Orientation

Greetings from the fiancé! As you might imagine, Libby has limited communication resources. While Suffolk has a computer lab and wireless internet, the lab closes at 1630 and usually her activities keep her out until late in the evening. So in her emails to me (my status has some joyful privileges…) she asked me to update her blog (and joyful responsibilities) on her behalf with some stories. I feel just the smallest bit like an Army spouse, in a way. My fiancée is over in Senegal and I’m left to pass along the good word about how she is doing. She won't be as gone nearly as long, and the roles (who is the one “deployed”) will shift eventually, but that spouse title will come much sooner. So yeah. Anyway, her stories:

…We did a really cool activity today (Sunday) where each of us students were given an object. I had a necklace with a strange round thing on the end; some were given bags of dried leaves, a can, beads, shells, etc. Then, we were sent out onto campus and into the neighborhood to ask people what the objects were for, what their significance was, how they were used and so forth. It was so interesting! We got to practice our French (which I can feel is getting a little better. A little.) and then we reconvened and learned what everyone else's object was. Really cool. I also went on a run this morning before breakfast with two other girls. We received more than a few "what are they doing?" type looks, but oh well! It felt good, and while we couldn't go down to the beach, the ocean was pretty close!

…Last night (Monday), most of us in the group went to a dance performance that was utterly unbelievable. I felt like I had dropped right into something I would have imagined, but never would have expected to experience in reality! We were in a courtyard in a school for the arts, sitting on a ledge watching this amazing group of men and women dancing sabar to a vibrant drum ensemble. You would have loved it! Afterwards, (one of them had met a couple of girls on our trip earlier in the week. They had invited us to the dance performance) they invited us over to have dinner. All 13 of us!! We walked through the streets to an elementary school. This troupe is competing in a national competition, the semifinals are on Saturday. They live together with their troupe in this school in order to prepare and practice day and night for their competition. Intense! We spent the evening listening to a man who didn't speak French, (he was only educated in dancing. He did not know anything else. Another man was translating his Wolof) teaching us songs and telling us about the history of Islam in Senegal. It was surreal.

…Yesterday (Wednesday), we did an activity where they dropped us in the middle of downtown Dakar for the whole afternoon to find out the answers to different questions, get lunch, and buy some stuff. It was exhausting, but really good. Today, we went to Le Village des Arts, where we will be studying visual arts, drumming and dancing. It was pretty cool!!

So hopefully we can all see a glimpse of the fun she is having over there. The last email she said the weather is hot, and the rain is pounding. (verify for yourself with the link to the right…) The flies are numerous but “tolerable.” She is staying healthy, though a few of her classmates are coming down with things, so lets all continue to wash her in prayer. She is slowly adjusting to the culture, and her state of mind sounds like that healthy place between anxiety, excitement, and fatigue. She starts her homestay tonight, and “I'm nervous, but as ready as I'll ever be to dig in ever further to this culture.” She’s staying in a house with 12 Senegalese, but they have experience with this American program, and the mother of the family seems well placed in the Senegalese government, in the Ministry of Industry and Artisans, so Libby is encouraged.

So there you go. The first week. Hopefully we’ll hear more from the source soon. In the mean time I invite you all to continue praying for her. I know she'll appreciate it, and I will too.

~ Mike Demmon, fiancé