One of my favorite spaces in Dakar is the U.S. Embassy field where I play ultimate frisbee most Sundays. Let’s be clear: I kind of suck at throwing a frisbee. But I like to run and I’m having lots of fun! Plus, it’s a great opportunity to talk with expats from all over the world. The group that plays is composed of people from the U.S., Germany, China, France, Canada, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, and even Senegal itself. I love chatting with them in both English and French, learning about their jobs and lives in Senegal and asking what brought them abroad.
I began playing frisbee in Senegal because two of my friends from my program play ultimate at their universities, so they found this group on Facebook and invited the rest of us students to join. I love all sorts of sports and really just wanted an opportunity to exercise with other people. I am definitely missing my club swim team back on campus and was hoping to find a similar type of sports community in Senegal. I also have an ulterior motive: my boyfriend plays ultimate at his university, and I know he’d love it if I can actually learn how to play properly so we could throw the frisbee together!
This past Sunday, I spent all morning and early afternoon working on my application for the Truman Scholarship. My brain was muddled and my body was tired, and I just needed an excuse to run around for two hours. So I went to frisbee!
The first half of the game, it was 90 degrees and sunny. My body felt awful and I kept making mediocre-at-best plays. I did not feel good, and I was mad because I had come to frisbee to try to feel good. I subbed myself out and got some water on the sideline while watching the sunset. The sun itself looked orange and huge and cast rays of light all over the sky and ocean. Colors turned from blue to yellow and orange to pink and purple and then softly faded away.
Feeling like the temperature just dropped 20 degrees, I rejoined the game and had a great 30-minute run. I played an important role in multiple attempts to get the frisbee to the endzone, caught and redistributed the frisbee during fast plays, made quick cuts, and scored a point by sprinting into the endzone to catch the frisbee. I was playing well, and I loved it.
Soon afterwards, we finished the game and I began chatting with one of my teammates. Somehow our conversation went from me checking to see if his injured ankle was okay to him explaining why he voted for Obama in the past and then recently voted for Trump. I asked him all sorts of questions, including: 1) Did you vote for Trump because you liked him or because you didn’t like Harris? 2) What do you think of Trump’s character as a person?
3) Which of Trump’s policies do you like? 4) What policy issues are most important to you? 5) Do you think Trump has caused more polarization in the country? 6) Does the release of the Epstein emails change your opinion of Trump?
He asked me similar questions in response and I shared my own beliefs, but I don’t think either of us changed our stances. I love talking about politics and people’s political opinions when they differ from mine, and wow did our opinions differ. Having conversations, even sometimes frustrating ones, is so important to furthering our understanding—even if we never reach an agreement.
I do this with my host family too; for example, my host father is polygamous, which I disagree with, but my host mom and I have had multiple discussions about her experience as the third wife and how she is very happy about her situation. While I know that is one reality and is certainly not the case for all Senegalese women, it is very interesting to hear her perspective and positive experience.
Speaking about politics in Senegal also makes me realize just how impactful the U.S. is in international politics. Months ago, I remember chatting with my host mom after dinner and she asked me if Trump was dead because she had seen a rumor circling on TikTok. I have seen pictures of Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr. at numerous historical and cultural sites. People I speak with on the streets or in restaurants ask me where I’m from and I respond the U.S., and they rave about how wonderful a country it is despite never having been there.
I lived in France from 2016 to 2021 and being in Senegal now is very reminiscent of that as far as politics are concerned. In both countries, many people know the basics of American policy and definitely have an opinion about Trump.
In Senegal, the number of taxi drivers that have asked me how to get papers to visit the U.S. is insane. However, I doubt half the American population could pinpoint Senegal on a map. I don’t think I could have a few years ago. While living in a foreign country that is so influenced by the U.S. in terms of everything from culture to foreign aid, being told by my frisbee teammate that he doesn’t really care about the U.S.’s foreign policy when it comes to voting was definitely a shock. It’s interesting to see that even though we both chose to leave the U.S. and come to Senegal, we can still have very different stances on American politics.
To me, the influence of the U.S. abroad is great motivation to stay informed and talk with others, be it at frisbee or elsewhere. Nearly every morning, I begin my day by eating breakfast by myself and reading the New York Times. I talk with the other students in my program about their political views and their career aspirations in policy-related fields. I update my host mom when New York City elects its first Muslim mayor. And I use my time playing ultimate frisbee to connect with others and sometimes learn about their political views.
I think I’m becoming a better, more informed person who is more capable of having nuanced conversations as a result. It makes me want to work on all policy issues, both foreign and domestic, and do what I can to create some good in the world. And maybe that starts with playing some ultimate and talking about some politics. Maybe that starts with some (bad joke incoming…) ultimate politics!
Ba ci kanam / À bientôt / See you soon,
Caitlin
DU Abroad 