November 28

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