Un Jour Typique.

Chaque jour, I wake up at 7:30 or 7:45, wrestle with my mosquito net to get out of bed, and face the dreaded decision: to take an ice-cold, insect-infested shower, or to forgo cleanliness for another day? Usually I chicken out of the icebath, get dressed, and eat breakfast standing up at the patio table with my sister, Maty. Breakfast is a half baguette loaded with butter, and a drink resembling coffee (a part of my Senegalese experience that I will NOT continue in the U.S.): hot water, a teaspoon of instant coffee, a teaspoon of powdered milk, and a sugarcube. Around 8:15, my friends Erin and Meghan who live around the corner from me stop by my house, and we walk to school together.

Classes at SIT: on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have French and Wolof classes-- both intensive languages courses jammed in before 12:30. On other days, I have Field Study Seminar, a very thought-provoking anthropology course, or Arts and Culture Seminar, in which we have a guest lecturer speak to us about an aspect of Senegalese art or culture (duh).

Lunch is great because we have from 12:30-3. There are a great number of Senegalese and non-Senegalese restaurants in the neighborhood, so my lunch options are varied. Sometimes I'll get yassa poulet (chicken, rice, yummy onion sauce), thieboudienne (a plate of fish, and the national dish of Senegal), a sandwich, or even, if I'm willing to splurge, a nice salad. Recently, I've been wanting something light, so I'll grab a yaourt, some fruit and nuts, and pretend to be health conscious.

After lunch, we have more classes or other activities, depending on the week. All last week, we had dance and djembe workshops in this time slot. School ends at 5, but I'll often stick around the SIT villa for an hour or so to check my email and hang out with American friends. I usually try to get home by 6, because 6-7 is a very important time for the Senegalese. This is when the most popular feuilletons (soap operas) are on: La Femme du Jardinier, and Ana. They are Brazilian, dubbed in French, succulent and infused with melodrama, and best of all, there's a new episode daily. And yes, I am addicted.

We usually eat dinner around 9 or 9:30: almost always fish and rice or millet, with a spicy, salty sauce. Good, but very rich, and it's impossible to just eat a little. After that, more TV, thé, and playing with Babacar. I often sit in the living room while everyone is watching the télé and write in my journal. By 10:30 or 11, je suis très fatigue, and I usually go to sleep by 11:30. Just another day in Dakar.