Students in the African Civilizations program are housed with host families in Dakar in the neighborhoods surrounding the West African Research Center. This offers a unique opportunity to form personal relationships with Dakarois, to participate in Senegalese family life, and to experience firsthand the “land of teranga” (Wolof for “hospitality”). Most meals will be prepared and eaten with your host family. The general diet is a light breakfast of coffee and/or milk with bread; a filling lunch (the main meal) usually made up of one of a variety of dishes of rice, root and fresh vegetables, and fish, lamb, beef or chicken cooked in vegetable, peanut or palm oil; and a light dinner of grilled or stewed protein, legumes, or fresh/cooked vegetables.
Living with a host family may require some adaptation on the student’s part. Accommodations in Senegal often vary significantly from those to which students in the US are accustomed. For example, homes may not have Internet (though the program center will), satellite television, or air-conditioning. Running hot water may not be available or plentiful. Prospective program participants are advised to be flexible and resourceful, attributes which will prove invaluable during their time abroad.