MADE IT THROUGH THE FIRST WEEK

Have  been in Dakar now for just over a week.   Still settling in but getting more and more comfortable in my new environment.  The house where I rent a room is very close to the water – you can actually see the Atlantic from the roof terrace.  

It’s in a residential neighborhood called Yoff, right next to the airport – approximately a 15 minute walk from the house .  In fact, every time a plane takes off from Dakar, it flies right over us and the noise can be deafening…  And although the daily number of flights out of Dakar can’t be compared to other capitals of the world, they ARE around the clock – even at 3 in the morning.  Being a realtor and having recently worked with buyers who bought a house not too far from the train tracks  with some reservation, I wonder what it would take to sell a house like this in NY J

My very first day here my friends here took me on a short sightseeing tour.  We went to see the Monument of African Resistance that was inaugurated in April 2010.   It sits on top of a hill overlooking the Atlantic.  

After climbing all those stairs, we had a full view of the downtown area from a distance as well as the western most point of the African continent.   A Hotel Meridien with a 9 hole golf course sits right on its edge.    Later the same day, we went to visit an incredible art gallery on two floors overflowing with African art – LA CALEBASSE.  I was in heaven….. Wherever I looked,  I saw nothing but incredible pieces made of wood from all over Africa.   I even found the painting I want to take home at the end of my stay here and the owner who is French, promised he would make me a good deal….  Even more amazing than the gallery was the restaurant he has on the top floor of the building, overlooking the water.  We had a lovely meal with great  service under a huge thachered??? roof,  surrounded by some incredible art.  With no window and no high buildings to block anything, the view is pretty limitless.  Unfortunately, being located in kind of an isolated area and with limited electricity availability in the city, once the sun sets, a total darkness envelopes the restaurant.   Definitely a must for those who find themselves in Dakar some day.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of the waterfront not far from where I am staying

Came across that last scene while taking a morning walk Sunday with Pape - one of my landlady's sons, who lived in the States for a few years.  He was showing me his favorite spots by the water to go swimming and to just sit and meditate.  This group was was cleaning the sheep in the water - before taking them to the market to sell I suppose.  With the feast of the sacrifice holiday around the corner, one sees nothing but sheep everywhere.  Families are busy buying for the holiday on the 17th.  We have one in our courtyard too...

Haven’t quite started my work yet.  I have made contact with the first microfinance institution (MFI) called CAURIE where I only have a few weeks to finish a project started by the Kiva Fellow before me.  They are based in a city called Thies, about an hour or two from Dakar, where I will need to travel for a few days to complete the work.  I am waiting for some meeting to be arranged before I actually make the trip.   At the end of the month, I am suppose to start with U-IMCEC, another MFI where I will be for the rest of my stay. 

So for now, I am keeping busy getting to know as much of Dakar as I can and also reading a lot.  Just finished Barak Obama’s “Dreams of my father” and started “Half the Sky” by icholas Kristoff & Sheryl WuDunn.   One problem I have is that it looks like I may have problems trying to download new e-books onto my Nook from here.  When I bought it in NY I was told, I could download from anywhere in the world with a wi fi connection.  Well, I came here with only one book on it and when I went to download a new one the other day, I got a message that said books can only be downloaded from the US or Canada.  Bummer…… L  Am in the process of communicating with them to see if there is a solution.  If not, I better find an English bookstore here or get comfortable reading in French – there is an amaing French bookstore called “Les 4 Vents” where I went to get a map of Senegal and Dakar.  It reminded me so much of the Hachette bookstore in Istanbul my mom used to take us growing up…

Better get back to work now….. I’ll try to update this blog at least once a week or whenever I encounter something worthwhile that I want to share with you all before I forget J