Af-riikka

This post remained as a draft from June 2008 when I spent a month in Uppsala, at the library of the Nordic Africa Institute writing my Master's thesis in African Studies. I published this post finally in August 2022, only editing the title (which was originally "Nostalgia") and the last paragraph somewhat. I haven't felt the urge to write for some days now, because that is what I mostly do during all my days at the Institute. I go there around ten in the morning and return around 8-9-10 in the evening. Also on weekends, although I tend to take them a bit lighter. I had forgotten already how it feels like to be in a foreign ( Sweden counts as one, in the end) country alone for the first few days, missing people and wanting to be somewhere else. At the same time there are so many things to explore and so many people to meet, but in the beginning the fatigue and – perhaps even in Sweden – adjusting to the culture takes time. The funniest thing is that besides home co...

This post was originally written in March 2011 when I visited Senegal to plan for a development cooperation project "Woomal 2" between the Guides and Scouts of Finland and Les Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs du Sénégal. The post, however, remained as a draft. In August 2022 I noticed the draft and edited it slightly to be finally published . My previous post in the end of September 2010 was on my return to Finland . This one will be on my return to Senegal - very intense four days I spent last week in Dakar, Saint-Louis and Mboro.  Sunrise in Dakar   Strangely enough, I had more butterflies in my stomach than when arriving in Senegal last time. I felt worried that perhaps I would feel a stranger in the country again. In fact, Senegal is the only country in Africa where I have ever returned second time - and this was already the third time I laid my feet on the ground of Senegal, the country of "teranga" (= hospitality in Wolof language). My fears proved to be wrong, and ...