I (Joyce) recently returned from taking Justine (13), Alexis (16) & our friend, David (16) to Senegal.

Senegal is a third world country - so this was less of a vacation & more of a "field trip of a lifetime" that afforded us an up close and personal understanding of what real life is like in Senegal ... a culture & climate as far away as it is far different from what we're used to in America.

We stayed w/ my brother (Uncle Jimmy), who teaches elementary students in Dakar, & his wife, Aunt Ramona. We visited The Door of No Return (former slave house) on Goree Island, capital city of Dakar, the school where my brother teaches, outdoor marketplaces, the beach, a wild game park... and Justine finally met her pen-pal!

In the days leading up to our departure I posted here what I knew & was learning about where we were headed. Once we arrived in Senegal, I had the kids post some things as well. Justine was our main photographer.

We're back now & still trying to record our experience as it was hard to keep up while we were there.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

I saw what I saw

Sara Groves said so well (re: her visit to Rwanda) so much of what I'm thinking, feeling, working through now that we're back from Senegal. Our trip may be history - but the impact left on me by the things I saw, heard, smelled, felt, tasted - the things that struck & stuck - are the most precious souvenirs I brought home & I trust they will help me (all four of us!) to navigate the future more appropriately - more compassionately/less selfishly.

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