Dragons featured in the Daily Princetonian

Dragons was featured in The Daily Princetonian: A Teranga-filled homecoming: My experience on Princeton’s fall break trip to Senegal. This reflection was written by Princeton student who traveled on a partnership program between Where There Be Dragons and Princeton. Here is an excerpt from the article:

After completing my final day of midterms, I found myself hurriedly packing and rushing to Wawa to embark on my Princeton-sponsored fall break trip. Despite being exhausted from exams, I was filled with anticipation about the journey that lay ahead: I was going to Senegal. After a long 24 hours and two flights, we finally arrived in Dakar, Senegal’s capital. Stepping out of Aéroport International Blaise Diagne, it truly started to sink in. I was in Senegal. Home. My parents were born and raised here, before they decided to immigrate to the United States. I had not been to Senegal since I was eight years old, and so the little recollections I had of the country were fuzzy and blurred together. But here I was, returning over a decade later, through Princeton’s support.

It is not often that Princeton holds trips to the African continent during fall and spring breaks, as most opportunities are concentrated in Europe; the University must build on the precedent of the Senegal trip and create more of these opportunities for students.

My group was comprised of eight other Princeton undergraduate students, four graduate students, and four chaperones: Imam Khalil Abdullah, Reverend Theresa Thames, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Tennille Haynes, and Equity and Diversity Specialist Felicia Edwards. Our trip was held in collaboration with the organization Where There Be The Dragons, so we also had three amazing instructors guiding us: Samba, Mbouillè, and Mamadou. The purpose of our trip was to explore the peaceful coexistence of Christianity and Islam in Senegal, as well as to make a pilgrimage to Gorée Island, home to the House of Slaves, a departure port for enslaved Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. As a first generation Senegalese American and Muslim woman, there was no doubt in my mind that this would be a deeply impactful trip for me.

READ THE FULL ARTCLE HERE.