Nanga def Xarit!
Oh my gosh do I have a lot to share today! I'm not even sure where to start. This week has been filled with tons of new experiences and cultural learning. Now, on Sunday morning I am drinking my coffee and reflecting on the week.
First though, I have BIG news! I have accepted a job as the Director of Academics at DUNIS- Dakar University of International Programs. It is part of a group of colleges called BEM here in Dakar which are French. BEM is a group of business colleges but DUNIS has its own identity as part of this group. All of the courses are taught in English and a majority of the students go study in the USA after 2 years at DUNIS. Currently, because DUNIS is part of BEM, the programs are mostly business and engineering degree programs. However, I was brought in to expand the programs to include Bachelor and Master degree and certificate programs in global education and world languages. The job is an incredible opportunity and extremely interesting work. The goal is to create degree programs and study abroad opportunities for American students as well as visiting teacher programs for American and European teachers.
As the Director of Academics, I am the second highest administrator at the school. The thing that most attracted me to this position is that with the exception of the student services coordinator, the entire administrative team is female. That means, for me, less dealing with men who cannot handle having a woman in charge. I did learn something this week that I didn't know and that has been incredibly offensive to me (and still is but now I understand it a little better). Men have been addressing me as "my dear" or "dearest" here. These men don't know me and if you are American you know how offensive and diminutive that is in our culture, especially in a professional setting. Every time this has happened to me I have put the man in his place and then it's caused a huge conflict. It was explained to me this week, after a teacher addressed me this way and I told him that I am his boss and I won't tolerate that level of disrespect. The teacher went to the CEO of the school, who explained to me that this is actually a sign of respect and elevating the person to whom it is addressed and that women and men tend to address each other this way. I told her that I still don't like it but I accept that it is cultural and I will simply tell the staff that they should not address me in this manner. Further, we have a lot of students going to the United States and addressing a professor in this way could potentially land the student in very hot water, so we need to make it clear to students not to address people in this way either. This way of addressing people is for family and friends only. We don't call each other "honey, dear, or baby" unless you know that person VERY well. Through this exchange, I decided to offer an American Cultural Studies seminar that will be required for all students who will be transferring to American Universities. I have been told that as the director of Academics, I have full autonomy and free reign when it comes to implementing programs and doing my work. That makes me very happy because I work better when I am allowed to do my job and manage myself.
The other thing I learned this week was how to drive in Dakar traffic. My friend who lives on the Petite Cote (about an hour from Dakar) said to me that you have to be a little bit "gangsta" to drive in Dakar. At first I was really scared but I quickly learned that if you're not aggressive or you hesitate behind the wheel here, it will cause an accident. Further, the traffic is INSANE here. I thought it was bad in Seattle, but at least in Seattle their are lines on the freeway that people actually respect, and the roads are paved and not sandy and full of potholes. Dakar has this whole other dynamic also and that is people actually cross the freeway, they walk up and down the freeway selling stuff, motorbikes zip in and out of traffic, and when people break down, they just leave their cars right where they broke down! My first day of work on Tuesday, it took me over an hour in the morning and two and a half hours in the evening to drive just under 4 kilometers. I have decided, therefore, that I need to move closer to work. When I leave work around 6 pm and am not arriving home until almost 9 pm that is not good. I refuse to miss dinner with my children. Dinner time is and always has been sacred in our house. I now understand why people eat so late here, sometimes eating dinner at almost midnight! I need time to come home and spend with my children in the evening before we all go to bed so the search for a new house begins this week!
In other news, I have made the decision to go back to homeschooling Daniel after Christmas break. The schools here in Dakar are just not equipped to handle children like Daniel, who are "out of the box" learners and further, they know almost nothing about Autism here. I have hired a private teacher for Daniel, who is actually the boys' French teacher. I have also hired a music teacher who specializes in music therapy for Autistic children and who worked for a long time in France. I think this is the best solution for ensuring Daniel's success. He's been having a difficult time integrating into West African culture. Noah, on the other hand, will continue to go to school but I am planning to put him into the French school here or the Senegalese American School.
After an absolutely exhausting week, Iba and I have come to Saly for the weekend. We come to Saly often (it's on the Petite Cote). It's relaxing and we're able to breathe a little. I got my land finalized this week in Toubab Dialao (which is about 40 minutes from Dakar) so I can start building on it soon which will be nice because we'll be able to spend weekends there. I plan to put in a swimming pool for the boys.
Dakar is all decorated for Christmas. It's so strange to me to be living in a tropical climate during Christmas while back home it is snowing. It doesn't feel like Christmas when it is warm. It's also really hilarious to me how EVERYONE celebrates Christmas here even though over 95% of the population is Muslim. Of course Christmas here is secular but still! I guess that is the French influence. Either that or they just think it's fun! Either way, it's interesting because I thought I would have the hardest time finding a Christmas tree and decorations. Nope. They are EVERYWHERE. The student council even came and gave me a decoration for the sign outside my office and asked me if I wanted to be part of their annual gift exchange. The boys were very excited when I came home with a Christmas tree one day and we decorated it together.
Anyway, that is all for now! Until next time...