First Impressions

I've been here for just under 48 hours and it feels like a lifetime and a millisecond. Dakar is in every way overwhelming. It's both beautiful and covered with trash, quiet with the sounds of birds and then shaking as jumbo jets pass overhead, small and personable and also impossibly vast.

We arrived very early Monday morning and were greeted by the incredibly friendly and supportive MSID staff who dropped us off at our hotel. After a quick nap we started our orientation at the house of the MSID housing coordinator. There we received a crash course in Senegalese culture and the necessary information to keep us out of trouble for the first few days.

Senegalese food is AMAZING, though I've discovered I will never be able to eat enough to make a Senegalese woman happy. C'est dommage.

Today we went on a whirlwind tour of the city that I'll write about once I've had time to digest. Suffice to say, Senegal is a truly thrilling challenge. The mosquitoes are starting to bite which is my cue to retire. À bientot!