Dakar
Kolda
Niodior
Kedougou
Thies
Saint Louis
Touba
Program Overview
As you walk down the street in Senegal, people greet you with the word 'peace' and strangers invite you into their homes for a cup of tea.
Senegal is a country of contrasts where new development occurs beside centuries-old traditions. The Muslim call to prayer sounds five times a day as hundreds of people stop to worship on the city’s sidewalks. Senegal’s renowned hospitality, called “teranga,” is in the air from the moment we set foot on the sandy streets of Dakar.
Program Highlights
- Trek village-to-village in the rolling hills of the scenic Fouta Djallon in Senegal’s southeast
- Experience Senegalese teranga (hospitality) in two homestays
- Challenge notions of Islam while learning about Senegal’s history of religious tolerance and Sufi brotherhoods
The semester takes us from the French colonial outpost of Saint Louis, to the fast-paced capital of Dakar, all the way to a Sufi Islamic coastal village on a sandy stretch of beach. We stay with multiple local families and meet with leaders, traditional healers, regional development specialists,…
Senegal is a country of contrasts where new development occurs beside centuries-old traditions. The Muslim call to prayer sounds five times a day as hundreds of people stop to worship on the city’s sidewalks. Senegal’s renowned hospitality, called “teranga,” is in the air from the moment we set foot on the sandy streets of Dakar.
Program Highlights
- Trek village-to-village in the rolling hills of the scenic Fouta Djallon in Senegal’s southeast
- Experience Senegalese teranga (hospitality) in two homestays
- Challenge notions of Islam while learning about Senegal’s history of religious tolerance and Sufi brotherhoods
The semester takes us from the French colonial outpost of Saint Louis, to the fast-paced capital of Dakar, all the way to a Sufi Islamic coastal village on a sandy stretch of beach. We stay with multiple local families and meet with leaders, traditional healers, regional development specialists, and other experts in West African history, geography, and philosophy. We study local languages, using our newfound language skills at the market, during our trek, and with the communities which welcome us.
Homestays, both urban and rural, are one of the cornerstones of our semester. We spend several weeks being welcomed into urban homes in the regional capital of Thies. Smaller than its bustling neighbor Dakar, we spend time among the wide tree-lined boulevards in historic neighborhoods which stand in close contrast to new construction. We also find ourselves exploring the slower rhythm of life during our rural homestay in one of the vibrant rural agriculture-based communities outside of Kolda. When not helping our host families in the fields, we come together for lessons in local arts and meetings with community leaders.
Senegal offers rich artistic and musical traditions. Throughout our semester we delve into the fine arts by studying under master artisans and musicians and attending riveting live concerts. Whether as part of an independent study or simply as a way of getting to know our host families, we revel in moments to drum, dance, and sing with communities under the starry skies of West Africa.
Further south, our feet carry us to breathtaking waterfalls and plateaus, where we speak with local environmental activists and explore the home of some of West Africa’s last chimpanzees. We confront pressing development issues including health, unemployment, gender, human rights, and education through a series of NGO visits and mentored study. We conclude our journey in an artist enclave perched on rocky cliffs above the sea, leaving with stories that we will continue to tell for years to come.
