6 lessons learned
Lesson 1:
Unless you speak French or Wolof, Senegal is not an easy country to travel around. I went in with no French and a handful of last-minute Wolof lessons with Mor, an online tutor. I had the vague hope it would be enough. It wasn’t. The lessons were worth it as I met up with Mor when I was in Dakar, but far too last-minute to make much of an impact.
Lesson 2:
This ties into my previous point. Learn the Wolof greetings. Simple things: hello (“As-salam-mualykum”), how are you, I’m fine, and so on. In the interactions I had around the country, I felt it was considered impolite if you don’t know at least some of these. They’ll feel appreciated, you’ll feel appreciated.
Lesson 3:
To stretch my budget, I would have spent less time in Dakar. At the time I travelled, I found Senegal to be way more expensive than Gambia, with Dakar (Senegal’s capital) being noticeably more expensive.
10 snapshot memories
Memory 1:
My credit card getting eaten by a machine in the airport within the first 5 minutes of arriving.
Memory 2:
Walking across Dakar at night for 5 hours to see the African Renaissance Monument lit up at night with Mor (my Wolof tutor who I had a few online lessons with before arriving).
Memory 3:
Getting on the back of a moto taxi and whipping through Dakar.
Memory 4:
Flushing the toilet and a frog jumps out.
Memory 5:
Shoreline fishing for jack fish and barracuda with Maland until dark – in the water and on the rocks. Looking back and seeing the sunsetting.
Written by Thomas Drayton for African Stays.
African Stays is an initiative by Amy Drayton, who is building a log of experiences, places, events and contacts across Africa in collaboration with friends and contributors. The project is intended as a resource for residents as much as visitors, a reference point for how the continent can be lived or travelled away from what is obvious or expected.