"Teranga" is a word in Wolof (one of the primary languages in Senegal) meaning hospitality. I have yet to step foot on Senegalese soil, but I have heard this from the moment I found out I was going to Senegal. As we are preparing for our journey, my travel partner Nan and I are preparing also for the land of hospitality.
We do not want to visit schools, homes, villages without bringing gifts. In fact, each of us are planning on taking two suitcases for our trip, one for our clothing and one completely full of gifts. We have learned some facts about the school we will be teaching at in Nioru du Rip:
Student population: 1,780
Number of teachers: 54
Number of students in the English class we will be teaching: 77
Number of students in the science class we will be teaching: 41
Number of students in the after school English club: 30
Language spoken at school: French
Language spoken at home: Wolof
We have our week organized to meet with administrators, teachers, students, and staff. We want to bring gifts to show our appreciation for their time and opening their doors to host us as visitors. Nan and I wanted to have silicone wristbands made that we could take with us to Senegal to hand out. I know personally, my boys LOVE silicone bands! They collect them and have them all stacked on their wrists! We decided on red, because that is the only color that the USA, California and Senegal flags have in common. On one side, it says California with a California flag on the left and right. On the other side of the band, it says Senegal with the Senegal flag on either side. We have over 1,000 of these to hand out. Hopefully, it will be a visual reminder of the bond and connection of love and respect between Californians and Senegalese.
I was also able to find some California items (since both my partner and I happen to both be from CA). We will be taking some California flags for the classrooms we visit, some keychains, window clings, and lanyards. I also found some California shirts that are super cute that I can hand out to our hosts and other teachers.
I have also been blessed by such an outpouring of love from people wishing to donate items to send to Senegal. I have received items from my school district to take as well as from individuals. I have received shirts, pins, flags, lanyards, luggage tags, pens and drawstring backpacks. My suitcase is already almost full because I also was able to find Disney lanyards at a local thrift shop. They had over 350 that they graciously gave me for $10.
I also have a few books entitled "G is for Golden: A California Alphabet" that I will be donating to classrooms we visit. They are alphabet books about California and each letter of the alphabet teaches something about our beautiful state. On the inside covers of the books, I have had two classrooms worth of students sign their name. Those classrooms are writing letters and postcards to students in Senegal. As part of our English lesson, we will be teaching letter format and will have Senegalese students read letters from their California penpal and write them letters back. Already, students in California can see the Senegalese school via Google Earth and can learn some Wolof phrases from my blog.
We are anxiously awaiting our travel to the land of teranga. In the meantime, we are collecting gifts and mementos from California that we think our Senegalese friends will enjoy. In less than two weeks, we will leave our friends and family to visit a new land to meet new friends and those we will forever consider family. I am so grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity. I am grateful our students will be making new friends via penpals and letters. I am also grateful for the cultural exchange our students will experience through blog posts, photos, and presentations. I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow as an individual as well as an educator. To all of those who donated, Jerejef. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
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