Tag: Language

Just Go with it: Adventures in Senegal

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Every day is an adventure in Senegal. Nothing is certain, but somehow everything turns out right in the end. With a little help and a lot of trust, anything is possible. But you’ve got to roll with the punches, make fast friends, and hold on tight to your confidence.

Here is a typical itinerary for a day trip from Ndangalma to Toubacouta:

  1. Start shortly after sunrise. Get on the back of your host father’s or brother’s or neighbor’s motorbike. Ride to the main road as the moto bucks over the potholes and rocks in the unpaved road. (15 minutes)sunrise SN
  2. Arrive at the main road. Wait for the bus. Tune out while your host father/brother/neighbor strikes up a conversation with a stranger. (20 minutes)
  3. When the bus arrives, find a seat and try not to hit anyone with your bag. The stranger will sit next to you. Try to be comfortable and not freaked out.
  4. Don’t bother trying to get fresh air from outside. Your own bus is spewing blue exhaust. (1 hour)pikine kaar
  5. Arrive in Djourbel. The stranger exits the bus with you, and directs you to another stranger, who is apparently now in charge of watching over you, as the last one was. Realize belatedly that you should thank him for accompanying you. He helps you find a taxi, which you will share with a woman who clearly knows what’s going on but isn’t telling you.
  6. Note the taxi’s air freshener. Realize that you had actually already passed the garage on the bus route but no one told you. (30 minutes) Pay for the woman who shared the cab with you. Remain confused as to who she is. Thank the taxi driver.air freshener
  7. Find a sept-place (a beat up old station wagon with seven seats) and negotiate a price. (10 minutes)
  8. Wait for the sept-place to fill up with large women in flowing boubous and old men with coughs. (1 hour)
  9.  Realize that you got the worst seat in the car: your head hits the window at every bump in the road. The roads are nothing but bumps. The man next to you is trying to stretch his long legs and arms, ignoring you completely. Go to your happy place. Give up after a particularly strong jolt leaves your face print on the window. Try to fall asleep. (30 minutes)
  10. Wake up disoriented with a piercing headache. Try to figure out if you’re still going in the right direction. Use broken Wolof to ask the driver, who just laughs and winks. ( 4 hours)
  11. Arrive at garage in Kaolack. Exit the sept-place only to be swept into the arms of a handsome moto driver who tells you that you are at the wrong garage. Nothing is going according to plan. (3.5 seconds)
  12. Somehow he convinces you to let him drive you to the correct garage. Pay him 500FCFA, climb awkwardly onto the back of his moto (you’ve been in an ankle-length wrap skirt this entire time), and hope for the best. (1 minute)
  13. He is a horrible driver. Hold onto his waist for dear life and bury your face in his back. You are paralyzed, muttering, “bad, bad, bad” under your breath as he turns his head and waves to a friend. The moto bucks as a speeding Renault rushes past. Feel embarrassed because you had to hike up your skirt and your knees are showing. (20 excruciating minutes)
  14. Actually arrive at the garage even though you believed he was planning to take you somewhere for tea. Thank him, and decline his marriage proposal.
  15. Fight through a crowd of vendors to reach a car bound for Toubacouta. Negotiate for a new sept-place. Realize too late that you have once again been relegated to the crappy scrunched seat in the back. Consider crying. (15 minutes)
  16. The sept-place has made great progress down a smooth stretch of road. Your car stops to help a similar vehicle which won’t start. Smoke is pouring from under the hood. Your driver finally gives up and continues the drive. (30 minutes)
  17. Hit the worst stretch of road yet. Stare at the ground, visible through the hole in the floor by your left foot. Contemplate walking the rest of the way. Fall asleep instead. (1 hour)moto
  18. Wake up because the woman next to you is shaking you on the shoulder and saying toubab over and over. Get up! It’s your stop. The other six passengers wait patiently for you to get oriented, only grumbling a little as you clumsily climb around them out of the car. (5 minutes)
  19. Walk aimlessly around the town until your friend gets off work. Eat chocolate mousse, laugh about your day, and stretch your cramped muscles. Prepare for a relaxing weekend.
  20. The sunset over the river serves as a reminder for why you took the trip in the first place.baobab

In a way, this trip was representative of my entire semester in Senegal. I was usually confused to some degree, I was always a little tired, often uncomfortable, and never fully in control. I had to rely on good luck, the kindness of strangers, and my own ingenuity. That combination makes even the smallest things an adventure.

Mollie Doerner- DU Study Abroad Peer Advisor

The “studying abroad” in study abroad

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“Am I going to fail my classes abroad?”  “Are my grades from abroad going to transfer back?”  “How could I possibly take a history class in a foreign language?”  It’s normal to have a fair amount of anxiety about being a student in another country.  Here are some tips and things to keep in mind!  

Expect a different academic environment and experience.  Don’t make assumptions that things will be like your college courses at home.  When in doubt, ask questions!  Reach out for tutoring, if needed.  While you can’t control the new academic environment, you can control how hard you try.  Typically (and generally), good students at home make good students abroad.

Don’t fall for the “my-classes-are-so-easy-because-I-don’t-have-homework” syndrome.  In many other countries, courses do not include such a plethora of opportunities to earn your grade like in the US; such as quizes, homework assignments, papers, and group projects.  Instead, your grade may be determined by only one final exam and/or one paper.  So just because you don’t have a homework assignment each week, you should be doing your readings and learning the content as you go, on your own.  Many a study abroad student has learned this the hard way when final exam time comes around!  And hey, it’s kinda like practice for graduate school….

Grading may be different.  You’ve heard of “grade inflation, ” right?  It turns out that compared to many other countries, the US of A really does have a severe case of it.  In many other countries, most students are “average,” by definition.  Often, the perception in the U.S. is that you start out the class with an “A,” and you lose points if you don’t fulfill requirements of the course.  In many other countries, the philosophy is more that you start out with an “F,” and have to earn your way up from there.  Top grades are truly only given to students who go far above and beyond the norm.  And in some countries, the grading is entirely on a curve, meaning that you’ll be graded solely on how you compare with your classmates.

Figure out who your classmates will be.

  • If you’re studying in a foreign language, but taking classes only with other international students like yourself, keep in mind that the professor (and the course) is very aware that you are learning the language.  Don’t be intimidated to take classes in a foreign language — they will be targeted for students are your particular language level.
  • If you’re taking classes with local students, you will be subject to the local way of teaching and learning.  Be sure to reach out to your classmates to get suggestions on how they study and prepare for exams.

But even keeping all of those things in mind, don’t over-generalize.  You may get some suggestions and generalizations from students who have gone on your program before, but it’s also important to consider two things:

  1. Every student is different.  Your perception of your academic experience will vary from the other students in the exact same class.
  2.  Every professor is different.  Just like at home,  the person teaching your course will profoundly affect the course content, structure, and difficulty.

So try NOT to fall into the trap of believing or making broad general statements about studying in your host country.

What classroom experiences did you have studying abroad?  What did you gain from learning in a new academic environment?  Did you find yourself making broad generalizations about academics in your country when you came home?