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In field! Follow the Senegal adventure on the Yak Yak Board.

In Senegal, traditional rhythms, dance, art and Terranga (the culture of giving) intersect with striking development issues; this is a program that celebrates the beauty of daily life in a culturally rich and proud nation, while also probing the often harsh realities of an increasingly connected global economy.

In Senegal we experience an authentic encounter with a country that embodies modern day Africa's struggle between traditional values and globalization. We start our Senegalese journey in the city of Thies, where we spend a week learning the language, exploring colorful markets, visiting nearby villages, and doing small scale community service art projects. From there we travel to the east and watch the flat desert landscape, scattered with ancient baobab trees, turn into lush, green forests. We settle in the Kedougou region, where we spend 10 days trekking in the foothills of the Guinean mountains. Along the way, we stay in remote Pulaar and animist villages, live with families in small groups, visit local markets, and swim beneath secluded waterfalls.

We leave the hills for the southern region of Kolda and spend a week doing home-stays in rural Pulaar villages, with each student living in a small, thatched hut family compound. The week is marked by working in the fields, milking cows, cooking local dishes, partaking in drumming and dance lessons, meeting with local Peace Corps volunteers, and joining with villagers to complete a tree planting project. We round out the trip with a journey into urban Africa. We explore St. Louis, the first French settlement in Africa and first capital of Senegal. We visit the holy city of Touba, where we see Islam's powerful presence in Senegal. We head to Dakar, the chaotic, fast-paced, energetic capital where we visit the central downtown market, meet with local NGOs that work on human rights and women's issues, and meet with refugee teenagers from neighboring West African countries.

Finally, we end the program with a journey to the beach, where we stay in an artists' enclave perched on cliffs above a small fishing village. Along the way we practice the local dialects; engage in lessons focused on international development, and the economic, political, and historical contours of the country; we eat in communal bowls with our hands; and we make lasting connections with the individuals who are kind enough to open their homes to us.

As a group, we see that amidst the daily hardships and poverty, the most memorable aspect of the country is the deep generosity and compassion encountered along the way. Indeed, it is the people that make one so quickly and so completely fall in love with this country, and who make Senegal an unforgettable part of the world.