Maximilian Chen

Max is enthralled by the transformative power of the arts, literature, and sports in fostering strong connections within tightly-knit communities and local business enterprises. He is an avid teacher of academics and music, and has a vested interest in the workings of small businesses. Max hopes that his time in Senegal will act as a new and exciting vessel for fresh cultural and life experiences.

Being

Maximilian Chen

2014-04-11

This, the second of three blog posts about the author’s trip to Touba, details the events of a typical day in Touba during the Grand Magal and recounts a venture into the interior of Touba. I have been in the Senegalese holy city of Touba for five days and am no clearer as to the...

Voyage

Maximilian Chen

2014-04-11

The following is the first in a series of three blog posts about the author’s trip to Touba for the Grand Magal. 18:00, 19 December There is a threshold at which long hours of anticipation for an event to occur inevitably transform into long hours of dread. Waiting for a car to take myself and...

Tree

Maximilian Chen

2014-01-06

An unfortunate burden that I’ve had to shoulder for most of my life has been my troubled history as a juvenile con artist. In my earlier years, I recall exhibiting a predilection for faking advanced literary capability. As do most delinquents, I started small. Scores upon scores of elementary school classroom minutes were spent frantically turning through installment after...

Storytelling

Maximilian Chen

2013-10-18

The following was written at 2:32 AM on October 6th, 2013. This is what Senegal’s capital city of Dakar looks like at first glance, to a first-time observer. In a purely logistic sense, Dakar is the product of two rather arbitrary factors. Factor One is what seems to be the driest, most arid location on the entire coastline of the...