Hilary Brownsenegal 2010
My Year not in College
August 7, 2010
September 2009, 32,000 ft in the air I was 6,137 miles from home headed for the western tip of Africa. I could have stuck with my peers, as many advised sitting in a college classroom on U.S. soil. But now, eight months later, no one questions what they then might have thought of as my crazy decision at the time. While I never listened to a lecture, let alone sat at a desk, during what was supposed to be my freshman year of college with the country of Senegal as my class room and its inhabitants for my teachers, I…
Read the rest »Diverging Personalities
April 1, 2010
Round, giggly, and full of life, my host mother is a real character. Her two daughters describe her as cheerful and kind to everyone. While this is true, figuring out how to spend so much time with her without, frankly, going crazy has been very difficult and involved much frustration for me. As the woman of the house and mother of three children, I expected her to be mature and confident; however jumping up and down with glee when her husband gives her money and throwing the occasional temper tantrum, she sometimes seems much more a child then a 32-year-old…
Read the rest »Food Appreciation
March 15, 2010
During the U.S. training institute we did an exercise to replicate the food distribution throughout the world. For dinner one night only two people eat the usual full, healthy IONS meal. The rest either had a bowl of beans and rice; just rice or in the case of one person a half portion of rice. Having never done this simulation before I went away thinking about world hunger and with a greater awareness of how the majority of the world eats. Little did I realize then that this time in Senegal would be a greater lesson in this and as…
Read the rest »A Poignant Morning at the Maternite
March 10, 2010
Vaccinating infants, examining pregnant women, giving birth control, checking up on prostitutes and other activities related to reproductive health make up a usual day at the Sebikotane Maternite, where I have been an apprentice for the past four months. As I am not a medical student, my jobs are relatively simple: taking blood pressure, weighing pregnant women, and fetching things for the midwives. While I don’t feel like I physically do much there is usually something interesting going on and I am always learning. Working there after volunteering at a hospital in the U.S. I also see the great difference…
Read the rest »Vampires and Sorcerers
February 18, 2010
I first learned about my host family’s belief in the super natural when I asked my host father about the belts made of thick cord and string the family, and many other Senegalese, wear called gris-gris. I was told that the pouches attached to the belts contain plants and verses of the Quran to help with life goals such as finding a job as well as protect from vampires and sorcerers. They received the gris-gris from a marabout who also helped them a few years ago when a series of misfortunes fell on the family. The marabout took a mirror…
Read the rest »Friends
February 1, 2010
A few nights ago, after accompanying Victoria to her host house, I walked the twenty minutes back on the route nationale with two Senegalese friends. While it was dark, it was only about eight thirty and we could see by the car lights streaming past us. Randomly, a shiny new truck pulled off the road. A middle aged white man, cigarette in hand, leaned out the window and called to us. We walked over and my friend whose French is the best out of the three of us stepped forward. He quickly indicated, however, that he wanted to speak with…
Read the rest »Friends
February 1, 2010
A few nights ago, after accompanying Victoria to her host house, I walked the twenty minutes back on the route nationale with two Senegalese friends. While it was dark, it was only about eight thirty and we could see by the car lights streaming past us. Randomly, a shiny new truck pulled off the road. A middle aged white man, cigarette in hand, leaned out the window and called to us. We walked over and my friend whose French is the best out of the three of us stepped forward. He quickly indicated, however, that he wanted to speak with…
Read the rest »