#4 My first internship

“And now, Kah-tee, if you could go ahead and just say a few words…”

I feel my eyes go into deer-in-headlights mode as I hear Professor Ngom say this, stupidly realizing that of course I was probably going to have to introduce myself, why did it take until this moment to realize it?

I stand up from my chair and look disbelievingly at the overcrowded classroom that would probably fit 100 comfortably: every single row is filled past capacity, students are sitting in the aisles, some are standing at the back of the classroom and in the doorway, others are sitting against the wall and on the large podium, where you can’t even see the blackboard, and yes, those are students outside, looking through the window, pen and paper at the ready to take notes.

As I introduce myself, I can feel the skin about to melt off my face and look back into the 250 sets of eyes focused on me. “Hello…um…well I’m Katie…uh…” and then I nervously launch into the shpeal of where you’re from and what you’re studying; “I’m a French major getting my teaching certification and TESOL minor- that stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages- and an African Studies Specialization…” I speak slowly, trying to annunciate as they all look disbelieving, as though there is no way this person just walked into their English Comprehension class, and at the specialization, everyone bursts into a round of applause, hooting and hollering until the Professor actually has to rap his knuckles on the table to settle them all down.

At this point, the professor saves me from having to say any more as he says, “Yes yes we are all excited and lucky to have her here, it’s a great opportunity to have a native speaker…”

It’s my first day of my internship as a teaching assistant to Professor Ngom in his English Comprehension class. It’s two hours long and is divided into listening and written portions. During the first part, a text is read several times and they are given the questions before the last reading. Afterward, they discuss the answers and go off on tangents to make sure the reading is well understood. Afterward, they normally work on translation and writing about specific topics, but today was a little different.

After my introduction, Professor Ngom got everyone settled down and to work. He and I read the reading two times each (one more than usual because I have a much different accent) and I could have sworn that the words were trying to jump off the page; I could hear my voice shaking and felt bad to make it any more difficult to understand, but you try reading in front of that kind of crowd!

Once the question portion was over with is when I started doing most of the talking. Since it’s a comprehension class, Professor Ngom wants them to get used to a native speaker’s accent, since they will have three different people reading for their exams in July. I didn’t know this was going to happen, but it turned out to be one of my favorite things done so far in Senegal.

“And now,” said the professor, “you may all ask Katie questions about her culture and the United States, but nothing personal,” and at this he glanced sternly around the room, trying to make eye contact with as many men as possible, knowing only too well their first question- was I married? You could actually see the disappointment on some faces, while others laughed.

There’s that saying, “Most of us are not aware we have a culture until we step outside of it,” but today I experienced this at another level. I was so nervous that I wouldn’t know the answer to a question, but every single one was about something that I just know simply because of where I was born and how I was raised- i.e. my “culture.” Most of it were things you never really even think or talk about, but for 45 minutes straight, people didn’t stop raising their hands to ask about these things as though nothing else could be as interesting.

“Can you really have 3 or 4 jobs at once and make a lot of money? How do find Senegal? What are the biggest differences between American and Senegalese women? Did you vote for Barack Obama? Why did you come here instead of someplace else? How does the education system in the US differ from here? Do you have a car…?”

I found myself only too happy to explain and debunk a plethora of stereotypes, as well as ask them what other stereotypes they had, and laughed as I explained, “No, not everybody walks around with their hands in their pockets not looking at anyone.” It was also interesting to realize that many of them look at America in the same way many Americans look at Africa- that it is one big state, as many think Africa is one big country- but I could no more speak on behalf or generalize all of America than someone from Africa trying to do the same. We talked about how the media enforces these things, and by the end I felt like I was sitting in a Starbucks having a great conversation with my closest 250 friends.

It was so interesting to see their faces and reactions to my explanations of things like wealth and jobs, that maybe we make more, but the cost of living is also much more as well, and that you can’t really get by easily without a car- an expense many don’t have here. Four of the 250 students had laptops, and their eyes were wide with shock when I told them it’s a requirement to own one to go to where I go to school. I explained about how many people- myself included- need to take out loans to go to school, and they were visibly distressed when I told them how much school costs and how you pay it back over the years, but how it’s a good investment because it allows you for a better career. Some were really surprised to know that there is indeed poverty and unemployment in the US, and I genuinely wondered how many minds I changed of some who were interested in living and working there because they thought it was so easy to make money.

I wanted it to keep going, but the professor finally took the final question- “What do you think about Barack Obama’s opinion on gun control?”

“And I think that's where we'll stop today,” said the professor with a frown. I laughed.

I love it here.