Today we left Dakar for Sierra Leone. Everyone was really excited about our means of transportation. Well…some were excited, some were nervous. It is the first time any of us have ever ridden a helicopter. It was a lot smoother than I expected. In fact, it was smoother than any airplane that I ever ridden.

Our final destination is Freetown. I guess the name is self explanatory, but I will explain anyway. Freetown was actually settled by freed slaves from the U.K. and the U.S. This explains the language that they speak here. Creole. All words of this language are English, but spoken in a way we would consider completely scrambled.

Tuesday we got a chance to see some of Freetown before we headed to the YWCA. There we gave a workshop on jazz to students of the Prince of Wales school. These young women from Wales where like sponges. They love music and are open to learning anything new. They also put on an enthusiastic performance of marches. We took this opportunity to show the the relationship between military marches and New Orleans second Line Music.

The next day we had off, which was good because we all could use the rest. We decided to take a tour of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Reserve. Tacugama is where chimps who were once people’s pets are held and reprogrammed to survive in the wild. This process takes a lot longer than one would expect. A number of the chimps have been there for years. It has also been the home of what some would say are celebrities such as Pinkie the only albino chimp on record to this date and Bruno the chimp wanted in connection to a murder last year who has not been seen since. It was amazing to learn how these animals function in their self-made society. In fact it’s very similar to humans. I have also included photos from this trip.

(click below for more photos)

[more...]

Hello everyone! If any who follows my group (New Orleans Straight Ahead) is reading this, You know where I am. AFRICA! St. Louis to be exact. St Louis is four hours outside Dakar, Senegal, where I have been for the last two days. If I said that the last two days of my life were a life changing experience, it would be a understatement.

We arrived Sunday, the 25th, at 5:30 am and proceeded to Le Sofitel. Le Sofitel is a hotel in downtown Dakar where most all diplomats stay while in Dakar. Landing in Dakar was much like I would imagine landing on another planet. EVERYTHING is different here! There is nothing boring here, because we have never experienced anything like what we are experiencing now. There is great poverty here. The streets are filled with people selling art work, clothing, phone cards, anything that may be able to sustain them for a little while longer. There are many things here that can drag the human spirit down, but these people remain determined to succeed. I now understand what it means to be poor. I also understand that most of us really don’t know what it means to really be poor.

Sunday afternoon we took a tour of Gorah Island. Gorrah Island is where over 20 million west Africans were imprisoned, sold, and shipped from. This was truly a moving experience. I actually got a chance to see where and how my ancestors got to America. I would encourage ALL Americans to see this in their lifetime.

Monday we traveled to the only music conservatory in Senegal to give a master class. It’s amazing to see young musicians who are so determined in being successful no matter what their hardships may be.

I look forward to sharing more of my trip with everyone who’s interested. They may seem sporadic due to the lack of Internet access.

Devin