Prep & Day of Arrival

Before leaving for this exchange, IREX sent a ton of information and hosted several meetings that really helped prepare us for what we were about to do. Honestly, I also learned a lot from my own students and even from our school resource officer—who, as it turns out, actually grew up in Dakar. It’s wild how small the world can be sometimes.

It was amazing to have someone in my own school building who could teach me how to form unfamiliar sounds and help me with pronunciation, and students who would stop by my room to share their own experiences and traditions involving Muslim religion and Arabic expressions.

There were a lot of things I had to buy to get ready, and I ended up getting quite a few vaccinations to make sure I’d be safe—especially those all-important malaria pills. After watching a safety video about malaria, I was very glad to have them.

Having lived in Maine my whole life, I never really thought about things like malaria or yellow fever, but traveling to Senegal meant I had to learn about them and take precautions. It gave me a whole new perspective—and a deeper appreciation for how lucky I am that I don’t have to worry about those things in the U.S., especially in Maine.

For the trip, I flew out of Boston—and of course, it was snowing when I left my house. Because... Maine in spring. Here’s a photo of my family and me as we headed out into the snow to begin this adventure.

As I have been learning about Senegal I've been sharing with my students and my family and it's been fun to learn together. Both of my children gave me favorite items of their own to bring with me, so I'd have some of them with me on this trip.

One of the best things about this program is having other teachers on the journey with me—it makes me feel so much more confident knowing I’m not doing this alone. This year, 21 teachers are heading to Senegal, and I was lucky enough to meet two others from the Boston area right at the airport. When we got to New York, all 21 of us were together, and we flew as a group from New York to Dakar. There was this amazing “we’re going on a field trip!” energy in the air—you could feel the excitement and anticipation.

Everyone was buzzing about meeting their host teachers and soaking up as much as possible. A lot of us had been practicing our Wolof, and many were bringing special things to share with the classrooms they’d be visiting. You could really tell how genuinely excited everyone was to be on this trip together.

There’s something powerful about working alongside other educators, learning how their classrooms operate, and seeing how they’ve prepared for this experience. That sense of being part of a bigger teaching community—that’s one of the very best parts of doing an exchange like this.

After an overnight plane ride, I woke up in Dakar—absolutely beautiful and a perfect 70 degrees! After a quick half-hour ride to the hotel, I was completely blown away by the view of the city in the distance, framed by the crashing surf of the ocean.

Here are a few pictures from our arrival and the view from the hotel—definitely a big change from the snow back in Maine!

One of my students specifically asked for food photos, so brace yourself—there will be lots of pictures, and yes, that includes all kinds of food shots!

I’m so excited to see what we learn tomorrow as we kick off our training sessions and head to the U.S. Embassy. But first… a full night of sleep to reset my body clock!

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