Sink or Swim

Well, this is my fourth week here at UNAIDS in Dakar, Senegal. As you might have noticed, I have not written about my work here. You see, things are very different here. There is this somewhat undefinable tension in the air between the Anglophones and Francophones. Each has a different work ethic and a different way of doing things. My office has people from all over the world working in it. We have people from Rwanda, Senegal, Spain, Belgium, and more. Each has something different to contribute, but figuring out how to do that is close to impossible.

I titled this entry "Sink or Swim" because that is what it is here. My British colleague just dropped thos note of courtesy to me. "You either sink or swim here. No one tells you what to do." She is actually the second person to speak of this to me. My other colleague had been here for five months when he finally figured this out. There are subtle hints given to you, but almost never a direct response, invitation, or explanation. You can only imagine the frusteration.

My fellow colleague was absolutely in shock when she heard I got a computer after the first week I had been here. Her colleague has been waiting since last fall to get one. When she asked me how I got one I told her that I went to the tech guy's office at least three times each day. Well, I seem to be sinking at this point so it is time to attempt to start swimming.

She is Igbo (Nigerian) and finds Dakar very difficult. It's funny. I literally have not met one person here who likes living here. When I told her this she laughed and said that is why they are all so mean. Now this would be understandable for people who just think it is dirty and poverty stricken. The strange thing is that is not the things that bother you here. Those only add to the frusteration. It is so incredibly difficult to put one's finger on what it is here. She said that one of her friends here has been quite depressed. Indeed one of my friends has been too. She let me know that it is very common in Dakar for people to struggle with depression. This is quite a struggle for me as I also realize how much I have to be thankful for.

Dakar does not have street signs, zip codes, or addresses. When you take a taxi you must give them some reference point to go to and then you direct them from there. I have not met one single person who takes the bus. No one knows where they go! The only reason I can take one to work is because a friend of the family showed me the bus to take the first day I got here.

There is somewhat of a circle in Dakar that one must break into, socially speaking. This is even true for other Africans. One of my colleagues husbands who is from Uganda said that it took their family six months to make any kind of friends here. He said that it is strange in Dakar. The private sector does not get along with the public sector, the ngo's do not like the government organizations, etc. Hmm.....

Gabrielle