Today marks the end of my fourth week in Dakar, Senegal! I cannot believe I’ve been here for nearly a month. From meeting my host family to bargaining in Wolof (the Senegalese native language) at the marketplace to bouts of diarrhea to eating ceebu jën and puff-puffs, I find it hard to believe I was in the U.S. merely a month ago. But perhaps I should start at the beginning.
August 23, 2025: I was about to get in the car headed to Dulles International Airport. My sister had already left the week prior for her freshman year of college so she wasn’t with us, and—coincidentally exactly 9 months after we had started dating—I said goodbye to my boyfriend that morning. Feeling the twinge of tears prick my eyes, I gave him one last hug and got in the car. Only three more goodbyes left: my mom, dad, and younger brother, all of whom were in the car with me to the airport. We pulled away.
Of course I was sad to leave! But for almost a year, I had known that MSID: International Development in Senegal was the right program for me. With a background in French language and an interest in African affairs, a language-focused and internship-oriented program was the perfect choice. In the 16 weeks ahead, I would spend one week in orientation, seven weeks in classes, one week on break, six weeks in an internship, and one week in a final seminar to conclude the program. Of course I was sad to leave, but I was so beyond excited to go.
I don’t know how I could possibly encapsulate these past four weeks into a blog post, but I am certainly going to try!
On August 24th, at 7am, we landed in Dakar. I watched the land surrounding us—a beautiful contrast of red and green—roll by while we took a minibus from the airport to the hotel where we were staying for orientation. With AC and the five other new students with me, it felt like vacation rather than a four month stay.
The first few days were a whirlwind. We did orientation and one too many icebreakers before we coalesced into our cohort of ten (the six of us new arrivals and the four students who had been in Senegal since early September to do an intensive French program). We hung out at the SIT Center where we’d be taking classes and then the previous arrivals showed us the town of Mermoz, where we’d all be staying in Dakar. They also took us to Auchan, the big grocery store near us, to buy toilet paper and other necessities that our families wouldn’t provide.
On day 4, we finally met our host families! Each of our host moms and some of our host siblings were hanging out downstairs in the SIT Center. All I knew of my host mom was one photo and her name: Adja Diop. Palms sweaty and trying to remember how to pronounce “Salaam maalekum”—the Wolof phrase to greet others—I went downstairs to meet my her. The second I entered the room, she exclaimed “Cati! Ça va?” She took my hand and motioned for me to sit next to her. She was wearing a long purple dress (my favorite color) and a purple headscarf that covered her hair.
She helped me grab my suitcase and duffel and we walked along a dusty road for a mere two minutes before reaching my home for the next four months. She showed me the house and I kept telling her “C’est tellement belle” (it’s very beautiful)! She explained the Senegalese concept of “teranga” to me, detailing how Senegalese hospitality includes community and food and gifts. Maman Adja told me I should feel at home here and free to do as I would back home. She then said a phrase I’d hear nearly every day from her: “On est ensemble!” (we are together).
My host family speaks entirely in Wolof to each other. Prior to arriving, I knew that only ~30% of Senegal spoke French, but I definitely didn’t expect Wolof to be the sole form of communication amongst my family members. As you might guess, I do not speak any Wolof whatsoever. However, I was fully prepared to speak in French as much as necessary. From 2016-2021, my family and I lived in Paris, France, and I was very excited to have my French to navigate myself through my Senegal experience. I did not expect to suddenly feel utterly lost in a country in which I do, in fact, speak the national language: French.
Overnight, my second language had become my crutch for my third. My host mom would speak to me in French and my classes at school were in French, but the preferred form of communication for most Senegalese people is Wolof. I was initially disappointed because I really wanted to have more opportunities to improve my French. However, as soon as I began taking my Wolof class in week 2, I found that I LOVED learning a new language.
I have not had the experience of starting to learn a language since I began learning French in sixth grade. Unlike French, Wolof has very few words that overlap with English or French. In French, I could mostly get by when I didn’t know a vocabulary word by adding a French accent to an English word and hoping for the best. In Wolof? Not so much. Each word I learned, I earned. We were taught Wolof in a combination of French and English, so my notebook has become a color-coded mess of languages. Sometimes in class I think in English and then the sentence structure more closely resembles French, so my brain switches languages. I truly do not think my notebook makes sense to anyone but me.
My jàngalekat (teacher) Sidy has been teaching Wolof for decades and is clearly so passionate about it. And he’s hilarious! On the first day, to explain the importance of pronunciation, he told us how he was once introduced as his student’s “jongalekat.” That does not mean teacher… It means “circumciser.” Every lesson has been just as entertaining since.
The other students have also been amazing. We all take the Wolof class together as well as our Senegalese Historical & Cultural Context class, and then we each take a thematic course—mine is Human Rights. My favorite part of hanging out with the other students has been all of our adventures outside of class. In the past four weeks, we have: explored the city (via walking and Yango, the Senegalese equivalent of Uber), visited several markets (including the Marse Soumbédioune), attended the Senegal vs. Sudan soccer game (and subsequently got stranded for three hours when our driver ghosted us), walked all over the city (my favorite destination was the Monument de la Renaissance Africaine), swam at beaches (while wearing shorts because of the more conservative culture), been proposed to on multiple occasions (we’re all female), danced until 4am to celebrate a 21st birthday (most Senegalese clubs don’t even open until 2am), and helped each other through stomach issues (anywhere from diarrhea to constipation). It’s been a rollercoaster of experiences, and I could not have found a better group of girls to be with me on this adventure.
That’s it! That’s my best attempt at (somewhat) succinctly summarizing my first four weeks in Senegal. So much more remains to be talked about, but it’s time for me to go eat dinner with my family!
Ba ci kanam / À bientôt / See you soon,
Caitlin
DU Abroad 