First day in Dakar

Dakar really is right on the ocean! Here's proof from my landing in the South African Airways plane.
Apparently one of the men sitting behind me is one of the most famous Senegalese wrestlers coming home from training in New York. There is going to be a big match coming up in April for the 50th Anniversary of independence..that we may be able to go see.

Another view from the plane. There's a statue in the background. I think it is the highly controversial structure commissioned by the president that is being unveiled in April.
In a haze of blinding sunlight and no sleep, I met my future classmates on the bus ride to our hotel. We managed to adventure around the neighborhood on a very short walk after we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant (perfectly buttery and crispy croissants accompanied by not so perfect instant coffee). It is a good thing we're staying in a hotel so close to the ocean. No one had the energy to actually do anything, yet no one wanted to simply sleep away their first hours in Senegal. The hotel we're staying in, about a minute from the ocean, is just until Friday. This is orientation week - getting introduced to the city and the schedule for our spring classes - then we move into our family homestays on Friday.






It seemed as if every road or street corner was under some sort of construction. This made it somewhat difficult to tell what was off limits/private property, especially since our logic and reason had fallen asleep somewhere over the Atlantic. Fortunately we were mostly welcomed wherever we walked.




This still doesn't feel real, and I don't know if it ever will, but sun in January is a nice change from the bone chilling Massachusetts winters.