Baal maa, I know that I really haven't been postign much of substance...or really much at all, this week. It's been kind of low key, and as we're getting to the end, we're not really doing anything terribly exciting-just sort of wrapping up classes and starting to prepare for our departure.
However, on my way to the university for my Wolof final exam on Wednesday (which I completed and passed, yay) I did have a great Senegalese encounter. So usually I walk to school, and Ouakam is about an hour and fifteen minutes away from WARC...I take the Corniche, along the water, both for the view and to avoid harassment (I have two long-term stalking relationships along Rue Cheikh Anta Diop-one with a construction worker, and one with a wood vendor, both of whom are named Alioune). And it's normally pretty effective-I just have to deal with the catcalls of cars whizzing by, but traffic moves so quickly that nothing is ever really an issue.
Until Wednesday. When a new creep (also named Alioune...maybe that's like the "John Doe" equivalent of the alias given to all sketchy Senegalese men) decided to follow me all the way from Ouakam to Fann. Talking the entire time. I don't think I've ever had a conversation that long with anybody (Mom and Dad, yiou can attest to this, given that our phone convos usually last for about 12 minutes max). And the worst part is the nature of the conversation. It started out innocently enough, with the usual come-ons, and casual information swapping (although this was pretty one-sided; I was a little miffed that my quiet morning walk was ruined), until things took a sudden turn when Alious proclaimed, out of nowhere, trhat homosexuality should be neither tolerated nor legalized, as it is unnatural and disgusting.
Wait, what.
So because I had already mentioned several times that I preferred to walk alone, and he continued to follow me, I decided why not get some French practice in and get into a pointless debate in which neither of us will ever see the other's point of view? I explained the US' current policies, and explained the biological nature of hetero-and homosexuality, and he kept repeating that he hated it because it was weird. We went through the usual arguments, and when it seemed that that particular topic was exhausted, I hioped maybe he'd leave, but no, wait! There's more!
Next he announces, again, out of nowhere, that the Jews are trying to take over the US government, and then, maybe, the world. To whih I replied that I was Jewish and I was pretty sure that if some conspiracy existed, I had mysteriously been left out of the loop.
Apparently sarcasm doesn't translate well ebcause he replied, Oh, well that's just because you're a woman.
Thankfully, at this point I arrived at the gates of the university and said I had to leave, and disagreed with everything he said. And then, as I turned to leave, he said I didn't understand anything, kicked my shoe off of my foot, and walked briskly away.
Definitely one of the most bizarre interactions I've ever had in my lifetime. You guys I think I'm starting to be ready to come home to America with crazy people that I know how to handle...and an active police force that I can call upon if necessary.
This weekend, my friend Amy and I are cooking a stir-fry for her host family (I can't do it for mine because:
1) we have no cooking utensils other than a big pan and an open fire, and I might kill myself,
2) the children would undoubtably hate it, and
3) there are just wayyyy too many people to feed).
Oh but one more exciting thing! I walked in the door yesterday coming home from class and Mohammed turned,a nd when he saw me, instead of theowing a rock at me like he is apt to do, he yelled "Jessica! Sama xarir (my friend)!" Everyone was shocked, and started laughing and clapping. And then Mohammed and I played soccer in the hallway until the power went out.
So I feel like my work here is done.
Hope you all have a great weekend. Ba beneen yoon.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
April 26
So I didn't have the most thrilling weekend of my life ever, but lots of funny little mildly entertaining things happened so I suppose I'll post about them today.
First things first; had a Very Senegalese Easter this weekend. Which consisted of eating couscous with raisins, vegetables, and chicken, salad, and ngalax (the awesome peanut butter lax that only get served on special occasions) until I wanted to die. And drinking bissap/pain de singe (baobab fruit) juice, which apparently is the world's best alcohol mixer...because I didn't even realize that all the old, large Senegalese ladies in their boubous were boozing until, at the end of the day/meal, they tried to stand up and were just tottering about the courtyard and slurring their wolof. Non-Muslim Senegalese are all about partying apparently.
After I got back to my own host family that night, I got to do the one thing I've always, always wanted to do, but have never had the opportunity for: to be a sweet older sister. Tabara, my 17 year old host sister, had a secret date with a boy at the Renaissance Monument, but she couldn't tell the fam or they wouldn't let her go. So naturally, I step in and say I want to go for a walk, and bring Aminata and Tabara along. So Aminata and I leave Tabara with her boy for roughly an hour and we just hang out around all the other couples at the statue (sooo out of place, being loud and just generally disturbing the romantic mood around us) before we retrieve her to go home. I'm really going to miss those two the most, they've really made me feel like a part of the family...even if it's just taking advantage of my presence and using me as an excuse to do rebellious things.
Yesterday, we had Easter Monday off (because of the hangovers) and so did a beach day...and on the way, we saw a cab pull over to drop off its passenger, and when he got out, he went to the trunk, presumably to retrieve his baggage...which turned out to be a bound and gagged live goat. Locked up in the trunk of a taxi cab. Coming from lord knows where. And the most bizarre part of the incident was that neither I nor the three friends I was with realized that that is, in fact, not a normal thing until about 5 minutes later. Yikes. I'm starting to think I'm becoming a terrible person and might do things that are WILDLY inappropriate when I get home. Like stuff living beings in the trunks of cars. Or dangle my children over the fire. No big deal.
Anyways, the beach was fantastic...it's in Mamelles, where lots of toubabs live, and is a little more hidden (you have to walk past several trash dumps to get to the ocean), but once there, you're practically harassment free...and the French Air Force likes to hang out there and play sports, so it's really a win-win.
While laying on the sand, we noticed that there were some cool-looking caves up on the hillside in the rocks by the water...and a few of the more daring went off to explore. Clearly I stayed behind. They came back very quickly though, and when we asked why, they explained to us that, while they were climbing, some Senegalese men they had met before told them to turn back, because the caves were a really sweet spot, so great in fact that the drug dealers of West Africa have been using them as their storage places for several years! Mostly heroine, but apparently some other stuff too...making it probably not the best idea ever to go up there. So because of their thwarted plans, to deal with their boredom, hey threw me in the freezing cold ocean water instead. Stupid drug dealers.
That's about all I've got...Passover ends tonight so my family can finally start giving me breakfast again (Alhamdilulahi) tomorrow. Ba beneen yoon.
First things first; had a Very Senegalese Easter this weekend. Which consisted of eating couscous with raisins, vegetables, and chicken, salad, and ngalax (the awesome peanut butter lax that only get served on special occasions) until I wanted to die. And drinking bissap/pain de singe (baobab fruit) juice, which apparently is the world's best alcohol mixer...because I didn't even realize that all the old, large Senegalese ladies in their boubous were boozing until, at the end of the day/meal, they tried to stand up and were just tottering about the courtyard and slurring their wolof. Non-Muslim Senegalese are all about partying apparently.
After I got back to my own host family that night, I got to do the one thing I've always, always wanted to do, but have never had the opportunity for: to be a sweet older sister. Tabara, my 17 year old host sister, had a secret date with a boy at the Renaissance Monument, but she couldn't tell the fam or they wouldn't let her go. So naturally, I step in and say I want to go for a walk, and bring Aminata and Tabara along. So Aminata and I leave Tabara with her boy for roughly an hour and we just hang out around all the other couples at the statue (sooo out of place, being loud and just generally disturbing the romantic mood around us) before we retrieve her to go home. I'm really going to miss those two the most, they've really made me feel like a part of the family...even if it's just taking advantage of my presence and using me as an excuse to do rebellious things.
Yesterday, we had Easter Monday off (because of the hangovers) and so did a beach day...and on the way, we saw a cab pull over to drop off its passenger, and when he got out, he went to the trunk, presumably to retrieve his baggage...which turned out to be a bound and gagged live goat. Locked up in the trunk of a taxi cab. Coming from lord knows where. And the most bizarre part of the incident was that neither I nor the three friends I was with realized that that is, in fact, not a normal thing until about 5 minutes later. Yikes. I'm starting to think I'm becoming a terrible person and might do things that are WILDLY inappropriate when I get home. Like stuff living beings in the trunks of cars. Or dangle my children over the fire. No big deal.
Anyways, the beach was fantastic...it's in Mamelles, where lots of toubabs live, and is a little more hidden (you have to walk past several trash dumps to get to the ocean), but once there, you're practically harassment free...and the French Air Force likes to hang out there and play sports, so it's really a win-win.
While laying on the sand, we noticed that there were some cool-looking caves up on the hillside in the rocks by the water...and a few of the more daring went off to explore. Clearly I stayed behind. They came back very quickly though, and when we asked why, they explained to us that, while they were climbing, some Senegalese men they had met before told them to turn back, because the caves were a really sweet spot, so great in fact that the drug dealers of West Africa have been using them as their storage places for several years! Mostly heroine, but apparently some other stuff too...making it probably not the best idea ever to go up there. So because of their thwarted plans, to deal with their boredom, hey threw me in the freezing cold ocean water instead. Stupid drug dealers.
That's about all I've got...Passover ends tonight so my family can finally start giving me breakfast again (Alhamdilulahi) tomorrow. Ba beneen yoon.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
April 19
Ok so since I posted yesterday, there's really not much new, but since it's Passover I thought I'd offer this little nugget of a post.
Keturah and I found the Seder last night! Turns out the Israeli ambassador lives like 10 minutes away from the university...which didn't stop us from getting lost, mind you, but still. We literally ased 7 different people if they recognized the address, and got pointed in about 6 different directions. When we finally did make it, it turned out we weren't on the special official guest list...probably because we're not important foreign dignitaries, nor do we have any degree of Senegalese security clearance. Sooo we got questioned by an Israeli guard outside of the residence for about 20 minutes proving our identities as Jews/Americans/students, but when he was satisfied that we weren't terrorists (which was questionnable that he even would be, since I had zero form of ID on me because since "the incident" I'm paranoid about getting mugged and subsequently stranded in Dakar forever), we were allowed to enter...it was awkward at first, since everybody seemed to know at least a good portion of the guests and we were the underdressed randos, but then we found Irit (thank you so much for the connection Uncle Fred-I owe you one!) and she introduced us to a few people, and when we sat down to dinner, we actually met a really adorable young couple that worked at the UN...and this random lady who worked for Bank of America (and talked to us about her friend's awesome NGO, 10,000 Girls, which you should check out if you have the time), so everything was wayyy less awkward than it had the potential to be. And the Seder itself was super laid-back (led by the ambassador himself, who is really nice), and everybody got to read a portion (thank goodness I wasn't the youngest and didn't have to do the 4 Questions)...and obvi the food was bomb. And self-serve so obviously Keturah and I, being college students, went to town on it.
By the way, the house was this enormous mansion, with-get this- A BACKYARD WITH GRASS AND A GIANT ROPE SWING HANGING FROM A BAOBAB. Basically; paradise. For Jews only. In...Senegal.
Still don't know where to buy matzah, but my family does know not to serve me bread...although I think they're confused and believe me to be fasting completely during the day (which I am clearly not doing, not only because that's not the custom, but because I would eb incapable even if it was), but I'm pretty sure they're still giving me dinner. If not I'll steal it from Muhammed.
That's all for now, talk to you all soon! Ba ci kanam.
Keturah and I found the Seder last night! Turns out the Israeli ambassador lives like 10 minutes away from the university...which didn't stop us from getting lost, mind you, but still. We literally ased 7 different people if they recognized the address, and got pointed in about 6 different directions. When we finally did make it, it turned out we weren't on the special official guest list...probably because we're not important foreign dignitaries, nor do we have any degree of Senegalese security clearance. Sooo we got questioned by an Israeli guard outside of the residence for about 20 minutes proving our identities as Jews/Americans/students, but when he was satisfied that we weren't terrorists (which was questionnable that he even would be, since I had zero form of ID on me because since "the incident" I'm paranoid about getting mugged and subsequently stranded in Dakar forever), we were allowed to enter...it was awkward at first, since everybody seemed to know at least a good portion of the guests and we were the underdressed randos, but then we found Irit (thank you so much for the connection Uncle Fred-I owe you one!) and she introduced us to a few people, and when we sat down to dinner, we actually met a really adorable young couple that worked at the UN...and this random lady who worked for Bank of America (and talked to us about her friend's awesome NGO, 10,000 Girls, which you should check out if you have the time), so everything was wayyy less awkward than it had the potential to be. And the Seder itself was super laid-back (led by the ambassador himself, who is really nice), and everybody got to read a portion (thank goodness I wasn't the youngest and didn't have to do the 4 Questions)...and obvi the food was bomb. And self-serve so obviously Keturah and I, being college students, went to town on it.
By the way, the house was this enormous mansion, with-get this- A BACKYARD WITH GRASS AND A GIANT ROPE SWING HANGING FROM A BAOBAB. Basically; paradise. For Jews only. In...Senegal.
Still don't know where to buy matzah, but my family does know not to serve me bread...although I think they're confused and believe me to be fasting completely during the day (which I am clearly not doing, not only because that's not the custom, but because I would eb incapable even if it was), but I'm pretty sure they're still giving me dinner. If not I'll steal it from Muhammed.
That's all for now, talk to you all soon! Ba ci kanam.
Monday, April 18, 2011
April 18
Sorry for being MIA lately...it's been a busy but unexciting week, so there wasn't a whole lot of blog-worthy info. However, this weekend we took a trip to St. Louis which was great, so I can tell you a bit about that.
The main event (other than another traditional dance/music performance which was moderated by the town drunk...) was visiting the Djoudj bird/wildlife sanctuary just outside of St. Louis. You tour the park by pirogue (and this one was far stabler than the one on the way to Ile de Madeleine), on the water in the middle of the reserve. They're especially known for their exotic birds (the most prevalent of which is the white pelican, which is about the size of a pony), as well as crocodiles, wild boars, and some other species. Basically, I finally feel like I went to "Africa." It was really gorgeous, but I guess we're sort of in the migratory season right now, so that several species that usually can be found there (among them flamingos) were noticeably abqsent. regardless, it was an afternoon well spent, mostly because they gave us juice afterwards before getting back on the bus. It's the little things that keep morale up here.
Last night was also Jenn's last night (she's Canadian so her semester is already ending) and so a bunch of us went over her house to cook a celebratory send-off meal...which was quite the experience, because despite having a "full" kitchen, the only working heating apparatus was the tiny portable gas burner, which was both running out of gas, and only capable of cooking one crepe at a time. Even so, the evening was a success, and now I feel liek I will be a fully competent cook in just about any setting.
Today at my internship, it was staff meeting day and I got to sit in-all the speaking was done in Frolof, which made it a bit difficult to follow, but it was good practice I suppose. They discussed the students who were failing, the overarching general problems (overcrowding, disciplinary issues, etc), and their practical solutions (of which there really weren't many, beyond kick out the disruptive students, and do the best you can with 80 kids per teacher). It was really interesting to see how they all collaborate in the attempt to find the best ways around their significant problems.
Last thing to report: tonight is the beginning of Passover, and Keturah and I are going to attempt to find the Seder at the Israeli ambassador's house. Yeah, it's not at the embassy, it's at his house. Yikes. Whatever, I'm sure it will be an experience, and maybe one of the other 4 Jews in Dakar can tell us where we can purchase some Matzah. I'm a little concerned about being able to feed myself because all they eat here is bread and rice...we'll see how it goes (maybe I'll just keep the bread restriction, because I literally cannot think of one meal that my family here makes that I could eat otherwise). I'll keep you posted. Ba beneen yoon.
The main event (other than another traditional dance/music performance which was moderated by the town drunk...) was visiting the Djoudj bird/wildlife sanctuary just outside of St. Louis. You tour the park by pirogue (and this one was far stabler than the one on the way to Ile de Madeleine), on the water in the middle of the reserve. They're especially known for their exotic birds (the most prevalent of which is the white pelican, which is about the size of a pony), as well as crocodiles, wild boars, and some other species. Basically, I finally feel like I went to "Africa." It was really gorgeous, but I guess we're sort of in the migratory season right now, so that several species that usually can be found there (among them flamingos) were noticeably abqsent. regardless, it was an afternoon well spent, mostly because they gave us juice afterwards before getting back on the bus. It's the little things that keep morale up here.
Last night was also Jenn's last night (she's Canadian so her semester is already ending) and so a bunch of us went over her house to cook a celebratory send-off meal...which was quite the experience, because despite having a "full" kitchen, the only working heating apparatus was the tiny portable gas burner, which was both running out of gas, and only capable of cooking one crepe at a time. Even so, the evening was a success, and now I feel liek I will be a fully competent cook in just about any setting.
Today at my internship, it was staff meeting day and I got to sit in-all the speaking was done in Frolof, which made it a bit difficult to follow, but it was good practice I suppose. They discussed the students who were failing, the overarching general problems (overcrowding, disciplinary issues, etc), and their practical solutions (of which there really weren't many, beyond kick out the disruptive students, and do the best you can with 80 kids per teacher). It was really interesting to see how they all collaborate in the attempt to find the best ways around their significant problems.
Last thing to report: tonight is the beginning of Passover, and Keturah and I are going to attempt to find the Seder at the Israeli ambassador's house. Yeah, it's not at the embassy, it's at his house. Yikes. Whatever, I'm sure it will be an experience, and maybe one of the other 4 Jews in Dakar can tell us where we can purchase some Matzah. I'm a little concerned about being able to feed myself because all they eat here is bread and rice...we'll see how it goes (maybe I'll just keep the bread restriction, because I literally cannot think of one meal that my family here makes that I could eat otherwise). I'll keep you posted. Ba beneen yoon.
Monday, April 11, 2011
April 11
Today is our 3 month anniversary in Dakar-more than 3/4 in! I'm starting to feel pretty Dakaroise given a few interactions I had this weekend...
namely the religious festival in Ouakam.
But first things first. We started the weekend by going to a salsa club (called New Africa, obviously a toubab spot), which was great, especially when around 2am it devolved into a giant Michael Jackson only dance party, led by a Senegalese man wearing neon checkered pants.
After about 2 hours of sleep, I wander home from Jenn's house on Saturday morning for the 8am prep-time for the festival...which consisted of all of the women cooking and dealing with the children while the men shot the shit outside. Oh wait they did kill several bulls, but that was like a 2 person job.
Anyways, I spent the morning cutting and peeling onions and potatoes with Tabara and Umi (our new bonne...we have a maid now that we have 2 newborns in the house!), and eating peanut butter lax to get in the festive mood. At exactly 3pm, all of the women started frantically preparing themselves for the ceremony (which began at 5pm)-we all got dressed in our matching white boubous (the more stately older ladies wore matching blue and white gauzy scarves, as well) and walked to the local middle school (the only venue large enough to host the event) in what looked like a massive wedding processional. The event itself consisted of sections of prayer, sermons, and chants (all in Wolof or Arabic, so needless to say, my comprehension was limited at best) but the entire event was really an experience...the men and women were seated separately, and all of the women, the toubabs included, needed to wear head coverings. The ceremony (which, by the way, was in memorial of El Haji Mbaye Diop, who is the grandfather of my host family-as well as every other family in town, considering he had 4 wives and bajillions of children with each) lasted about 4 or 5 hours, and at the end everybody went back to my house for dinner...and then promptly passed out.
Yesterday was a post-celebration relaxation/children's entertainment day. Tabara, Umi, and I took Colle, Maguette, and Marietou to the beach, where we saw a pelican roughly my size...it chased away a stray dog and sent the children into a fit of hysterics. Other than that, it was a lovely day of lounging on the rocks while Colle retrieved various fish body parts from the water (the Ouakam beach is generally used for fishing and fish preparation, rather than for recreation)-don't worry, I soaked her in my hand sanitizer back at the house. Oh and on the way home, Maguette was sleepy so I was carrying her, and was approached by a Senegalese man who asked me if I was married, or if she was my illegitimate child, because white women tend to sleep around...and, part B to his question, if I wasn't, in fact, married, could he join in on the fun?
Yikes. I'll be honest, I'm really looking forward to being back in a country where a comment like that isn't perfectly acceptable.
Starting today, the kids' vacation from school is over, and everyone is getting back into the usual routine...so I don't have too much else exciting to report. I'll keep you posted if that changes.
Mangiy dem.
namely the religious festival in Ouakam.
But first things first. We started the weekend by going to a salsa club (called New Africa, obviously a toubab spot), which was great, especially when around 2am it devolved into a giant Michael Jackson only dance party, led by a Senegalese man wearing neon checkered pants.
After about 2 hours of sleep, I wander home from Jenn's house on Saturday morning for the 8am prep-time for the festival...which consisted of all of the women cooking and dealing with the children while the men shot the shit outside. Oh wait they did kill several bulls, but that was like a 2 person job.
Anyways, I spent the morning cutting and peeling onions and potatoes with Tabara and Umi (our new bonne...we have a maid now that we have 2 newborns in the house!), and eating peanut butter lax to get in the festive mood. At exactly 3pm, all of the women started frantically preparing themselves for the ceremony (which began at 5pm)-we all got dressed in our matching white boubous (the more stately older ladies wore matching blue and white gauzy scarves, as well) and walked to the local middle school (the only venue large enough to host the event) in what looked like a massive wedding processional. The event itself consisted of sections of prayer, sermons, and chants (all in Wolof or Arabic, so needless to say, my comprehension was limited at best) but the entire event was really an experience...the men and women were seated separately, and all of the women, the toubabs included, needed to wear head coverings. The ceremony (which, by the way, was in memorial of El Haji Mbaye Diop, who is the grandfather of my host family-as well as every other family in town, considering he had 4 wives and bajillions of children with each) lasted about 4 or 5 hours, and at the end everybody went back to my house for dinner...and then promptly passed out.
Yesterday was a post-celebration relaxation/children's entertainment day. Tabara, Umi, and I took Colle, Maguette, and Marietou to the beach, where we saw a pelican roughly my size...it chased away a stray dog and sent the children into a fit of hysterics. Other than that, it was a lovely day of lounging on the rocks while Colle retrieved various fish body parts from the water (the Ouakam beach is generally used for fishing and fish preparation, rather than for recreation)-don't worry, I soaked her in my hand sanitizer back at the house. Oh and on the way home, Maguette was sleepy so I was carrying her, and was approached by a Senegalese man who asked me if I was married, or if she was my illegitimate child, because white women tend to sleep around...and, part B to his question, if I wasn't, in fact, married, could he join in on the fun?
Yikes. I'll be honest, I'm really looking forward to being back in a country where a comment like that isn't perfectly acceptable.
Starting today, the kids' vacation from school is over, and everyone is getting back into the usual routine...so I don't have too much else exciting to report. I'll keep you posted if that changes.
Mangiy dem.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
April 7
Ok let's start with the most important thing first: it is now officially mango season. Which means that every day this past week, I have been eating a 20 cent mango the size of my face. It's been awesome. Turns out they're oine of the messiest, stickiest things ever though, and being an ungraceful toubab, mango eating on the street is just really not an opotion; it must be done in the privacy of one's own home to avoid humliliation.
But it's totally worth it.
Moving on...yesterday's installment of Adventure Wednesdays consisted of us going to Ile de Madeleine, which is an uninhabited island of the coast and home to a number of rare and exotic bird and plant species. It's a bit more of an adventure than we anticipated though; the pirogue ride to get there is basically you asking a rando Senegalese man with a boat if he'll be nice enough to take you, then arguing over the prive for about an hour before actually setting off...in what turns out to be a boat with a motor that needs to eb attached by hand right before you set sail...and which comes equipped with several buckets to dump out water as the boat fills up to prevent it from sinking while loaded with passengers...and no life jackets.
The weird thing is that I don't even bat an eye at this stuff anymore.
Anyways, once on the island, we hiked around, checking out the scenery (which includes an absolutely gorgeous view of the entire city of Dakar-if you're ever in the area I would highly recommend that you check it out). And the entire time our "guide" slash boat man (who, by the way, was wearing a Chicago tee shirt) was asking us for our phone numbers, despite the fact that one of the student's mothers in our group was accompanying us. I swear Senegalese men have no shame. Or boundaries.
And so now officially I have seen all of the islands off the coast of Dakar, so I can cross that off my Lonely Planet bucket list...it's rapidly shrinking, which is good I suppose considering I only have about 5 weeks left here and finals coming up. Next up; religious pilgrimage: part 2: try not to get assaulted and mugged.
Inshallah.
But it's totally worth it.
Moving on...yesterday's installment of Adventure Wednesdays consisted of us going to Ile de Madeleine, which is an uninhabited island of the coast and home to a number of rare and exotic bird and plant species. It's a bit more of an adventure than we anticipated though; the pirogue ride to get there is basically you asking a rando Senegalese man with a boat if he'll be nice enough to take you, then arguing over the prive for about an hour before actually setting off...in what turns out to be a boat with a motor that needs to eb attached by hand right before you set sail...and which comes equipped with several buckets to dump out water as the boat fills up to prevent it from sinking while loaded with passengers...and no life jackets.
The weird thing is that I don't even bat an eye at this stuff anymore.
Anyways, once on the island, we hiked around, checking out the scenery (which includes an absolutely gorgeous view of the entire city of Dakar-if you're ever in the area I would highly recommend that you check it out). And the entire time our "guide" slash boat man (who, by the way, was wearing a Chicago tee shirt) was asking us for our phone numbers, despite the fact that one of the student's mothers in our group was accompanying us. I swear Senegalese men have no shame. Or boundaries.
And so now officially I have seen all of the islands off the coast of Dakar, so I can cross that off my Lonely Planet bucket list...it's rapidly shrinking, which is good I suppose considering I only have about 5 weeks left here and finals coming up. Next up; religious pilgrimage: part 2: try not to get assaulted and mugged.
Inshallah.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
April 5
Hello! Hope everyone had a great weekend...yesterday was Independance Day, which basically just meant a day off of school/work so that everyone can watch the year's biggest lutte (Modou Lo vs. Lac de Guiere 2)...it went a full hour of 2 enormous men grappling with each other, and was then declared a tie. Really anticlimactic if you ask me, but it was definitely an event to see.
Friday was Adama's baby's bapteme; his name is Khalifa Babacar, and he's still sooooo cute...and also enormous. We ground up millet and made lax but this time, added this peanut sauce instead of yoghurt which was probably the ebst thing I've eaten since beign in Senegal. I miss sugary American peanut butter something fierce.
This Saturday night, everybody in our program went to the Oceanium-usually, it's an organization that runs scuba diving trips off the coast of Senegal, but the first weekend of every month, they host a First Saturday of the Month party; basically, every toubab who's anybody goes to this party (along with a few of the Senegalese men who like to creep on the toubabs), and it's just a massive crowd dancing to Senegalese music in an open space. Dakar nightlife is definitely an experience...
Unfortunately, I did not receive my promised cooking lesson, I think it's being deferred to next Sunday after Ouakam's religious festival...speaking of which, I bought matching fabric with my whole host family and community, which happens to be this white stiff material...and basically just had a wedding dress made out of it. So if you check out my facebook any time in the enar future, do not be alarmed by my attire-I did NOT accept one of the marriage proposals being thrown around, it's just a teybasse (traditional outfit).
Oh also I took out my braids. I just felt filthy running every day and not really being able to wash my hair. BUT we did take a few photos to commemmorate the experience so no worries.
Nothing too exciting beyond that...today is the 12 week mark, meaning I come home in 5 1/2 weeks which is terrifying...my host sisters have already begun to lay claim on all my possessions. And while some of that is fine, I had to explain yesterday that I am not dying and giving everything away, and will still need some crucial items even when I am back home in the States. Like at least one pair of pants, for example. Ans maybe some shoes and a tee shirt. I'm sure they'll understand...eventually.
Ba suba, Inshallah
Friday was Adama's baby's bapteme; his name is Khalifa Babacar, and he's still sooooo cute...and also enormous. We ground up millet and made lax but this time, added this peanut sauce instead of yoghurt which was probably the ebst thing I've eaten since beign in Senegal. I miss sugary American peanut butter something fierce.
This Saturday night, everybody in our program went to the Oceanium-usually, it's an organization that runs scuba diving trips off the coast of Senegal, but the first weekend of every month, they host a First Saturday of the Month party; basically, every toubab who's anybody goes to this party (along with a few of the Senegalese men who like to creep on the toubabs), and it's just a massive crowd dancing to Senegalese music in an open space. Dakar nightlife is definitely an experience...
Unfortunately, I did not receive my promised cooking lesson, I think it's being deferred to next Sunday after Ouakam's religious festival...speaking of which, I bought matching fabric with my whole host family and community, which happens to be this white stiff material...and basically just had a wedding dress made out of it. So if you check out my facebook any time in the enar future, do not be alarmed by my attire-I did NOT accept one of the marriage proposals being thrown around, it's just a teybasse (traditional outfit).
Oh also I took out my braids. I just felt filthy running every day and not really being able to wash my hair. BUT we did take a few photos to commemmorate the experience so no worries.
Nothing too exciting beyond that...today is the 12 week mark, meaning I come home in 5 1/2 weeks which is terrifying...my host sisters have already begun to lay claim on all my possessions. And while some of that is fine, I had to explain yesterday that I am not dying and giving everything away, and will still need some crucial items even when I am back home in the States. Like at least one pair of pants, for example. Ans maybe some shoes and a tee shirt. I'm sure they'll understand...eventually.
Ba suba, Inshallah
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