.
A few days later, we explored the extraordinary religious cohabitation in Senegal by visiting the island of Joal-Fadiouth, a primarily Catholic community that maintains a mixed cemetery: Catholics, Muslims, and traditional African religious believers buried side by side.
The culinary experience is one of the best aspects of studying abroad. No one on our trip will eat mango in the States ever again because nothing can compare to the heavenly mango grown fresh and sold on the side of every road in Senegal. “Uncle” Cherif and Dr. Ly were proud when all of the students successfully ate a meal with their hands around one giant bowl, the Senegalese way. This practice also teaches cultural truths such as sharing, contentment, and trust in the elders.
The trip flung me way outside my comfort zone and left me stronger, bolder, and more capable. The values I observed and the lifestyle I encountered have changed the way I live and think on a daily basis. I believe everyone—student or faculty, regardless of major— should take up the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity offered by this program. Senegal is waiting for you!
