Emile : “I had never been to Africa and the idea of going on a different kind of vacation trip other than that of a holiday club seemed interesting to me. I was not disappointed at all. We really had a close contact with the locals which is the most important thing. We were able to create a bond with them. They offered us a lot of things : they were always ready to give and share, which is what I wanted .”
Sandrine : “My first evening at Keur Samba : A group of young people come to welcome me and show me to the lodge. The state of the lodge was a pleasant surprise as I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. It was just ideal as it provided basic comfort. The purpose of the trip would have been defeated had something better been provided. It would have created a barrier between us and the villagers as we would not have been able to have a real experience of how they live. The following day, I get to meet my host family. It took several days before we could get to communicate with each other, with me understanding only 5 words in Wolof, them speaking very little French, we resorted to using gests, smiles to communicate, and by using those, I felt really at home with them. For two weeks they referred to me as Kine, my Senegalese name. Gradually, I got integrated into the family. On the eve of my departure to France, I said to myself that such is life- Arrivals and Departures. When the time came to leave, I was indeed sad to leave this village and particularly this family that was so kind to me and gave me a lot of attention. This trip was a way of refocusing on the basic things, warm and simple human relationships in order to relearn how to make do with little and to remind me that there are a lot of things I worry about that are unnecessary.”
Alexandre :“Before ever visiting Africa, it is possible to have some bias………but when one gets to live with the people, one gets to understand them better. They do not have much, but they make the most of their day with what they have. They do a lot of things. In France, we have everything but we do not make the most of it. When one arrives in the village at first, one has the impression that its going to be two long weeks but in the end, one would not mind staying for another two weeks! After going on such a trip, one gets to see life differently and appreciate it more.”
Celine : “I appreciated the fact that the villagers involved us in their daily activities: They were willing to let us discover their culture, traditions while trying at the same time to please us, anticipate our needs, find out what we felt like doing and also bearing in mind the need to respect our way of life. I rediscovered the meaning of the words “hospitality”, “welcome”, “selflessness”. Thank you Palabres, for this experience whose rewards will last much longer than the 15 days spent there!”
Tanguy : “Experiences like this motivate one to go on similar trips in other places . This trip made me try to get closer to the locals in my subsequent trips”
Sandra : “The simplicity of their daily life where everyone has a precise task and a well defined place made me realize with terror, the complexity, demand and stress of our society. In Keur Samba Yacine, they laugh, dance and sing with a whole lot more freedom than in France. They do not need materials or need to have a special reason to organise feasts. Time spent working on a site becomes an opportunity to sing, they dance while preparing meals and laugh about a lot of things. “