Dakar, Sénégal

Why I chose to go to Sénégal: My choice reflects several interests I've had for some time. I'm interested in language - sounds and letters. In how and why words are formed. In how language informs and is informed by the cultures in which it is used. In Senegal, language has political implications. As the result of colonization by the French, Senegal's official language is French. On the other hand, the use of African indigenous languages in Senegal is both practical and defiant — a way to purposefully affirm African cultures. Although l haven't often questioned the language I use in the U.S., I realize that language is political here, too. As a writer and feminist activist, I am fascinated by how words can be used for social change. My decision to study in Senegal will let me continue to study political uses of language.

How this class helped me prepare for study abroad: Taking Cross-Cultural Understanding and Intercultural Communication has heightened my awareness of my own culture. I now find myself responding to friends' jokes, frustrations, and political arguments with, "Don't you think that's cultural, though?" I've had some explaining to do. Despite growing cultural diversity in America, there are indeed patterns of American thought. Examining American standards and American-biased assumptions within my own thought processes has spawned hundreds of questions. Again and again, despite how many of my prejudices and assumptions have evaporated - in part because of this class - a few more always bob to the surface. With the help of this class, I've found myself looking at daily interactions differently. For instance, instead of automatically deciding that someone who is late is rude, I've wondered if perhaps promptness is differently valued in a component of his/her culture. I have asked what ideas motivate the cultural and social niceties to which I am accustomed. Dr. Solberg, my classmates, and our reading materials have all aided in collapsing the assumption of my own culture’s correctness. This is not a loss. Next year, this newfound sense of wonder at the world's cultural vastness will be essential. I hope that what I've learned will lessen the shock of cultural difference and expand my ability to live and interact in Dakar.

What I identified as the greatest challenges facing me as I began my study abroad program: I know I will have trouble accepting differing ideas about class, sex, and gender. On both psychological and political levels, I find it hard to understand those who claim that gender and class status are biologically determined. I recognize oppression as normalized and invisibilized — both abroad and in my own culture. While I am not so naive as to think I will have the ability to change much abroad, I fear I will have difficulty accepting sexist beliefs and practices I already find offensive in the U.S. I am loyal to my own framework of ideas about class, sex, and gender, but my political opinions will surely be transformed by my interactions in Senegal — as a foreigner, an American, a white person, and a female.

Sensitivity and attentiveness to Senegalese concepts of class, sex, and gender will help me to navigate my surprise, anger, and frustration. I can improve my understanding of political and social ideas in Senegal by abandoning the attempt to place them in my own cultural context. Also helpful will be cultivating relationships with women and people of various class statuses. Perhaps if I can better understand individuals, I can begin to better understand systems. Working with a feminist organization will also help my adjustment. By working with Africans who share my concerns, I can make my own social change methods more effective, and continue my own work to end oppression.

What I hope to learn about myself on study abroad: Although I've set some goals and tried to prepare myself, I know that I have many surprises in store, and I’m comfortable with that. Some goals for my stay are basic: I want to become fluent in French, learn Wolof at least at a conversational level, understand the Senegalese sense of humor, better navigate intercultural communication, and become a fearless traveler. Beyond that, I wish to become more comfortable with unease, know how to manage awkward social situations, discard most embarrassment, expand my understanding of oppression, race, class, sex, and gender. This time next year, I want to be missing Dakar, daydreaming of beaches and markets, staring at silver jewelry and trying to remember exactly what it was like to buy it. In spite of all this preparation, I want to be able to enjoy the surprises that lie ahead.

See contact page to arrange a speaking engagement.

Read excerpts from my letters home.