The program ended May 15 and then I had the wonderful spoiled chance to go visit Mickey in Capetown South Africa. I had to postpone the flight a couple of days unfortunately because of the sickness, but I did eventually get to go. It was about 9 days of wonderful wonderfulness. Capetown itself is gorgeous and bizarre all at the same time. Physically it looked like San Francisco in Africa to me. Coming from Sénégal, much of it was a bit shocking or just different I suppose. First of all, there was a lot more greenery and actual mountains and hills. Two of the first things I saw coming out of the massive, fancy airport, were KFC and McDonalds. That was just the beginning of my, "wow, I'm not in Sénégal anymore" reaction. People wise it was also very different, people in Sénégal tend to be very lighthearted, joking, and friendly, there's a sense that everyone is part of one big family (something I wish more people in the world acted like, cause really we all are.). In Capetown, people seemed to be pretty serious and there was a feeling of constant tension. Of course not everyone, I met some very cool and open people while I was there, but I think there is a general guardedness. This seems to be largely lingering from the period of apartheid, there is still a long way to go, a lot of healing and understanding still to be realized.
I got back to Sénégal after my great Capetown trip about 9 days later. By this time all of the students on the program had gone back to the states or their respective summer plans. I have stayed because I got a scholarship from Smith to stay and do a 2-month internship with Africa Consultants International (ACI) (website:http://www.acibaobab.org/). I've mostly been working on the project they are trying to implement in the suburbs, "Keur u Jamm" ("House of Peace" in wolof). The past several years, there has been destructive flooding in Sénégal, particularly devastating in the suburbs. The flooding is mostly just during rainy season (July-end of September), but in the suburbs, overpopulated and extremely poor, the effects of the flooding, and even the water itself, lasts much longer.
The Keur U Jamm project is an effort to find solutions to this flooding, but solutions that the population themselves can implement. So, that is what I have been working on with ACI. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding and the fact that I came at a time when they are still in the planning process for the project, there has not been a whole lot ofhands-on stuff to do, but it has been interesting all the same. Things are starting to pick up with the project, but I only have one week left! Which is kinda crazy.
