THE DROP OFF.

Yesterday we had "THE DROP OFF!"
We all got in pairs (I went with Heather) and we were sent in taxis to different places in the center of Dakar. Dakar is not like any city I have ever seen. This was probably the most intense situation I have EVER been in. We were told to go downtown from 9am to 4pm and immerse ourselves in the culture. When we were dropped off, all of a sudden Heather and I found ourselves completely swarmed by people. Everyone wanted to be our "tour guide." We could not walk from one place to another on our own. We were like cattle being herded through these narrow stone streets with venders EVERYWHERE!! They were soo annoying! We had tons of people who would just follow us everywhere we went. This one guy followed us for over 20 minutes. It got to the point where we had to get a local to talk to him and make him leave us alone. Things were really overwhelming. But although it was intense, there was definitely a major highlight...
We arrived at les sous verrs (glass paintings), and marveled at them... they were really cool. While we were looking, we met this guy whos uncle(?) paints. He took us to his stand and we got to bombard his uncle with questions about technique etc. After, the guy (who ended up being our guide for the rest of the day)gave us a huge surprise! The CCF (Centre Culturel Francais)is a place where all the most famous musicians and artists come to perform. There are houses inside the centre for the artists to live away from the craziness of Dakar. Throughout the year, there are MAJOR concerts etc... but the center is closed until October 10 for the vacation part of the year. It turns out that our "guide" is the grandson of the famous person who painted the entire mural that covers the center, and who has done tons of other well known works. He took us to the center and they unlocked it for us!!! We got to see the stage where all the performances are, and all the different workplaces of famous artists. When we got there, his grandfather met him, and we were introduced to him. When I told Souleeye this (our academic director), he nearly had a heart attack!!! He told me that this grandfather is famous throughout Dakar and that it is very very rare for anyone to meet him because of his old age. Souleye was also excited to hear that the grandson of this man had given me his e-mail address and phone number and that I can get free concert tickets and access into the center anytime!!... PRETTY EXCITING!! So yeah, it was an intense day, but we survived. We all came back totally exhausted.