September 6, 2024

Halfway through the summer semester in Dakar and I can’t believe only three weeks remain. My time so far has been a blurry collection of beach, bissap juice, and bus rides. Taxis jetting across the city, words flying in French and Wolof, sitting down for dinner with my host... Read More

November 15, 2022

One of the most interesting parts of studying abroad is getting to know a city as a student, which is so different from just being a tourist. Tourists don’t need a good working environment with WiFi for multiple hours on a regular basis! All of us have WiFi and space to study... Read More

July 19, 2022

Greetings to everyone from Dakar, Senegal! It has been a whirlwind experience arriving in the « pays de Teranga » (country of Senegalese hospitality) and acclimating to daily life here. As someone from a predominantly Catholic, Midwestern area, one of the main questions I... Read More

July 27, 2021

After eight busy, exciting, interesting, adventure-filled (and exhausting) weeks, here I am at the end of my time in Dakar. A lot of people have been asking me what I enjoyed the most, and while there are so many cool things I got to see and do, what’s really stood out to me... Read More

July 12, 2021

This week was all about Dakar. A lot of my outings so far have taken me to the outskirts or outside of the city, but there’s so much to do right here! It’s always fun to get out and about, explore different regions, see new places, but I think a lot of times people forget... Read More

June 28, 2021

This week marks the halfway point of my time in Senegal – already?? I’m starting to miss home a little bit, but it’s currently over 100 degrees F in my hometown of Tacoma, and the city of St. Paul where I go to school is covered in mayflies…so I’m happy to be in Dakar.... Read More

June 21, 2021

This week I was immersed in the very lively music scene of Dakar. Mostly it was fantastic, but I learned one very important lesson: time is a suggestion, not a rule. For example, last weekend when Yvanna and I went to see Wally Seck, we arrived shortly after 7pm for the 8pm... Read More

March 26, 2020

As I am writing this week’s post, I am still sitting by the window. Not because of another pretty sunset, but because France has been on lockdown for 10 days now, and despite the sun and blossoming trees, we can’t really go out a lot.  But all in all, Paris isn’t the... Read More

February 21, 2020

As I write this blog post, I’m listening to Gaël Faye’s album, Pili pili sur un croissant au beurre. I first came to know the Franco-Rwandan novelist/rapper/poet in an academic setting; he’s the author of Petit Pays, our second novel for our literature class,... Read More

June 21, 2018

Writing in Wolof by Boubacar Boris Diop, Concert at Almadies with Ma & Cie featuring Kemit, A homage to Sembene Ousmane with a viewing of his film Xala, Meet Professor Carina Yervasi and the Feast of the Korite for Dispatch from Dakar... Read More