Hello friends!
Unfortunately, I really don't have much to tell you...other than a few random little episodes I guess. Last night, I was watching TV with Tabara when the power went off, and all of a sudden, every adult I have ever met in the town of Ouakam was in our living room surrounding us, screaming at one another in Wolof. Obviously, due to the volume and pace of the interaction, I understood nothing, and after about an hour of listening to the fighting (which was punctuated by the newborn baby, Mohammed, Cole, and Maguette crying in the background), they dispersed as suddenly as they appeared. After about 15 minutes of shellshocked silence, Aminata called me out to accompany her to pick up some millet from a woman who lives nearby, and on the walk, I asked her what had happened. I was envisioning some conflict involving a major issue (I don't know, like murder or theft or something worthy of the melee in my house), but according to Aminata, the entire fight consisted of the fact that her mother, who is pregnant, felt a little ill that day and said she couldn't cook lunch. And then everyone freaked out. So, while Senegalese people often seem to be great at letting the little things go, and focusing more on the big picture, there are certainly times where even their common logic takes a back seat to cultural decorum.
Yikes.
Oh and also, it turns out I've been scaring all of the little children in the neighborhood...babies who have never seen a white person before tend to cry when they first meet me. But, according to my host sisters, it has nothing to do with my skin color. Apparently, it's because of my "scary green eyes." Uhh what? The explanation given was that because my eyes are so much lighter than everyone else's here, they think they look green...and scary. Like a monster. I feel really bad because the kids are all so cute and the mothers all think it's super funny to watch them panic as they are forced to approach me. Luckily, they're all starting to get used to me, but still.
Alright well Wolof class is about to start so I'm off... hopefully I'll come up with some more excitign things to share with you in the next few days. A tout a l'heure
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