By Ayden Claussen

After staying in Kecouta’s village and the Lion Camp for the first week of this trip I experienced something amazing that many students have written about on this blog before. A normal Senegalese community. The reason why that experience was so special is because a normal Senegalese community would be so rare and hard to find in the majority of places that I have visited in America. Here in Senegal, on the other hand, all of the places we have visited have made Kecouta’s village and the people of the Lion Camp seem both amazing and normal.

In Kecouta’s village we were greeted by a swarm of kids that had huddled around each of our three vans. As soon as we stepped out there were kids who were taking our backpacks and suitcases not because they wanted something in return, simply because they wanted to help. Even if we were complete strangers to them. Later that night all the kids from the village were hanging out with all the people from our group despite the language barrier between us we were all able to build connections with the kids without saying a single word. The nights in the village were full of laughs and giggles as we played hand games with the younger kids. We taught them games we used to play in elementary school and vice versa. The hospitality that the community in the village showed us was incredible. However, as I said before, this type of behavior in Senegal is simply the norm. The only reason it is so incredible to a group of Americans, some of which who had never left the country before, was because we were never exposed to that sense of hospitality because in America that kind of behavior, as Mr. Alter would say, is extremely abnormal. Kecouta’s wives, Fanta and Sira, would stay up late cooking us dinner when we would get back to the village sometimes at midnight, Kecouta spent months making extra beds for our big group so that everyone would have a comfortable place to sleep, and Kecouta  even built us new bathrooms with western toilets because he knew that we didn’t like using the squatty pottys. Kecouta and his family showed us this level of hospitality and sacrifice for a group of strangers that don’t even speak their language or understand their culture yet they will always welcome you into their homes and families without questions. You can find this not only in Kecouta’s village but all over Senegal.

The second week of out trip we stayed in a comfortable Airbnb in a more touristy area of Senegal. Along the 10 hour drive to get to this area we were prompted with the question, will the community aspect of Senegal change and if so, how? I wanted to see how modern Senegal might change the way people interacted with each other and with us.

The day that I was leader of the day we went to a soccer game to support the club Ajel. This was my first time ever going to a live soccer match so I was very excited to experience the game in an electric atmosphere. An electric atmosphere is an understatement for the Ajel supporters section. As soon as our group made it up the stairs we were immediately invited to dance with drums and chants booming from the back of the stands. And dance we did for the entire game. I’ll admit that I hardly actually watched the game as I was so focused on getting the dances right. During halftime some people in our group were able to join the drummers and they drummed for the entire second half while the rest of us danced. It was truly an amazing experience. The reason why I brought this story up is because it relates to the question of how the community will change coming from a remote village on the side of the highway to a touristy Airbnb on the coast. The answer is it doesn’t change, it just shows up in different ways.

 In the village, community was shown by the laughter snd fun shared among the two very different groups of people, personally I saw it very clearly when Samba took my backpack from me when we were hiking to the waterfall in around 90 degree heat and it was uphill most of the way up, and also in the way that everyone was just so kind, and welcoming, as many people said it really felt like a home away from home. All of this impact wasn’t made by a 5 star hotel, with Michelin star restaurants, the impact the village had on me and others in the group was made by Kecouta, Fanta, Sira, Samba and all the other kids we met and interacted with. During our time on the coast during the second week of the trip, the same aspect of hospitality that Senegal is known for was also really apparent. But it did show up in different ways than the village. At the soccer game their was a clear aspect of community over the peoples support and shared love for Ajel. Immediately the community of Ajel supporters opened their arms to us, a group of Americans who most of which had never heard of Ajel before, became apart of that community just by showing up. They invited us and even encouraged us to dance with them. Some people were invited to join the drummers at the top of the stands for the entire second half. 

These are specific examples of where one might find the sense of Senegalese community but you can find it everyday and anywhere in Senegal. Just by walking to dinner around our Airbnb, locals would talk to us asking us where we were from and if it was our first time in Senegal and after hearing that it was our first time in Senegal their answer would always be the same ” Welcome to Senegal!” And it’s true I really did feel welcome.

Senegal is known for their hospitality and their strong sense of community everywhere you go. As we go back to America I want to take back all the lessons I have learned from Senegal, especially the lesson of welcoming everyone without question. Senegal has been a very eye opening experience for me and I am so grateful for all the lessons from the village and in the more modern part of Senegal. Especially because community is a big part of Christchurch and from the lessons that we have learned in Senegal can help make the community at CCS even better and stronger.