The End of Another Chapter

I thought it was appropriate to post this at the one year anniversary of my spinal TB diagnosis (remember this: 10 things I learned from a hospital bed in Paris).  This last weekend also marked the last day of my treatment, well - at least the pills I've been taking for the last year. I'm sure the 'treatment' will be for the rest of my life :P

This post marks the end of several chapters. The (roughly) last year in Senegal, the end of graduate school, and the completion of my thesis.

I left Senegal on August 5th and for the next three weeks I slept in 7 states, boarded 5 flights, and met up with some amazing friends and family, many of whom I hadnt seen in 1-2 years. For the time being, I'm living in Idaho Falls with my loving sister Hanna and her wonderful family (thanks!). My final months in Senegal went by way too fast, as they always do. I've noticed that for some reason, even when I know my time is running out, I am never see and do everything I want before I go. I guess that's another reason why I'm never terribly sad when I leave, because I have faith that I will be back.

The last few months, outside of my research, were scattered with music concerts, a bit of travel outside of Dakar, and more exploring inside Dakar city limits.

Îles de la Madeleine - Islands right off the coast of Dakar

Ship wreck at Îles de la Madeleine

Part of the beaches at Popenguine and hour and a half outside of Dakar

In May there was an amazing several week long event called Dak'Art. This event was the 12th biannual event. It started in 1992 as a platform for contemporary art with cultural roots in Africa and aims at being a space of of different prejudice-free visions on approaches and inspirations to analyze in relation to a plurality of influences from both immediate and farther sources. There were light shows, tons of exhibits, and some concerts. In my subjective opinion, the best part of the entire month long extravaganza was the Cheikh Lô and special guest concert.

Literally the best of the best!

 Here is a short clip of some of the performances throughout night:

 As exciting as it was, May was also a sad month as so many of my dear friends left Dakar, including my lovely roommate. This meant I had to leave our beautiful apartment in Liberté 6.

Claire, Brenda, and I soaking up some sun on one of their last days.

The beginning of June was marked by the start Ramadan. As the holy month came to an end, we celebrated Korité (aka Eid al-Fitr) and suddenly it was mid July and I had only a couple of weeks left in Senegal.

Praying during Ramadan

Attaaya (tea) for sale at Marché Sandaga!

I went with a friend on a day trip to Lac Rose. The guides claimed that it was the saltiest lake in the world but I'm not sure. When I visted the Dead Sea I was told that it was the second-saltiest body of water on earth, after Lake Aral in Djibouti.
 Either way, it was a beautiful day!

Going for a ride on the dunes checking out the beach

The lake wasnt particularly pink on this day because it wasnt windy enough.
Apparently its pink when its windy.

For my birthday in June I took a quick trip to Amman, Jordan with a day lay over in Istanbul, Turkey. While waiting in the airport for my flight out of Dakar I saw a very familiar looking man. 

I met Cheikh Ndiguel Lô!!! If you dont know who he is - look him up on youtube!
One of the most famous, world renowned Senegalese musicians!

I cant think or talk about my last few months in Senegal with out talking about sama kër Seck (my Seck family):

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Finishing my M.A. and my research in Senegal was such an epic event. To date, it's definitely my biggest accomplishment. Which obviously wouldn't have been been possibly without my family and friends (and doctors!). I've written extensively on my blog about my research so I wont go into too much detail. I deviated slightly form the original research proposal and during the data collection I wrote three posts detailing the life histories of the six social mobilizers I worked with during the research process (one, two, three).

The star marks the end!

Briefly, this research explores how and why Tostan’s Social Mobilization Agents (SMA) do their work in rural Senegal. Using a grounded theory approach rooted in feminist epistemology, I participated in field observations and conducted several in-depth interviews with six SMAs, two men and four women. By creating individual portraits of their lives, we see them as whole persons made up of unique experiences. After having a close up look at their lives, we take a step back to look at the larger picture and see several reoccurring themes. I saught to answer one major research question: "Why and how do social mobilizers do their work?" and two sub questions: "What are the elements that motivated them?" and "What are the strategies they use in the field?". From this research, academics, practitioners, and a larger global audience will better understand the motives and methods of social mobilizers in rural Senegal today. With these findings, one can continue the quest for more knowledge and/or attempt to replicate the methods of social mobilization elsewhere.

Finally, if that was at all interesting to you, you can read the entire thesis called Motives and Methods of Social Mobilization in Rural Senegal.

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And finally to end with one final (for now) Wolof proverb:

"Réeroo amul, ñàkk a waxtaan a am"

Literal translation: ‘There is no such thing as a misunderstanding; there has simply been a lack of discussion.

Metaphorical meaning: ‘Misunderstandings occur when people do not talk’