Saturday, October 4, 2008

LISTS...

Originally, I wanted this entry to be exclusively a list of what I miss about home (the people, the places, the food, the "everything"…), but I decided that: (1) I would get too sad doing it and (2) I would have to put it in a specific order. I didn’t want to have to go through either. Then, I thought why not write an entry where I listed everyone’s name on the Kalamazoo-Beloit Program, introducing each (their majors, hometowns, likes/dislikes, etc.), but I decided that I would save that entry for a later date. So, now I am at some sort of "fork" in the road, and not just a fork with two or three prongs, but one that seems to have fifty billion prongs. So, these prongs… I have decided that each is some sort of "want" that I would like to do as I continue my experience abroad… so here it goes!

WHAT I WANT TO DO IN DAKAR, SENEGAL:
-Visit the IFAN (Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire) Museum
-Go to the Parc Forestier de Hann
-Head to the fishing beach and market of Soumbedioune
-Buy African art at Marche Sandaga and Marche Kermel
-Have more custom clothes made for me..in addition to my one outfit and two pairs of shoes
-Go clubbing at Youssou N’Dour’s Club Thiossane
-Watch the returns of the 2008 Presidential Election from 1am-9am GMT Dakar, Senegal time
-Campout on a beach
-Find an organization to do volunteer work with
-See a movie at the French Cultural Center in downtown Dakar
-Buy ice cream for my host brothers
-Make dinner for my host family…this will be interesting seeing that they cook over a propane tank
-Call somebody from a "telecentre"
-Learn how to cook Senegalese food
-Learn to make attaya (Senegalese tea)
-Write more "snail mail"
-…

WHAT I "THINK" WANT TO DO IN ST. LOUIS, SENEGAL:
-Walk over the Pont Faidherbe designed by Gustav Eiffel
-Go to the Parc National des Oiseaux du Djoudj (60km north)
-Run 5-6 times a week
-Take a boat tour somewhere
-…

WHAT I WANT TO DO IN AFRICA/SENEGAL:
-Go to the "dangerous" Casamance region via ferryboat
-Visit Lac Rose
-Fly to Casablanca, Moracco
-See an amazing sunset over the Atlantic Ocean
-Learn to speak Wolof…better than I do now
-Get caught in another rainstorm
-Go on a train ride
-Take a bush taxi
-Some sort of African Safari (I mean everybody in Africa has to…the closest possible safari might be in Kenya)
-…

THE BOOKS I WANT TO READ ABROAD:
-Dreams of My Father
-Asian X
-Si Une Longue Lettre
-No Country For Old Men
-L’Enfant Noire
-…

Well, this is a start…I will definitely continue to add to these lists and I will for sure let you know when I have done these things. Feel free to give me suggestions on what might be something cool to do… while I am in AFRICA!

Miss you all A LOT!
ALEX

1 comment:

Tess said...

-buy a headset that works at internet cafes