Study in Senegal

Name: Kyle Kelln
Major/Minor at WSU: French
Expected date of graduation: December 2009
Program type: Study Abroad, Council of International Education Exchange (CIEE)
City, Country: Dakar, Senegal (Africa)

For Kyle Kelln, a senior majoring in French, studying abroad seemed like the perfect way to further develop his French language skills while also taking an opportunity to learn about a new culture.

While many choose the obvious destination and study in France, Kyle chose a destination less traveled: Senegal.

Senegal, a coastal nation located in Northwestern Africa, considers French its official language. Explains Kelln, “Senegal appealed to me as one of the most peaceful countries in Africa and I wanted to do something different instead of going to France. I decided to study abroad for an academic year through CIEE.”

CIEE (http://www.ciee.org/ ) offers classes on the campus of Suffolk University in Dakar at their own CIEE Study Center. Prerequisites for this program require two semesters of college-level French language instruction as well as a minimum 2.75 GPA. During his year abroad, Kyle earned credits for his French major, English minor, and French Cultural Studies minor. Of the classes he took, Kyle cites his “History of the Slave Trade” course as his favorite. “Learning about slavery from Africans in Africa was a completely different experience than here in the US.” The classes themselves were similar to those in the United States, but with less homework to encourage students to go out and see more of Senegal.

As part of his experience abroad, Kyle also learned an entirely new language. He found that more people actually spoke Wolof than French. This became very apparent as the host family he lived with spoke Wolof regularly. CIEE requires students to stay with local host families, so after a week of orientation, Kyle had the opportunity to meet the host family he would be staying with. Kyle’s host family consisted of a father, mother, and 2 ½ year old daughter who all spoke Wolof. His host family also had a hired maid, which is very common even amongst those of lower socioeconomic status. What was unique about his family is that they were Catholic; 90% of Senegal is Muslim.

For Kelln, living in an Islamic society was one of the most rewarding aspects of his study abroad experience. “I had never interacted in a Muslim society before I lived in Senegal. I lived next to two mosques where prayers were announced five times every day,” said Kelln. “It could become quite noisy, still, it never got old and was rather cool to hear.” He noted the sound served as a constant reminder of his immersion into the Islamic culture. Two highlights during his stay included the worldwide Islamic conference hosted in Dakar and a trip he made to Touba, “the second most religious city next to Mecca.”

During his year abroad, Kyle also travelled to Gambia, Guinea, and the Mauritanian border. These excursions added to his knowledge of the region and made Kyle appreciate many of the luxuries we have in the United States. “Walking into a grocery store and seeing how much food we have available to us at all times in the US compared to barely having enough food to get by is just one example”.

Kyle would recommend Senegal as a great study abroad destination for students who are interested not only in studying French, but also in learning more about Africa.

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