On Wednesday Kayleigh and I got up bright and early to go on a priogue tour of the delta, with a guide named Felix. It was mostly a relaxing morning tour, looking at mangroves, seeing some birds eating and generally enjoying the scenery. It's nothing mindblowing, but was still really pleasant. And since it is what Shannon does in Foundiougne, we thought it would be a good idea to check out just what the ecotourism is.
When we came back we hit up the post office- I'm not a big fan of the post in Dakar, so I was happy to have an opportunity to go and pick up some stamps in order to send postcards, which I haven't done enough of. From there we did a little bit of shopping- I don't want to give away too much, or else I'll ruin the surprise gifts I've gotten for people! With the day getting hotter and hotter we headed back and had lunch at Shannon's- Yassa Poisson, my favorite (ok, really my favorite with chicken, but i can deal with fish).
For our strenuous afternoon activity we went to a nearby hotel and bought some sodas and sat on some hammocks at their dock. A tough life I tell you. I swam a bit, but it was a strong current and the dock didn't have a good exit point (easy to jump in, not so easy to hoist yourself out). We had a brief blackout at Shannon's, but managed to still squeeze in a few episodes of Gilmore Girls. Like I said, a tough life, I know.
Thursday was our really big day in which Shannon took us to her favorite nearby village, a place that she started to visit in order to help prepare the village for an incoming Peace Corps Volunteer (their first) but has now grown to really like the people there so she visits on her own accord. One of the really cool projects that she has taken up there is helping to translate and type up Sereer (a Senegalese ethnicity) contes, or stories. I think that it is a really important thing to be done, and Shannon is hoping that the stories can get published in french and/or English.
To get to the village we took a sept-place (they're like station wagons, only incredibly crowded and hot), which we had to fight our way into for spots. Transportation is absolutely insane here- it is a truly dog-eat-dog sort of situation. I'm going to hope that my manners come back to me in the US, but here, if you want to get anywhere, you have to be prepared to butt ahead in line. Anyways, we took a car to Djilor and then walked over to the town. It was shaping up to be quite a long walk in the heat, but fortunately people passed by on their charette (a horse drawn 'cart') and picked us up. The thing about a charette is, well, it has really ruined my romantic sense of anything horse-drawn. They are bumpy rides, when you're sitting on a wooden platform, doing your best to hold on.
Eventually we reached the village and went directly to visit the village chief (don't forget to curtsy a bit when you shake an elders hand!). He's very old and so not even Shannon could get everything that he said, you've just got to smile and say thinks like 'jamm rekk' (peace only) and 'alhumdulilah' (thank god). After that we went with some of the village school teachers and they showed us their school. Although not a fantastic school and very overcrowded, there was still posters all over the wall and the teachers seemed like very dedicated men.
Following this we went to a compound where one of the teachers lived and met up with Nene, who agreed to be our teacher and show us how to cook! I was very excited for this- I've been hoping for some time to have this kind of opportunity. AND we got to cook yassa! My very favorite. Our first job was to sift through the rice. They buy it in bags, so you have to go through by hand and get all of the little hard bits out, like litle stones- nobody wants a cracked tooth! After that we set about cutting veggies, which involved putting an onion in your hand and using a just sharp enough knife to cut things up. No fancy tools here!
It was a fun and relaxing (although hot and smoky too) way to spend the late morning, and the fruits of our labor were delicious. I don't know if it is because I helped or what, but I was personally very satisfied and ate quite a lot! And it was wonderful cooking with Nene, she was very sweet and helpful and patient, and I didn't feel like we were getting in her way- although on occasion she'd take a carrot from your hand and cut it five times faster than you ever could! We also got to play with her adorable daughter MameJara!
Following lunch we let it all settle in and then went on a charette ride around the area. Although very hot and not very interesting (low tide, not much water) it was still cool, and the teachers came with us as the guides to tell us some cool stories about the king's burial ground. And of course, there were baoboab trees, just like there are everywhere else. We got a charette ride back into Djilor (the name of the village we went to was Pieth) and proceeded to wait for quite some time for a bus. Eventually one came, and on a bus that you might fit 18 people onto back in the states, we had upwards of 25 (and that's not counting the guys riding on the top). Totally exhausted we went straight back to Shannon's, had some delicious cold bissap juice. Eventually we pulled ourselves together and made garlic bread, green beans and pasta with pesto sauce for dinner. Delicious!
More tomorrow!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
My "rural" visit
Ok, so it wasn't too terribly rural, but it was still a lot of fun. And very hot. And very unlike Dakar. On Monday Kayleigh and I left for Foundiougne (sounds sorta like foon-doon) by way of Kaolak and Passi. It took a little bit longer than we expected but still wasn't too bad. Clearly it was going to be a very hot and sweaty week though. We arrived at the site around 5pm, where our Peace Corps Volunteer host Shannon met up with us. We bought water right away and then headed to her place. Unsure of what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised to find that she had a really nice set-up for herself, in a two-room place (nicer than a hut) with electricity, a good bathroom and a big bed for Kayleigh and I to share.
After setting down our things and drinking some water we headed out to explore the town. Foundiougne is an ecotourism site for Shannon since it is situated right on the Sine-Saloum Delta, and Shannon's work is to develop the tourism there. What she had done so far was to help the locals who wanted to become guides to become certified, which was a huge achievement. While we were there she didn't have much work to do because of recent holidays and a lot of people were out of town.
After wandering around (not too terribly much to see) we went back to her place and had dinner with the family. We ate with just one other woman and a few kids. Shannon's host father is getting old and ill and well over 2/3 of the family was still out of town, so it was very quiet (except for the goats and roosters and chickens). A pretty bland meal, but we were told not to expect very much. In the evening we went out to check out a lutte (wrestling match). It was expensive to get in (1000cfa!) but had high hopes for a good match. Unfortunately, there had been some false advertising saying that the winner would get 200,000cfa, when in fact the prize was 100,000. No good when you have a bunch of pumped up wrestlers. Unsure if the match would happen or not, we decided to call it a night. The best parts of the lutte tend to be the parading around anyways, and I was terribly exhausted, so I didn't mind too much leaving.
Tuesday morning we got up and headed straight for the market! It was the weekly market called the Loouma, full of great vegetables to buy. We bought a ton so that we could make ourselves a delicious salad- we found good carrots (bought 2kilos as a present for her host family), peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, beans and probably more. Kayleigh and I were also both really excited to buy some fabric! At a small market like this the prices are far better, so I was really happy about that and picked up three great fabrics- I'm excited to do some fun stuff with them! We also bought dried bissap flowers to make some juice as well as fresh, hot beignets for breakfast!
We headed back, scarfed down some beignets (with maple syrup from the US!- Shannon gets great care packages from the US) and decided to get started on our veggies. Here you have to clean the veggies in bleach water if you want to eat them, and they need time to sit. So we set about doing that as well as making some bissap juice from the dried flowers we had bought. Taste-wise, it reminds me of cranberry juice (only sorta) and is a very popular and delicious beverage here. I'm going to try to bring some back to the US to make bissap there!
Not long after lunch was brought to us and we had ceebu rouge (red rice and fish). Since I was only in the presence of Shannon and Kayleigh, I decided to brave it and eat with my hands. I don't get much practice because I usually eat with a spoon in Dakar. And my oh my is it messy and hard! But I did it nonetheless and it was pretty good.
For an afternoon activity we took out a kayak (well, rented one) and explored the delta a bit. The current was strong so it took a lot of effort, but we worked our way out to an old shipwreck. Apparently the ship grounded during transport, and instead of spending the money to get the ship out, they left it and came back for the cargo (peanuts). So now the ship just sits there as a home for birds and as a tourist visit. Very Senegalese of them to just leave the boat instead of taking care of the problem.
Came back, took a good shower and got to work on the salad! It was really delicious and nice to eat just a bunch of veggies, nothing fried on top or anything like that. We had also started our Gillmore Girls watching. Shannon has multiple seasons on DVD, so we dove into Season 2 and proceeded to watch hours and hours. Like I said, not quite the rural visit you would expect, but it's what she does.
Ok, more on my week in another post!
After setting down our things and drinking some water we headed out to explore the town. Foundiougne is an ecotourism site for Shannon since it is situated right on the Sine-Saloum Delta, and Shannon's work is to develop the tourism there. What she had done so far was to help the locals who wanted to become guides to become certified, which was a huge achievement. While we were there she didn't have much work to do because of recent holidays and a lot of people were out of town.
After wandering around (not too terribly much to see) we went back to her place and had dinner with the family. We ate with just one other woman and a few kids. Shannon's host father is getting old and ill and well over 2/3 of the family was still out of town, so it was very quiet (except for the goats and roosters and chickens). A pretty bland meal, but we were told not to expect very much. In the evening we went out to check out a lutte (wrestling match). It was expensive to get in (1000cfa!) but had high hopes for a good match. Unfortunately, there had been some false advertising saying that the winner would get 200,000cfa, when in fact the prize was 100,000. No good when you have a bunch of pumped up wrestlers. Unsure if the match would happen or not, we decided to call it a night. The best parts of the lutte tend to be the parading around anyways, and I was terribly exhausted, so I didn't mind too much leaving.
Tuesday morning we got up and headed straight for the market! It was the weekly market called the Loouma, full of great vegetables to buy. We bought a ton so that we could make ourselves a delicious salad- we found good carrots (bought 2kilos as a present for her host family), peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, beans and probably more. Kayleigh and I were also both really excited to buy some fabric! At a small market like this the prices are far better, so I was really happy about that and picked up three great fabrics- I'm excited to do some fun stuff with them! We also bought dried bissap flowers to make some juice as well as fresh, hot beignets for breakfast!
We headed back, scarfed down some beignets (with maple syrup from the US!- Shannon gets great care packages from the US) and decided to get started on our veggies. Here you have to clean the veggies in bleach water if you want to eat them, and they need time to sit. So we set about doing that as well as making some bissap juice from the dried flowers we had bought. Taste-wise, it reminds me of cranberry juice (only sorta) and is a very popular and delicious beverage here. I'm going to try to bring some back to the US to make bissap there!
Not long after lunch was brought to us and we had ceebu rouge (red rice and fish). Since I was only in the presence of Shannon and Kayleigh, I decided to brave it and eat with my hands. I don't get much practice because I usually eat with a spoon in Dakar. And my oh my is it messy and hard! But I did it nonetheless and it was pretty good.
For an afternoon activity we took out a kayak (well, rented one) and explored the delta a bit. The current was strong so it took a lot of effort, but we worked our way out to an old shipwreck. Apparently the ship grounded during transport, and instead of spending the money to get the ship out, they left it and came back for the cargo (peanuts). So now the ship just sits there as a home for birds and as a tourist visit. Very Senegalese of them to just leave the boat instead of taking care of the problem.
Came back, took a good shower and got to work on the salad! It was really delicious and nice to eat just a bunch of veggies, nothing fried on top or anything like that. We had also started our Gillmore Girls watching. Shannon has multiple seasons on DVD, so we dove into Season 2 and proceeded to watch hours and hours. Like I said, not quite the rural visit you would expect, but it's what she does.
Ok, more on my week in another post!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Haven't written in a long time
I just realized that it has been quite some time since I’ve written about anything going on here, and I think I know why. Before I was writing because I was dissecting things here, noticing all of the little things. Not that I’m not still doing that, but I have also started to settle into life here a little bit better, find my niche and have fun here. I’ve just had a great string of good/great days here, which I have been very aware of and really glad to have. I think that some other people are hitting this same period at this time as well, feeling more comfortable in their homestays, finding fun things to do, happier in
One contribution to this is that there is a new café that just opened up not too far from me, just around the corner from my friend Alec’s house, so we’ve been frequenting it. I really like the café environment (surprise surprise!) and have loved going there and playing cards or scrabble and having a good cappuccino. The people that go are both American and Senegalese so I’ve been hanging out with Senegalese people a lot more recently (also Alec’s family, who are a ton of fun and very welcoming).
It has been hard here meeting Senegalese people because the women tend to keep to themselves separate from men and aren’t very interested in having American friends. As for the Senegalese men, they ask pretty much right away if you have a husband (or serious boyfriend). It is very frustrating because they don’t take a boyfriend in the
My family is also still going well, which is nice. I don’t spend a whole ton of time at home but I always feel really welcomed by them and they are very chill about me not being at home all of the time. I have friends here who are expected to be at home a lot more or get chastised for going out so much (they have strange situations though that are hard to explain and they are still very happy with their situations). I don’t go out all that much (at least not very late) so they don’t mind it because it is acceptable behavior. Overall it continues to go well and I am starting to enjoy the food we have- it takes a little while to get to that point, but I’d say I’m there by now!
Also knowing what my rural visit will be has been a big help. Previously it was this looming, unknown event that I felt like I was going to get tossed into, and I felt awkward because other people were so excited to have this experience that I just wasn’t into. But now that I know what all I’m doing (or at least roughly) I am looking more forward to it, and am curious to see what will happen. It should be a good challenge but nothing too extreme. I have some friends who are going to really tiny villages of 150 people who only speak Pulaar (another native language here) and that’s just not what I’m here for. I’m glad to be going to a French and Wolof speaking area, which will be a good use of my skills (hopefully!).
I also did batik again this past Sunday and yet again had a great time. It’s definitely an art form but one in which perfection isn’t necessary. The guy who teaches it is also really nice and it’s fun to spend a morning chilling on his roof doing some art and listening to music. I’m also really excited because I asked him to make me a large piece showing a family eating around a bowl- it’s gonna be a pretty decent size, so I hope I have a large wall in my apartment in DC! I wanted to think of something that I really identify with from my experiences in
Ok, dinner time for me! I’ll try to get another blog posted before leaving for my trip. I’m either going on Sunday or Monday- my travel partner and I both have things we want to do this weekend, so we’re going to hold of traveling until then. I’m personally planning on visiting the fabric market- I just cannot get enough of it!
Late Night Add-On: I just spent the last hour or so helping one of my aunts with her English. That was fun! It’s not a ton of grammar and mostly just phrases, but hopefully it was helpful. I wrote down a bunch of sentences for her in a workbook that she has to help her remember all of it. Glad to be of help around here!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Fun News!
This is just a short update- I got my rural visit assignment. Before I wasn't very excited by the concept of a rural visit out in a small village for a week, but now that I know what I'm doing, I'm really pumped. I'm going to the Sine Saloum (near where I was recently) to a village of about 10,000 with one other girl, to spend the week with a Peace Corps Volunteer who works on Ecotourism. We are not really sure what we will be doing, but they speak Wolof and French where I'm going, which should work out well for me (I mainly picked based on that). It'll be an adventure- we leave next monday (9th) but may head down earlier to visit some other parts.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
I take cool field trips . . .
This weekend our program took us down to the Sine-Saloum Delta area, which was an awesome excursion to take! When we go on trips on our own, those are fun, but everything isn't all prepaid, and we tend to stay at nice places. Which is always amazing! We took about a 4-5 hour busride down from Dakar to the Sine Saloum and hopped on some pirouges (canoe like boats that are the main transport here- I don't think I've even seen any other kind of boat) and took a tour of the area. I've never been to the Florida everglades, but someone said that the area reminded them of it. I personally felt like I was at a lake up in Minnesota (which is what someone else said), but either way it was lovely taking a relaxing sunset tour of the 'marsh' area. Nobody fell in and it wasn't cold, which usually makes for a great time.
After a bit they dropped us off at our hotel, which was quite a lot like the one we stayed at in Toubab Dialow in that they were a bunch of little huts all set up, and these ones had adorable front porches!!! We split into houses of 4 and set our stuff down. Right away, we all moved out to our porches for some reading time (I personally had just started 'The English Patient'- and am almost done with it). My porch faced right out onto the water, so I got to look out to a nice pink/purple sunset and read while I waited for dinner!
Oh dinner, so very lovely and wonderful! As I said, we always get very well set-up on our trips, and this was certainly no exception. Gradually we all wandered over to the eating area, and ordered some drinks (these we had to pay for ourselves). Dinner was a three course meal, which was great! We had some fresh shrimp, and then rice and fish (delicious) followed by a 5-star mini-chocolate cake. I was totally stuffed and content, and ready for some sleep! We all
hung out for a bit longer, did some porch reading by gas-lamp and then turned in (underneath mosquito nets, of course).
In the morning we got to get up gradually and have breakfast between 8ish and 9ish. Back in Dakar the bread is a pretty standard white bread, and I usually have it with margarine or a chocolate spread. This place was the same, although it was nice, hot, fresh bread with some heartiness to it, and some tasty locally made bissap-jam! The only thing that was missing was my Kinkeliba tea, which is a locally made tea from leaves that I have every morning and that is great for your system.
Once everyone had pulled themselves together- not everyone is an early riser- we hopped onto horse drawn carts. I smartly chose one with a cover-top to it. As much as I love a tan, I could tell that this was going to be one hot ride. We had a relatively young driver named Francisco, who was probably about 15. They took us for a tour of the nearby town, which was interesting to see, but I have very mixed feelings about. Once we got to the village we stopped and our director bought candy to hand out to the local children. While this seems like a nice idea, it really bothered me and the other people in my cart- so we gave our candy to another cart to give out. I have been told in other areas to not give out candy, so I was surprised that this had happened. My reasoning is that it is very bad what happens to the kids when you start giving candy out. A) They begin to expect it from tourists, b) it is not good for their diet c) most importantly it turns them into beggars. Sitting up on this cart you have children clammoring around you, trying so hard to get some candy and it is behavior that is just not something good to encourage. It was very unsettling to see, and I didn't enjoy it in the least bit.
Otherwise the ride was fine, and all feeling very hot, we went back to our lodgings to literally chill out before lunch. And what a fine lunch! This time it was a little salad with peanuts and rasins and other good stuff, and then a fish-kabob, grilled to perfection, with rice and a tasty sauce, and a fruit cup to finish! The senegalese really can make good food- sometimes I forget that with my frustration of sitting around the bowl at home and eating with everyone. After lunch was total free time, so we all headed down to the water and frolicked and jumped off a pirouge and had an overall awesome time.
I really enjoy our group trips since we don't always all spend time together. When I studied abroad before I was living with all of my friends and got to know everyone in the group pretty well. So I get psyched for these trips when the whole group has bonding time. It was a lot of fun to just chill out by the water (especially since there were no vendors trying to come up and make friends with us like they do everywhere else).
I showered off all of the sand and got ready for dinner (wearing one of my new tailor-made dresses!). We had to have an earlier dinner because we were attending something later in the evening- it was so wierd to eat so early- at 7 o'clock! Before dinner I perused one of the vendors that had set-up shop at the hotel. I had been eyeing his items all day long. He was a jewlery maker, who did phenomenal bracelets and rings made out of very good quality silver. It was frustrating though because his prices were high and he refused to bargain, because he wasn't Senegalese and had very set prices. I talked it over with Victoria, the assistant-director, who has lived in Senegal for a long time and has bought jewlery before. The decision was made that his work was high quality and meritied the price and that I would most likely not find something in Dakar at a much better price. So I went for it and got myself a gorgeous silver bracelet, which I am very happy with!
Dinner was another great meal of couscous and meat (with some eggplant for starter) and Flan for dessert. Yummy! We then set out in the dark to walk over to the town where we were going to watch a wrestling match. Here, la lutte, as it's called, is a very popular sport and a form of very traditional wrestling. It is very hard to follow since a) everyone is in the ring at once, strutting around like peacocks and getting pumped up b) there are multiple fights going on at once c) the fights don't last for very long d) it's all foreign, which always makes things hard. Nonetheless it was cool and even a few of our boys got into the ring to lutte (I'm sure they let the American's win, haha). Exhausted from a day in the sun a bunch of us got escorted home- and I passed out right away!
Sadly, on Sunday morning we had to pack up and have one last breakfast. We loaded ourselves into the pirouge and took the ride back to where the buses were. It was a nice slow pirouge ride though, so it was a good prolonged goodbye. Back at the buses we got in as quickly as possible since all of the vendors had shown up, hoping for some buisness! Some of us bought peaunuts, but we left as quick as could be. About an hour into the ride we stopped off at the 'sacred baobaob tree'. The baoboab tree is like a symbol of Senegal, a very gnarly looking tree that they say is upside down because it looks like the roots are coming out of the top (I have a bunch of pictures of them). At this one HUGE baobaob we could actually climb through a hole and go inside! I did this, got a little claustorphobic because of the stale air and then worked myself out. Still cool, just not for too long.
The unfortunate part was that this sacred tree has been turned into a tourist spot, so there are a ton of wood sculpture vendors hanging around, ALL trying to be your friend, and getting a little too touchy, trying to get you to come over to look at their stuff. If they weren't so agressive I might have, but it was just a total turnoff. After about 30minutes we headed out, some people having picked up souvenirs, and arrived back in Dakar by about 3pm. A fun weekend, but just too short!
After a bit they dropped us off at our hotel, which was quite a lot like the one we stayed at in Toubab Dialow in that they were a bunch of little huts all set up, and these ones had adorable front porches!!! We split into houses of 4 and set our stuff down. Right away, we all moved out to our porches for some reading time (I personally had just started 'The English Patient'- and am almost done with it). My porch faced right out onto the water, so I got to look out to a nice pink/purple sunset and read while I waited for dinner!
Oh dinner, so very lovely and wonderful! As I said, we always get very well set-up on our trips, and this was certainly no exception. Gradually we all wandered over to the eating area, and ordered some drinks (these we had to pay for ourselves). Dinner was a three course meal, which was great! We had some fresh shrimp, and then rice and fish (delicious) followed by a 5-star mini-chocolate cake. I was totally stuffed and content, and ready for some sleep! We all
hung out for a bit longer, did some porch reading by gas-lamp and then turned in (underneath mosquito nets, of course).
In the morning we got to get up gradually and have breakfast between 8ish and 9ish. Back in Dakar the bread is a pretty standard white bread, and I usually have it with margarine or a chocolate spread. This place was the same, although it was nice, hot, fresh bread with some heartiness to it, and some tasty locally made bissap-jam! The only thing that was missing was my Kinkeliba tea, which is a locally made tea from leaves that I have every morning and that is great for your system.
Once everyone had pulled themselves together- not everyone is an early riser- we hopped onto horse drawn carts. I smartly chose one with a cover-top to it. As much as I love a tan, I could tell that this was going to be one hot ride. We had a relatively young driver named Francisco, who was probably about 15. They took us for a tour of the nearby town, which was interesting to see, but I have very mixed feelings about. Once we got to the village we stopped and our director bought candy to hand out to the local children. While this seems like a nice idea, it really bothered me and the other people in my cart- so we gave our candy to another cart to give out. I have been told in other areas to not give out candy, so I was surprised that this had happened. My reasoning is that it is very bad what happens to the kids when you start giving candy out. A) They begin to expect it from tourists, b) it is not good for their diet c) most importantly it turns them into beggars. Sitting up on this cart you have children clammoring around you, trying so hard to get some candy and it is behavior that is just not something good to encourage. It was very unsettling to see, and I didn't enjoy it in the least bit.
Otherwise the ride was fine, and all feeling very hot, we went back to our lodgings to literally chill out before lunch. And what a fine lunch! This time it was a little salad with peanuts and rasins and other good stuff, and then a fish-kabob, grilled to perfection, with rice and a tasty sauce, and a fruit cup to finish! The senegalese really can make good food- sometimes I forget that with my frustration of sitting around the bowl at home and eating with everyone. After lunch was total free time, so we all headed down to the water and frolicked and jumped off a pirouge and had an overall awesome time.
I really enjoy our group trips since we don't always all spend time together. When I studied abroad before I was living with all of my friends and got to know everyone in the group pretty well. So I get psyched for these trips when the whole group has bonding time. It was a lot of fun to just chill out by the water (especially since there were no vendors trying to come up and make friends with us like they do everywhere else).
I showered off all of the sand and got ready for dinner (wearing one of my new tailor-made dresses!). We had to have an earlier dinner because we were attending something later in the evening- it was so wierd to eat so early- at 7 o'clock! Before dinner I perused one of the vendors that had set-up shop at the hotel. I had been eyeing his items all day long. He was a jewlery maker, who did phenomenal bracelets and rings made out of very good quality silver. It was frustrating though because his prices were high and he refused to bargain, because he wasn't Senegalese and had very set prices. I talked it over with Victoria, the assistant-director, who has lived in Senegal for a long time and has bought jewlery before. The decision was made that his work was high quality and meritied the price and that I would most likely not find something in Dakar at a much better price. So I went for it and got myself a gorgeous silver bracelet, which I am very happy with!
Dinner was another great meal of couscous and meat (with some eggplant for starter) and Flan for dessert. Yummy! We then set out in the dark to walk over to the town where we were going to watch a wrestling match. Here, la lutte, as it's called, is a very popular sport and a form of very traditional wrestling. It is very hard to follow since a) everyone is in the ring at once, strutting around like peacocks and getting pumped up b) there are multiple fights going on at once c) the fights don't last for very long d) it's all foreign, which always makes things hard. Nonetheless it was cool and even a few of our boys got into the ring to lutte (I'm sure they let the American's win, haha). Exhausted from a day in the sun a bunch of us got escorted home- and I passed out right away!
Sadly, on Sunday morning we had to pack up and have one last breakfast. We loaded ourselves into the pirouge and took the ride back to where the buses were. It was a nice slow pirouge ride though, so it was a good prolonged goodbye. Back at the buses we got in as quickly as possible since all of the vendors had shown up, hoping for some buisness! Some of us bought peaunuts, but we left as quick as could be. About an hour into the ride we stopped off at the 'sacred baobaob tree'. The baoboab tree is like a symbol of Senegal, a very gnarly looking tree that they say is upside down because it looks like the roots are coming out of the top (I have a bunch of pictures of them). At this one HUGE baobaob we could actually climb through a hole and go inside! I did this, got a little claustorphobic because of the stale air and then worked myself out. Still cool, just not for too long.
The unfortunate part was that this sacred tree has been turned into a tourist spot, so there are a ton of wood sculpture vendors hanging around, ALL trying to be your friend, and getting a little too touchy, trying to get you to come over to look at their stuff. If they weren't so agressive I might have, but it was just a total turnoff. After about 30minutes we headed out, some people having picked up souvenirs, and arrived back in Dakar by about 3pm. A fun weekend, but just too short!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Kids in Senegal
I feel like I have learned a lot both inside and outside of the classroom, but they are mutually educational. Without being in a homestay I doubt I would understand what the professors tell us about, and without the classes I wouldn’t have much of a forum to discuss what I notice around my house.
Today we talked about kids in my Anthropology class, specifically about how the Wolof ethnicity raises their children. For starters, while the woman is pregnant everyone in the community come by to visit to demonstrate that it is not just the mother who will raise this child, it is the whole community. There is a very strong emphasis against the individual, and raising an egotistical or narcissist child, which includes not getting too much motherly attention. Because of this, the day of the baptism and naming ceremony (which takes place one week after the birth) the baby is ‘stolen’ from the mother in order to demonstrate to her that this is not just her child, and it is not the nuclear family that counts, it is the whole extended family.
As the child is raised there is a great deal of emphasis placed on physical contact, whether through coming up to hug people at the house or via wrestling with their peers. Children are not given toys to play with because it is believed that this causes them to spend too much time on their own and not socialize. This also encourages the individual too much, which could lead to a child that is too proud and unlike the others (they want children to all grow up alike, so a month after being born they are taken to an old woman in the community to get massaged- literally in hopes of creating a baby that will have the ideal- and similar- body to all others. This includes massaging the female baby’s bottom in hopes of having a well-rounded bottom- sounds very funny, but it is quite true, still today).
Once children get to be older and might be in school they start playing more with toys, like mankalah (sp?) or with riddles. But for the most part they are really without any kinds of toys. Within my own homestay I have noticed this on multiple occasions. While this does keep a child from getting to be ‘spoiled’ there is a huge lack of opportunity for children to learn how to conflict resolve and problem solve. Their solution for everything seems to be hitting! Any kid of any age will hit one another and this seems to be because they have never learned to do things any other way.
Yesterday I brought out my crayons to color with my brothers, who are 3, 5, 7 and 12. The eldest, Cherif, took charge of passing out the crayons and I gave each kid one piece of paper. They did a good job of sharing the crayons and asking for other ones, which I found surprising because they can get to be a little rowdy and pushy about things. Nonetheless, I’ve tried to make things calm with me, so I think that they have sort have caught on.
What worries me is their lack of opportunity for personal expression. This sense of the individual seems to get very suppressed, and thereby individual talents are not encouraged at a young age when they are really important to be developed. For example, I’ve colored with Khadim, who is 7, before, and he seems to really like telling stories to go along with his pictures. Back in the states this would be a regular activity, and you would draw a picture and maybe help the child write the story that goes along with the picture (granted, his story was rather bloody/violent, but at least it was a story). Yesterday he was very frustrated because he couldn’t draw much of anything, and I think that is very indicative of the fact that he really wants to be able to express himself, but he doesn’t have any outlets. As a result he is a very aggressive kid.
The overall thought that I’ve had on this is that in many ways, countries that are doing well in Africa are still behind their potential because they are raising their children in the same exact way as they have been for generations, and not progressing in that arena. The most highly educated people in
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Last leg of the trip . . .
Saturday, March 10th
>Up soooo early to leave Mosteiros- literally up at 5am, and then on the bus at 5.30. A short visit but certainly worth it. We thought that we were going to be taken directly to the Seafood restaurant that we had been to before to get coffee and breakfast, and while we drove very near to it, our driver had to go to the airport for something. It being so early we weren't in very much of a rush, and thought that he might be picking someone up from the airport. But no, we just sat there. For about an hour. And he stood at the airport (smallllll airport) and chatted. And continued to talk. At last, hungry and in need of caffine, Jessie went to find out what the deal was. And just like that, he came back to the car, and drove us to the restaurant. Mind boggling.
>I'm quite sure that they remembered us at the restaurant, but this time we all ordered food, so it was a little more worth their while to have us sitting around for a few hours. Delicious as always though, and nice to have a real breakfast, as opposed to Dakar where we all have bread for breakfast.
>We couldn't stay away from our dear black sand beach, so we trekked down there again and spent the morning. It was just such a nice and relaxing place to go to, and a fun little locale. Around one we packed ourselves up (and Yasmeen packed herself a little ziplock bag of black sand) and went in search of lunch, lugging our luggage around town.
>Around this point is when things got a little bit hectic. We did have a boat ticket, but were not quite sure what time the boat was leaving. We were told "One o'clock, yeah, one, or two . . . or three". Not a very confident answer, so we tried to rush our lunch, yet again, a tricky matter. Nor did we have a place to stay back in Praia (and we were certainly NOT going back Sol Atlantico).
>We managed to finish lunch and hop into the back of a truck (something we were very good at by the end of this trip) and rushed down to the dock. And then we waited. For about an hour or so. The boat wasn't even docked when we got down there, so we got to watch that interesting process, as well as watching things like goats being loaded (begrudgingly) into the cargo of the ship. We also stood next to a young boy who was not bringing on luggage to the boat, but a young goat (a kid, if you will) that was about his size. Some things are just more important than others.
>The boat ride, I will sum up, as rocky. Very rocky. They handed out little plastic bags to everyone. It was interesting. We got in at about midnight. End of story.
>Back on Praia we spent the night at Paraiso, which was very lovely, and there were sheets to be sleeping under!!! (before I had been sleeping in a sleep sack, which works just fine). That and HOT showers, which I hadn't taken one of since being in the US, so although more expensive, it was very much so worth it. That and a great breakfast. A great last night place to stay. As soon as we were in our rooms we all fell asleep, content to no longer be rocking around on a boat.
Sunday, March 11th
>Slept in a little bit, enjoyed a good breakfast and a hot shower, packed ourselves up and went out to our favorite pastry shop (it's sorta our thing to follow one meal with another) and sat there and ate and ate, including quiche and doughnuts. Very fun indeed!
>Went to the park and sat around and read until getting ourselves together to go back to the hotel in order to go to the airport for our 6.30pm flight. But OH NO! Jessie's bag had gone missing, but we weren't sure when! There was a lot of Portuguese confusion, but eventually someone helped us understand that one of the waitresses nearby had seen someone take the bag but she just hadn't said anything about it. At this point Jessie and Yasmeen rushed to the embassy (her passport and many other things were in that backpack), and when the police showed up, the rest of us were put in the back of their SUV and we drove around looking for the person who took the bag/drove through a local crack park and asked locals if they had any info. Quite a lot like the TV shows actually.
>Feeling a little bit uncomfortable we asked to be taken to the embassy, to be reuinted. I have never felt so welcomed by George Bush, Condi Rice and Cheney. It was an odd feeling, but I got over it quickly. In no time the consulate worker got there (a lovely woman named Toni) who immediately got to work on things, which involved calling the airline to find out the information on the flight (she thought the sand might be delaying things). It all developed before our eyes in Portugeuse- the look of shock/confusion/disbelief on Toni's face. Apparently our plane had taken off HOURS ago. Literally hours before it was supposed to leave- which is a very un-African thing to have happen.
>Incredulous at this, and thankfully in posession of our paper confirmation tickets, the consulate travel agent was brought in to deal with our situation. It was so oddly fortuitous to have had Jessie's bag stolen because we wouldn't have found out about the flight change, and wouldn't have had somone advocating for us (in Portugeuse) to get everything fixed. (Side note- bag still missing, but the police were still in pursuit, and had information on the man who had her bag).
>Toni then said we would go stay at her house until TACV (the airline) had set up our hotel for the night. Laura and I accompanied Jessie to the police station while she filed her police report. Jessie was let into the office, and Laura and I were left in the waiting room, to watch all sorts of drama unfold (this time in Creole), including random disputes, people being brought in and you could hear them being beaten in the back room, and two large speakers that were brought in (it was confirmed later that these indeed were full of Cocaine). It was insane, and very scary, and all of the police kept giving Laura and I 'the eye'. Relieved to have her be done, we were taken over to Toni's house where . . .
>Yasmeen opened up the door and it was like we were in America! Working for the foreign service is AMAZING! It was actually Toni's birthday, so the other girls were in the midst of making her a real genuine funfetti cake with funfetti frosting, drinking Snapple and best of all . . . doing laundry. In a real laundry machine. It was out of control and amazing. And then I went into the pantry, which was full of incredible things to eat like mac and cheese, pringles, and alfredo sauce. Toni was more than happy to share since her term was coming to an end and didn't have any more need for the food. It was more than amazing, especially after being in Senegal.
>So we set to making food, had a great meal, had cake and then went to our hotel that TACV
got for us- we all got our own rooms (but many of us shared- we were too used to having one another around). It was the nicest hotel in town and so another lovely night, and a really great night's sleep.
Monday March 12th
>It was great to sleep in- but you could hear the bustle on the street of Praia Plato, so I got up and had yet another great breakfast. We put ourselves together, and had to sadly leave Jessie behind (they were still hoping to get her bag back, they had been surveying the man's house, but hadn't gone in- this part is very unlike American cop TV shows. She never did end up getting her things back, very unfortunately). The TACV people came to get us very promptly at 10.30 and whisked us off to the airport. Clearly they had gotten a talking-to, and knew immediately who we were upon arrival at the airport. The flight left on time, and in no time we we were back in Dakar, waxhaling (bargaining) for a taxi ride home.
>A GREAT trip, that will always remain with me. I needed a break from life in Dakar, so this was perfect timing for me. More posts soon on life back in Dakar (but very briefly, be glad I've been blogging about this, because after coming back from Cabo Verde I was in a very hostile mood, which I have now come out of, and I am now enjoying things again!).
>Up soooo early to leave Mosteiros- literally up at 5am, and then on the bus at 5.30. A short visit but certainly worth it. We thought that we were going to be taken directly to the Seafood restaurant that we had been to before to get coffee and breakfast, and while we drove very near to it, our driver had to go to the airport for something. It being so early we weren't in very much of a rush, and thought that he might be picking someone up from the airport. But no, we just sat there. For about an hour. And he stood at the airport (smallllll airport) and chatted. And continued to talk. At last, hungry and in need of caffine, Jessie went to find out what the deal was. And just like that, he came back to the car, and drove us to the restaurant. Mind boggling.
>I'm quite sure that they remembered us at the restaurant, but this time we all ordered food, so it was a little more worth their while to have us sitting around for a few hours. Delicious as always though, and nice to have a real breakfast, as opposed to Dakar where we all have bread for breakfast.
>We couldn't stay away from our dear black sand beach, so we trekked down there again and spent the morning. It was just such a nice and relaxing place to go to, and a fun little locale. Around one we packed ourselves up (and Yasmeen packed herself a little ziplock bag of black sand) and went in search of lunch, lugging our luggage around town.
>Around this point is when things got a little bit hectic. We did have a boat ticket, but were not quite sure what time the boat was leaving. We were told "One o'clock, yeah, one, or two . . . or three". Not a very confident answer, so we tried to rush our lunch, yet again, a tricky matter. Nor did we have a place to stay back in Praia (and we were certainly NOT going back Sol Atlantico).
>We managed to finish lunch and hop into the back of a truck (something we were very good at by the end of this trip) and rushed down to the dock. And then we waited. For about an hour or so. The boat wasn't even docked when we got down there, so we got to watch that interesting process, as well as watching things like goats being loaded (begrudgingly) into the cargo of the ship. We also stood next to a young boy who was not bringing on luggage to the boat, but a young goat (a kid, if you will) that was about his size. Some things are just more important than others.
>The boat ride, I will sum up, as rocky. Very rocky. They handed out little plastic bags to everyone. It was interesting. We got in at about midnight. End of story.
>Back on Praia we spent the night at Paraiso, which was very lovely, and there were sheets to be sleeping under!!! (before I had been sleeping in a sleep sack, which works just fine). That and HOT showers, which I hadn't taken one of since being in the US, so although more expensive, it was very much so worth it. That and a great breakfast. A great last night place to stay. As soon as we were in our rooms we all fell asleep, content to no longer be rocking around on a boat.
Sunday, March 11th
>Slept in a little bit, enjoyed a good breakfast and a hot shower, packed ourselves up and went out to our favorite pastry shop (it's sorta our thing to follow one meal with another) and sat there and ate and ate, including quiche and doughnuts. Very fun indeed!
>Went to the park and sat around and read until getting ourselves together to go back to the hotel in order to go to the airport for our 6.30pm flight. But OH NO! Jessie's bag had gone missing, but we weren't sure when! There was a lot of Portuguese confusion, but eventually someone helped us understand that one of the waitresses nearby had seen someone take the bag but she just hadn't said anything about it. At this point Jessie and Yasmeen rushed to the embassy (her passport and many other things were in that backpack), and when the police showed up, the rest of us were put in the back of their SUV and we drove around looking for the person who took the bag/drove through a local crack park and asked locals if they had any info. Quite a lot like the TV shows actually.
>Feeling a little bit uncomfortable we asked to be taken to the embassy, to be reuinted. I have never felt so welcomed by George Bush, Condi Rice and Cheney. It was an odd feeling, but I got over it quickly. In no time the consulate worker got there (a lovely woman named Toni) who immediately got to work on things, which involved calling the airline to find out the information on the flight (she thought the sand might be delaying things). It all developed before our eyes in Portugeuse- the look of shock/confusion/disbelief on Toni's face. Apparently our plane had taken off HOURS ago. Literally hours before it was supposed to leave- which is a very un-African thing to have happen.
>Incredulous at this, and thankfully in posession of our paper confirmation tickets, the consulate travel agent was brought in to deal with our situation. It was so oddly fortuitous to have had Jessie's bag stolen because we wouldn't have found out about the flight change, and wouldn't have had somone advocating for us (in Portugeuse) to get everything fixed. (Side note- bag still missing, but the police were still in pursuit, and had information on the man who had her bag).
>Toni then said we would go stay at her house until TACV (the airline) had set up our hotel for the night. Laura and I accompanied Jessie to the police station while she filed her police report. Jessie was let into the office, and Laura and I were left in the waiting room, to watch all sorts of drama unfold (this time in Creole), including random disputes, people being brought in and you could hear them being beaten in the back room, and two large speakers that were brought in (it was confirmed later that these indeed were full of Cocaine). It was insane, and very scary, and all of the police kept giving Laura and I 'the eye'. Relieved to have her be done, we were taken over to Toni's house where . . .
>Yasmeen opened up the door and it was like we were in America! Working for the foreign service is AMAZING! It was actually Toni's birthday, so the other girls were in the midst of making her a real genuine funfetti cake with funfetti frosting, drinking Snapple and best of all . . . doing laundry. In a real laundry machine. It was out of control and amazing. And then I went into the pantry, which was full of incredible things to eat like mac and cheese, pringles, and alfredo sauce. Toni was more than happy to share since her term was coming to an end and didn't have any more need for the food. It was more than amazing, especially after being in Senegal.
>So we set to making food, had a great meal, had cake and then went to our hotel that TACV
got for us- we all got our own rooms (but many of us shared- we were too used to having one another around). It was the nicest hotel in town and so another lovely night, and a really great night's sleep.
Monday March 12th
>It was great to sleep in- but you could hear the bustle on the street of Praia Plato, so I got up and had yet another great breakfast. We put ourselves together, and had to sadly leave Jessie behind (they were still hoping to get her bag back, they had been surveying the man's house, but hadn't gone in- this part is very unlike American cop TV shows. She never did end up getting her things back, very unfortunately). The TACV people came to get us very promptly at 10.30 and whisked us off to the airport. Clearly they had gotten a talking-to, and knew immediately who we were upon arrival at the airport. The flight left on time, and in no time we we were back in Dakar, waxhaling (bargaining) for a taxi ride home.
>A GREAT trip, that will always remain with me. I needed a break from life in Dakar, so this was perfect timing for me. More posts soon on life back in Dakar (but very briefly, be glad I've been blogging about this, because after coming back from Cabo Verde I was in a very hostile mood, which I have now come out of, and I am now enjoying things again!).
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