Finding a routine

This week I have been stepping into a bit of a routine here in Dakar. In the morning I have Wolof class from 9:00-11:00, and then usually another random class from 11:15-1:00. Then I return home for lunch and then I go back to the Baobab center for Wolof class from 3:00-5:00. Yesterday our random class was just a medical orientation, but today was a history of Senegal class. It was pretty interesting because the teacher was a professor from the University here in Dakar, and he gave us a really impartial view of the history of Senegal. He attributes Senegal's current state politically and culturally to three main things, and it was fascinating to me to gain an understanding for some of the practices I think are so strange. The three main actors on Senegal's history are the European influence, Islam, and a strong ethnic group that revolved around alcohol trade and violence. It will be very interesting when I go to Saint Louis because I will see more of the European influence as it was a colonial town.

After classes today, one of the men who works at the Baobab center gave us a short lesson on Senegalese dance. I thought the dancing was really fun although I'm told I had a pained look on my face during the lesson. Besides classes and dancing, I'm just kind of making it through each day. Between the heat and the walking and the classes and the heat I feel exhausted almost all the time. Hopefully I can spruce up my next entry a little, but until then, I'm just finding my niche. My host mother told me that tonight I have to make atayallah, which is this very sweet Senegalese tea that is a bit of a process to make, so that'll be interesting...Then I plan on getting some sleep and figuring out how to do laundry.