Today marks the eighteenth day since my flight landed in Logan airport and already my sojourn in Senegal has begun to feel a bit like a dream. During my last week in Western Africa, my program director stressed repeatedly that we should be wary of reverse culture shock and be careful not to expect the reality of our hometowns to live up to the fables we had fabricated during our four months away. I felt slightly nervous about returning to life in America and worried that I would be homesick for Senegal and my family there and these fears seemed founded almost immediately after I had begun my journey home, when I learned of the snow storm sweeping across the US and the quick and painless trip that I had envisioned was replaced with a grueling struggle to make it to Boston. Ironically, since finally making it home that night, I have found that I have settled into the routine of life here in Massachusetts with relative ease. Yes, I sometimes feel claustrophobic as I find myself spending far more time indoors than I ever did in Senegal, and my house of four seems quiet after living in a household of twenty, but I am surprisingly comfortable in America. I suppose “comfort” is a poor choice of word, as the hot water and varied diet offered here make for a more luxurious lifestyle then what I experienced overseas, but my point is that I seem to have avoided the reverse culture shock I so dreaded – at least for now.
Indeed it is not re-adjusting to life in Massachusetts that has been difficult, as much as properly explaining my experience in Senegal. I have pictures, clothing and artwork to show to those who ask, but I have yet to master the art of condensing all I learned this past semester into a few concise sentences. Did I enjoy Senegal? Yes, immensely, especially on those days when the weather was slightly cloudy and the heat less intense or after long conversations with my host family, but I also had times when I thought that I couldn’t bear to eat any more rice and I wished longingly for the electricity to return so that my fan would operate. Right now, in this moment, if I had to reduce everything to one simple number I would score my last semester as a seven out of ten, but I realize that a few months from now that may change, as I distance myself more from the experience and find time to truly reflect on all I accomplished while there.
How do you reconcile five hours spent in the back of a cramped sedan with the opportunity to conduct a health survey in rural Senegal? Do you choose to see the journey from Dakar to the small village of Ndjomdi (an Amazing-Race type adventure compiled of such varied modes of transportation as a horse cart, a rickety bus, and a small boat) as a cultural experience or a lesson in the inefficiencies of Senegalese transportation? Today I can tell you that all these hardships were worth it, in the end, because I have seen things and done things that I never could have envisioned in August and I think I am a better person for it.
For those of you considering a year, semester or even a short visit to Senegal I encourage you to follow through – Senegal is a beautiful, varied, colorful and chaotic country with a vibrant culture, strong religious influence and welcoming population. I hope to one-day return to Dakar, though I know that it will probably be years before I do so until then, as the Senegalese say, Ba beneen yoon (until next time), Inshallah (God willing).
