Ba ci kanam, Dakar

Or, see you later, Dakar! This is one of the few Wolof phrases that I've picked up (spoken just as much if not more than French) just in time to being preparing to head back to New York. Today is my last day in Senegal, and I’m really having a hard time trying to figure out where the last month went! It really did go by quickly and while I’m ready to head back, there is a part of me that will miss this place especially because I was finally starting to feel a bit settled. Part of my feeling more settled had a lot to do with a busy work week and taking care of small things such as laundry, which is actually a bit of a process here (e.g. finding someone who has a washing machine). While I was busy with work during the day, the evenings were spent hanging out with the new friends that I’ve met here. One of my favorite nights this trip was last week, when Beatriz (a fellow Columbia student) and I made our way out to N’gor Island for dinner at a nice little Italian place. Check out our private mode of transport there below!

                                         Heading out to N'gor Island for dinner on a little boat. 

Friday I was able to visit the HLM market, one of the big markets here, which specializes in fabrics. It was such a site to see-various vendors selling everything and anything, all trying to strike a bargain with you. We were focused on the fabrics though, and there were so many beautiful patterns and prints to choose from that it was almost impossible to select only one or two. I ended up settling on a handful and even was able to have a few made into dresses by a local tailor (available just 3 days later)! While the dresses I chose were pretty simple, he makes some incredibly intricate pieces with all kinds of embroidery and bead work that the women here wear and all look absolutely beautiful. 

Fabric purchases from HLM

The rest of the weekend consisted of a low key Saturday at the beach and watching the World Cup games. I was with a group of very big Brazil supporters so it was great for them that they pulled out the win! On Sunday, this same group of random Columbia students all in Dakar made our way to the Ile de Goree (or Goree Island). Goree is a small island located off the southeastern tip of Dakar’s Peninsula, about a 20-minute ferry ride from the port. It is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its use in the 15^th-19^th Century as a trading post. Now, it is a beautiful little island with colorful houses surrounded by lush greenery. Unfortunately, the island has a grim history. One of the stops on the island is the House of Slaves, which was used just as the name suggests, before slaves were transported out of Africa. The island offers a place to reflect on this very sad portion of history, but today also hosts many other things such as various artisans and their shops. We walked around the entire island and saw numerous paintings, tapestries, jewelry, and so much more. A few artists we saw were even hard at work, making art out of sand, crafted into various scenes of Africa. It was hard to figure out what to buy with all the beautiful options! Despite the island’s small size, our visit took the majority of the day and was topped off with a well-deserved ice cream, which I think resembles more of a gelato here than what we’d consider ice cream but either way it was delicious! All in all, it was a great ending to my last weekend here.

First views of Goree from the ferry

Some houses on Goree Island

Beautiful greenery

Artisans market on Goree

The Columbia Crew

More artwork on display

Now that I’m about to head off and thinking about my month here, while there were some glitches along the way (such as my second night when I couldn’t figure out how to get home!) and definitely difficulties with the language barrier, I am really happy that I was able to have the opportunity to travel to Senegal and visit the Sahel. The large majority of people I met here showed me nothing but genuine kindness and made my trip extremely worthwhile and for that I will continue to be grateful.

In terms of the project I came to work on, well, as I’ve found with most research, it is still a work in progress. One of the things we are trying to address is how to make better seasonal predictions of the West African Monsoon, so that people here can have the most accurate information available to them to help with their livelihoods. My preliminary work is finding that it is really hard to more accurately predict the rains more so than we already do, due to a lot that is still unknown about the chaotic nature of the atmosphere. But, I still have lots of time to keep thinking and working on this, so the work won’t end here! Perhaps one of the best portions of the trip has been working alongside Ousmane, my supervisor here. His dedication to applying climate science in a way that can be used in his own country is really inspiring and is definitely along the lines of where I can see myself working in the future. I’ve also enjoyed being able to see and experience the region that I study a great deal. So, until next time, I must thank Senegal for all the ‘teranga’ (hospitality) that has been shown to me and for the unique and great experience that being here has provided. 

A car rapide, one of the symbols of Dakar. Until next time!