Category: Senegal 2023-24
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Niokolo Koba
Today, we are heading into Niokolo Koba National Park. The park is the largest in all of West Africa, an impressive testimony to the conservationists who advocated for land protection during the early decades of Senegal’s independence. They turned what used to be a French hunting reserve into 900,000 hectares of protected forests, grasslands, rivers,…
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The People are the Beauty
By Lucia Rodriguez As I sit in the hut here at Hakuna Lodge, where Anson has been making us laugh for the past 3 hours, I realize that the people will be the most incredible part of this trip. It is hard to describe the indescribable with Anson BUT I think he manages to make us…
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A Big Step
Yesterday, we drove from one side of Senegal to the other, from Dangane to Wassadougou. The drive took us across the groundnut region, where women peddle bags of cashews and peanuts at speed bumps and in villages. We observed the shape and materials of buildings change, from the right angles of bricks of cement to…
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The Value of Language
By Luis de Grandes I think that knowing different languages is something very important when traveling. It helps you meet new people and make new contacts for future occasions, to help the group with which you are going to orientate and organize, and it also helps you understand other languages that are similar to the…
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Some Thoughts
At the end of our first day, we sat around and shared thoughts about what we had seen and done. I asked people specifically to focus in on a single image or a single issue or something else specific that stood out to them. Here are some snippets from that: Kids waving at us as…
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First Impressions
It’s different but I like it. -Namiyah Beautiful place. -Ilaria I love it! -Chloe Family and community are everywhere. -Lucia C I like it. A lot. It’s different but people make it easy to enjoy. -Luis A lot of donkeys! They’re like horses for the people here. And friendly people! -Jarlyne It’s very easy to…
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On the way!
The 13 students and 3 teachers headed to Senegal are on board their initial flights to JFK. From there, we’ll be in the air for about 7 hours over the Atlantic before reaching Senegal. A feast awaits us! The group is excited. We have a first time flyer, several people visiting Africa for the first…
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Senegal Beckons
The dark days of winter are slowly giving way to the warmth of spring and summer. Here in Virginia, storms mark the shift – today, our first big rain in a while with claps of thunder. For those of us heading to Senegal, it feels like the warm sun of West Africa and the hospitality…