Being and Traveling
  • Senegal
  • Germany

Being and Traveling

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 you are sitting alone because being together is so deeply part

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 24 Sep 2018 • 1 min read
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 through a savanna of short grasses, shrubs, trees, and – above all

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 10 Sep 2018 • 2 min read
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 account aggregator. Cannot keep track of your social media accounts? Try

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 7 Sep 2018 • 1 min read
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 on its way. Here is one from just the other day:

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 31 Aug 2018 • 1 min read
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.

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 24 Aug 2018 • 2 min read
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.

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 23 Aug 2018 • 3 min read
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.

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 20 Aug 2018 • 2 min read
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 for the event, with one green-topped tent lining each side of

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 19 Aug 2018 • 1 min read
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 Gueoul, the most commonly seen animals at this time of year

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 17 Aug 2018 • 2 min read
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 the use of the term "fishermen" here is on

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 16 Aug 2018 • 3 min read
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 we stayed. (Jamm means "peace" in Wolof.) The proprietor

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 15 Aug 2018 • 2 min read
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 centuries. It was also a stop-off point for famed French aviator

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 12 Aug 2018 • 1 min read
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 electricity here: Senegal’s electric grid appears to be isolated. According

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 9 Aug 2018 • 2 min read
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.

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 8 Aug 2018 • 1 min read
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 nice one — not coincidentally, because I think only a nice ones

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 1 Feb 2014 • 1 min read
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 a Bundesland, a German state.  There are some beautiful sights there;

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 9 Dec 2013 • 1 min read
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 York Yankees, or the Los Angeles Dodgers. Can one assume that

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 17 Nov 2013 • 1 min read
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 through, and today I took the stairs all the way up

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 7 Nov 2013 • 1 min read
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 sits on the side of the automatic coffee machine at my

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 30 Oct 2013 • 1 min read
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, old churches such as the Thomaskirche, where JS Bach used to

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 24 Oct 2013 • 1 min read
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 History Museum in Berlin, so a friend and I made a

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 13 Oct 2013 • 2 min read
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 for me to wipe off and sit on when it’s

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 1 Oct 2013 • 2 min read
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 every weekend, at least during the warmer months.  Apparently, it’s

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 23 Sep 2013 • 1 min read
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 campaign posters and billboards around town have been by far the

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 20 Sep 2013 • 2 min read
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 presence: Berlin Wall remembrance line at Potsdamer Platz Berlin Wall remembrance

  • Hal Beresford
Hal Beresford 11 Sep 2013 • 1 min read
Being and Traveling
  • Senegal
  • Germany
Being and Traveling © 2021 Hal Beresford
Latest Posts Terms of Use Privacy Policy