As I head into my second week of classes at WARC, I'm starting to settle into a Senegalese rhythm in my days. I have classes Monday through Friday generally from 9am-6pm but most days I have several hours of free time within that. So if you're interested that means my typical day looks something like this:
7:00am: I bound out of bed excited to greet another glorious day of wonderful adventure. Oh wait, that's not right. Actually, the trill of my iPod alarm finds me impossibly tangled in my mosquito net which has become more of a Cirque du Soleil sling than a bug deterrent. After some gymnastics, I peel myself out bed and bid a gut-wrenching farewell to my fan.
7:30am: A cold shower. A mercifully, delightfully, lacking-in-any-sort-of-heat shower.
7:37am: Step out of the shower and wonder how the hell it's already 80 degrees out.
7:50am: Sing it with me: "The best part of waking up is ChocoPainInYourFace!" The Senegalese take a French approach to breakfast and have baguette, either plain, with fish and peppers, with peanut butter or with a chocolate spread similar to Nutella but with more fat. Guess what I eat gleefully every morning. To drink, it's tea or instant coffee that I generally end up chugging because I'm running late. I leave the house to my Maman asking if I'm sure I ate enough because there's no way a third of a baguette slathered with chocolate could possibly tide me over till lunch.
8:00am-ish: I meet some of the other neighborhood MSID students at the Mermoz mosque to walk over to WARC. We try to leave early to beat the heat and allow for a very slow pace.
8:45am: After our daily life and death street crossing adventures we arrive at WARC and do our daily odes of devotion to the air conditioners and wifi.
9:00 am: Class starts. Typically each student has two or three classes a day that are either two or three hours long. This tends to leave several free hours for checking email or doing homework around the WARC campus. We're also within walking distance of the beach and a very nice pool. Some of the more health-minded (read: insane) kids have been known to go for runs.
12:00pm: During a class break, we might head to the corner store for some Cafe Tooba, a delicious sweetened coffee brewed with spices, or a pastry or candy bar.
2:00pm: Lunchtime for the Senegalese. WARC has it's own delicious restaurant but if we're feeling adventurous we might head out to the main road for an omelet sandwich or the MyShop convenience store for something deep fried.
6:00pm: Class is out and we head back home. 50-50 chance we pass a burning pile of trash.
6:30pm: At home I greet my host parents and brother before making a bee line to the shower.
7:00pm: Once I'm cooled down and feel like a human being I'll join my brothers upstairs to relax in front of the TV. Generally it's either football or dubbed NatGeo specials about animals eating other animals. I might bring my homework up or I can go work in my room.
9:00pm: Dinner time for your average Senegalese family. I eat with my brothers and the other American student staying here in the typical style of one communal plate. Maman and Papa eat downstairs.
10:00pm: I retreat to a spot with a decent wifi signal and write emails, skype, and do research for school (read: Pinterest).
12:00am: Realize I'm up too late and go to bed.
Rinse and repeat! Weekends tend to be more adventurous but that's a story for another time.
No comments:
Post a Comment