One of my favorite proverbs is a Yiddish one that says “Man makes plans, God laughs”. Pithy and truthful, the story of my life.
That yellow structure to the left of this unprotected death trap is the main entrance of the university. While the gate has been locked shut during construction, I have just squirreled my way out- and promptly face planted into the unknown abyss below…
Soooo…..I haven’t talked about it much in my blog entries, but I’ve been a little antsy as of late with respect to my higher education adventures in Dakar. Lively classroom discussions at UCAD are heavily peppered with class cancellations and a perpetually fluctuating course schedule…which has compelled me to seek out other opportunities for growth during this Olmsted experience. I laugh as I type this, because I have no clue why I keep subjecting myself to opportunities for increased stress. I came to Senegal thinking that I’d be fully engaged in my master’s program by now and perhaps even wearing a boubou (okay, I never thought I’d wear a boubou)- but suddenly everything that I had expected is now gone out the window.
Plans indeed.
Late yesterday I got the go-ahead from the Navy to switch gears and pursue a course of independent study by working with a Dakar research center. No longer matriculating at UCAD, I’ll be up to my neck in self-imposed accountability that has garnered the attention of admirals and the like at higher headquarters. No longer am I passing under the radar down in Sub Saharan Africa, and if my own personal expectations weren’t demanding enough, now I really must ensure that I give this new tack my best effort. No pressure, right?
I woke up this morning with a ball of nervous energy in my stomach. What does Megan do in such a situation? Yeah, yeah- go for a run. I figured a perimeter trek around UCAD would be fitting as I now graduate to the status of “college dropout”. Ma and Pa must be so proud.
My class. As you can see, the program is pretty small, and I have met some really cool West Africans while at UCAD. I am going to miss them most of all as I leave the program and don’t get to see them every day. Of course, I won’t miss the Friday night lectures on Statistics – but I can definitely say that I have learned more from the people at the university than I ever did from the course content.
Thies, we can.
The other upside is that I still live right across the street from UCAD, so I’ll never be too far from the action. I am sure that I will still be cruising through campus with regularity and checking out the newest impromptu spraypaint slogans on the college buildings. (Thies, by the way, is a town outside of Dakar- and as you can probably figure out, it rhymes with the word “Yes”).
That’s it for now- I really don’t know what’s going to come next. Can I continue to steer my own ship as I carry forward into this Olmsted tour? Yes, I can. But I am slowly but surely realizing that I can never fully account for or even anticipate the end result of my efforts. The unknowns that pop up along the way are far too varied, and far too interesting to even imagine right now.