So after my last post, we left the hotel again and drove all the way to Gambia. Technically American citizens are not allowed in the country without a Visa. But Waly went and talked to the Gambian police, and they said we could come in for a bit. So now I've officially been to Gambia as well. Waly's hometown was nearby, and we also got to meet his wife and son (who is SO CUTE!). They live there in the village, and Waly lives in Dakar. That must be really hard.
When we got back, we relaxed for a bit and then had dinner. That night we went to a "Séance de lutte traditionnelle" which was basically a traditional fighting spectacle. It was really cool to see. There was a huge circle of dirt/sand in which a bunch of younger men fought. It was kind of like a wrestling match. Except there could be multiple pairs fighting at the same time, and also all of those not fighting danced/walked around the circle. There was a group of women who sang/changted the whole time as well as a drum circle. It was really fun to watch. We were there really late, though.
The next day it had rained so much that it would have been a terrible idea to try to drive on the very, very muddy road. So instead we stayed at the hotel. We were supposed to go to talk to a National Park agent, but instead he came to us and talked about environmental issues. So that was cool. Later we went with some women from the village to this swap area. One environmental problem in the area is that mangroves (bush-like plants that grow at waters edge and in swamps) are being destroyed by people gathering oysters, etc. So we went out with them to help replant some mangroves. It was quite the adventure getting there! At one point I had sunk into the ground all the way up to my knees!!! There were tons of crabs that were scuttling around. At one point I stepped in an area that was filled with crab holes. It immeadiately gave way because their holes had caused the area not to be so sound. I can't imagine what it would have been like to suddenly have a huge foot crash in your house. They all sprung up to the surface as I tried to get out of their and crushed tons of other holes. Terrible. Actually planting the mangroves was hard too, because it was so hard to walk, plant them in straight rows and not stumble on other freshly planted mangroves.
That night we went to the nearby village. They had a dance group called Allah Laké perform. It was so incredible to see. Of course there was fabulous drum music, and incredible dancing. There were two girls at the front that danced wonderfully. Also there was a fire section in which the one guy rubbed fire on his body and then ate a fireball. Adji (who works at WARC) said that he had put something on his body so that it wouldn't burn him. One of the girls ate the ball of fire at one point as well. Towards the end some of the locals also went in the circle to dance as well, and show off moves. It was very fun.
One of the funniest parts was that afterwards a random guy came up to Adji and started hitting on her in English (even though she is Senegalese). He said something like, "yeah, I'm a superstar! Haven't you seen me on TV in North Carolina?" Wow. She gave him a fake name, and told us sometimes that was completely necessary.
The next day we went to another village and saw a smaller health center. They only had one main room. And they talked about the problem with the fact that they didn't have a professionally trained midwife, only those who had never undergone official training. They were even more lacking in facilities than the first place we saw.
Also this village really did have wells from which water had to be drawn. There was no plumbing available. That is definitely something I could not deal with for a long period of time. Maybe. But it would suck. Even in Dakar, I have to buy my own drinking water. The city water is not treated at all to the standards in the US or even Europe. In France I COULD drink the water if I wanted to, but most people just prefer bottled water. Those who have lived here in Dakar their whole lives are basically immune to the microbes which reside in the city water. But if I were to drink it I would become miserably sick.
Anyway, we then went to another village to talk with the group of women there. It was interesting the differences between the two villages and women, but it's hard to explain. But one example of the differnce was that no one in the first village asked for anything, but on woman there asked me for my skirt! I told her (through a translator) that it might prove a little awkward, because it's not like I was wearing shorts underneath, so I couldn't take it off. Then she asked if I could send it to her! Idk, that was just weird. I understand Senegal is a very giving culture, and someone was explaining that sometimes if you say to someone, hey I like you're shirt, they will literally take it off right there and give it to you. (Although I've never seen this happen). On another note, the women were blown away by my eyebrow peircing, and even more so by my belly button peircing when I showed it to them. Most of them couldn't speak French, but they found one woman there who could and she came up and asked me, "Why did you do that!??" I just replied that I thought it was pretty and it was also normal for American girls.
I don't understand the exact facts of this, but both groups of women have some sort of microfinancing. The first group has been way more successful than the second, in getting a loan, returning it really quickly, and then making a good amount of money. Again, it was hard to understand all this as it was translated back and forth between French and Wolof, and as I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Plus I have a horrible attention span when it comes to French, no matter how hard I try.
That night was our last, and we had a dance party for us in the nearby village. Some of the local students, who had been traveling with us, kept calling it a "boite de nuit" (literally "night club") but really it was a pavillion in which music was played. We didn't get there until 12:30, and people were just starting to get there. It was fun dancing, but kind of weird because of the lack of people. Also all of us were really tired. By the time we left, around 2:30, it was starting to get really packed! haha. Oh well. It was still a good experience.
The next day it was hard getting up, but we had to get up kind of early (especially after going to bed so late!) We got on the bus and drove back to Sokone, where Prof's Sene's family lives. We discussed what we had learned on the trip for a while. Then we started the rest of the ride. We had to stop after a bit, though, because one of the guys got really sick. He might have malaria. We stopped at this hospital, a few hours from Dakar, and he was admitted there. It was really, really dirty however. I wish we could have made it all the way to Dakar before he had to go to the hospital.
We ended up leaving him there with Waly, and then the rest of us continued on. It was such a long ride, and we ended up getting there way later than we had planned. When we finally got there, Rodline, Bobby, and I decided to take a taxi together, since we live relatively close. Normally, it costs us between 1,000 Francs and 1,500 Francs. When we asked the taxi driver that night, though, he said 5,ooo!!!!!!!!! We looked at him like he was crazy, laughed, and walked away. He was like, no, come back, but we weren't even try to bargain with him, as that was way too high. And the very next driver said the same amount!
I'm used to "Toubab" prices (Toubab means "white person" or also non-Senegalese. Mostly any americans or europeans, no matter which race.) When merchants or taxi drivers, etc, see toubabs, they automatically raise the prices. This is partly because we usually have more money (and the advantage of the dollar), so they see it as "fair" to charge us more. Also they know we'll pay it. At times it's annoying, but you really just have to accept it. But 5,000 francs for that taxi ride was ridiculous. That was even an insult to my Toubabness.
We walked for a while, and there was another taxi driver that tried to charge us 3,000. We bargained him down to 2,000 but that was still too much. So we kept walking and found one guy that gave us the ride for 1,500. Now, granted. The difference between 1,500 and 2,000 is literally a little over $1. But that's not the point. It's the principle of the thing.
I finally made it back to my host family. I talked with them for a little bit, and then ate and went to bed. I was so tired! Although I'm finding it hard to sleep in in the mornings, because the sun comes in and is really bright and hot. I don't know what I'm going to do.
So to close with a random thought: I was walking home the other day, in the extreme heat for my extremely long walk home. I was dreaming about reliable public transportation. There are buses, but they come so infrequently, plus, there are car rapides, which are like 15 passenger van size, and some people ride them by hanging on the back. They are okay, but kind of scary. But anyway, I was thinking that if I were in charge of a development project in Dakar, I would love to build a metro system. And I thought about how cheap and easy it would be. Then I realized that in France, I pay almost as much to ride the bus in La Rochelle or the metro in Paris as I pay to take a taxi in Dakar. Interesting.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
So apparently when Ryan's host mom said "This is the second wife of Papa," it might have been a joke. She asked one of the program coordinators here and they said, oh that's a joke some people like to say. Although, there was no "Haha, gotcha" afterwards. So we're really not sure.
Anyway, we have made it all the way to Toubacouta. It was a really long ride. We stopped part of the way to meet Prof's Sene's family. (He is the director of the West African Research Center, where we study.) He introduced us to his father's second wife (definitely not a joke) and his plethora of extended family. We ate A LOT, but it was so good. Then we got back on the bus and continued on our way. It is really muddy everywhere, and when we were almost at our location, our bus got stuck in the mud! We spent a really long time trying to get it out. There were a lot of Senegalese who were walking along the road and stopped to laugh at us, but help us as well. Such a ridiculous experience! We finally made it to this resort area, which is nice. It is owned by a VERY French man, who is from Bordeaux. And only carries Bordeaux wine. There is a pool here, which was very fun. There was also wonderful bread here. I love soft, delicious French bread, and that is what they had. Yay! We ate dinner very late, and I was already very full from all of the bread. Oh well.
This morning we woke up to a really nice breakfast, again with delicious bread. And as we were eating I saw monkeys swinging around in the trees nearby! I was so excited.
Today we visited the Prefect of Toubacouta (a man appointed by the president for administrative duties in the area), and the president (a man elected by the people). The president was a very tall man (maybe 6'9" to 7'). He was really impressed by how tall I was and insisted we get a picture together. Haha. We also visited a health center here, which was of course drastically lacking in facilities compared to the states. There are 6 doctors total to take care of a population of over 9,000. Wow.
We also went to a radio station, which was interesting. It was kind of small though. One really cool part was that we went to talk to a group of women who have formed a women's organization in the village, and region. It was really cool to hear them talk. It was hard to pay attention to it, though, because I was feeling hungry, and the women were speaking in their own language, and then it was translated into French for us. There were some really cute kids there too. They are all so curious about and wave all the time. And come up to shake our hands. They also love getting their picture taken, and are almost magnetically attracted to camera.
Well that's all for now. I will definitely have more stories coming up. And I hope to see the monkeys again.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
I am so happy Ramadan is over now! Life is so much better. Although I'm kind of sad that now it is over and I am ready to party, my group is leaving Dakar to go on a feild trip to Toubacouta. Oh well. It should be really fun though.
Anyway, I guess I should backtrack and tell about the few days before the end of Ramadan. Thursday I had Wolof class at 4. The teacher we had this time was HILARIOUS. He is a little skinny man, who used to teach wolof to peace corps volunteers. He was also married to a peace corps volunteer, whose last name was Smith. But they are divorced now. Apparently some of his past students have called him "Twiggy" because he really is as thin as a twig. It was a great and interesting class.
After class, all of my group went to My Shoppe, which is kind of a convenience store with two fast-food places attached. André, our advisor from Wells College, was leaving that night, so we met there to eat pizza and say goodbye. We also bought a bottle of wine, plus little cups. It was really funny that you could just sit at tables inside a store and drink a bottle of wine. We sat around and talked for a while. André had also invited a former student of his, who is now living in Dakar with her Senegalese bf, to come talk with us. We asked her some questions and she told us some things about living here. Aziz also joined us later and joined the chatting. André had to leave to catch his flight. But we stayed at my shoppe, and continued talking. We bought another bottle of wine, and some fruit juice and made impromtu sangria. We stayed there for a few more hours. We met these two other random Americans, from a different program. One was pretty nice. The other was basically an a**hole (there is really no other way to describe him). He was kind of acting ignorant towards Senegalese there, and just had a jerkish attitude overall and towards girls. He finally left, and we left soon after. Rodline, Aziz and I decided to go to this place called "L'endroit" which is on the way home, and which the nicer American boy had mentioned. After dropping his friend off, he came and joined us there. It was a nice place, kind of like a lounge, although unfortunatley kind of smoky. We stayed there until close, and then went home.
Friday, we had no classes so we met up at WARC. Then we decided to do something exciting, and we ended up going to the French Insitute, which is in downtown Dakar. Although getting there was quite the adventure. We took a taxi, but the driver I believe couldn't speak French even, except for some amounts. He asked for 2,000 Francs, ($4) but we said no, 1,800. He responded no, 2,000. Then we started to walk away and he said, ok 1,500. So we got in. Then he started driving, and he said, ok you're going to pay me 2,000. And we were like, no we agreed to 1,500. Finally we got that figured out. But then I don't think he actually knew where he was going. So he turned in the wrong direction. Then he stopped the car, got out and asked someone on the street for directions. We finally got headed in the right direction, and then got caught in traffic. We sat in that airconditionless cab for over 1 hour. And got hasseled by people who were walking inbetween the cars selling things. We couldn't roll our windows up because we might have suffocated from the heat in there. There were also Murids (one of the Muslim brotherhoods) who were going around asking for money. There was one in particular that followed our cab for a bit.
But we finally made it to the French institute. It was kind of nice there. We went to the restaurant, and ordered some drinks and a plate of fries. I think Senegalese people think it's weird that we order just a plate of fries pretty much every time we go out. But it was really good. Randomly, while we were sitting there a very portly Senegalese man in suspenders came up to us. He asked us if we were American, and we said yes. He started talking to us about how learning language is really important, and he knows French and German, as well as English, plus of course his native tongue (Wolof?). And he was talking about how Switzerland is really cool, because there are multiple languages there, and he used to work for Swiss Air. And then he invited all of us to his house. He said he lives all by himself in a really big house, a little bit outside of Dakar. He said we should come there and and he will fix us bbq chicken. It was a really bizarre experience. I'm not sure if he was just exhibiting Senegalese hospitality, or if he was thinking he could ensnare american girls with bbq chicken (a phrase he repeated a lot) and trap us at the huge house in which he lives all by himself. Weird. He gave us his number and we told him we might call. Ha. We stayed at teh F.I. for a while after that. Most of the stuff was closed, since we got there so late. So we wondered around and then just went home.
We decided to meet up that night after dinner. So we met at MyShoppe which is a good meeting location, plus a chance to chill for a bit before going out. Aziz came with us to My Shoppe, but then he went home when we decided to go somewhere and dance, because it was still Ramadan. We decided to go somewhere that we had seen in Allison's guidebook, but we couldn't find it, so we ended up going back to Just4U. There were still a lot of European/American people there but oh well. The band was pretty good. And at one point, Allison and I decided to get up and dance. No one was dancing except for this random Senegalese man. But we didn't really care, all we've wanted to do was dance. I think everyone else was just laughing at us, but whatever. At the end of the song we sat back down. Then later Allison, Rodline, Ryan and I all decided to get up and dance. Bobby stayed at our table. Again, everyone there was probably laughing at us. The Senegalese man there who was dancing, however danced with us, and at one point he took me, and then Rodline to dance something that was kind of Salsa-ish steps. I managed keep up somewhat. Yeah.
When I came home that night, both my host mom and Aziz were still up. They just normally stay up late. I talked to both of them and told them how we danced. They just laughed. It was such a fun day.
Saturday was a lazy day. I slept in for a while and didn't do much. Then later in the afternoon, Aziz and I met up with Ryan at My Shoppe. We decided to walk around and try to find some nice places to go out. We saw this one Moroccan restaurant which looked nice. Then also a place called "Thiossane" which is owned by a famous Senegalese singer, Youssou N'Dour. Unfortunatley it is currently completly gutted, and in the process of being redone. Hopefully it will be finished before we leave, because we were able to go inside and see, and it looks like a really sweet place. We also went to a place called "Melissa new look" which was a lounge/dance club. So it was a pretty successful day discovering things.
We went home, and no one really went out that night. I did hear the sound that meant Korité (the celebration ending Ramadan) would be the next day, Sunday. And I was really excited and so was Aziz. Apparently, the exact day for Korité is decided on whether the head Muslim guy in Sengal can actually see the moon. So if it had been really cloudy, we would of had one more day of Ramadan.
The next day was really fun. I just stayed at home. My host mom made Paella (a spanish dish) to celebrate Korité. I helped out a little bit. She kept asking me if I knew the different foods. I found it hard to explain that, Yes, I do know what that food is, and I know it's delicious, but I haven't the slightest idea about how to prepare it. (And I know during this section, my dad is going to shake his head and make a mental list of all the food he's going to make me fix when I get home.) She gave me mussels, and I thought, the only time I've seen these is when they are already steamed and ready to eat. All I have to do is open them up, pop them out and munch. But this day I had to rip out whatever was attached to these grass-things on the inside, then clean the outside of the shell, and rinse out the inside. I also had to cut up SO MUCH garlic, which I have never done before. I usually get my garlic already powdered. And I've decided I like it that way. Cutting up garlic is so unsatisfying because it is in such small pieces and takes so long. At least I knew how to cut up the onions. I was really glad I wasn't at a complete loss.
The Paella was really delicious, and it was fun eating with my family. Some people came around to visit. I guess it's normal just to travel around to different houses of friends and say hi. One family came by, and there was a girl there, maybe 4 years old, who apparently lives in Maryland! What a coincidence. I think she was back here visiting her extended relatives in Senegal. She can speak English (as well as French and Wolof) but she was super shy and wouldn't talk to me. She was really cute though. Also, it's tradition for kids to go around, kind of like we do on Halloween, except they get money instead of candy. There was only one group of girls that came to our house, but I think it's also more based on houses of people you know, not only peoples whose porchlights are on.
I met up that night with Ryan and Rodline. We thought things might be really popping because it was Korité. Things were, but I think people were more into house parties rather than going out to dance/etc. So it ended up being a pretty uneventful night.
Monday apparently was ALSO Korité, but for the Murids. The Tiyaanna brotherhood celebrated on one day, and the Murids the day after. But Senegalese are very sharing in celebrating holidays. A lot of Catholics here will join in celebrating Korité, and Muslims might celebrate Christmas, etc, if they have extended family members/friends who are the different religion.
I hung out with Ryan, Allison, and Rodline Monday afternoon. We met up at My Shoppe and then walked to this place called Caesar's. On the way, we walked past Ryan's family. Which was funny, because Ryan had just received some really big news from them. That day, her host mom insisted on going over and seeing the "neighbors". She'd been talking about that for a while and so they finally did. They went next door, and Ryan was introduced to a bunch of people, including a woman who apparently is "the second wife of Papa". Ryan was floored by this news, especially because no one had mentioned this before, and her host mom had clearly been calling these people "neighbors" not "the extention of our polygamist family". So that was quite news.
So anyway, the reason I am glad Korité is over: I am noticing that Aziz is having a lot more friends over. They are listening to music all the time and having fun. It is good to meet other Senegalese. Also, I watched some tv with my host mom last night, and it was a video of a performance of a Senegalese drum group. It was so incredible to watch. I had a great time with my host mom. At one point we were talking about dancing, and how I can't, and she got up and showed me some Senegalese dance. She was really animated and it was really fun. So in general now, there is a lot more music and a lot more fun. So thankful for Korité.
And also, congratulations to you, reader, for making it through this insanely long entry.
Anyway, I guess I should backtrack and tell about the few days before the end of Ramadan. Thursday I had Wolof class at 4. The teacher we had this time was HILARIOUS. He is a little skinny man, who used to teach wolof to peace corps volunteers. He was also married to a peace corps volunteer, whose last name was Smith. But they are divorced now. Apparently some of his past students have called him "Twiggy" because he really is as thin as a twig. It was a great and interesting class.
After class, all of my group went to My Shoppe, which is kind of a convenience store with two fast-food places attached. André, our advisor from Wells College, was leaving that night, so we met there to eat pizza and say goodbye. We also bought a bottle of wine, plus little cups. It was really funny that you could just sit at tables inside a store and drink a bottle of wine. We sat around and talked for a while. André had also invited a former student of his, who is now living in Dakar with her Senegalese bf, to come talk with us. We asked her some questions and she told us some things about living here. Aziz also joined us later and joined the chatting. André had to leave to catch his flight. But we stayed at my shoppe, and continued talking. We bought another bottle of wine, and some fruit juice and made impromtu sangria. We stayed there for a few more hours. We met these two other random Americans, from a different program. One was pretty nice. The other was basically an a**hole (there is really no other way to describe him). He was kind of acting ignorant towards Senegalese there, and just had a jerkish attitude overall and towards girls. He finally left, and we left soon after. Rodline, Aziz and I decided to go to this place called "L'endroit" which is on the way home, and which the nicer American boy had mentioned. After dropping his friend off, he came and joined us there. It was a nice place, kind of like a lounge, although unfortunatley kind of smoky. We stayed there until close, and then went home.
Friday, we had no classes so we met up at WARC. Then we decided to do something exciting, and we ended up going to the French Insitute, which is in downtown Dakar. Although getting there was quite the adventure. We took a taxi, but the driver I believe couldn't speak French even, except for some amounts. He asked for 2,000 Francs, ($4) but we said no, 1,800. He responded no, 2,000. Then we started to walk away and he said, ok 1,500. So we got in. Then he started driving, and he said, ok you're going to pay me 2,000. And we were like, no we agreed to 1,500. Finally we got that figured out. But then I don't think he actually knew where he was going. So he turned in the wrong direction. Then he stopped the car, got out and asked someone on the street for directions. We finally got headed in the right direction, and then got caught in traffic. We sat in that airconditionless cab for over 1 hour. And got hasseled by people who were walking inbetween the cars selling things. We couldn't roll our windows up because we might have suffocated from the heat in there. There were also Murids (one of the Muslim brotherhoods) who were going around asking for money. There was one in particular that followed our cab for a bit.
But we finally made it to the French institute. It was kind of nice there. We went to the restaurant, and ordered some drinks and a plate of fries. I think Senegalese people think it's weird that we order just a plate of fries pretty much every time we go out. But it was really good. Randomly, while we were sitting there a very portly Senegalese man in suspenders came up to us. He asked us if we were American, and we said yes. He started talking to us about how learning language is really important, and he knows French and German, as well as English, plus of course his native tongue (Wolof?). And he was talking about how Switzerland is really cool, because there are multiple languages there, and he used to work for Swiss Air. And then he invited all of us to his house. He said he lives all by himself in a really big house, a little bit outside of Dakar. He said we should come there and and he will fix us bbq chicken. It was a really bizarre experience. I'm not sure if he was just exhibiting Senegalese hospitality, or if he was thinking he could ensnare american girls with bbq chicken (a phrase he repeated a lot) and trap us at the huge house in which he lives all by himself. Weird. He gave us his number and we told him we might call. Ha. We stayed at teh F.I. for a while after that. Most of the stuff was closed, since we got there so late. So we wondered around and then just went home.
We decided to meet up that night after dinner. So we met at MyShoppe which is a good meeting location, plus a chance to chill for a bit before going out. Aziz came with us to My Shoppe, but then he went home when we decided to go somewhere and dance, because it was still Ramadan. We decided to go somewhere that we had seen in Allison's guidebook, but we couldn't find it, so we ended up going back to Just4U. There were still a lot of European/American people there but oh well. The band was pretty good. And at one point, Allison and I decided to get up and dance. No one was dancing except for this random Senegalese man. But we didn't really care, all we've wanted to do was dance. I think everyone else was just laughing at us, but whatever. At the end of the song we sat back down. Then later Allison, Rodline, Ryan and I all decided to get up and dance. Bobby stayed at our table. Again, everyone there was probably laughing at us. The Senegalese man there who was dancing, however danced with us, and at one point he took me, and then Rodline to dance something that was kind of Salsa-ish steps. I managed keep up somewhat. Yeah.
When I came home that night, both my host mom and Aziz were still up. They just normally stay up late. I talked to both of them and told them how we danced. They just laughed. It was such a fun day.
Saturday was a lazy day. I slept in for a while and didn't do much. Then later in the afternoon, Aziz and I met up with Ryan at My Shoppe. We decided to walk around and try to find some nice places to go out. We saw this one Moroccan restaurant which looked nice. Then also a place called "Thiossane" which is owned by a famous Senegalese singer, Youssou N'Dour. Unfortunatley it is currently completly gutted, and in the process of being redone. Hopefully it will be finished before we leave, because we were able to go inside and see, and it looks like a really sweet place. We also went to a place called "Melissa new look" which was a lounge/dance club. So it was a pretty successful day discovering things.
We went home, and no one really went out that night. I did hear the sound that meant Korité (the celebration ending Ramadan) would be the next day, Sunday. And I was really excited and so was Aziz. Apparently, the exact day for Korité is decided on whether the head Muslim guy in Sengal can actually see the moon. So if it had been really cloudy, we would of had one more day of Ramadan.
The next day was really fun. I just stayed at home. My host mom made Paella (a spanish dish) to celebrate Korité. I helped out a little bit. She kept asking me if I knew the different foods. I found it hard to explain that, Yes, I do know what that food is, and I know it's delicious, but I haven't the slightest idea about how to prepare it. (And I know during this section, my dad is going to shake his head and make a mental list of all the food he's going to make me fix when I get home.) She gave me mussels, and I thought, the only time I've seen these is when they are already steamed and ready to eat. All I have to do is open them up, pop them out and munch. But this day I had to rip out whatever was attached to these grass-things on the inside, then clean the outside of the shell, and rinse out the inside. I also had to cut up SO MUCH garlic, which I have never done before. I usually get my garlic already powdered. And I've decided I like it that way. Cutting up garlic is so unsatisfying because it is in such small pieces and takes so long. At least I knew how to cut up the onions. I was really glad I wasn't at a complete loss.
The Paella was really delicious, and it was fun eating with my family. Some people came around to visit. I guess it's normal just to travel around to different houses of friends and say hi. One family came by, and there was a girl there, maybe 4 years old, who apparently lives in Maryland! What a coincidence. I think she was back here visiting her extended relatives in Senegal. She can speak English (as well as French and Wolof) but she was super shy and wouldn't talk to me. She was really cute though. Also, it's tradition for kids to go around, kind of like we do on Halloween, except they get money instead of candy. There was only one group of girls that came to our house, but I think it's also more based on houses of people you know, not only peoples whose porchlights are on.
I met up that night with Ryan and Rodline. We thought things might be really popping because it was Korité. Things were, but I think people were more into house parties rather than going out to dance/etc. So it ended up being a pretty uneventful night.
Monday apparently was ALSO Korité, but for the Murids. The Tiyaanna brotherhood celebrated on one day, and the Murids the day after. But Senegalese are very sharing in celebrating holidays. A lot of Catholics here will join in celebrating Korité, and Muslims might celebrate Christmas, etc, if they have extended family members/friends who are the different religion.
I hung out with Ryan, Allison, and Rodline Monday afternoon. We met up at My Shoppe and then walked to this place called Caesar's. On the way, we walked past Ryan's family. Which was funny, because Ryan had just received some really big news from them. That day, her host mom insisted on going over and seeing the "neighbors". She'd been talking about that for a while and so they finally did. They went next door, and Ryan was introduced to a bunch of people, including a woman who apparently is "the second wife of Papa". Ryan was floored by this news, especially because no one had mentioned this before, and her host mom had clearly been calling these people "neighbors" not "the extention of our polygamist family". So that was quite news.
So anyway, the reason I am glad Korité is over: I am noticing that Aziz is having a lot more friends over. They are listening to music all the time and having fun. It is good to meet other Senegalese. Also, I watched some tv with my host mom last night, and it was a video of a performance of a Senegalese drum group. It was so incredible to watch. I had a great time with my host mom. At one point we were talking about dancing, and how I can't, and she got up and showed me some Senegalese dance. She was really animated and it was really fun. So in general now, there is a lot more music and a lot more fun. So thankful for Korité.
And also, congratulations to you, reader, for making it through this insanely long entry.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
So my class schedule got even better. Now I don't have classes on Tuesday or Friday. and Monday and Wednesday, my classes don't start until four. The only terrible day is Wednesday, when I have two three-hour classes, starting at 12. So we'll see how it goes.
Anyway, I forgot to mention that by host brother, Aziz, gave me an "Senegalese" name the first day, Fatima. It's arabic, and the name of one of the Prophet's wives? daughters? I forget. Apparently though, it is also a Portugese name, and used by catholics in Sengal. Most importantly though, it was the name of Aziz's grandmother, and that is why he chose it.
So tuesday, when I don't have any classes, Aziz and I decided to go to the zoo. It was awesome that for the both of us, a taxi ride there and back, plus entry cost just over $5. I took a lot of pictures and Aziz took some video with my camera. He was really excited about my video camera because he is studying graphic design and would love to one day do something with films, etc. I loved all the monkey's there, and asked Aziz if I could keep one for a pet. He just laughed at me. I think the little ones are really cute, and I really would love to have a monkey that I could sit on my shoulder (I'm weird, I know). But the one I found most interesting was the chimpanzee. This is the closest I've ever been to a chimp, as at the zoo in the states, there is tons of fencing and space between you and the animals. But here, if the chimpanzee reached out, I could reach and touch his hand. I took a drink of water in front of him, and the chimp reached out and demanded the bottle. Aziz told me it was a terrible idea to give him the water bottle because if you do he will just squirt you with water. So I put that back in my bag. Then the chimp reached over to a bush and pulled off a branch. Then he reached out to give it to me. I took it. Then I took another branch off of the bush and gave it to him. He took it, at a leaf off, and gave it back! It was so cool, this interaction. The most awesome part though was when I took the branch, then tore a leaf off and pretended to eat it, but really just cupped it in my hand. Then I handed the branch back to the chimp. Instead of taking the branch, though, the chimp reached for my hand and uncupped it as if to say, "I'm not dumb, I know you didn't eat that, it's right there!" So cool.
So the point of this story is that I've decided to change my plans and do a Jane Goodall, go to Africa and just play with chimps all the time. lol. jk.
Other than that, not much going on. I started classes. I've had one wolof class, and I'm about to have my second. I had History of Islam class yesterday as well as African Literature. Both very interesting, but it was hard to focus for three hours each, and entirely in French.
I am SO ready for Ramadan to be over. I'm not even the one fasting every day, but I will be glad when it's done (next Sunday is the last day of fasting). I think people here will be way happier, because they won't be hungy all the time. Plus there will be way more music, and way more people going out at night. Plus, Aziz will be able to go out and show us the good places, etc. And hopefully I will finally meet more Senegalese people. So far, no such luck. It kind of sucks because I am taking classes entirely with Americans, and all of the West African Reasearch Center is just crawling with Americans. Which is fine, just not the point of studying abroad. Oh well. But then again, it's only been a week. I still can't get over that. It seems way longer. And I have so much more time here. Yay!
Peace.
Anyway, I forgot to mention that by host brother, Aziz, gave me an "Senegalese" name the first day, Fatima. It's arabic, and the name of one of the Prophet's wives? daughters? I forget. Apparently though, it is also a Portugese name, and used by catholics in Sengal. Most importantly though, it was the name of Aziz's grandmother, and that is why he chose it.
So tuesday, when I don't have any classes, Aziz and I decided to go to the zoo. It was awesome that for the both of us, a taxi ride there and back, plus entry cost just over $5. I took a lot of pictures and Aziz took some video with my camera. He was really excited about my video camera because he is studying graphic design and would love to one day do something with films, etc. I loved all the monkey's there, and asked Aziz if I could keep one for a pet. He just laughed at me. I think the little ones are really cute, and I really would love to have a monkey that I could sit on my shoulder (I'm weird, I know). But the one I found most interesting was the chimpanzee. This is the closest I've ever been to a chimp, as at the zoo in the states, there is tons of fencing and space between you and the animals. But here, if the chimpanzee reached out, I could reach and touch his hand. I took a drink of water in front of him, and the chimp reached out and demanded the bottle. Aziz told me it was a terrible idea to give him the water bottle because if you do he will just squirt you with water. So I put that back in my bag. Then the chimp reached over to a bush and pulled off a branch. Then he reached out to give it to me. I took it. Then I took another branch off of the bush and gave it to him. He took it, at a leaf off, and gave it back! It was so cool, this interaction. The most awesome part though was when I took the branch, then tore a leaf off and pretended to eat it, but really just cupped it in my hand. Then I handed the branch back to the chimp. Instead of taking the branch, though, the chimp reached for my hand and uncupped it as if to say, "I'm not dumb, I know you didn't eat that, it's right there!" So cool.
So the point of this story is that I've decided to change my plans and do a Jane Goodall, go to Africa and just play with chimps all the time. lol. jk.
Other than that, not much going on. I started classes. I've had one wolof class, and I'm about to have my second. I had History of Islam class yesterday as well as African Literature. Both very interesting, but it was hard to focus for three hours each, and entirely in French.
I am SO ready for Ramadan to be over. I'm not even the one fasting every day, but I will be glad when it's done (next Sunday is the last day of fasting). I think people here will be way happier, because they won't be hungy all the time. Plus there will be way more music, and way more people going out at night. Plus, Aziz will be able to go out and show us the good places, etc. And hopefully I will finally meet more Senegalese people. So far, no such luck. It kind of sucks because I am taking classes entirely with Americans, and all of the West African Reasearch Center is just crawling with Americans. Which is fine, just not the point of studying abroad. Oh well. But then again, it's only been a week. I still can't get over that. It seems way longer. And I have so much more time here. Yay!
Peace.
Monday, September 14, 2009
classes
Okay, so this is my second post of the day. but I have to fit them all in due to my lack of computer time.
So I signed up for classes today, I am taking Wolof (the local language), History of Islam (which will help tons with my Bachelor's essay), African literature, and also Arabic. All of my classes are taught in French. I had my first class, Wolof, this morning. It was interesting, learning an additional language while also speaking in French. There is very little english involved. But I know I will be AWESOME at French when I get back (I hope). And the teacher for my African lit class seems awesome. He promises we will discuss everything from Sociology to Political Science and beyond in regards to the literature. And again, this will all be in French, which might be a challenge, haha! My arabic course is more of an independent study, I am the only one taking it, and i get to design my own course. I think it will be really good.
Of course the most awesome part is that my classes start at 12pm monday and wednesday, then not until 330 on Tuesday and Thursday, and NO CLASSES ON FRIDAY! yay, that's awesome.
I'm so happy about all that. And I'm so ready to jump into all of my classes. wOOt.
So I signed up for classes today, I am taking Wolof (the local language), History of Islam (which will help tons with my Bachelor's essay), African literature, and also Arabic. All of my classes are taught in French. I had my first class, Wolof, this morning. It was interesting, learning an additional language while also speaking in French. There is very little english involved. But I know I will be AWESOME at French when I get back (I hope). And the teacher for my African lit class seems awesome. He promises we will discuss everything from Sociology to Political Science and beyond in regards to the literature. And again, this will all be in French, which might be a challenge, haha! My arabic course is more of an independent study, I am the only one taking it, and i get to design my own course. I think it will be really good.
Of course the most awesome part is that my classes start at 12pm monday and wednesday, then not until 330 on Tuesday and Thursday, and NO CLASSES ON FRIDAY! yay, that's awesome.
I'm so happy about all that. And I'm so ready to jump into all of my classes. wOOt.
Wow! So much to write about! We've been here for less than a week but it seems WAY longer than that.
Thursday we went to the bank to change money then to the Nokia store to get phones, then to ORANGE to get a Sim card. Finally, we got to meet our families. I first saw my host brother, Aziz, who is absolutely wonderful. He will be 21 in october, and is starting his first year at the university (the is due to being in Koranic school 4-8 yrs, before starting regular school). He speaks really good English and I am helping him get a little better. Also he is helping with my French. I speak French with my host mother, who doesn't speak English. She is really nice and love talking a lot. We have good coversations although sometimes communication is difficult when I can't think of the word in French.
The house is nice, but a little small. My room has a double bed and that takes up almost all of the room. I don't have any closets or dressers. Only a night stand with three drawers. But I have organized my suitcases so that I can access my clothes easily, and I have my non-clothes item in my last suitcase, plus my nightstand. The other thing is that there is no hot water for showers. Although, I think it will be okay because I've decided just to take showers in the evening or at night so I will be really hot and the cold water will feel really good! It gets really hot and there isn't much ventilation, but my host mom says that she will get me a fan for my room soon, and that will be so perfect.
Trying to find my way around is sometimes difficult, because the streets don't exactly have names. A few main roads are names, but other than that directions are all by landmarks! I'm sure by the end of the program though, I'll be a pro at navigating Dakar. My walk to school is about 45 minutes, although I may decide to take the bus from time to time. It's really humid so I get really sweaty. It's not that terrible though.
Aziz and I have been spending a lot of time together, he is so cool to be around. He also knows pretty much EVERYONE. One thing about Senegal is that everyone is really friendly, and you can easily offend someone (who you have met before) by not greeting them. Also when you enter a shop or a home you are supposed to greet everyone. I am kind of worried that since I am so shy, that I won't greet people enough, or they might think I don't like them or that I am kind of a jerk. But I'm wokring on it. Also, I don't speak Wolof (the local language) so that is hard too. Although I do start my first Wolof class at 12 today! Aziz has shown me around the city, and also shown me some of his music and movies. He's such a really interesting and nice guy. One of the girls in my program is already in love with him, because he has hung out with us a few times. (But to me he feels like a really awesome brother.) He's so nice to eveyone, and is a really upstanding guy. He is muslam, and very devout. Unfortunately, that means that during the month of Ramadan he can't eat with us during the day (although he didn't mind watching us eat one day) but he can't go out with us at all at night. So after Ramadan, there will be a lot more partying in Dakar, and Aziz can go out with my group!
In Dakar there are a lot of tabilé which are children begging on the street. The name comes from the arabic meaning student. Typically the students of marabouts (Muslim teachers) are required to beg as part of their training. Begging is not considered demeaning in Muslim culture, and it is considered a good thing to give what you can to beggars. But the talibé here, I belive are begging to actually survive, not as part of a training process. Then can be as young as 4 years or so. Aziz knows a group of tabilé that are usually around Sacré Cœur (where we live) and often he will invite them in for a drink of water, or to sit in the shade, and eat a little bit. It's sad to see the children starving and there are so many!
Friday my group and I went to Goreé Island, which is right by Dakar. (I will upload pictures when I have the chance) This is a very historical island, especially from the Slavey era. Millions of slaves from West Africa went through Goreé. We visited the slave house there, and the conditions there were of course appalling. We also went to a museum of African women, which was interesting. We went up the top of the island, where there was some artillary left over from French imperialism.
Goreé Island, and Dakar itself are absolutely beautiful. I am basically surrounded by the ocean (Dakar sticks out into the Atlantic). There are beautiful beaches and also sharp cliffs that plunge into the water. I really could be content living here. It's gorgeous.
The only thing I really can't deal with is shopping. When you walk in market areas, eveyone approaches you and demands that you buy their products. This happened in Cameroon too and I am really not a fan. I hate being watched when I shop, even in the US and I hate the pressure of shopping here. I just want people to leave me alone and I will buy something if I see it and like it! AHHHHHH! And at one point a man approached my group and I and he gave us necklaces. No one actually took them, he just kind of laid them on our arms or draped them on our book. He insisted that they were gifts. Then when we got in the taxi, he came over and demanded that we pay him for the necklaces. So we just gave them back and he looked really angry. The next day we were traveling around Dakar, and at one beach I happened to be talking to a Senegalese man. He owned a shop nearby and really did give me a necklace as a gift. He didn't demand money but he wants me to come back to his shop and buy something. I might, though, because he was really nice and not pushy at all. And I REALLY appreciated that.
Oh, and I did meet one guy at Goreé Island. He was wearing a Che Guevera tshirt (and I was wearing my Che Guevera necklace) I saw him on the beach, and then later when my group got on the ferry, he was on the same one so he came over and talked to me. He was really nice. He actually lives in Goreé which I think is really cool.
Saturday was Rodline's birthday (she is one of the girls in my group. We went out to dinner at Les ambassades, which was kind of like a diner. Our teacher from Wells was the one who organized the dinner, and ended up paying for us which was really nice. Aziz came with us as well. It was really fun and everyone laughed a lot. Our waiter was also really funny. We wanted to go out afterwords for drinks, so Aziz asked the waiter for a good club nearby.
We ended up going to Just 4 U, which is a famous club in Dakar. Aziz walked us there, but of course didn't stay with us because of Ramadan. We chilled for a while and talked and drank. It was a kind of expensive place, though. After a while a jazz band started, which was fun. Towards the end of the night some people from another table came over to talk to us. They were really nice. One was from New Zealand, another from America, and the third was Senegalese. We talked for a while and exchanged numbers, so maybe we will hang out. Although, of course I am excited about meeting more Senegalese rather than westerners. That is mostly the point studying abroad; not spending all my time with americans. I really like eveyone in my group, and i hope well will continue to hang out but also meet tons of cool Senegalese at the same time. I also think that after Ramadan, people will be out more, so it will be good.
Anyway, we took a taxi home, which is the safest way at night. Three of us that live kind of close shared a taxi and had the driver drop us off at different stops. So that worked at well. It cost us about 600 francs each (a little over a dollar).
So these are my Senegalese adventures for now, I'm sure I'll have plenty more to share.
The only thing that sucks is that my computer decided this was the perfect time to die on me. So I must use the school computers. I am hoping to have my parents send an old laptop for me to use this semester. Ugh. But for now, no laptop for me. oh well. so i will be on when I can to update.
Peace.
Thursday we went to the bank to change money then to the Nokia store to get phones, then to ORANGE to get a Sim card. Finally, we got to meet our families. I first saw my host brother, Aziz, who is absolutely wonderful. He will be 21 in october, and is starting his first year at the university (the is due to being in Koranic school 4-8 yrs, before starting regular school). He speaks really good English and I am helping him get a little better. Also he is helping with my French. I speak French with my host mother, who doesn't speak English. She is really nice and love talking a lot. We have good coversations although sometimes communication is difficult when I can't think of the word in French.
The house is nice, but a little small. My room has a double bed and that takes up almost all of the room. I don't have any closets or dressers. Only a night stand with three drawers. But I have organized my suitcases so that I can access my clothes easily, and I have my non-clothes item in my last suitcase, plus my nightstand. The other thing is that there is no hot water for showers. Although, I think it will be okay because I've decided just to take showers in the evening or at night so I will be really hot and the cold water will feel really good! It gets really hot and there isn't much ventilation, but my host mom says that she will get me a fan for my room soon, and that will be so perfect.
Trying to find my way around is sometimes difficult, because the streets don't exactly have names. A few main roads are names, but other than that directions are all by landmarks! I'm sure by the end of the program though, I'll be a pro at navigating Dakar. My walk to school is about 45 minutes, although I may decide to take the bus from time to time. It's really humid so I get really sweaty. It's not that terrible though.
Aziz and I have been spending a lot of time together, he is so cool to be around. He also knows pretty much EVERYONE. One thing about Senegal is that everyone is really friendly, and you can easily offend someone (who you have met before) by not greeting them. Also when you enter a shop or a home you are supposed to greet everyone. I am kind of worried that since I am so shy, that I won't greet people enough, or they might think I don't like them or that I am kind of a jerk. But I'm wokring on it. Also, I don't speak Wolof (the local language) so that is hard too. Although I do start my first Wolof class at 12 today! Aziz has shown me around the city, and also shown me some of his music and movies. He's such a really interesting and nice guy. One of the girls in my program is already in love with him, because he has hung out with us a few times. (But to me he feels like a really awesome brother.) He's so nice to eveyone, and is a really upstanding guy. He is muslam, and very devout. Unfortunately, that means that during the month of Ramadan he can't eat with us during the day (although he didn't mind watching us eat one day) but he can't go out with us at all at night. So after Ramadan, there will be a lot more partying in Dakar, and Aziz can go out with my group!
In Dakar there are a lot of tabilé which are children begging on the street. The name comes from the arabic meaning student. Typically the students of marabouts (Muslim teachers) are required to beg as part of their training. Begging is not considered demeaning in Muslim culture, and it is considered a good thing to give what you can to beggars. But the talibé here, I belive are begging to actually survive, not as part of a training process. Then can be as young as 4 years or so. Aziz knows a group of tabilé that are usually around Sacré Cœur (where we live) and often he will invite them in for a drink of water, or to sit in the shade, and eat a little bit. It's sad to see the children starving and there are so many!
Friday my group and I went to Goreé Island, which is right by Dakar. (I will upload pictures when I have the chance) This is a very historical island, especially from the Slavey era. Millions of slaves from West Africa went through Goreé. We visited the slave house there, and the conditions there were of course appalling. We also went to a museum of African women, which was interesting. We went up the top of the island, where there was some artillary left over from French imperialism.
Goreé Island, and Dakar itself are absolutely beautiful. I am basically surrounded by the ocean (Dakar sticks out into the Atlantic). There are beautiful beaches and also sharp cliffs that plunge into the water. I really could be content living here. It's gorgeous.
The only thing I really can't deal with is shopping. When you walk in market areas, eveyone approaches you and demands that you buy their products. This happened in Cameroon too and I am really not a fan. I hate being watched when I shop, even in the US and I hate the pressure of shopping here. I just want people to leave me alone and I will buy something if I see it and like it! AHHHHHH! And at one point a man approached my group and I and he gave us necklaces. No one actually took them, he just kind of laid them on our arms or draped them on our book. He insisted that they were gifts. Then when we got in the taxi, he came over and demanded that we pay him for the necklaces. So we just gave them back and he looked really angry. The next day we were traveling around Dakar, and at one beach I happened to be talking to a Senegalese man. He owned a shop nearby and really did give me a necklace as a gift. He didn't demand money but he wants me to come back to his shop and buy something. I might, though, because he was really nice and not pushy at all. And I REALLY appreciated that.
Oh, and I did meet one guy at Goreé Island. He was wearing a Che Guevera tshirt (and I was wearing my Che Guevera necklace) I saw him on the beach, and then later when my group got on the ferry, he was on the same one so he came over and talked to me. He was really nice. He actually lives in Goreé which I think is really cool.
Saturday was Rodline's birthday (she is one of the girls in my group. We went out to dinner at Les ambassades, which was kind of like a diner. Our teacher from Wells was the one who organized the dinner, and ended up paying for us which was really nice. Aziz came with us as well. It was really fun and everyone laughed a lot. Our waiter was also really funny. We wanted to go out afterwords for drinks, so Aziz asked the waiter for a good club nearby.
We ended up going to Just 4 U, which is a famous club in Dakar. Aziz walked us there, but of course didn't stay with us because of Ramadan. We chilled for a while and talked and drank. It was a kind of expensive place, though. After a while a jazz band started, which was fun. Towards the end of the night some people from another table came over to talk to us. They were really nice. One was from New Zealand, another from America, and the third was Senegalese. We talked for a while and exchanged numbers, so maybe we will hang out. Although, of course I am excited about meeting more Senegalese rather than westerners. That is mostly the point studying abroad; not spending all my time with americans. I really like eveyone in my group, and i hope well will continue to hang out but also meet tons of cool Senegalese at the same time. I also think that after Ramadan, people will be out more, so it will be good.
Anyway, we took a taxi home, which is the safest way at night. Three of us that live kind of close shared a taxi and had the driver drop us off at different stops. So that worked at well. It cost us about 600 francs each (a little over a dollar).
So these are my Senegalese adventures for now, I'm sure I'll have plenty more to share.
The only thing that sucks is that my computer decided this was the perfect time to die on me. So I must use the school computers. I am hoping to have my parents send an old laptop for me to use this semester. Ugh. But for now, no laptop for me. oh well. so i will be on when I can to update.
Peace.
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