Dichotomy-say that three times ;)

So I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve tried to write this blog. I think this is the sixth or something. (Power cuts, internet problems etc keep getting in the way.) I really wanted to say something profound, but now I just want to say something. This may not be eloquent as the heat index is 99 degrees (88 with 70% humidity) at 4:30 pm.

I went on a weekend vacation outside of Dakar. One of the missions has a beach house. While there, thoughts started to gel in my head. I’ve hesitated to write about what I see each day. I didn’t want to form opinions too quickly in fear they would skew what I see for the years to come. I guess this is what PFO termed “delaying judgment.”

I’ve come to the conclusion that Senegal is one big dichotomy. (Well, actually it’s probably a bunch of little dichotomies, but you know what I mean.) I think the best way to illustrate is with pictures I took on vacation.



This is a view at the beach house in Ngaparou. Beautiful isn't it?


Standing in the same spot as the previous picture but looking a little bit lower. Those white things in the picture are dead fish.

There are many other examples: I see begging children walk by a parked Mercedes on my way to school, beautiful flowers with piles of trash underneath, etc.

Living here, I understand how our views are shaped by our perspective. I could see the beautiful ocean or just the dead fish, the flowers or trash. What is your perspective at this moment? I’m not implying that it’s good to focus on one while ignoring the other. Seeing both are good. It’s just that if I always focused on the dead fish or the trash, then I would be missing so many wonderful things.

Perspective…