Day 4

January 26, 2018

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Today was by far my favorite day in Senegal. I woke up early again to gain access to wifi so that I could message my parents and friends. At breakfast, I learned that we would not be leaving for the new hotel. The three missing suitcases still have not been found but Buba has been in constant contact with the airport. There was a possibility that the suitcases could be on the incoming Air France plane. We drove to the airport to see if the suitcases were there, but they were not. This suitcase issue has definitely messed up our itinerary, but I could not imagine not having my suitcase and I feel so bad for those two girls and Buba.

We were originally going to check into a hotel that was halfway between Senegal and Gambia. However, after going to the airport, we went on a safari. This was amazing. We drove around for about an hour and a half and saw so many kinds of animals. This was a giant wildlife reservation. We saw giraffes, rhinos, zebras, ostriches, all different kinds of antelope and birds, crocodiles, and water buffalo. It is so interesting to see these animals in their natural habitat and not in a zoo. They seem so free and come and go as they please. The reservation holds about 40 giraffes and 20 zebras. These were the animals I was most excited to see.

A rhino and the giraffes at the Reservation

After the safari, we went back to the hotel to have lunch. Lunch was at 4:00… I had a fish and rice. After dinner, Rohit reported to the staff that or toilet was not working. We would flush, and the toilet would just keep running. A guy came down to look at it and just moved us into another hut. Now this hut is so much nicer than the first one. There are three separate beds, a separate room for the bathroom and an actual door for the bathroom, 5 outlets, and even a Tv. I feel like I was upgraded to the presidential suite. I was ready to leave this hotel today, but now I do not think that staying another night will be that difficult.

After lunch, we went on a dune ride around the lake. This was also extremely fun but very bumpy. We got to see all the villages that surround Lac Rose as well as the countless piles of salt. We stopped in one village and met the chief. As we pulled in, numerous little kids screamed with joy and ran after our dune. We stepped down from the dune and the little kids all started shaking our hands. As the chief took us around his village, the little kids followed and held our hands. They wanted to take our bracelets, but the chief yelled at them. If there is one thing that I learned today, it is that Africans have so little but are the happiest, friendliest people that I ever met. The entire village has only one water supply through a well in the village center. We got to see a typical bedroom which is a straw hut with a blanket laid on a stone slab inside as a bed. I cannot think of one American that would be happy to be living in these conditions, yet these African people are so grateful to just be alive. Something that I noticed among Africans is that they always initiate a greeting. For example, Buba would walk into breakfast and would say, “Hello, how are you?” to every person he saw. They are always shaking hands and are always waving hello. I think myself as well as others need to be more grateful for what we have. I know that this is a cliché saying but when I view this living environment first hand in Africa, it really makes me revalue my own life.