Pre-Voyage update

Hi There,

This is just a quick update before I we leave for our second rural village stay. Next week our hotel will have wireless (inchalla) (hopefully) so maybe I’ll be able to update then and let you know how it went!

Monday: After classes (and feeling very, very greasy all day because of the shea-butter soaked hair) I had my first meeting with my ISP advisor, Edouard Manga. It was scheduled for 4:30 and he actually showed up around then, but he talked with other people/teachers/friends for an hour and 20 minutes before our meeting started! Which was alright for me, as I got to do a little more research before we started. I thought he had been an ISP advisor before but it turns out he had no idea what the position entailed…and neither do I really, so it was an interesting meeting. He’s a really funny guy though so we just kind of talked, I told him about my project and he kept saying, okay, so I’m not your teacher, I’m just your advisor. Yes. Maybe I’ll take lessons with you if I have time, but my project isn’t on modern kora, it’s on traditional griot kora vs. classical catholic monk kora. And at the end, he broke into a Backstreet Boys song, so overall it went very well.

Tuesday: After school I came straight home to start the actual dreading process! When we first started Moussa said, oh, it’s not going to work, your hair is too slippery! Which is what I had been trying to ask for the past few days, whether or not it would work with my hair…but yes he finally came to that conclusion. I showed him how people do it in the U.S., with the method of teasing/backcombing, not really expecting to continue and just kind of excited to wash the shea butter out—but he tried it and we continued until 1:30 in the morning!

Wednesday: In the morning I heard a knock on the door but didn’t answer it because I figured it was a family friend—turns out it was the new student, Bethany, with her homestay sister. She lives really near to me and is a cousin of mine! So we walked to school together and talked a lot, it was fun to have someone to walk with!
We had a little pre-departure logistics meeting (as our only class for the whole day!) where we found out where we’ll be living in the village. It’s one village, called Keur Sedaro, where there is no French so we’ll be relying on our Wolof! We all live in this one village but in little groups in separate compounds. I’m with Lucy in one house (I think?) and Avery, Jessie and Megan are also in our compound. Honestly I know almost nothing about the village besides the little Souleye told us: there are more kids than in our Kedougou villages and women garden a lot. So hopefully after the village stay I’ll have more to tell you on that subject! After that meeting I went home to continue dreading the locks, but Moussa wasn’t there so I packed my bags for the voyage. At around 1PM we started, and it’s now 9:16 and we’re still going!! Around 5 Bethany showed up to meet her family so they could take her home, but they never came so my sister had to call her mom to come get her…anyway we had a good time talking with Moussa and it was really great to have a visitor! And I think, if all goes well, I’ll finally be able to wash my hair tonight!!!! (I can’t remember the last time I did that…)

Anyway yes so I leave Thursday morning and will return April 5, but I should be able to update you before that. Have a great few days, and Mama, get well soon!