24 octobre 2010.

Bienvenue au Senegal!

I can't explain what it feels like to be in Senegal finally. It feels familiar, like I've lived here before, but also strange, like I have to adapt back with the culture I once knew. I feel like I'm reliving Belize in some ways. I can't even describe what that feels like - a powerful mixture of joy and fulfillment and longing and homesickness.

The first thing that stuck with me when I got off the plane in Dakar tonight (besides the stifling humidity) was how black everyone around me was. I've never been so racially outnumbered before, so naturally that caught my attention. I mean, everyone besides us is black - and it's a true deep, coffee bean, beautiful, rich black. It's really striking.

The city of Dakar (from what I have seen) really reminds me if Belize City. What I'm going through right now really reminds me so much of my first few days on the Belize trip. The streets are crowded with people, bikes, cars (mostly taxis), and animals, all nudging each other around, fighting for breathing space and room to move. The streets, even at nighttime, are scattered with fruit stands, around which groups of vibrantly dressed women gather to talk with each other. The men wear plain colors, light and pale against their rich colored skin which always seems to glisten every time it catches the light.

Riding on the bus on our way to the night's lodging was the most surreal experience - firstly because it was my first time seeing Senegal, but also because I felt like I was returning home to Belize. The streets, the cars, the people, the change in culture and climate - it was all beyond reminiscent of my Belize experience. It's really amazing.

So I'm in a new country on a different continent that I've never visited before, and I feel like I 'm being reunited with my Belizean roots, family, community, and experience. I'm sure that Senegal will prove to be very different from Belize, but feeling this way again - sweaty, uncomfortable, exhausted, tingling with excitement and bug spray - is indescribably amazing.

I feel so comfortable being uncomfortable here already, and I can't wait to experience whatever Senegal has in store for me. I love this country already.

Highlights of the day (because I'm starting to fall asleep):
-Gave my EarthTreks bracelet to a young boy who spent a good 5 minutes trying to signal to me that he really wanted it. The smile was beyond worth it.
-Standing on the balcony of this house, breeze blowing calmly, Arabic music playing sofyly, people lounging leisurely on the rooftops, on the streets, in their houses - so much beauty to be seen in this country.

I would write pages and pages more, but everyone is waiting for me to be able to turn off the lights and go to sleep. More tomorrow - I promise.

I miss Alec and my family SO much. I am so excited to have these experiences to share with them.

A demain!

Love, Josie