Final Days

My last week in Dakar is a bit of a blur… there was a lot going on!

I had moved over to my friends’ apartment a couple of streets over from mine so that I could empty my apartment without having to live in it. Since I rented an unfurnished apartment, I had to sell everything I’d put in it, including all the appliances and furniture. I was using a combination of Craigslist and an Expat Dakar website and it was super stressful, but in the end I was able to get everything sold. Once the place was empty, I had to clean it all up for the final walkthrough.

So empty!

Once I was done, exactly a week before I was to leave, I called the landlord to set an appointment for the inspection so I could exchange the keys for my deposit. When I talked to him he said that I should just leave the keys when I was finished and he’d do the walkthrough and decide how much of my deposit he’d give back to me… hum… I was pretty sure that wasn’t right. I mean, I’m naïve, but not THAT naïve! If I left him the keys, what would guarantee that I’d get any of my deposit back? Plus, if I wasn’t there for the walkthrough, couldn’t they just decide that a bunch of stuff needed replacing on my dime? I asked him about this, but he said that’s how it’s always done, I could ask anyone, and to not be “complicated” with this. Now, I’m not so proud as to not ask for help when I know I need it, so I called up one of my colleagues and asked for his help. I know that as a female, and a foreign one at that, I was definitely a target for being cheated, so I wanted a Senegalese male to help me out. His brother-in-law happened to work in real-estate, so I let him take over and handle everything for me. He arranged to oversee the walkthrough with myself and the landlord, so I got at least some of my deposit back and that was done!

The Ladies

Fatou Kane, Myself, Ngueye Mbaye, Safietou Ndiaye

The department at the university also arranged a farewell lunch for me with the professors, my US Embassy supervisors, and the Ministry of Education English Office representative. It was such a nice day! We had lunch at the campus restaurant, people made some nice farewell speeches, and they gave me some lovely gifts! I could not have asked for a better or more welcoming work family than the one I was blessed with while in Senegal! We did some “Family Photos” for posterity, and then I went to hang out with the students for a more informal farewell. I’d gotten some soft drinks and snacks so we could casually get together and say goodbye. Much to my surprise, the students had gotten together to get me some gifts as well! I was definitely not expecting it, but it was very generous and sweet of them to offer me some souvenirs to remember them by. It was a bittersweet day of goodbyes and I’ll always have fond memories of my time at FASTEF. As I left, I shook hands with my colleagues, but this time with the left hand because in Senegalese tradition it symbolizes that we are sure to see each other again!

After my goodbye at FASTEF I had a final dinner with my host family. I was looking forward to it because I had done a little project as a going-away gift for my host mom. She has hosted so many Americans throughout the year, so I wanted to give her something to remember us by, and even some of them from last year and the year before. I contacted the Fulbrighters that she hosted over the last few years and had them send me pictures of them with Mama Soda and printed them out with pictures I had also gathered of her with the Americans that were there throughout this last year.

I had a large wall map of the US and placed the pictures of her students on the map depending on where they were from in the US. I also gave her the tape and pens that I’d used to label it so that future students could add to it. It turned out really well, and she seemed to really like it!

Of course, I was still playing guide while getting ready to leave. I was sharing Rebekah and Hildo’s apartment with a Dutch girl, Anne, who had come to Dakar to study French for a month or so, so I was showing her the ropes a bit while preparing to leave. There were also 2 new American students at Mama Soda’s, so I was big-sister-ing as well. I took them to HLM (the fabrics market) and to the tailor’s.

Anne & Jody at HLM

I was going to the tailor a lot in my final days because I had a bunch of stuff being made at the last minute. Some people had offered me some fabric as a going-away gift, so I was having dresses made. The problem with all the last-minute gifts was that I was already at my 2-suitcases limit… I was stressing out about that, trying to figure out what to do, but then a good friend from Church, Sharon, offered to take a suitcase back to the US for me. Since both my students and colleagues had offered me, among other things, full table cloth and napkin sets, I was grateful to have a way to get them back to the US without having to pay a bunch for shipping!

Friday night Sharon and I went to help some friends (Bo, Michele, and their two girls Grace & Faith) from church who were also heading back to the US pack up their house. They are a missionary family that is going to spend one year back in the US, so they’re renting out their house while they’re on home leave. We helped pack everything up that they wanted to store while they were gone.

Michele, Me & Sharon

We whirl-winded through their dining room, living room, and kitchen, getting everything boxed, plastic wrapped, and up 3 flights of stairs to the attic for storage. It was a fun evening with friends! Saturday Anne and I spent most of the day packing (for as much as I travel, I really hate the packing part, ha ha!), and then we went out to a fancy and expensive sushi dinner to celebrate my last Saturday in Dakar!

The Sunday before I flew home I moved from Rebekah and Hildo’s apartment in Mermoz, since they were coming back from their honeymoon, to our friend Lisa’s apartment in Almadies, closer to the airport and the US Embassy. Monday morning we had a farewell lunch with the other ETAs who were in Dakar in order to fly out. The other ETA in Dakar had left early, as well as the two who were stationed in Thies, so it was only myself, the two from Ziguinchor, and the two from Saint Louis who were leaving on the departure date that had originally been scheduled.

ETA Farewell

During lunch we talked about saying goodbyes, our experiences, and how much we had loved Senegal! Monday night Lisa invited those people from our church’s small group that were still in town (Sharon, Rebekah & Hildo, and Jojoh) for a goodbye dinner. It was a lovely end to my final week in Senegal.