Methods of Transportation in Senegal

There are many methods of transportation in Senegal. Having spent a few days in Dakar and also having experience life in Nioro, there are many differences between the urban and rural areas. There are paved roads and many cars in big cities like Dakar. People travel in cars, like we have in the US. In smaller areas, like Nioro du Rip, there aren't many paved roads, most are dirt roads. Some means of transportation are not as readily available. 

I have noticed that there are some optional things when driving, such a lanes and stop signs. People don't really follow either. Stop signs seem to be optional, and people tend to decide whether or not to stop if there are other cars around or not. We did happen to see a traffic light in Dakar, and people were following those traffic rules. Not many roads have lanes painted to keep cars in their own lane. In fact, I don't think I have seen any lanes at all! People use their horns A LOT. That horn can mean many different things. 

Beep beep - I'm changing lanes.

Beep beep - I'm here in this lane, stay on your side.

Beep beep - I'm going to pass you on the left.

Beep beep - Don't even think about coming into my lane. 

Beep beep - Get out of the road, Donkey (or goat or sheep)

Beep beep - (to pedestrians) Be careful, I'm driving right beside you.

Beep beep - (to a motorbike) I'm here, and I see you.

Beep beep - MOVE!

Beep beep - Coming through, please be aware.

There are many things a honked horn can mean. It is basically meant for awareness, not to be rude at all. It is a lot safer that a car honks when it's around the corner to avoid hitting someone or someone hitting the car. 

In bigger cities, you can have busses called "Car Rapide" like this:

You can also have taxis like this:

There are other busses called "Dakar Dem Dikk" that are like city buses - but we haven't seen any of those yet.

There is also a modern bus called "Car Tata" that is very much like a city bus.

In Nioro I have seen busses called "Car Ndiaga Ndiaye" where many people pile inside the bus or grab on bars outside the bus to travel to a different location. They are often crowded and pick up people along the side of the road at depots.

Some people, especially students, may get here and there by riding a bike.

There is even a form of transportation they call "Sept Place" - which means seven seats. However, locals call them "Sept Place, Sept Mort" - which means seven seats, seven dead. This mode of transportation is seen as very dangerous and not reliable at all.

Today is the market in Nioro. We have seen many people traveling by donkey or horse cart. The carts don't travel very fast, but it allows them to carry larger loads than walking or taking a bike or a motorbike. 

Probably the most popular method of transport in Nioro (other than walking) is called a "Djakarta" or motorbike. Not only do people own them and use them personally, they are also for hire. We have seen parents picking their children up at school and taking them home on djakartas. One father was carrying three children on his. He had one child seated in front of him and two behind him. I have seen mothers carrying their babies strapped on their backs while also riding on a djakarta. Motorbikes are very popular and an efficient means of transportation. Not many people own cars in Nioro. Very few. The roads do not lend themselves to cars many times, and motorbikes can be just as efficient.

Reflections on Lesson Observations

Today we spent more time at the high school watching lessons being taught in Spanish and English (EFL - English as a Foreign Language). It has been interesting to watch lessons being taught not only abroad, but also in high school - since I have always been an elementary educator. As I have mentioned before, in Senegal, students stay put in one classroom and it is the teacher who roams to teach. Our host teacher, Papa, has arranged for us to observe lessons in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) in addition to Spanish and Physical Education. We will also be observing and teaching at a public primary school and a private primary school. We had an opportunity to teach the high school English Club as well.

For the English Club, students gather weekly often 1-2 hours at a time in the evening. I have come to learn that not much is planned between the hours of 1-5pm. Lunch is often at later in the day - like 1 or 2pm. People rest in the afternoon, or don't do much because of the heat. Dinner is also later, much later. Dinner is usually 8 or 9 or 10pm. So after the afternoon break, around 5pm, students may go back to school for another class. After THAT class, they go home, do homework, or play soccer. Soccer is very popular with the boys. Girls may have to go home and help with the household chores. The girls also like to practice dance. The English Club offers extra opportunities for students to learn English and practice oral speaking skills. The students we visited had memorized English poems and skits and were happy to perform them for us. They did well speaking in front of a crowd (especially with two native speakers in the audience!)

Today, our first lesson observation was in a 12th grade EFL class. The lesson was about reported speech. It included verb tense, type of sentence and how to change between declarative and reported speech. For example, if the teacher wrote:

"Shut the door," Dad said.

Students would have to identify the type of sentence and change it to reported speech.

Dad told me to shut the door.

There is a lot going on in those sentences in terms of knowledge. Students have to know the different verb tenses, in addition to verb agreement. Students also seemed to know correct spelling for the sentences being written on the board. The particular lesson we

watched was two hours long with no breaks in between. The first part of the lesson was direct instruction/lecture. Students sat quietly - despite the background noise of donkeys, goats, other students walking to and from class, and shuffling flip flops on the tile floor. Students were attentively listening to the lesson. One thing I have noticed is that students snap their fingers as their raise their hands, and say, "Sir! Sir! Sir! Sir!" until somebody is called upon. Children do not just raise a hand and wait. There is always snapping of the fingers as they raise their hands. It makes a nice little chorus as students volunteer for an answer. I have also noticed that during instruction, teachers often say PART of the word, and the students will join them for the REST of the word. This has happened in every class we have been in so far. For example, a teacher may ask, "What part of speech is that students? It is a pro-pro-pro-pro....." and then everyone collectively says "pronoun." While it may seem that it's like giving a hint, I don't believe it is. Teachers will also say it in the course of the lecture, I believe it is to engage students and be sure they are paying attention. For example, today in Spanish class, we learned about the government in Spain. The teacher would be giving the lecture and may say "in the Spanish gov-gov-gov GOVERNMENT there were five leaders." The students would respond with the word "government" to finish his word, but he would carry on with the lecture. This happened frequently. Students also participated by writing answers on the chalkboard when called upon.

The two-hour lesson flow began with direct instruction/lecture. During this time, students were NOT taking notes, they were listening. The teacher wrote on the board, gave examples, engaged the class and called on students. The students listened and paid attention. During the second part of the lesson, students got out their journals and took meticulous notes. I noticed they were very neat in writing and most of them used a ruler and multiple colors of pens to distinguish areas of their notes. The teacher also did this - but with colored chalk. During the second part of the lesson, the teacher wrote the definition on what they were learning on the chalkboard along with several exercises. We would call this the "guided instruction" part of the lesson. The students were allowed to ask their table mate if they did not understand the concept - but I heard a few students directly say to the teacher, "I do not understand." I love that students feel empowered to be able to advocate for themselves and say when they do not understand. The teacher would repeat, or clarify when needed. After giving students time to write everything down off the board, students would answer the problems and the teacher would then go over them one by one. When going over individual problems, the teacher would call students to the board to write down their answer. There were MANY times when students came to the board to write. MANY.

I noticed that students are VERY respectful to their teacher. When the teacher enters the room, students stand. The teacher greets the students, and the students respond chorally. In all of the lessons we observed, students responded politely and were very courteous. The teachers in Nioro follow their students. Meaning, if a teacher has an English class in 10th grade, the teacher will also be their teacher in 11th grade and 12th grade. In the US, some call this "looping." The teachers and students were very welcoming to us in their classrooms. They greeted us kindly and one class kept clapping for us when we were there. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have spent time in classrooms today. This evening, we will experience the Nioro Tuesday Market. We will also be taking a horse cart ride! Tomorrow, we get to visit a primary school. Our water was out for the last two days, and we finally got water today! I am so thankful to be able to have a shower and fill up my reserve bucket. Water is so important, it's like GOLD.

More Things I've Learned

Here's another quick list of more things I have learned while being on this journey (so far):

1. Who needs hair dryers?

2. Diet coke? Schm-iet Coke.

3. I drink coffee with breakfast (I prefer cappuccinos, but coffee will work)

4. I now understand the importance/meaning of feet washing (like in Biblical times) from first-hand experience

5. I actually don't mind sleeping inside a mosquito net. Mosquito nets are necessary.

6. Water is like GOLD. And I mean - GOLD. We have had difficulty finding bottled water while in Nioro, and our inn has not had water for 24 hours (at the time of this writing). Our reserve bucket of water is empty. It is SOOOOOO important to have water. For everything.

7. I am so thankful for hand wipes.

8. Thank goodness for dry shampoo.

9. I used to be a knife and fork only kind of girl (and definitely no bones) - that has changed. I think every meal I ate yesterday was with my hands.

10. Smiling means the same in any language.

11. It has been such a beautiful thing to watch children who were scared of me come to like me

12. The Senegalese take much more time on relationships/friendships than we do in the US. They don't text - they call. A trip to the market may take quite a while because you stop and chat to everyone along the way.

13. On the same note, when I shared pictures of my family with everyone - they were interested. Genuinely interested. Not flipping pages to get it done.

14. It is difficult to prepare meals. It is important for those meals to be enjoyed together with family and extended family.

15. Kids are "kids" no matter which country you're in. Teenagers act very similarly here and there.

16. Teachers are also very similar in Senegal and the US - as they all love their students and want them to learn and grow into respectful, responsible, productive adults

And - one very important one -

17. Thank goodness I love love love my partner, Nan and our host teacher Papa! We can laugh and have a great time while sharing in this journey together. <3

Lycee Maba Diakhou Ba Secondary School

Today we visited Lycee Maba Diakhou Ba Secondary School. That is the school where my host teacher, Papa Amadou Seck, teaches. I learned a lot today about their school and their educational system. I learned that teachers in Senegal are paid the same no matter the region they teach in. As long as they have the same educational level (for example, a Masters degree) - they will receive the same pay and housing stipend no matter where they teach. An elementary teacher or middle school or high school teacher all would receive the same pay as well. There was a strike in Nioro a year ago - and teachers were fighting for equal pay. They were on strike for three months. They were fighting for equal pay to other public servants, such as firefighters or police.

In middle school and high school, the students are the ones who stay put in class. The teachers are the ones who travel from class to class.
Because of that, the teachers have a special locked box inside the teacher's lounge where they can store their personal belongings. We were able to meet with the office staff and administration in the morning. I was so happy to talk to the principal - who shared his vision about exchange programs and the value of working together around the world. He stressed the importance that we are all ONE world working TOGETHER.

In Nioro, classes can range from 40 - 90 students. We were in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class this morning that had 69 students. Later this week, we will be teaching a science class that has 77 students. Students go to school from October to May. Normally, at the high school level, student classes last 1 hour or 2 hours. Our class today lasted one hour. The EFL class was studying relative clauses. The lesson was given lecture style. When the teacher asked questions, students would snap their fingers and raise their hands in the air to get his attention to be called upon. In some classes, students would snap their fingers, raise their hand and call "Sir, Sir, Sir" to get his attention.

After the lesson, Nan and I were able to share about the education system in the USA and information about California, in particular. We shared about the US flag and it's meaning, in addition to a brief geography lesson about California and the US, in general. We passed around pictures and were happy to answer questions and take photos after the lesson was over.

We took a break to come back to the inn to have lunch, before heading back to the English club this afternoon. We came to Senegal with 100 lbs of gifts to give out - and Nan and I are almost completely out of gifts. I am so thankful to everyone who donated items - it has been wonderful being able to hand out items to teachers, students, administrators, family members and anyone we happen to meet on this journey. We are going to meet with the English Club today after school to share more about California and our students. We are taking post cards to have them read and send a note back to the US with us. The gum/candy we brought seems to be a huge hit - with the teachers and students alike. They love the wristbands, lanyards and luggage tags - in addition to the many shirts, bags and pens.

Tea and Teranga

Today we went to Papa's house to have some tea and lunch. Nan and I brought gifts to Papa and his wife, in addition to their three girls (ages 4 months, 3 years and 7 years). At first, the children were afraid of me. I am getting this a lot around Nioro. Children seem to point, stare, some will yell "toubab" (which means white woman). Some cling to their mothers, some cry. Papa's daughters had never seen or met a white woman before. I could tell his girls were very scared when they first met me. It honestly took a few hours before they warmed up to me. We started playing catch with some of the balls we brought to break the tension. We also bought them sticker books and coloring books. We had to show the girls how to use the stickers, as they had never seen them before. The candy we brought was a huge hit. We brought Airheads, Ring Pops, Jelly Bellys and Jolly Ranchers. They definitely liked the candy. The girls also liked the little stuffed animals we gave them and USA hats. Papa and his wife went and put on the shirts we gave them immediately.

Papa's wife went to the market before we arrived and purchased two chickens. When she got home, one of the elder boys (Papa's nephew) killed the chickens in order for the women to prepare them. The men always do the killing of the animals, not the women. The women were gathered in the kitchen while one plucked feathers, another chopped onions and yet another prepared the rice. Nan and I sat in the kitchen and watched and would pop outside the kitchen to play with the girls from time to time. The meal was quite the undertaking. It took HOURS for everything to be prepared. Papa said

he loves chicken - it is his favorite meat. However, they only have chicken once a month or every other month. Mostly they have fish. I can see that is is much more difficult to prepare chicken (and time-consuming). While the women prepared the meal, the men talked in another room. I shared pictures of my family with Papa and Ly. An Imam came over to the house and sat with us also.

We talked about marriage and families and desires for the future. Papa said he desires to have more wives, more children and to own his own home. Right now, they are renting a place. He owns a plot of land, but would like to build his own house. Although he only has one wife at this moment, he would like to have 3-4 possibly. He also would like to have a lot of children. His friend, Ly, currently has one wife also but may like to take another wife later. We talked about the "rules" for having more than one wife. He said they are allowed to have up to 4 wives, only if they can treat them equally and provide for them all. More wives also allows for the workload to be lighter because there are so many duties to be done inside the household.

Once the meal was prepared, we ate together from a communal bowl. We all ate with our right hands, and used our left hands to touch the edge of the bowl. Touching the bowl with the left hand is a sign of respect for the food that you are eating. You eat the food by pressing it into a ball shape and putting it into your mouth. We had chicken yassa (or Yassa Poullet) - which is chicken with rice served with an onion/garlic sauce. It was sooooooo good. Definitely a favorite of mine!!! Yassa can be served with fish or other meat (such as the sheep we had yesterday). Although it took hours to prepare, it was very tasty and we enjoyed eating it together.






After we ate and had tea, we walked around Nioro. We visited so many places and I learned so many things today. We visited the government buildings. We visited the fire station, the public hospital, the private hospital, the post offices and the radio station.

 I found it particularly interesting that the prices were listed outside the public hospital. It also included dentist services. A consultation for the dentist, for example, cost 500 CFA (which is less than $1 USD). Check out the prices below (approx 600 CFA = $1 currently).

We saw man animals on and around the street. We saw pig, goat, sheep, chicken and donkeys. We saw the first home built in Nioro. We walked around a garden that was growing mint, eggplant, and some other herbs. We also saw the first well in Nioro. It was a very busy place! There were people coming and going the entire time we were there. Nan and I got to draw water from the well. It was very refreshing because it was so warm outside - and I didn't mind the splashing from the sloshing bucket. It was also rather smart of the man who created the garden to place it right next to the well! Good thinking!!! :)

First Day in Nioro Du Rip

We made it to our host community, Nioro Du Rip. Nioro is a small community 4 hours south and east of Dakar. We are staying at a place called CEDAF. I already feel behind in my blogging since I am writing this on Sunday and we arrived yesterday.

On Saturday, we left Dakar at 9:30am and arrived approximately at 1:30pm. Our host teacher, Papa Amadou Seck met us at the hotel and tried to get us settled in. At first, they didn't have a room for one of us - but we got that settled and even have an air cooler in the room in addition to a ceiling fan. Papa is such a nice man! He is energetic, outgoing and very, very kind. He is 33 years old and is married and has three girls (ages 4 months, 3 years and 7 years). He teaches at the high school level in Nioro. He seems to know everyone around town! He has lots of brothers, cousins, etc - that he meets while walking on the street. I love that.

Everyone he meets is a relative or is someone that's considered close enough to be a relative. Everyone stops to say hello and have a chat - no one is in a hurry or a rush like we always are in California.

We left our hotel and took a walk down the road to Gusto. Chez Gusto is a restaurant that is owned by a teacher and his wife. It was closed currently when we were going for lunch - but Simon, the owner opened for us to have some lunch. We had rice and meat, a type of Yassa - but not chicken or pork. We had sheep. We also made sure to find some place that sold water so that we could have it back at the hotel. Bottled water isn't always easy to find here. The local townspeople don't tend to buy bottled water, they drink it from the well or the tap. So, I would imagine the demand for bottled water is very low. We

eventually found water bottles for 500 CFA and took them to the hotel.

It was a very rare occurrence - but there happened to be a wrestling match happening in Nioro the night we arrived. They occur probably once every 3-4 months in Nioro. We happened to be there when they had one. So we were picked up at 6pm to head over to the house of the man who arranged for the match to happen. His name is Sow. Sow actually lived in the USA in New York and is part of the import/export business. He also helps to arrange the wrestling matches. We enjoyed a leisurely visit at his house and even had some "ice cream" - which was bissap flavored or buy (pronounced buoy). The bissap is my favorite. It's made from hibiscus and the buy is made from the fruit of the baobab tree. It was very similar to an Otter Pop - flavored frozen punch, tied in a plastic baggie. You bite/cut the end off and eat it, like an Otter Pop. It was very much welcomed after walking all day in 102-degree weather. It really helped cool us down. It was a very nice treat.

After spending some time there, we went over to the wrestling arena. It was rather dark, but they had a light shining on the arena. There was a good sound system that helped us hear the announcer (who spoke in Wolof) and the singers. Before the matches began - the drummers started drumming on handmade African drums. It was amazing. They are definitely high energy drummers who are extremely talented. Two women also were singers and were also very talented. Before the match, wrestlers would dance and put dirt on their skin. They have two divisions - over 15 kg and under 15 kg. They arranged themselves around the arena in groups. The group may have 1-2 wrestlers from their location/village and have friends and family members with them. The match didn't start until almost 10pm. We were told it could last until 1am. We stayed to watch some matches before returning to the hotel, tired from a long day. It was so much fun to watch the wrestlers, hear the African drums and the singers, too. Papa and his best friend, Ly, were amazing hosts and a lot of fun to be around! We are so grateful for their generosity hospitality.

It was my first night sleeping under the mosquito net. Although I did manage to steal some TP from the hotel in Dakar (so glad I did), I wish I would have packed a towel, and blanket and a dark wrap to use as a curtain. I was able to find a towel at the market in Nioro. I was also very grateful for the air cooler in my room and the bucket of water I had saved in the bathroom - since the water was turned off from the afternoon time until 5am. How do I know 5am? I tried the faucet and apparently didnt return it to the off position - and at 5am I heard water rushing in the sink! :) Note to self - always return the knob on the faucet back to the off position!

Busy Day in Dakar

Today is our last day in Dakar before traveling to our host communities. Our day was busy and filled with trips to the US Embassy, the market and the West African Research Center. I would post pics about the Embassy visit - but we weren't allowed to take any - none outside or inside. HOWEVER, I did end up seeing a high school friend of mine who worked at the Embassy in Dakar (totally random, I know) - and he took a picture that I can share with you later. While at the Embassy we learned about the Ministry of Education in Senegal and some of the challenges they are facing in the Senegalese education system. One of the challenges they are facing is teacher training.

Right now, only approximately 1/3 of the teachers are formally trained. Another challenge is class size. Class size can average anywhere between 40 - 90 students (in some rural areas). Having a class of that size poses a lot of challenges - other than sheer bodies in a classroom. It is difficult for teachers to assess all those students - imagine grading 90 essays!??!? Another area of challenge is making sure the assessment is aligned with the curriculum. They have a national curriculum along with national exams the students have to pass after elementary, middle and high schools. Yet another area of challenge is making classrooms STUDENT-centered vs. TEACHER-centered.

There is currently a debate happening in education right now in Senegal about reading instruction. Right now, students are taught in elementary school to read in French. However, French isn't the mother tongue of most students. There are three predominantly three languages that are the mother tongue of most students: Wolof, Pular, and Sere. However, students are taught to read in French. The argument has been whether students should learn how to read in their MOTHER TONGUE or in the LINGUA FRANCA (which would be French). The problem with students learning how to read in their mother tongue is that there currently aren't any resources (books, etc) in Wolof, Pular, or Sere. Assessments would need to be aligned and materials would have to be created. At least it is opening

the lines of conversation about language acquisition and best practices in teaching reading.

After we left the embassy - we headed to Little Buddha for lunch and had traditional Yassa Poulet. Ohhhh man, it was delicious! It has been my favorite food item so far out here! It is chicken and rice, made with a yummy onion sauce! It was the BEST! Mmmmmm!

After that, our group went on a walk (to walk off some lunch) and took some pictures at an outdoor gym. There are tons of pictures outside on the cliff overlooking the ocean. It's beautiful. At night, there are tons of people working out and using all the free equipment. We had fun with our

two in-country hosts (Ibrahima and Assitou). We also spent some time at the West African Research Center. There aren't public libraries in Senegal. This is an area that has a wide collection of books about West Africa and Senegal that students can come and use in their center. It is a fully functioning library, in addition to a research center. Students can come and use their computers and wifi. There is also a meeting room where conferences and meetings are held.

Tomorrow we leave for our host community - Nioro Du Rip. I am anxious to meet our host teacher and get to see the host community we will be staying in for a week. It's about a 4-hour drive from Dakar and we leave at 9am. Hopefully, I will be able to post (if we have wifi). :)