The Struggle Has Been Real

The first week in Senegal has been both enlightening and difficult. Despite these difficulties, my team and I have been managing very well. We’ve encountered money, food, language and housing issues and still have had a good time. After exchanging our money at the airport, we quickly learned that our big bills would not spend at most places. Although cash is the primary way of purchasing food or items, many places won’t take the 10,000 CFA currency that was given to us at the airport. Often times we’ve had to share coins or smaller bills in order to buy food or drinks. We have also had a few issues with some of the food here although most have been minor. I love the food here! Most dishes are served with rice and onions. I don’t like onions, but the onion side is actually really good and does not taste like onions. We were able to try Thioubodienne, the Senegalese national dish, which is fish and rice. This dish was also good. So far, poulet yassa has been the staple meal consisting of grilled chicken and rice. I was very surprised to see how many restaurants serve American food. Burgers, fries and sandwiches are served at many restaurants. Our team has actually had difficulties with finding restaurants that serve authentic Senegalese food. My expectations of Africa have been very different from my experiences. Lack of exposure caused me to be shocked at how developed the city of Dakar is. It is very beautiful and the weather is amazing. Spending 4 weeks here should not be very hard.

Language has been a major hindrance, but with the help of Google translate and any person that speaks some sort of English, we have been able to get around well and even order food at restaurants. We have learned quite a lot of French and Wolof in this first week. My research professor joked about me making my final presentation in French, although I barely know any French. Housing has been great for the most part. We were originally in a professor dorm without hot water or wifi but have since been moved on campus and each of us has our own room and bathroom. It is even a custom for someone to come in a clean your room for you everyday. It’s nice to come from the lab to your bed made and a fresh towel waiting for you. Also, we live very close to the beach, which is nice to go to after work.

My research is heavily focused on Chemical Engineering. I’m working on trying to develop a process for transforming wastewater into more useful chemicals, therefore helping to save the marine ecosystem and fishing industries here in Senegal. One thing that sticks out to me in the lab environment is that a man comes everyday selling peanuts. A professor or graduate student always buys some. When they do, the whole lab stops working and everyone eats peanuts. However, I have actually done a lot of work for this first week and have already started my research paper. My research thus far has been theoretical. I am very excited to start doing experiments and developing real results based on my findings.