Time flies and we are already on our fourth day in Senegal. The girls who three days ago were total strangers to us are now our friends. We worry about each other and we talk about everything, overcoming all the language and cultural barriers. 

Today’s topic was “Technological innovation” and might have been the most controversial for now. Some of the concepts weren’t easy to understand and, as usually happens when there are many smart and different persons in a room, an interesting debate emerged.

After a pause in which we obviously sang and dance (Senegalese love music and dancing and we don’t mind to please them at all), our dear Senegalese friend Mariama did the presentation of her project. We loved it, of course, as all of the things that Mariama says or does, because she is such a smart and strong woman that always asks sharp and helpful questions. Some of us were amazed by Mariama’s project because, even if she has the skills and resources for creating or leading a big company in Dakar, she keeps her feet on the ground and goes for a local kind-of-company in her small hometown, where she offers training in new technologies, a print shop and a courier system to the population. 

After our training, some Senegalese girls invited us to go for a walk with them and they brought us to a crazy, authentic and huge fabrics market with plenty of people, colors, sounds. Fortunately, our friend Musu haggled for us and our purchases were cheaper than expected.

Tomorrow one of the Senegalese has her birthday, so before going to bed we thought that it would be nice to give her a present. Aceysele suggested to write some “polkas” for her, and we wrote four down: two in Spanish, one in French and the last one in English. 

Tomorrow we will sing for her and we will know her reaction, so if you want to know what happened… check tomorrow’s post!

Muriel de Armas.