Mangiy ci loxo yàlla!

Mangiy ci loxo yàlla

A phrase I mentioned in my last post.

Meaning, "I am in God's hand"

Before updating everyone on my the unexpected reality of my current state, I'd like to delve into the last couple weeks of settling into Dakar, my host family and my classes. 

All of the Francophone African countries I will be able to work in once I improve my French a bit more!
This is really motivating for me - French opens a whole new world of possibilities.

La grande mosquée ver le cornish à Dakar

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A couple of weeks ago, I took a day and a half break from the bustling city of Dakar to head south along la petite cote (the little coast). I ended up in a small coastal village called Yene Gueje. Gueje is beach in Wolof. It was just a short stay here but somewhere I will hopefully be going back to often. 

If you look along the southern coast, you will find Rusfique and much further down Toubab Dialao
Yene is so small its not even on the map but it's nearly exactly half way between the two along the straight road.

For the first time I was hearing "Toubab! Toubab!" around every corner. I knew this term, as it serves as the term for "foreigner" in Senegal. One interesting thing I've found in my travels throughout Afirca is that nearly every country/region notoriously has a term for foreigners... East Africa is muzungo, Nigeria is oyibo or nsara, sometimes its just the simple white man or if you're lucky white man woman, Ghananias will call us oburoni and in Francophone Cameroon I heard la blanche. One thing I want you all to realize is this list is far from exhausted. But this term I was constantly hearing, toubab, was a token of where I had traveled to, outside of the city. The time in Yene Gueje was even more proof of why it was so imperative that I learn Wolof as many people I encountered only spoke Wolof leaving me unable to communicate. In my late afternoon search for Cafe Touba (discussed later in the post), I was directed to one family's compound. I entered with the traditional "salaam alaykoum" greeting and was given a place to sit as I waited for the coffee, they needed to brew it but insisted I waited for it. This gave me time to chat with the family and get a better idea of Yene Gueje. I was invited back for dinner but due to a wicket rainstorm I was confined to the hostile until the morning.

Dakar is crawling with toubabs so it was a nice change of pace to step outside of the capital and see Senegal through a different lens.

The path to the beach just steps from the hostel

In the distance you can see a building, the hostel was right next to it.

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After living in small town after small city after small town, the one thing I love about Dakar is there is always something to do. We have "half days" on Wednesday so my friend Issa and I took a trip down to the Plateau (centre ville) for a small art show. I had no expectations going in - but it was nice to just do something new and fun. Here are just two small pieces of the show:

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"Mermoz - 2ème Porte - en face du caz et proche de la mosquee" - these are the directions I give people, usually taxi drivers or friends, who are trying to locate where I live. Mermoz is the quartier, or neighborhood, in Dakar where I live -but its so big you have to narrow it down which is why I say 2ème porte, translating to "second door" or "second entrance". I can always get out of the cab here but if I dont feel like walking I continue to describe exactly where it is I life - across from the 'caz' which is this strange fenced in field with a random cement thing in the middle. And in case they dont know that land marker, I tell them the mosque, because every one knows the mosque.

My terrace - the 'roof' of my house and right near my bedroom

2ème port, Mermoz, my new home.

For the first couple of weeks I would spend my evenings taking short walks in different directions around my quartier trying to get my barrings down and learn some short cuts. I found the closest cafe touba** provider, someone who sells vegetables, another woman just a few houses down who makes the most delicious variety of juices, bottling them in different sizes to buy from 25cfa to 1,000cfa (5 cents to 2$). I've become familiar with neighbors and greet them everyday when I pass. I have had many attaaya* lessons offered and will likely take them up on the offer. I've also discovered a short cut directly to the VPN, another major street I live by which now saves me over 30min of walking. I take the kar rapids every day, I've been learning the varies routes of the tatas and have taken more ndiaga ndiayes around the city. I'm feeling improvement with my Wolof as I've learned about "contractions" which is how nearly everyone speaks. I always start my conversations in Wolof and switch to French when I cant go any further. The teranga*** I've heard so much about has become palpable.

*Cafe Touba = a spiced coffee drink flavored with grains of selim (a Guinea pepper which is made from the dried fruit of Xylopia aethiopica and known as djar in Wolof) and sometimes cloves. The addition of djar is the most important factor differentiating this coffee from regular/plain coffee. This imported spice and others are mixed and roasted with coffee beans, then ground into powder. It's then prepared like drip coffee and served throughout the day at nearly every corner shop and by young men carrying a large container of it and walking on the streets. Usually mixed with lots of sugar and the only coffee I drink without milk! Its delightful!!

**Attaaya = in my opinion, this is the cornerstone of Senegalese culture and the essence of terange. People can and do simply, and with great pleasure, pass the entire day with their friends and family doing nothing but drinking attaaya and spending time together. Traditionally, there are three servings: The first, is a little bitter and quite strong, the second is sweeter and mint is added while the third is very sweet but isnt not very strong because the same green tea leaves are used to prepare all three servings. This is a guaranteed way to bring people together and just enjoy the company of one another. In the US, we always have to be "doing something" - going out to a bar, or drinking or getting ready to go out and do something. Here in Senegal, on the contrary, the slow preparation and serving of attaya is enough as it is an art for of its own. I hope to write more about this process in the future once I become a master attaaya maker.

***Terange = literally means hospitality in Wolof. Here, hospitality is more than an art and culture - it's a way of life. If you pass by someone's house and they are preparing to eat, you know you will be invited in. Teranga is a beautiful combination of acceptance, friendship, tolerance and tradition.

Making ataaya on the beach in Yoff

Yoff beach as a storm rolls in

Jorr showing off her card tricks.

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Last week Thursday my host sister Bijeux and her son Samba went back to Italy where they have been living and working for years. It was Samba's vacation and they were back for about 2 1/2 months. As a little token of of my appreciation for them and as a small send off gift, toggaloon naa sama waakër ndekki bu amerik (I cooked my family an 'American breakfast') comprised of French toast with honey and scrambled eggs with veggies and spiced sausage. They loved it (or at least thats what they said).

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I'm already knocking off items from my bucket list. Went to see Cheikh Lo in celebration of his 60th birthday with a couple of friends on Saturday night! Check out this interesting interview with him here. (FYI it's in French but you can google translate it if you want)

Really blurry, but this is what an iPhone 4 gets you.

This is his new hit, Degg Gui LIVE!:

Here is the official music video:

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Senegal, where greetings and salutations last longer 

and are more important than the actual conversation.

A place where you ask how someone's family is even if you don't know them.

 In just about 5 weeks, I settled in wonderfully without hardly any road blocks.

My fondness for Senegal and Dakar came quickly,

almost as swiftly as I left. 

 

This 'honeymoon' and seemingly love-struck state I was in ended within seconds as I was faced with the reality of my health. I've been suffering from chronic back pain since the New Year, with weeks/days of relief but the pain always came back. The last three weeks in Senegal have been nearly impossible to enjoy as every movement hurt and it was a struggle just to get up in the morning. After receiving the results of my MRI, I was medically evacuated to Paris and I'm currently at the American Hospital of Paris. But fear not, I am in high spirits, thanks to family and friends who have been beyond supportive and I have a wonderful team of doctors (neurologists, internists, neurosurgeons, rheumatologists, infectious disease specialists, etc) who are getting to the bottom of it! Additionally, on the bright side, I'm in Paris (never been here before!), I'm speaking French with all the nurses and listening to French news all day long. The food is great and everyone is really sweet. Send some positive vibes my way, hoping this passes quickly.

Was moved to first class for my flights, sat in the VIP lounge and had myself a
nice cheese platter with champagne before landing in Paris.

Dinaa dellu Senegal tout suite, inshallah

I am going back to Senegal right away, God willing