The Senegalese diet consisting primarily of fish, I had resolved not to touch a single one while spending my October break in France. My mother, not having spent the last two months in Dakar, had no such qualms and so it was that she came to be presented with an entire fish, bones and all, in a Parisian café next to Notre Dame – and I thought this only happened in Senegal. Visiting Paris last week for my vacation was simultaneously the best and worst week of study-abroad so far, for while I whole-heartedly embraced a variety of first-world luxuries for a glorious seven days, I then also had to go through the rather painful process of relinquishing them a second time.
What first struck me, upon arrival in Paris, was the drastic change in weather. The biting fall wind that picked at my clothing as I stepped out of the Charles de Gaulle airport was far colder than I had remember October to be. Given that temperatures in Senegal continue to hover in the upper 90s I was not exactly adequately prepared for the cold and cloudy climate that France had to offer, but feeling cold was such an immense pleasure, and the ability to comfortably wear pants (and even boots) so astounded me that I was relaxed and happy before I had even really entered the city. Next came a whirlwind of hot showers, café au lait, cheese, wine and sightseeing in Northern France. I was a little discomfited to realize that the French accent had become foreign to me, and harder to understand after eight weeks in Senegal. The more guttural, flat French that I was used to had nothing in common, it seemed, to the lush and rounded language I was now hearing and I was rather embarrassed to note that own my accent also seemed to have changed. Over and above all of my extraordinary, European indulgences, I think what most struck me about France was the architecture. Paris held more stone, more buildings and much more order than I was used to, and trying to take it all in left me simultaneously overwhelmed and claustrophobic. While Parisian buildings are well cared for and close together, and the roads cobble stoned or recently paved, Dakar is a web of dusty, broken streets and abandoned buildings, interwoven with crowded residences and bustling businesses. I have rarely, if ever, looked up in Senegal and seen buildings all around me and navigating the roads requires full concentration, but in Paris I spent most of my time staring all around at the gleaming storefronts and intricate architecture. 
Quitting this setting and returning to Dakar was a shock to the system, as I left Europe behind and re-entered the third world. When I first began studying abroad, everything was so entirely new and different from anything I had ever experienced before that I couldn’t help but compare it and struggle to appreciate the novelties. The opportunity now, halfway through the semester, to be in two different continents, two disparate levels of development, in under six hours, helped me to realize that the comforts of Dakar are not lesser than those of Paris or Washington, DC, they’re simply different.
Senegal is a young country, only in its 49th year of independence from France, and while there are many serious problems facing this nation right now – political corruption, power outages, water shortages, and traffic jams – Senegal boasts the color and life of a vibrant Muslim society, the ability to look up and see the sky from practically anywhere, warm weather even when it’s snowing at home and countless cultural treasures that you simply cannot find anywhere else. And so I look to the second half of the semester determined to savor every minute of life in Western Africa, because I recognize that I may never have the opportunity to return and therefore the goods things, the great things, about being in Senegal should not be ignored.
