Day 23 - Bittersweet Farewells

My time in Senegal is coming to a close.  Today we started off with a reflection on the trip, with everyone sharing both negative and positive impressions of the country.  Most of them were fairly predictable, such as the differences in hospitality and political expression, and the poor waste management and difficulty of trying to practice French in a country where it was really only the second language.  The one point which did spark a fairly heated debate, as usual, was the oppression of women in this country.  It’s an extremely complex issue, with lots of complications rooted in religion and tradition.  The attempts to create a feminist movement are also points of debate, and whether the role of women in the US ought to be used as a basis for comparison.  That argument went on for a solid 20 minutes before our professor finally just cut us off and told us it was time to head out.  After the reflection we had a sort of farewell-party with our Senegalese partners, a last-hurrah before heading back to the States.  Although I think that it is likely that many of the students from this trip will be returning.  Ashley has an internship lined up in January, which Chatondra is also looking into, and Pat and Kenisha have both made very close friends that they will most likely be coming back to visit.  Our farewell party was back on Ngor Island.  I think that’s Thiam’s favorite spot in the city.  It was a great way to wind down, relaxing on the beach and doing a bit of swimming.  I was considering asking for permission to swim back to the mainland from the island after we were done, since it isn’t really that far, until I realized that there were jellyfish in the water closer to the mainland.  We had a nice lunch at the island restaurant and then headed back, saying goodbye to all of the Senegalese students and our bus driver before heading back to our individual partners.  Other than that there really isn’t too much to report, it was kind of a lazy day.  I discovered that I can download a Nook app onto my tablet, so I’ve taken to reading again during my free time.  That’s how I spent the majority of the evening.  Our plane leaves the Senegal airport around 1am Friday morning, so tomorrow’s post will be my last.