Day 2: Cultural Immersion

“Out of many there is one” Today was all about the cultural immersion and understanding of each other’s culture (between American and Senegalese people). We woke up, got dressed and walked to school.As we were walking I was just in awe at the ocean, the sky and the busy streets! Everything was bright, vibrant and loud and that’s when I really knew I was home, because if you know me you now know how naturally loud I am. We walked to get breakfast at one of the local cafes in the university and they had croissants (both plain and chocolate) and they were delicious. Flaky and buttery and the chocolate was decadent and sweet. I had 2 of the chocolate ones. 

After breakfast was orientation and we got the chance to meet our Senegalese peers. Dr. Thiam not only explained the beauty and culture of Senegal, but different customs and manners. I noticed a lot of the things went hand in hand with cultural practices of the African American community. For example, when you walk into a room, you ALWAYS greet other people. Acknowledgement is a sign of respect and you should try to acknowledge everyone on an individual basis. I thought that was normal for all cultures, until this school year and realized that that is a cultural thing (among Africans and African Americans). Some things were different however. For example, the culture here is very communal and not only in a familial aspect but in all aspects. They will use one another’s devices and buy food with the expectation to share. Dr. Thiam explained that many will not buy something if they didn’t have enough for everyone. In the States, we are a much more individualistic society, and even though I knew that, I did not know to what extent. Learning and sharing stories was great and lucky for me it was just the beginning. After orientation we walked to a local cafe for lunch and got to really interact and get to know our peers and I ended up having a lot in common with Sofia. We talked about everything from dancing to Beyoncé. (I really want her to take me dancing so I will keep you guys updated on that.) Once we got to the café I was so ready to eat. I ordered vermachille which is a type of pasta. It came with chicken and and an onion sauce, and let’s just say I’m 4/4 with the food so far.  

The food was good, but the conversations we had were even better. *Sidenote* As we were eating one of the peer leaders, Lihmin, was a big fan of Jamaican/Rastafarian music. He was huge fan of a song that my dad use to play in the car when i was a little girl. It just made me realize that we are all so connected and on more ways than you think (whether it be music or culture). It also made me miss my dad and wish he was here to experience this with me,but I’m doing this for the both of us. 

At the table we had discussions about music, clothes and movies. Most interestingly we talked about Black Panther. In the African American community, it felt as it was a huge win, but I wanted to get the perspective of people actually from Africa (where the movie is based). For the most part, they are happy with it. However, Lihmin, said that he didn’t like that they had to physically fight each other for the thrown. He said he wished it would’ve been based more on policy and their plans for Africa than just their physical strength. He felt it played into the stereotypes to much. Dr. Thiam told me that he felt that the movie wasn’t radical enough. He felt that the ending was controversial. (I’m not going to ruin it for those who haven’t seen it yet -Jeff) but the role of sharing the resources with the rest of the world and in Killmongers point of view, to conquer the world, he just felt it could have been a lot more complex than that. Exploitation of resources dates back centuries and so in a Afro-futuristic film with a focus on what could have happened if colonizers didn’t come into Africa, then why still make it a possibilty? The conversation was very intriguing and enlightening and I know we’ll get more in depth about these kind of topics later in the program. 

After lunch, our Senegalese peers showed us around the university. The first place we went was the library. In their universities, they call it LMD, for License (which is undergrad), Masters and Doctorate. The library is split in levels depending on what stage you’re in. However when we first walked in, I had seen some of the most beautiful art. The colors were beautiful and the artistic style was breathtaking.  

After we left the library we went to visit the dorms. The dorms were split between women and men and that was where I could see the overcrowding of the university. We went into the girls dorm and they explained to us that dorms are only assigned to the top students with the best grades, but the amount of people that come from far away may not have any place to stay. (This was when I really saw the communal and shared culture put into action). Each dorm room can only hold two people but if you have friends  who need a place to stay then they can stay with you. Sometimes the dorm rooms can have as many as 5 or 7 people in them *check out my YouTube to see what they look like*, but the living arrangements are not easy to say the least. However, both College and dorms are free or close to free. While I’m the States you pay about $5000 to rest your head. We talked to the girl students about a lot of different things, whether it be Trump ( 2 points for Trump) or just life as an Ohio State student. After we left the dorms we went to a cafe of sweets and I was reunited with an old friend ...ICECREAM! (They call it gelato but it tasted just like ice cream. 

After a long day of exploration and ending it on a sweet note, we came back to the hotel and just enjoyed each other’s company. 

*See below for the #OOTD* 

Jumpsuit (Forever 21)