Dafa tang jër ci Senegal!
(Its too/so hot in Senegal)
Senegal is the first place I experienced leg sweat, I
didn’t know that was a thing.
My legs were literally dripped sweat, and all I
was doing was standing on a bus.
It’s really hot, all the time – with little to
no escape from the heat.
#StillBetterThanSnow #IdRatherMeltThanFreeze
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| The Cornish at sunset, about 1.5km from my house |
Transportation à Dakar
One of the first things I noticed about Dakar was the abundance and assortment of shared transportation options! We were all advised to take taxis, which are what you would image: yellow and black, clearly marked cars that drive around and take you from point A to point B. However, they are relatively expensive when compared to other forms of transport and especially when you are on a budget. They range from 500cfa (if you can get the good price) to 3,000cfa ($1- $6) depending on the distance and time of day, and if its raining or not. They told us this would be the safest. But lets be real, only risk takers have fun!
The government owned public transportation is called “Dakar Dem Dikk” – meaning in Wolof –
Dakar go and return/come back. They are one solid color, usually greenish and
off-white and have a large number and location displayed on a digital sign on
the front and back of them. I don’t know the maximum price you can pay on one
of these, but prices start at 100cfa and I would imagine no more than 300cfa
(20 cents-60 cents).
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| Dakar Dem Dikk |
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| Ticket for DDD |
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| Tatas |
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| Ticket for the tatas |
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| Kar Rapid |
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| Ndiaga-ndiaye |
Clandos, short for
clandestine, are privately owned and unmarked cars in certain neighborhoods
that are more-or-less like shared taxis. Sometimes they depart from a “clando
park” to a certain destination and wait to fill up before they leave, other
times you just wait on the side of the street for one to pass by and jump in.
These are not found in every neighborhood and I’m still trying to understand
where I can and cannot find them.
-The good: There are designated routes for these modes
of transportation, for the most part.
-The bad: There are no flyers or pamphlets or an online
website you can look at to learn or check the routes – you just ask people.
-The ugly: I’ve gotten on the wrong Dakar dem dikk and
when I realized it was going the wrong way, I pretty much jumped off while it
was still moving because I didn’t want to go on the highway. But it wasn’t
going too fast, don’t worry.
Këru Seck (The Seck House)
I have been with my host family for nearly three weeks
and have loved every moment of it. I am living in near the ‘deuxième port de
Mermoz” with a large family bearing the last name Seck. I will explain the significance of this last name (and
others) in another post. Cousinage is of the
utmost importance here in Senegal. You’re name is everything.
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| Mag, Nox, Samba and a neighborhood friend. |
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| The bracelet on the top was my welcoming gift from the kids when I first arrived. |
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| Worn out after playing all afternoon |
As with most African families, the extended family is
treated as the nuclear family and deciphering between who is a cousin and who
is a brother is not only difficult but also unnecessary as they are one in the
same. Those living in the two story house include my host mom (aka yaay) and dad (aka pappa or baay), their son
Cheikh, his wife Jorr their two daughters Nox and Mag (pretty sure these are
nick-names), a daughter Bijoux and her son Samba who are just on vacation for a
month from Italy where they live and Amadou a grandson who is a couple years
younger than me and on vacation from school. There is also a live-in domestic
helper named Haddi – I’m not sure if she is related or not to the family but
she is here all the time and usually does most of the cleaning and cooking. She
looks about my age but probably younger.
As expected, my family is Muslim (94% of Senegalese of
Muslim) and they are wonderful! Whenever I’m here, Papa goes to pray at the
mosque 5 times a day while yaay prays
at home. Cheikh and Jorr are both teachers and I believe Cheikh may even be a
professor.
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| Getting ready for lunch at the beach |
-The good: This family is absolutely wonderful! They
are the perfect combination of caring and interested while also making sure I
have the space I need to recharge the introvert in me. They don’t speak any
English – so it’s only French and Wolof!
-The bad: At first I was thrilled to be in a Wolof
speaking household, but now I realized that I don’t understand a thing and
unless they address me in French so it’s hard to just “hang out” and profit
from being around French.
-The ridiculous: I didn’t meet Amadou until I had lived
there for about a week – he is rarely around. One day the whole family went to
the beach and he was there, we started chatting and asked him if he lived here
in Dakar – he had this dumbfounded look on his face – which was when I realized
he lived at the same house I did I just never saw him! We laughed about it.
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| The "courtyard" in my house. It started to rain so the kids started playing in the puddles that collected. |
Lekk yu Senegalese (Senegalese
food)
I have two exceptionally fond memories of my first
time in Senegal:
The first was the food, lekk bi and the second was the tea, ataaya bi.
Like in many places, Senegal has three major meals: Ndekki (breakfast), Añ (lunch) and Réér
(dinner). Ndekki usually consists
of a hot beverage like Nescafé and a baguette with chocolate spread inside. Añ is the bigger meal of the day and is
usually served after noon, between 1-3pm. People will usually snack sometime in
the late afternoon/early evening, maybe eating left over lunch or something
else and then have their final meal, réér after evening prays around 9pm but
sometimes as late as 10pm.
Traditionally, everyone eats with their hands (right
hand only!*) from the same bowl on or near the ground. The “mother” or the
person who cooked the meal or the women “in charge” has a big responsibility to
make sure the bowl does spin/move (she does this by placing her pointer finger
of her left hand on the bowl so it doesn’t move), and that everyone’s eating
space is kept full of food (you only eat what is in front of you, don’t dig
into other people’s spaces). Often times the meat/chicken/fish is located in
the center of the bowl and the woman in charge will distribute it as the meal
goes along. Its her job to make sure that everyone is full as well so even when
you are done eating and you tell them “Suur
naa!” (I'm full) they will continue to convince you to eat. “Lekkal! Lekkal!” (Eat! Eat!). Finally
when you cant take it anymore you will say “Dama
suur” which also means “I’m full” but there is more emphasis put on being
full; this is usually when they will allow you to stop eating.
Traditional dishes I’ve tried so far:
Cebu jen (The national dish of Senegal - a spicy-ish
stuffed fish simmered with vegetables – usually over rice)
Cebu ganaar (Same as above but with chicken)
Maafe (chicken or meat stew in a peanut butter sauce
with vegetables – usually over rice)
Yassa (chicken or fish marinated in lemon/lime juice
with caramelized onions – usually over rice)
Mbaxal (smoked and salted fish with groundnuts, some
form of beans and other veggies with rice)
And many other meal sauces over rice or couscous -
these may or may not have specific names, I’m not sure at the moment.
Now I just need to learn how to togg, or cook.
*The left hand is considered unholy and dirty in
Senegalese culture. It is used when going to the bathroom and never used to
give/receive things or to eat. EVER!
-The good: I haven’t tried anything I don’t like. Lepp naa lekk! (I eat everything!)
-The bad: 9pm or 10pm is super late for me to eat and I
have a really hard time digesting food after that. I always wake up with a rock
in my belly…hoping to adjust soon!
-The funny: My family usually makes the same thing for
dinner: a bit of lettuce covered in French fries and meat, chicken or
fish with a big loaf of white bread for each of us.
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| Soumbedioune: Largest fish market in Dakar |
Samay kalaas ci WARC (My classes at WARC)
My schedule here at the West African Research Center
(WARC) is packed and I feel like I’m back in high school. I go to school Monday
– Friday from 9am-4pm and have an hour-long conversation with our Senegalese
partners right after class. Except for Wednesdays, we thankfully have a
half-day. I am taking: French Grammar, Francophone African Literature, Country
Analysis and Translation and Wolof.
-The good: So much class time! Lots of ups and downs
but the classes are terrific!
-The bad: Because we have two levels of French – we
have to split the class in two so instead of having our grammar class 13 hours
a week we only have it for 7 hours a week and have “free time” in lieu of where
we were supposed to have the other classes.
-The sad: Sometimes I feel like my French is
getting worse. I am also torn every night between studying French or Wolof.
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Very important phrases that can be said nearly every
other sentence:
1. Alhamdulillah or santé yalla (Arabic/Wolof) – meaning
“Thanks to God” or “Thanks be to God”
2. Inshallah (Arabic) – meaning “God willing”
You can literally insert one of these two phrases in
just about ever sentence you make. If you are talking about the present, for
example Lekk bi neex na (The food is
great) or Jamm rekk (There is only peace)
– You insert alhamdulillah or santé yalla at the end – you can even
say this after a person says something in the present.
On the contrary, if you talk about events that haven’t
happened yet you say inshallah. For
example, Ba beneen yoon, inshallah – (See
you next time, God willing) or dinnaa
degg Wolof, inshallah - (I will
understand Wolof, God willing).
Also other good ones:
Mangiy/Yaangiy/Nungiy ci yoxo yalla! – I/You/We am/are
in the hands of God.
Yalla rekk a xam! - Only God knows
People just love when you reference Allah.
Yalla rekk a xam! - Only God knows
People just love when you reference Allah.
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Tabaski, also known as Eid al-Adha meaning "Festival
of the sacrifice", is just around the corner so I will hopefully have an
update before then. This is arguably the biggest, most celebrated and most
anticipated holiday of the year in Senegal and many Islamic countries. Think
American’s doing Christmas. It is talked about and prepared for weeks and months in advanced,
money is saved up and sheep are plentiful. Yes, sheep.
For Tabaski, all
families are to buy and slaughter a sheep to symbolize and honor the willingness
of Ibrahim to sacrifice his promised/given son (Ismail) as an act of submission
to Allah's command. In the end he didn’t sacrifice his son because his son
turned into a ram at the moment of sacrifice. The meat from the sacrificed goat
is then divided into three parts; the family keeps 1/3, another ½ is given to
friends/family and the last 1/3 is given to the poor. It’s a really beautiful
tradition and I’m exited to be here for it. Last time I was in Senegal it was
the weeks before Tabaski so I ended up celebrating in Mali with a group of
travelers.
I’ve also
finished my Senegal Bucket List for 2015-2017!! I have a lot to do in the next
17 months, lets hope I can accomplish it all! Also, it’s a working document so
if you know of anything else I should add just tell me; I’m open to ideas.
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