inconclusive

A week and some odd minutes ago, I was landing at Indianapolis International Airport, walking through the same entrance terminal to terminal B that I walked through 6 months previously, that time ‘departures’ this time ‘arrivals’. Since then I have filled my days with pots and pots of coffee, chunky sweaters and wool socks, naturallyContinue reading "inconclusive"

dear senegal, jērejēf

Dear Senegal, Jērejēf. Thank you. Thank you for teaching me gratitude. Thank you for showing me out of the dimness of pity, frustration, and dis-satisfaction and toward the light of looking around the world in gratitude. Thank you for the multitude of thankfulness lists I learned and was given space to write and for theContinue reading "dear senegal, jērejēf"

the sun it rises, the sun it sets

Today, I am sick. Today, I am stressed. Today, I am a ball of emotions which fleet through my mind and heart a mile a minute.  And so when I got home today after a coffee-fueled afternoon of paper writing and apartment scrambling, I could have just gone to bed and taken a nap. ButContinue reading "the sun it rises, the sun it sets"

3/4 joyous uncertainty

When I consider my life in Senegal overall, it can essentially be divided into fourths: - ¼ part: deep, personal, growing, reflective, change-the-way-you-approach-every-day life moments which from moment to moment big and small can be both entirely challenging and entirely enlivening and of which I write and speak often. - ¾ part: moments where youContinue reading "3/4 joyous uncertainty"

clementines

Sometimes you are knocked off-guard. We're sitting squished in a bush taxi, heaps of baggage, literally heaps of bread, tea, coffee, sugar, butter, choco-pain, sardine paste (all the necessary fixings for a stand up Senegalese breakfast) are piled on top of us. We are traveling to the village of Ngueth outside of Palmarin outside ofContinue reading "clementines"

if i’d never met you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4GTVYHOM_M I found this song a few days ago and have been listening to it on repeat for a number of reasons/friends, but today, I woke up, listened to the song, and thought of you, Maggie. "I know you are my friend and if I'd never met you I would be different" These words areContinue reading "if i’d never met you"

a day to be lived

Sometimes I have low moments. Sometimes I get overwhelmed. Sometimes I get so far into my headspace I can’t figure out how to get back to here. Sometimes I get so anxious trying to figure life out that I become paralyzed from living it. Sometimes I look at the calendar and see the many datesContinue reading "a day to be lived"

pelicans in flight, returning

Reflections on transitions from and toward a year: -------- The new year – moving toward mindfulness, thinking toward thankfulness. One step at a time. Always moments for good, for beauty, for gratitude. In the year ahead, I will pass time, be amongst, laugh with, sit aside, hold, listen to and be heard by, family inContinue reading "pelicans in flight, returning"

in this i believe

Last Saturday we made the journey to Touba to visit La Grande Mosquée; as we bumped along the sandy road, I looked out over the vast Senegalese landscape dotted with sturdy Baobab trees and thought about what it meant to be on, what is for African Muslims travelling to this spiritual center, a sacred journey.Continue reading "in this i believe"

coming home

Walking home, it’s sunset. I meander down the road in the cool breeze, hear enlivened Wolof all around me, greet familiar neighbors. When I reach Papa he happily greets me, makes a joke about my favorite song, tells me so like family he’s going to the gym and will see me later. I walk towardContinue reading "coming home"

saying grace

I got stressed, I got overwhelmed. I got bogged down in negativity and frustration. I got lazy in my soul and self-work, losing for a minute my constant striving to live out my beliefs. I forgot what makes this holiday important to me, forgot how much I appreciate this day for stopping us, centering us,Continue reading "saying grace"

thanking jake

You never had to wonder what Jake was thinking; he willingly and passionately shared his musings, beliefs, and reflections with any whose path crossed with his. You never had to wonder if Jake was listening; he was genuinely interested in what others had to say and approached conversations with the greatest sincerity. He approached lifeContinue reading "thanking jake"

a week of grace

I spent the past week in Richard Toll, a small town in northern Senegal as a part of my “Senegal River Valley” class. We spent the week visiting various agricultural projects taking place in what is one of the most fertile region of otherwise flat, sandy, and dry Senegal; we learned about sugar cane andContinue reading "a week of grace"

holding conversation

“Being able to hold a conversation is one of the greatest talents a person can possess,” my Grandpa told me. I have thought about those words, and Grandpa, every day that I have been in Senegal. Until he was put in hospice care in March of 2012, my Grandpa was just my Grandpa. He livedContinue reading "holding conversation"

we cried and we laughed and we took deep breaths

We sat in the closed room, each in our own space that at times coincided with the space of others, and we cried and we laughed and we took deep breaths. We sat on the rock, bracing ourselves individually and as one clump as the waves crashed down upon us, and we cried and weContinue reading "we cried and we laughed and we took deep breaths"

les gris-gris

I have always been a sentimental person. I have always been someone who attaches great meaning and emotion to the things around me. I have always been the person who hid my favorite pair of childhood shorts from my parents because they wanted to give them Goodwill and I wanted to put them in aContinue reading "les gris-gris"

powerlessness

There are times when I feel powerless in Senegal. Much of the time, this powerlessness centers on gender. I feel powerless when I am told the only thing a woman can do when a man harasses her on the street is to keep walking, any sort of counter-remark or telling off by the woman wouldContinue reading "powerlessness"

being here through it

Written 24 September 2013: Today was a hard day for Sarr family here in Sénégal. During the summer of 2011 my Kenyan sister Winnie lived with my family in the US. Toward the end of her stay, the D-H family had a hard day. And I remember so clearly her telling me that she wasContinue reading "being here through it"

learning at the beach

I went to the beach today with my host sister, Corine, her fiancée, Michel, her friend, Ellen, Ellen’s husband, Amadou, and my friend Caroline. Here is what I learned at the beach (because every moment is a learning opportunity): Senegalese people are intense. In many different ways, both good and bad, both heartening and distressing,Continue reading "learning at the beach"