By Anson Huang

This is my second time coming to Senegal. Before I started this trip, a lot of people asked me why I wanted to go to this African country again. I was trying to think about this question’s answer on the plane ride here. Why did I come to this country?

From the outside, Senegal seems like a normal African country on the coast – a developing place with a serious trash problem and where people speak a language which I can’t understand. Why is it worth me coming here again? The answer come out when I took my first step off the plane on this trip and looked around here. The same airport with different people.

This year, some of them are worried about this trip. Some of them are looking forward to this trip without questions. At that moment of seeing my other CCS students arrive in Senegal, I realized that I’m gonna tell a different story from last year. What I really enjoy is not only viewing a beautiful place and culture of this country but also the stories that people around me share as we travel from near to far here.

In this post, I want to think about the way friendship happens in Senegal and I really thank those people around me who chose to come to this Senegal trip. When I was on the way to our first meal at Bandia’s, I saw a lot of local kids driving their donkeys cars. One of them was going super fast right next to the road, where many cars were driving, but those kids didn’t look scared. I think that’s one small example of the trust people show here to young kids and each other.

I believe that our relationship within the group will improve to next level like those guys. In the future of this trip, me Anson Huang, just ask me for help if everyone in our team wants me. In here I want to use my language to say 谢谢 （xie xie） to everyone who join the trip and help me and be around me. You guys are meaningful for me. 

At the end of this blog. I would like to use a Chinese sentence to describe my feelings of this trip. 四海之内皆兄（Everyone should be treated each other like brothers and sisters)(si hai shi nei jie peng you) ( I know Mr. Alter can’t read it correct so I forgive him😃) wish everyone have a nice trip in Senegal and let us start this new chapter of this special African story. In the future, no matter whether we will meet again or not, whenever I recall this experience, I will tell the people around me that you are the most legendary team. Together we have created many miracles in Senegal. To the group of guys who will travel to Senegal with me in 2025 – remember, Senegal is the example. Trust and friendship.