Monday, June 25, 2012

Hello World ! It's about time...


A few months ago I wrote this in a final financial aid application to volunteer in Dakar, Senegal:

I recall the various emotions that crossed my mother’s face when I asked, “Mom, Can I go to Africa to volunteer this summer?” As protective as she is, she could not deny that I have had a longing desire to volunteer in a developing country despite having done various volunteer activities back home (JAMAICA!). With her approval, I had done considerable research in looking for volunteer programmes in French-speaking Africa, but sometimes one cannot do it alone. Having been waitlisted for my initial application to volunteer in Fundong, Cameroon, I realised that desperate times call for desperate measures. Unwilling to give up so easily and with very little time to spare, I enlisted the help of ------ ------, Director of Off-Campus Study at Grinnell, and found an alternate volunteer programme in Dakar, Senegal.

Now, it seems to only be a few weeks later, but here I am in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa, Africa.
I have been here for 2.5 weeks now but although I’ve kept a daily journal… my attempts at starting a travel blog have only now come to fruition. I hope that you will bear with me and my ridiculous time schedule (40 hours of combined volunteer service and language training) as I try to share my experiences with you through this travel blog. 

By the beach, near to where I live with my host family in Dakar :)

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