Just Like Normal

I've had some internet troubles so this post is a little but last week I was teaching my favorite class which is a group of 12 girls. They knew each other before the class so they're more outgoing than the other classes. While they were working in their groups on picking a business idea I was wandering around the classroom. I noticed there was a schedule for sweeping the classroom. After reading the schedule, I realized that there were only girls' names on the list. I asked my class about this and they said that of course only the girls have to sweep and clean the board. When I asked what the boys did they responded with a simple, "nothing, of course, just like normal."

I've really been frustrated with the simple things that seem so easy to fix but are so ingrained in the culture. By having only the girls do chores while the boys sit and do nothing or study, it seems to me, that you're basically asking the male students to think they're superior with more valuable time. Maybe I'm over reacting but it's annoying to watch the girls be treated so unevenly and have it just be "normal."

In other news, I've been in Dakar to get some work done and to watch the Superbowl. Because it's not on tv here, the Marines invited everyone over to watch the game - which started at 11:30pm local time. The game went until 3:30am but we brought some veggies and dip (homemade and it was awesome, if I might say so myself) and the Marines had some other food out (including peanut m&ms, chips, and other dips).

Today I'M on my way back to site after lunch but I had to cancel my classes for the next two weeks because it's first semester finals/essays.

Hopefully my internet will work when I get back to site and I can update more regularly.

KO