As of this morning I am an auntie! Isaakha's wife finally had her baby early this morning, a little boy-their third son. She was due February 1 and looked about ready to pop since I've been here so everyone is relieved. I get to see him this afternoon so I am very excited.
In comparison to that, everything else seems a little less exciting...we went to the Keur Moussa monastery this Saturday as a big group, and it was gorgeous-it's a ways out of the city, and was actually a bit of a shock; when we arrived, everything seemed eerily clm-there were no dust clouds, no kaar rapides threatening to mow you down, no construction work, and no men harassing us. And, there was more greenery in this one concentrated place than I think there is in the rest of Senegal combined. It was unbelievably calm and peaceful-they grow all of their own food there, so we were fortunate enough to sample some of their produce (the highlight being the pamplemousse, or grapefruit, products)-I brought some back for my host family and they were ecstatic-Mohammed even gave me a high five instead of the usual slap.
We attended mass there (my first one...well, my first one where I wasn't sitting in a back pew with a coloring book next to Maria) and it was anything but a traditional Catholic experience-while all of the hymns and chants were conducted in Latin and French, they were accompanied by traditional West African instruments, among them several types of drums, and a Kora, which is somewhat of a harp/guitar hybrid. It was definitely an interesting mix of Christianity and African culture-especially because within the ranks of the monks, a majority were Senegalese, and only the eldest few were the white French founders of Keur Moussa. Everywhere you go here, there are reminders of colonialism and the damage it has done to the country.
On our way back, we stopped at Lac Rose-a lake with such a high salinity that in direct sunlight, the water actually looks bright pink. Unfortunately, there was no direct sunlight on Saturday, so in my pictures, it just looks gross and brown. But do a google image search if you're curious. Because there is noooo way we are ever going back there, to call it an out of the way destination is the understatement of the year. We basically had to off-road it for an hour and a half from Keur Moussa to find it, and more than one of my fellow travelers succumbed to car sickness due to the conditions of the ride.
However, the surrounding sand dunes were a lot of fun-there were camels, and we got to see a nice view of the natural setting. If you are ever to go to Senegal, however, this is definitely not one of the spots I would recommend-too much work for too little payoff.
Anyways, Superbowl Sunday rolls around and there is nowhere to watch the game-first of all, because it's very late at night here, and second of all, because there is no power ever. But I think the birth of a child in our house trumps a football game for excitement so it's all good. I did laundry and other household errands with the girls yesterday (and sampled some delicious street food from a local vendor-think spicy french fries meet potato chips), and the fataaya woman told me that, as I was fast approaching spinsterhood, she would teach me how to cook if I visited her regularly, and then find me a Senegalese husband before I dry up and become completely undesirable. Thank goodness I have such kind and helpful people here, right in my very own backyard!
I've been spending a lot of time in Ouakam, getting to know the little roads and all of the people-I'm even befriending a number of the kids who live nearby. Everyone is incredibly friendly (and always curious) so it's easy. My family even invited me to join them on their 3 day religious pilgrimage in a week (I'm going to see if it's acceptable to miss class to do it...and if it's not awkward for a Jew to go on a Muslim religious pilgrimage). At any rate it was nice of them to invite me, and even if I don't go, that means I'll get to stay here to witness the naming ceremony for the new baby. It's a win-win!
Nothing else too exciting to relate, but I am supposed to have my actual, real-live first day of class at UCAD today, so keep your fingers crossed that this class is a thing that exists in reality and that I am enrolled in it! Hope you're all surviving the frozen tundra that is America, feel free to come visit sunny Africa at any time in the next 3 months-I'll be here.
Yendul ak jamm
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