This past week, I had the opportunity to visit "the mainland" by attending a West African Networking Conference in Dakar, Senegal. The US Embassy sponsored this event, which brought together education professionals from around the region (Cape Verde, Mali, Mauritania, Cameroon, Guinea, Togo, Burkina Faso and Niger) to brainstorm ways to create & build teacher associations. The Cape Verdean delegation was made up of myself, Levindo Nascimento and Zita Vieira (both pictured below). We were definitely the lightest-skinned ones there (and the only Portuguese speakers). The city of Dakar is much bigger/more crowded than Praia, and a bit overwhelming. The food was great, though. Our Senegalese hosts also took us for a tour of Goree Island, a former transit point for African slaves before they were shipped to America. Very interesting. Other highlights included: a reception at the US Ambassador's residence and strolling through the handicraft market.
