walking through that fear- oh yeah!

I don't know what changed in the universe, but today was a completely different experience than yesterday! I had decided last night that I was going to suck up my fear and make as many phone calls this morning as possible. But even still, when I woke up today, I began by checking my email, eating breakfast, then checking my email again, and then again, all in an effort to put off having to make those uncomfortable calls. Finally, I sat down and wrote out exactly what I wanted to say in French, including several possible scenarios so that I wouldn't be caught off-guard and stuttering my way to comprehension. And then, I made my first call.

And surprise, it was a great success! Bouba Diop had heard that I would be contacting him, so that made it easier. But even then, there were a few moments when I had to ask him to repeat himself. In the end though, he invited me to meet him at 5pm in his office on campus.

After Bouba, I called another professor, who had NOT been expecting me, and that was an uncomfortable conversation. He seemed annoyed with my French, and when I said that he was recommended to me by his colleague, he said, "nope, I'm not interested." Those weren't his exact words, but it's the best equivalent meaning. 1 for 2- not bad.

Then I tried calling 4 other professors, all of whom were not able to answer their phones. I'll try them again tomorrow.

Then I called a student I had met, and he said that I could interview him at 2pm. So, there, my work for the day was cut out for me.

After lunch at the Baobab Center, Adama (the student), met me there and we walked to his house where I could interview him in a more private setting. We spent 90 minutes talking about incidents of conflicts in his life, how he felt about them, and how he has resolved them. I could have spent much more time asking him follow-up questions, but after 90 minutes, we were both tired, and I had to leave for my meeting at 5. Before I left though, he introduced me to several of his friends living in the same building, all of whom agreed to be participants! So, tomorrow I will return at the same time, and then probably the next day as well. It really couldn't have gone better!

When I arrived to the campus, I didn't know where Bouba's office was located. I had never seen the building, but I knew the general location. So, I headed in that direction and asked a guard if he could help me. He pointed and said to keep walking and that I'd run into it, but I think he could see the desperation in my face, and so he called to some guy walking by and asked him if he could walk me there. The guy, of course, smiled and said ok, no problem. We chatted on the way there- he's a student, he's taken a few English courses, he's never been to America but he would like to, I don't speak Wolof very well, etc. etc. We arrived at Bouba's office, and I gave this student the most heartfelt thanks- I felt like I should tip him, but obviously not!

The meeting with Bouba was ok- not very informative, but he has connections for me. I'm returning tomorrow so that he can introduce me to a professor in the law school. This woman is also the director of the Institute for Peace and Human Rights. So, needless to say, I think this will be a great meeting tomorrow.

Assane brought our dinner tonight- Sayda stayed home because her youngest son was ill. We ate, then talked about this weekend, and our plans to go to his hometown, Foundioune (fune-dune). His uncle will drive us there (me, Assane, and Yemi), and then me and Yemi will sleep at a hotel that is ran by a woman Assane knows. Apparently our bedroom window overlooks the ocean, but I'm not getting too excited, yet- you just never know here.. and that's not an insult.. it's just how things work here..people will say one thing, and for whatever reason, things change..so I've learned not to get hooked on what I hear until I see it in front of me. I'll tell you more about Foundioune later, but I should get off for now. I haven't had my daily nap, and I'm tired.

Hope you're all well. Love,
Ryan