انا سعيدة.

It’s that time! This week flew right by! I’m making sure all of my electronics are charged, buying snacks for the plane and trying to stuff my new, Senegalese clothes in my suitcases. And all of it is with an obscenely heavy heart.

I think that it is almost bittersweet to say goodbye to Dakar. This no longer just a city on a map or the capital of Senegal to me anymore; it’s my second home. I’ve made some of the closest of friendships to the point where I would consider them an extension of my family. However, now that I think about it, it’s not really a ‘goodbye’; it’s more like a ‘see you soon’. I know I’ll be back. Without a doubt in my mind. I’ve already got little kids that I have to come back and see so that I can tell them, “I knew you were a baby!”; I’ve got graduate students that I’ve got to come back and make Senegalese tea for; and I’ve got advisers that I’ll have to come back for because you can’t go long without seeing your family again. So, in this regard, I struggle with ambivalence on whether or not I should be happy or sad in this moment.

However, I figure that I’m glad to go back home to tell everyone about them. I want the whole world to know how sweet and giving and caring and hilarious and intelligent every single person I’ve come across is. I want to the world to know that Senegal is not your binary, African narrative. It is holistic and dynamic and does not fit the mold of being a ‘Single Story’. And this is because there are millions of stories; from the tales of why a band of British taught Senegalese men started their own village to the accounts of garment-selling-women who have such persistence, they’ll board a boat with you just for the chance of selling you something.

It is because of this that I leave with a smile on my face. I’ve debunked those preconceived notions about countries of this continent. Of course I can only speak on one out of fifty-four of the countries here, however I feel as though that this is a step in the right direction. Even though I wasn’t able to see the entire country, from my experiences, I can also tell everyone that I did not have struggles of finding water to drink; I always had electricity; and to top it off, I have never felt more safe. I found that it was extremely unnerving that two globally broadcast shootings occurred in the U.S. while I was abroad. Two of them. While here, contrary to popular belief, most people don’t even see the purpose of owning a gun.

So now, looking back, I guess I am no longer bittersweet; I am thrilled. Not in that I’m leaving, but that I get to bring their stories and their culture with me. What a blessing.

الحَمْد لله‎‎