Senegal Kindness In Senegal, kindness is built into the fabric of everyday social interactions and conversations. In one of my favorite examples, people in Senegal will often think you are unhappy or otherwise upset if
Senegal Beach day While Guéoul sits only 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the ocean, the distance feels farther because there is no direct road. Not only that, the shortest line from Guéoul to the ocean cuts
Senegal Pill boxes > Pill Box Apps When you have a problem in the United States today, often the conventional solution is to throw and app at it. Need help with your banking? Try your bank’s app or an
Senegal Storm patterns Storm patterns here in western Senegal, between Dakar and Saint-Louis, are something to watch. Whenever the clouds start to form in the east or southeast and begin drifting overhead, a storm may be
Senegal The mosquito This is not to say that dealing with mosquitoes in Senegal is any different than, say, driving a car in the USA. People accept nonzero risks all the time. We do a few things to lower the risk, and we move on.
Senegal Tabaski in Senegal Yesterday in Senegal was Tabaski, Senegal’s biggest holiday. It is hard to capture how big of a deal Tabaski is here, but I will try.
Senegal Observations about the Wolof, French, and English languages in Senegal Senegal is a multicultural place, with lots of ethnic groups, local languages, and outside influences coming together every day. As such many languages are spoken here. Here are a few observations about Wolof, French, and English in Senegal.
Senegal The race Yesterday (8/18/18), the people of Gueoul held a 3k race with related events. We contributed, too, and overall 20 or more people contributed in important ways. About 300 people turned out
Senegal Animals in Gueoul In the American neighborhoods, the most commonly seen animals are probably domesticated dogs and cats, wild birds, and small rodents like squirrels and rabbits. Raccoons might be on the second tier. Here in
Senegal Saint-Louis, part 3 Saint-Louis a fishing hub of Senegal, and most or all of the fishermen here live with their families on the peninsula just to the west of the island of Saint-Louis. (I note that
Senegal Saint-Louis, part 2 Saint-Louis is becoming more of a tourist city, and this post is dedicated to several of the hotels that you can find there today. First up is the Hotel Jamm, which is where
Senegal Saint-Louis, part 1 This weekend I took a trip to the city of Saint-Louis, Senegal (pop. ~170,000). Historically, Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from the late 17th to the 20th
Senegal Thoughts on electricity Today is my 9th day in Senegal but only the 5th or 6th without a power outage. Outages are common here. While I’m not sure why, I’ve gathered two facts about
Senegal The window tapping bird Today this little bird kept tapping at the window. Was it trying to get inside? Did it see its reflection? This is my first post here. Thanks for visiting.
Germany A trip to Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market After Christmas, I went back to Berlin for a couple of days, and happily there was one Christmas market that was still open: the one at Gendarmenmarkt. It happened to be a very
Germany The Sights in Schwerin Schwerin is a town of 90,000 people (or so) about 1 1/2 hours north of Berlin by train, and it’s the smallest city in Germany that is a capital of
Germany U.S. sports apparel in Berlin/Leipzig Every once in a while here in Berlin you’ll see someone sporting a hat or shirt with the logo of a U.S. sports team such as the Atlanta Braves, the New
Germany A bird's eye view at night Cityscape at night from a 12-story building near Alexanderplatz I am taking German classes on the first floor of a 12-story building near Alexanderplatz in downtown Berlin. We always take a break halfway
Germany Three food-related photos Berlin noodle boxes are great — buy them for 2.50 or 3.50 euros in a subway station, add some Sriracha sauce, and you’ve got a decent lunch. This really bizarre advertisement
Germany Welcome to Leipzig My flatmate and I recently took a trip to Leipzig, which along with Berlin and Dresden is one of the three larger cities in eastern Germany. It’s a beautiful town, with terrific,
Germany German History Museum October 3rd was German Unity Day, a public holiday celebrating Germany’s unity and the anniversary of Germany’s reunification in 1990. As part of the festivities, admission was free to the German
Germany Three Simple Things in Berlin that I Appreciate Reasonably dry seats while waiting for the Tram The seats at my tram stop are downward-tilting so that when it rains most of the water runs off of it. This makes it easier
Germany Karaoke in Mauerpark The Sunday before last, I took a walk and stumbled upon a public karaoke party in Mauerpark (German for “wall park” because the Berlin Wall used to run through it) that apparently happens
Germany Run-up to the 2013 German elections It has been election season ever since I arrived here on August 26th. There was a single high-profile debate and the newspapers have been talking about the election quite a bit, but the
Germany Berlin Wall Line at Potsdamer Platz Today I took a chance trip to Postdamer Platz and found a place where the Berlin Wall has been taken down but replaced with a visible trace, as a reminder of its one-time
