Ok, so I really don't have anything too exciting and Africa-y to report, mostly because my parents have been visiting for the past several days and I have been avoiding everything from my regular daily life like it's my job.
However, I did take them to our first Senegalese professional soccer game...which was actually just what you would expect from a Senegalese sporting event. Tickets were cheap (like a dollar to get in), women were scarce, and the line consisting of 10 people to get in took roughly a half hour to get through. And the second you bought your ticket, they ripped it into shreds and tossed it on the ground. Because waste and pollution are not problems here.
The game itself was about at the level of a mediocre high school boys' soccer team...it's ambiguous how much they train together, or what exactly their coaches' roles are. And because as youth players, they just play small-sided games in dirt and sand, the goalkeeping is actually comical to watch. Like sometimes they can't even kick the ball out of the 18 yard box on goal kicks. But I will say that given the situation of the country, it's actually quite remarkable that they even have a league at all....and the fans are great, and they also sold peanuts for less than 5 cents per bag, so you really can't complain about the ambiance.
Oh and also real family met host family last night...which was lovely and basically a mime-fest, considering that they speak zero overlapping languages. But now the curiosity on both ends has been satisfied and my real family knows that I'm not living in squalor and being abused so yay.
Ummm that's about all I've got for you today...I'll post again soon.
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