Hadjou's somb was 13 years old when she successfully rode a wave for the first time.

She'd been going out into the water with her cousins for over a week, trying to surf on an old surfboard,

a plunge to surf. At first, she kept losing her balance, toppling over as the waves crashed around her.

But then...

Hadjou never stopped. She did it. She was standing up, the boob on her board.

She was riding the wave. Hadjou wooked with joy.

Hadjou was used to her cousins thinking she was crazy. Just the fact that she was a girl in the water surfing was crazy.

In the community in Senegal where she lived, girls weren't supposed to surf. But Hadjou wanted more than permission to ride the waves.

She wanted to rule them as a pro.

The Anvanou and welcome to the Duolingo French podcast. I'm Ango Fenn with Duolingo.

Every episode we bring you fascinating true stories to help you improve your French listening and gain new perspectives on the world.

The storyteller will be using intermediate French and I'll be timing in for context in English.

If you miss something, you can always get back and listen again. We also offer full transcripts at podcast.duolingo.com.

A quick note about Senegalese French. You may notice that ours are rolled rather than pronounced at the back of the throat.

For example, Régardet instead of Régardet. You may also notice that the j sound in words like j or j'om has more of a z sound.

So j'missuidi becomes z'missuidi.

Hadjou was born in Gough, a coastal neighborhood of the car Senegal near the westernmost tip of Africa.

She grew up in a grandmother's house just steps away from the beach.

Like much of Senegal is a predominantly Muslim community. Hadjou says that most people living in Gough adhere to traditional values and social norms.

Angor, apre lecol le fit doivent aider a faire la cuisine et à nettoyer la maison.

Ell ne doivent pas être s'il avec des garçons.

Pour cette raison, mes parents n'ouvrent pas que ce sœur.

...