The Paris of Western Africa

Today I got my first glimpse of Dakar (and no, driving through it from the airport at 6am does not count). Known to some as "the Paris of Western Africa," it is definitely someplace that I'm going to have to get to know better. If only because of all of the reminders of America. First we went to see PC Senegal headquarters along with our medical unit, known to us PCVs as the "med hut." The med hut is beautiful. It is air-conditioned with a television (that you can watch "Beverly Hills 90210" on) and a library full of trashy romance novels. But that's not even the best part. The best part is that there is a "magic phone" that let's you call America for free! And you can talk for as long as your little heart desires! If I ever do wind up in med, at least I'll have plenty of entertainment. 


I do have to comment a little bit on the lack of organization with today's agenda. We had 2 buses as our method of transportation today and I feel like we should have been doing more head counts. On 2 separate occasions, we left people behind. Once in downtown Dakar. So yeah, that was pretty bad. I would have been fuming if it had been me. 


Downtown Dakar kind of reminds me of Chinatown in New York only on a larger scale. There are a ton of street vendors selling watches, shoes, clothes, etc. And a lot of fresh food markets that smell overwhelmingly of fish and have weird cuts of meat hanging from the ceilings. People also sell interesting things in the streets (literally, in the middle of the street. People come up to your car/bus and bang on the windows). There was one man walking around trying to sell lamps and another who had gigantic lighters. They were almost the size of a newborn baby, which leads me to wonder, who would need such a thing? Isn't portability one of the major benefits of a lighter?


After our exploration of downtown Dakar (which included a stop for the best ice cream I've had since I've been here. Also the only ice cream I've had since I've been here), we headed to the Atlantic Club. This may turn out to be my favorite part of Dakar. The Atlantic Club is for ex-pats and PCVs get in for free! Amazing, right? All you do is show your PC I.D. and the gate opens for you. There is a beautiful pool and a grill that serves American food, not to mention tennis courts, a volleyball court, and a bar. If only I had brought my bathing suit I could have done some laps. I really do miss my swimming. I wonder if there are any pools in Tamba.


We met with a woman from the U.S. Embassy who essentially told us to watch out for people who are trying to use us to get American visas. And then a very nice man from the State Department told us that Senegal is only at the moderate level for terrorist threats, so we shouldn't worry. After that it was off to the police station for finger-printing. So all in all, a very uplifting afternoon. Almost 2 hours later we were back at the training center for dinner. I think we're all pretty exhausted. Tomorrow we go back to homestay for 5 nights. Hopefully I'll be able to get to an internet cafe at some point in there, but if not, I'll make sure to update everyone when I get back on Monday. 


Happy Passover! I'm sorry that I'm not there to share it with family and friends. I miss you all.