January 12

So thankfully we landed safe and sound yesterday...and even more impressively on time.  Only one person on the program lost their luggage, and it wasn't me so who cares? yay!
We're staying in a hotel for the night, and meeting up with our host families to move in tomorrow afternoon-I am currently rooming with a sophomore from Mt. Allison, and she's a cross-country runner so we're going on a scenic run of Dakar tomorrow morning before orientation activities start.
Today, right after the continental breakfast (which is basically hot chocolate or coffee and a full baguette) at the hotel, they let us sleep for a few hours before forcing us to become oriented-we went through our cultural handbook and rules of conduct, learned a few traditional Senegalese dance moves, and checked out the beach (pictures to follow).  It's incredibly different here-despite Dakar being a large capital city, it's nothing like any city I've ever experienced before.  Pedestrians, which include goats more often than people, cross major highways at will, and many of the "streets" certainly do not deserve the name.  However, the tropical weather makes everything seem a little more pleasant, except for the fact that all of us are wearing full length skirts or, even worse, jeans.
The food is fantastic, and even more importanty, there's a lot of it.  We share dishes while seated on the floor, and eat with our right hands only (without utensils, and without left hands, because they are seen as being used for more unclean bodily purposes), and the food generally consists of a base of some grain or carb, topped with vegetables and a protein (usually chicken or fish) that you combine with the grain into a compressed ball to consume.  It's very messy, but you're on the floor anyways so I guess it doesn't really matter.
The students on the program all seem very like-minded; it's definitely going to be a rigorous academic experience, but the nice thing is that we all seem to get along and want to experience the youth culture of Senegal together, as well.  However, I am really looking forward to joining my host family in the suburb of Ouakam-two of the other girls have been placed within the same neighborhood, so we'll be able to figure out the public transportation system and class schedules together.
While we haven't done that much, it has been an exhausting day; I haven't slept more than two consecutive hours since I left home, so I think that even though it's only 9:15 here, I'll be going to bed soon.  Since turning 21, I've really been a party animal.
I may not have internet access for a bit, at least until we enroll in classes at WARC and Diop starting on Tuesday, but I may do some exploring to find an internet cafe before then.