My internship

Students in my program have the opportunity to participate in "internships" throughout Dakar if they so wish.  Like any other internship, our school lets us pick a domain and then contacts an organization.  About 5 or 6 of us have these stages (as we would say in French), many of whom teach English at local primary schools.  I work at the National Confederation of Senegalese Workers (CNTS), located on the southeastern side of the city.  Here's the friendly doorway!

The problem with these stages is that it takes about 2 months to find them.  First, the school has to send a written letter rather than calling or sending an email.  Senegalese are just old-fashioned like that.  But as a result it takes a long, long time to hear a response.  Then, you have to make sure your schedule is even compatible with the work hours of your site.  I was told I may have trouble since I have class every morning but Friday.  People don't tend to work much past 1pm here, and Friday is mosque day.

About half of the student like their stages, and the other half don't.  Some students actually get to do things, others just sit around in an office and pretend to observe.  This can be quite frustrating.  I don't really mind my stage, but it's frustrating to walk an hour each way for the minimal work I do.  Unfortunately, there isn't a bus or car rapide that goes on a direct route to my destination.

The CNTS is located in the Bourse du Travail of Senegal, which houses all the little offices of the members unions.  The facilities are not very great considering this is a national organization.  The courtyard is filled with broken down buses, and we are constantly the victims of power cuts.  There's a small little restaurant in the corner (aka a picnic bench inside a hanging tarp).  The CNTS has it's own little building to the left, and the rest of the unions are in the central structure or across the pathway surrounding it.  Each union is marked with a hand-written posterboard.  I'm pretty sure some of the pro-union kids in ILR would go nuts if they saw the working conditions here.

I work in the upstairs of the CNTS complex.  It's a small, metal building with posters glued to the walls.  We have a "conference room" with plastic patio chairs, a "waiting room" with no chairs what-so-ever, and a few different offices scattered around.  I'm pretty sure there's no bathroom.

I work in the room right outside the Secretary General (aka president)'s office.  We have a fax machine, two phones, a computer, an ancient Canon photocopier that is always out-of-order, and too many stacks of paper and binders to do anything with.  There's also an office chair that's missing it's back, but it's usually occupied by the Saliou, the Assistant to the Secretary General.  That's ok, because I prefer the plastic patio ones anyway.

So what do I do at my stage?  Not much.  People are always coming and going from the office, and Saliou is all over the place.  In reality, there's not much I can do since my Wolof sucks.  Sometimes, they leave me alone, and I have to answer the phone.  This is really no phone, but not only can I not understand the people's French who call in, I certainly can't reply when they speak Wolof to me.  Usually, they just hang-up.  And then call back because they think they mis-dialed the first time.  Nope, just the American intern here.

So though I often dread the walk (and walk home) on hot afternoons, my stage gives me something to do two days a week.  I also get to practice my Wolof, since that's the choice language of most blue-collar, Senegalese workers.  Every now and then, I met someone cool with whom I can have a great conversation in French.  And if I'm really lucky, I get to make photocopies!