The life of a Toubab in Senegal must be very similar to the life of celebrity in the US. Walking down the street people shout out your name, they thank you for just stopping to talk with them for a minute, and the even want to have their photo taken with you. Sometimes it\s hard because you want to go somewhere without being recognized but its impossible- I tried taking pointers from the celebs like wearing a hat and big sunglasses but they were no help, the color of my skin is impossible to miss. If I walk around solo, old women start talking with me in Pulaar- they tell me their names and inform me that they can prepare the best rice and fish meal in town, always inviting me to come be the judge at lunch that day. The other day I was in Dolol (a few villages down the river of Bow, the village I'm staying in), I was meeting with Kadtga, the daugter of the Chief of the Village, as she is a prominent woman in Dolol's Women's Organization. Kadtga, and sadly there is no way put this nicely, could possibly be on of the most unattractive women in Senegal (all she's missisng is the ever so common in Senegal lazy eye). Some people say that beauty is a power that the beholder can use to intimidate and persuade others (and there are those who use it that way), but I've now known for a long time that physical appearance doesn't define a person and the true power that they hold because as well know beauty can fade (and I don't see any of the Senegalese signing up for a facelift anytime soon. Kadtga happens to be the most influential woman in Dolol, men and women alike listen to her advice and do well to follow it. Anyways, back to my story.... the other day when I was meeting with Kadtga, two other men from another organization came to talk with her. One of the men who couldn't speak any French got a phone call while we were resting, drinking milk, and eating peanuts. Not ten seconds into the phone call was he passing the phone of to me to talk with the man on the other line, some sort of proof that he was really with a Toubab. Then about 20 minutes later he received anoter phonecall and excidedly answered (or what I can assume he said) "i'm with a toubab, here, here she is" and then passed the phone over to me. Both times I answered with a confused "bonjour, ca va?"- I didn't know who these other men were, I didn't even know who the man was handing me over the phone, I was needless to say uneasy and a little creeped out. Sometime in between the two phonecalls, his colleauge asked is he could take picture. Again, I was uneasy but I did not refuse for the sake of not wanting to be rude and who knows maybe I would have to work with him again in the future (I was also meeting with Kadtga representing my organization Ngaari Laaw and I did not want to leave a bad impression). So a Senegalese man now has a lovely picture of me wearing a grey shirt soaked throug with sweat, my nose sunburnt red, and my hair a complete frizzball- if that's not Toubab in Africa, I don't know what is! After we ate lunch and I prepared to head back to my village, I was sitting down putting everything back into my bag when the man who handed me the phone earlier sat right next to. I was so confused but looked up and surely enough his friend was taking a picture, or proof- I wasn't smiling in that picture, I gave more of a half exasperated you need to not be taking my picture look. But I guess it register because then they switched spots so the other guy could get his proof, too. Right as I was leaving he snapped one more photo of me outside the house. I have run into a lof sticky situations like this, it's hard expressing I don't feel comforatable doing something when other's around me wouldn't understand. Almost every night after dinner, I sit around with a few members of my host family and a few of their friends who pass by. They are always wanting me to get up and danse in front of them and when I do they laugh (not at me but not really with me either). It's like woah Toubab can danse, okay now let's egg her on everytime a new song comes on the radio- at first it was hard to say no because again I didn't want to be rude but now that I'm a little more comfortable with them I just stay seated and do a little jiggy with my legs.
The other day, there was a bapteme (a big gathering a week after a baby is born) and I arrived about half way through when there was a big circle of people, mostly women, around a guitarist and a few people drumming away on pots and pans. There were a few women dancing with scarves and when I got there I just sidled up to my host mom and aunt. After only being their for two minutes, Kumba Seck (one of my favorite women in town- she is lively, can speak some French, and the first time we met she felt comfortable enough to jiggle my boob and give me an "ohh girrrl" kind of reaction), she pulled me into the center, threw me a scarf and starting teaching me the little dance. Shortly after we finished dansing, she took the opportunity to introduce me to her younger brother and insist we get married. She was completely ready for me except but I replied "mi yiida wonde debbo am" or in English "I don't want to be your wife". As a Toubab, marriage proposals come by the dozen. Right now the village doctor is asking me everytime I see him if I will be his third wife... haaahhaha no (the doctor also snapped a picture of me on his phone). There are always men coming to have dinner at our house and more often then not before they leave for the night, I am asked for my hand in marriage. The boy that drives the transport from Bow to Matam is always asking if I reconsidered his marriage proposal from the first time I took his mini-bus. My coordinator and I now have a runnning joke, everytime someone asks me to be their wife I tell them I want 400 cows, not 399 not 401, I want 400. In the villages in Africa, cows are very much a sign of wealth- the more cows you have the wealthy you are. Oumar tells me that no one will ever have 400 cows, so I don't have to worry, it's a sure thing no man will have 400 but I am waiting for the day when jokingly I reply to a proposal "How many cows do you have? I want 400" and the man truthfully responds 400. YIKES! I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and you should too mom, that this never happens.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Life in the Village
I am officially living in Africa Africa. My life in Dakar hardly counts compared my life in Bow, a small village 27km outside of Matam (which is a full day's drive outside of Dakar- up to Saint-Louis and east along the Senegelese River). Where in Dakar I had a bed, I now have a mattress pad on the floor with a hard as rock pillow. I wake up bright and early every morning to the cock-a-doodle-do of roosters and the children getting ready to go to school. In Dakar, I lived with a family of 5 and 2 of their relatives- in Bow, I live my host family and almost all of their relatives. There is my host dad and mom (Oumar and Hule), 2 of Oumar's son's from his first marriage (Muhamed and Papa), Oumar's parents (neene and baaba), Oumar's sister (Ndiaya) and her children (I think she has 4 but I'm not quite sure exactly which children are hers), Oumar's sister-in-law (Hawa), and on the weekends another one of Oumar's younger sisters comes back to stay while she is not in school. On top of all these family members, throughout the day there are a number of people who come to eat meals and rest under the shade, aswell as the 4 men who come everyday to work on the house Oumar is building. Instead of a small TV, there is radio that broadcasts in Pulaar (the native language) and the use of my laptop and internet is limited to when I travel out of Bow to Matam (a 27km/16 mi road that in a developed country might take a bus 25 minutes but here takes almost an hour). The daily 2-3 electricity shortages has now develped into no electricity 24/7, except for the nightly TV watching at the neighbors (a time I can also use to charge my cell phone. The TV, I found out the other day, is actually run off the battery of a car that is hooked up to an electrical outlet which allows the children and teenager alike to gather every night and watch either American action films that have Spanish subtitles or Indian soap operas dubbed in French- I can't tell which they prefer yet: not being able to understand one words and seeing lots of good guys vs. bad guys chase after eachother with guns or being able to understand the horrid excuse for a TV show. In place of my toilet and shower are an outhouse and a bucket of water with a bar of soap. Over the past week I've actually come to enjoy the time I spend with a cup, spooning water out of the bucket, scrubbing the day's accumilated dirt off my body. Having to squat everytime I have to pee or worse is better that the harsher reality that my left hand has taken up the post of permanent asswipper as toilet paper is in no way an option when there is no flushing toilets.... I'll let that one soak in a bit for you as it took some time for me to embrace this aswell- you can even re-read the last sentence if you don't believe it's true.
The first few days of all the changes were difficult- my mind actually tried fighting my body and it took me four days before I could actually take a poop (sorry if you don't like potty talk but this is part of my experience that must be shared). Now, I have become accustomed, not yet fully adapted, to life in the village. There is always people around and something to do. I have gone to the river, which Bow borders, to swim and help my host aunt and cousin do my laundry. It's just like you'd imagine, women of the village come to the river and do their laundry topless while the children (under 5) run around and play naked. One major cultural difference is that women's breasts are not some hidden secret only to be discovered in Rated R movies or when you get to 2nd base. Boobs are everywhere because they don't have a sexual connotation. They are not for play, they are for nursing your child (which they do from infancy until age 2). If the child is hungry, no matter the place or the company, the baby feeder is pulled out. I have yet to go topless at the river because I don't know how they would react to Toubab half-nakedness. I have also gone to the garden with neene a few times and picked the wild fruit along the way. It is the garder where I will be commencing my first project. The garden is run and kept by the women's organization of Bow and it is my first mission to help them improve how they govern and utilize the organization, to hopefully make it run so that the women can receive the maximum benefits a well organized group can produce. My project, however, has already come across a speed-bump: communication. The language barrier has hit its peek because the women don't speak French and my Pulaar is so minimal right now. I am hoping that sometime this week and can get someone to help me translate so I can interview the president of the organization and potentially a few members.
In other news, sadly, to all those who advised me to go on a safari while I am here, it's not possible- there are no giraffes or lions for miles and miles. I have, however, traversed the desert in a large vehicle possibly similar to one taken for a safari and from what I have watched of Planet Earth, I can use my imagination to fill in the blanks! Until the next time I have internet sehil-am (my friends in Pulaar).
The first few days of all the changes were difficult- my mind actually tried fighting my body and it took me four days before I could actually take a poop (sorry if you don't like potty talk but this is part of my experience that must be shared). Now, I have become accustomed, not yet fully adapted, to life in the village. There is always people around and something to do. I have gone to the river, which Bow borders, to swim and help my host aunt and cousin do my laundry. It's just like you'd imagine, women of the village come to the river and do their laundry topless while the children (under 5) run around and play naked. One major cultural difference is that women's breasts are not some hidden secret only to be discovered in Rated R movies or when you get to 2nd base. Boobs are everywhere because they don't have a sexual connotation. They are not for play, they are for nursing your child (which they do from infancy until age 2). If the child is hungry, no matter the place or the company, the baby feeder is pulled out. I have yet to go topless at the river because I don't know how they would react to Toubab half-nakedness. I have also gone to the garden with neene a few times and picked the wild fruit along the way. It is the garder where I will be commencing my first project. The garden is run and kept by the women's organization of Bow and it is my first mission to help them improve how they govern and utilize the organization, to hopefully make it run so that the women can receive the maximum benefits a well organized group can produce. My project, however, has already come across a speed-bump: communication. The language barrier has hit its peek because the women don't speak French and my Pulaar is so minimal right now. I am hoping that sometime this week and can get someone to help me translate so I can interview the president of the organization and potentially a few members.
In other news, sadly, to all those who advised me to go on a safari while I am here, it's not possible- there are no giraffes or lions for miles and miles. I have, however, traversed the desert in a large vehicle possibly similar to one taken for a safari and from what I have watched of Planet Earth, I can use my imagination to fill in the blanks! Until the next time I have internet sehil-am (my friends in Pulaar).
World Social Forum
Since this is the first time I've been able to use Internet for any extended amout of time (1 hour), I have so much to catch you up on. Although in my last post I thought I was leaving last Sunday for Matam, I ended up not leaving until Thursday (c'est l'Afrique, non?). But those extra days spent in Dakar were jammed packed with the excitement and events of the World Social Forum (). It started last Sunday with the opening parade through downtown Dakar and l'Université à Dakar. All of the orgnizations, most of which were NGOs, marched the streets holding banners sporting which human rights issue they were fighting for, among them organizations for women's empowerment, for improvement of the lives of the handicapped, for HIV/AIDS awareness, for the betterment of Africain scool systems, for African conflict resolution, just to name a few. Organizations came from all over the world: Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Germany, the United States, Vietnam, China, and many more. At the end of the parade was a concert featuring two modern African musicians followed by a panel of enthused activists who gave their take on the world's current issues such as those in Egypt- some of what they had to say was a little extreme for me and I didn't like how they refered to Americans as all being capitalist and the negativity used towards the "Jews" occupying Palestine- but besides that I felt like I was back in the time of the 60s surrounded by others who are fighting for peace amongst all. In fact, the tagline for the World Social Forum was "Another World is Possible". If I had any doubts that fighting for the rights of others and a peaceful world for all was what I was put on this earth to do, being amongst thousands of others who have dedicated their lives towards making anoter world possible for all human beings has completely erased all those doubts. The next day after the parade, the university was filled with stands each organization set up where you could learn each's mission, what they've accomplished, and what struggles they're having accomplishing their new tasks at hand. My favorite was walking up to a tent of women, from a variety of countries, giving their take on the women's issues that face Senegal and the rest of Africa. The entire discussion took place in French-as did all the other panels, round tables and workshops throughout the week- and while I could understand most of the aruement being made, when I couldn't I would imagine myself sitting in the exact same spot a few years down the road with a few more nothches in my education and experience belt being able to raise my hand and give my stance (all in French, naturally) on the matter at hand. Tuesday and Wednesday followed with not as much excitement as the first two days- I sat in on two panels that were given by the larger organization that Ngaari Laaw (the NGO in which I am interning) is a part of. The larger organization works to improve the non-formal education in Senegal and Mali. The panels allowed me to really pick up on the difficulties of one: pulling a country together to agree on something and two: why it is so hard in Senegal and many other African countries that were at one time colonized by Europeans to reach an outcome that all in the agree upon. When Europeans came in and colonized larger parts of Africa and constructed borders to establish what land belonged in their new country, they didn't take into account that the people were seperated already by their ethnicities. Take for example Senegal, colonized by the French. The country of Senegal is home to three main ethnicities who all speak a different language and they remain seperated like so even after years of being considered the same country. One of the problems my organization works to better is the literacy rates but how can you improve the literacy rates of a country whose people don't speak the same language.... it makes it very difficult. French is the official language but only those who have gone to school can speak it, meaning that the number of women who speak French is very minimal. This poses a critical problem for me. My first project is to work improving some of the women's organizations in the villages surrounding Matam. I've begun work with organization in the village I am staying. Right now I can only observe, however, seeing as the women's French in the villages is mostly limited to "Bonjour, comment vas tu?". Pulaar being their first language (and now my 3rd), has made trying to communicate very difficult. I must have with me always my host brother or sister to translate. I hope that as my Pulaar improves, I can start interviewing soon- I might have to rely on my hand gestures and little drawing skills!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Making Changes
I know its been a week and I apologize, with work picking up mixed with bad timing for electricity cut-outs it's been difficult. I also know it's been awhile since I just wrote about what's going on with my life, I've been sticking to digesting the culture and politics. But it's time for a change because my life is about to do another 180. Although life in a developing country has taken some major adjusting and I've had plenty of moments where I second guess why the hell I chose to come here instead of somewhere a little more glamourous, after exactly one month of being here in Dakar the fact is I've found my groove. I have made friends (Paulette and Bira), I take dance classes with two awesome girls (Awa and Faly), my host mom (Hawa) and I have a connection (even though our conversation is limited due to some major language barrier, there is a sense of understanding, friendship, and protection we share for each other), I've finally mastered the bus system (well, almost) so I don't have to rely on taxis, and I can finally hold decent conversations in French (as long as the person I'm conversing with is patient). Along with the day-to-day life, Dakar also has it's share of tourist options which are nice escapes on the weekends and also allow me to see fellow toubabs. I've visited Ile de Ngor a few times which is my favorite! It's a great place to pass the day relaxing on the beach where surprisingly you can get a plate to Thieboudienne for just $2! Last weekend I visited La Maison des Esclaves which is where the West Africans were kept before they were shipped to the United States, sometimes staying in the cramped quarters waiting for up to 3 months. It was separated by designated rooms, one for each men, women, children, young girls, and even smaller one for those who would not comply (can you blame them?). I also spent sometime one day in the centre-ville which is downtown Dakar. SO AWESOME! I love the hustle and bustle of a big city and for the first time I really saw diversity. Most places where I see other toubabs are tourist hot spots but centre-ville is mixed with many foreigners who work and live there. I've always felt that diversity is key- a combination of races, nationalities, religions, clothing styles, and food- in most Senegal, diversity is very very rare. And I'm about to be exposed to an town where the only non-Senegalese are other interns/peace corps workers like myself.
When I had planned my trip/intership, I was supposed to be in Dakar for only two weeks to take a language intensive class and then leave for Matam where my internship takes place. However, due to the difficulty of traveling from town to town here, I have had to wait in Dakar for an extra two weeks- allowing me to visit awesome sites, improve my French, grow close with my host family here, and make friends. Now on Sunday I will be parting ways with Dakar and moving my suitcases to Matam but the thing is I didn't think it would be this hard to say goodbye to Dakar after only being here for a month. I've grown attached to the beaches, the buses, my fruit stand vendor, and most of all the few people I've had the pleasure of spending my time with.
I have to keep in mind the purpose of my trip- to improve the lives of those living in the rural Fouta region (where Matam is located). My boss man person arrived in Dakar yesterday so that we could travel to Matam together on Sunday and he asked what my goals were that I wanted to accomplish with my internship. I replied with something of the likes to I want to understand what it takes for a small non-profit organization to run, how it operates, how it raises funds- I want to help with the projects that Ngaari Laaw is working on- I want to know if working with a small non-profit is what I want to do with the rest of my life, figure out what I want to do after I graduate- I want to improve the lives of the women I will be working with by bringing them awareness (I also mentioned trying to empower them- but this idea was quickly shot down). My answer was "unacceptable" he said "I want to know what you want to accomplish, what you are telling me is some sort of vision, you are to broad". So my assignment was to come up with real goals by Saturday that I could share with him and two of the other men who will try and help me accomplish my goals best possible. I really respect that he wants to hear what I want to do here and that I am not just here for him to tell me what to do and use as an assistant. My original thoughts of empowering these women and showing them that there is more for a woman to do with her life than clean, cook, and raise children Ouman explained was out of the question and I can actually see why- although that doesn't mean that in my spare time I won't try to give them a voice, even if its just a little. Oumar explained that it is so engrained in there traditions that men go out and work and bring in the income and the woman is in turn provided for and has time to do all the house chores. In such a region as Fouta the people are not looking to be liberated from their way of living, they are looking for ways to improve upon that way. It means that I will not be informing these women that an education is important so you can work and provide for yourself, it means helping them start a plantation or making them aware of different forms of birth control to prevent HIV/AIDS- simpler things that will change the quality of the life that they are already living. Now that I have a better understanding of what I can achieve here my goals have become more simplistic yet at the same time much more effective. This is truly the experience I have been needing to realize that making a difference doesn't necessarily mean uprooting long standing traditions or battling corrupt politics, those things take years and years and since I am only here for four and a half more months, I'll be making a difference on a level that I can accomplish and probably be able to accomplish much more on a day-to-day basis. Maybe one day I'll be able to change the grander scheme of things but for my time here I'll be helping with the smaller things which is A-O-K by me :)
When I had planned my trip/intership, I was supposed to be in Dakar for only two weeks to take a language intensive class and then leave for Matam where my internship takes place. However, due to the difficulty of traveling from town to town here, I have had to wait in Dakar for an extra two weeks- allowing me to visit awesome sites, improve my French, grow close with my host family here, and make friends. Now on Sunday I will be parting ways with Dakar and moving my suitcases to Matam but the thing is I didn't think it would be this hard to say goodbye to Dakar after only being here for a month. I've grown attached to the beaches, the buses, my fruit stand vendor, and most of all the few people I've had the pleasure of spending my time with.
I have to keep in mind the purpose of my trip- to improve the lives of those living in the rural Fouta region (where Matam is located). My boss man person arrived in Dakar yesterday so that we could travel to Matam together on Sunday and he asked what my goals were that I wanted to accomplish with my internship. I replied with something of the likes to I want to understand what it takes for a small non-profit organization to run, how it operates, how it raises funds- I want to help with the projects that Ngaari Laaw is working on- I want to know if working with a small non-profit is what I want to do with the rest of my life, figure out what I want to do after I graduate- I want to improve the lives of the women I will be working with by bringing them awareness (I also mentioned trying to empower them- but this idea was quickly shot down). My answer was "unacceptable" he said "I want to know what you want to accomplish, what you are telling me is some sort of vision, you are to broad". So my assignment was to come up with real goals by Saturday that I could share with him and two of the other men who will try and help me accomplish my goals best possible. I really respect that he wants to hear what I want to do here and that I am not just here for him to tell me what to do and use as an assistant. My original thoughts of empowering these women and showing them that there is more for a woman to do with her life than clean, cook, and raise children Ouman explained was out of the question and I can actually see why- although that doesn't mean that in my spare time I won't try to give them a voice, even if its just a little. Oumar explained that it is so engrained in there traditions that men go out and work and bring in the income and the woman is in turn provided for and has time to do all the house chores. In such a region as Fouta the people are not looking to be liberated from their way of living, they are looking for ways to improve upon that way. It means that I will not be informing these women that an education is important so you can work and provide for yourself, it means helping them start a plantation or making them aware of different forms of birth control to prevent HIV/AIDS- simpler things that will change the quality of the life that they are already living. Now that I have a better understanding of what I can achieve here my goals have become more simplistic yet at the same time much more effective. This is truly the experience I have been needing to realize that making a difference doesn't necessarily mean uprooting long standing traditions or battling corrupt politics, those things take years and years and since I am only here for four and a half more months, I'll be making a difference on a level that I can accomplish and probably be able to accomplish much more on a day-to-day basis. Maybe one day I'll be able to change the grander scheme of things but for my time here I'll be helping with the smaller things which is A-O-K by me :)
Friday, January 28, 2011
No Homo
I've been thinking about this post since before my arrival and I picked today to finally post it given the recent event in Uganda. For those who don't know, Uganda gay rights activist David Kato was beaten to death yesterday January 26th. In Uganda, homosexual acts are illegal and can be punishable with up to 14 years in prison- there have even those been pushing for death sentences in some cases. In Senegal, same-sex sexual activity is illegal meaning not only is it illegal to marry your partner or have a recognized union (what many states are fighting for in the US) but even voicing that you are homosexual could be punishable. In February of 2008, 5 men were arrested following the publication of photos that seemed to be depicting a wedding ceremony between two men. Then in January of 2009, 9 men were arrested and sentenced to 8 years in jail. They were charged with two things. The first being conspiracy. Among the arrested was a man who runs an organization that provides condoms and counseling for the extremely underground gay community of Senegal.
Because Senegal is mostly Muslim, it is believed by most that homosexuality doesn't even exist which is why it is not uncommon to see to guys who are friends holding hands walking down the street. This is where I get confused, being gay: illegal, gay activity: illegal, so naturally boys and girls alike would choose to hold hands in public?? Today my friend Paulette and I spent the day walking around, making our way to the zoo and back. She held my hand countless numbers of times whether it was to pull me out of the way of a car rapide or just because. It's one of those personal bubble barriers I'll have to break down seeing as I don't normalllly hold hands with too many in the states. Even when locking arms with my girlfriends, we tend not to make it very far arm in arm- for some reason walking with two hands freely has always been more comfortable.
Sadly, anti-gay sentiment has been on the rise in Africa over the last few years. Multiple governments across the continent have been pushing for harsher punishments against homosexuals and their activity. Gambia's president even taking it as far as to say that he would behead any homosexuals found in his country- I believe that this one sentence speaks to just how much unwesternized Africa truly is (beheading?? really?? how 18th century of them). It's one thing to read about it in books but living among it is completely different.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12295718
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/world/africa/09senegal.html
Because Senegal is mostly Muslim, it is believed by most that homosexuality doesn't even exist which is why it is not uncommon to see to guys who are friends holding hands walking down the street. This is where I get confused, being gay: illegal, gay activity: illegal, so naturally boys and girls alike would choose to hold hands in public?? Today my friend Paulette and I spent the day walking around, making our way to the zoo and back. She held my hand countless numbers of times whether it was to pull me out of the way of a car rapide or just because. It's one of those personal bubble barriers I'll have to break down seeing as I don't normalllly hold hands with too many in the states. Even when locking arms with my girlfriends, we tend not to make it very far arm in arm- for some reason walking with two hands freely has always been more comfortable.
Sadly, anti-gay sentiment has been on the rise in Africa over the last few years. Multiple governments across the continent have been pushing for harsher punishments against homosexuals and their activity. Gambia's president even taking it as far as to say that he would behead any homosexuals found in his country- I believe that this one sentence speaks to just how much unwesternized Africa truly is (beheading?? really?? how 18th century of them). It's one thing to read about it in books but living among it is completely different.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12295718
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/world/africa/09senegal.html
Monday, January 24, 2011
Clair Voyante
While sitting with Hawa and a couple friends in the downstairs salon (the room with couches and coffeetable), a lady barges and makes her arrival well known. I assumed she was another one of Hawa's friends because in Senegal it seems that you give the same greeting to an old friend as to a stranger most of the time. After greeting all in the room, she comes over to me and asks to see my hands. A palm reading! I've never really had one- I don't count the ones where I look at a guide and try to navigate my life and love lines. She starts speaking in Wolof, so basically jibberish to me, and I can't tell what my reaction should be to what she's saying because she really wasn't giving me anything to go off of, no smiling or no looks of pity. I just kind of sat there and smiled and nodded my head- as I usually do when someone speaks to me in Wolof- for all I know she could have been telling me that I was going to die by the time I hit 32. I did pick up on one thing and had it something to do with finding a husband but weather it was the fact that I'll never find one or I'll leave Senegal with 5, I couldn't tell. It sounded like she was saying that if I wanted a husband right now, I could find one. I was like ummm this isn't news to me, do you know how many marriage proposals I've had in the last 3 weeks??
Well I had my friend Paulette translate into French what the seer told me and it goes a little something like this (Pretend this is the voyante speaking): "You are pure and travel down a good road. If you continue like this you will be better that a lot of others. You must go out and give to the beggar children 7 candles, 7 morsels of sugar, and 7 pieces of white paper. After you have done that (she looked down at my palms again, and continued...) you will have a good job and a good husband who will have a lot of money. And after you find your husband you will send me 5,000 Fcfa (equivalent of $10)." She went on to tell me that I also resembled her son's wife who lives in Italy and that she loves me.
After Paulette had finished helping understand what the seer had said I asker Paulette if she believe that what the seer said is true and if what she said could actually happen. She told me that as a part of their culture they believe that certain people do have the power to see into the future and that she believes if I accomplish my alms giving to the beggar children my future that has been predicted will actually come to pass. Woot woot rich husband here I come?!
Well I had my friend Paulette translate into French what the seer told me and it goes a little something like this (Pretend this is the voyante speaking): "You are pure and travel down a good road. If you continue like this you will be better that a lot of others. You must go out and give to the beggar children 7 candles, 7 morsels of sugar, and 7 pieces of white paper. After you have done that (she looked down at my palms again, and continued...) you will have a good job and a good husband who will have a lot of money. And after you find your husband you will send me 5,000 Fcfa (equivalent of $10)." She went on to tell me that I also resembled her son's wife who lives in Italy and that she loves me.
After Paulette had finished helping understand what the seer had said I asker Paulette if she believe that what the seer said is true and if what she said could actually happen. She told me that as a part of their culture they believe that certain people do have the power to see into the future and that she believes if I accomplish my alms giving to the beggar children my future that has been predicted will actually come to pass. Woot woot rich husband here I come?!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Believe Me, Je Ne Suis Pas Fatigue
On Sunday, Hawa took me to her mother's "house". Hawa had warned me that her mother lived in a very, very poor area outside of our neighborhood and when you are already living in a neighborhood that doesn't strike you as being that well off, it's hard to imagine that it can get worse. Well it can. Hawa's mother lives in what would be considered the ghetto of Dakar. Now, in the US when we here ghetto we think bums on the side of the road who have piss stains on their clothes who probably haven't been sober since they dropped out of high school or streets scattered with gang members with their gats in the back of their pants ready to bust a nut when territory is crossed or hookers and drug dealers alike shacked up in dumpy old motels or probably some combination of all of that. Well Senegal is a peaceful place so their ghettos are not scattered with the likes of such things that cause us to immediately feel unsafe like if we make a wrong turn our could be at stake. The slums of Dakar I actually found to be more calming than the neighborhood I am in which is constantly in motion with loud speakers leading people in prayer and children screaming. The houses-more like single rooms attached to an open patio- are fairly run down and a little more spread out. When we got out of our car rapide (yes! I finally got to ride in one!) we walked about 7 minutes until we arrived at Hawa's mother's.
When we first got there, we sat outside for bit, Hawa trying to make me sit in one of the two chairs that her mother had but in I have always felt is more custom to let your elders sit in the chairs even if you are a guest. So I took up a spot on the floor mat and they Hawa, Dieynaba, and Hawa's mother all looked at me like I was crazy for sitting on the floor and offering my chair to Hawa's mother instead. Always being offered a seat is another thing that makes me feel uncomfortable here. But what really did it on Sunday when a group of four girls kept hiding behind a corner, peeking around and laughing. This more than anything makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable, like I am a monkey at the zoo or something. They continued this for the entirety of our stay there. God there was one girl inparticular who could just not get enough- she would walk by and I would say bonjour and she'd just start laughing. It was like c'mon girlfriend is this really still amusing after the 12th time?? Oh the woes of being a Toubab.
When we had first arrived at Hawa's mother's, there was a boy around my age making a cage like thing to keep their family sheep (everyone here has sheep-they are everywhere!). He had been working on it for over an hour and a half when it was time to eat lunch. We all went inside, ate a platter of Thieboudienne, me having say "mi haarii" multiple times before they excepted I couldn't eat anymore. After we finished eating lunch inside, we went back outside. I was feeling pretty lame just sitting there not being able to take part in conversation since it was all in Wolof, so I decided to get up and help the kid make the den for the sheep. The women looked at me like I was possessed, "Allison, tu es fatigue, tu es fatigue" ( you are tired)- which I was definitely not, all I had done all day was sit there. So I helped him out for a bit and when we finished we started kicking around and empty 2 liter sprite bottle- playing a little football (soccer). This really took the women by surprise! I'd been playing for just over a minute and Hawa was calling to me "tu es fatigue", I assured her that after a minute of playing "je ne suis pas fatigue" (I am not tired!). After playing for five minutes, she repeated "tu es fatigue", even though I was not I sat down just to appease her. I was stoked to hear that in a few minutes, this boy (Amidou I think is his nam) was going to take me Dieynaba and le petit Abda to the beach!
The beach was about a five minute walk, though a little forest and a walk way filled with garbage (I have been waiting to do a post about the garbage situation here- it'll come soon so i'll spare the trash talk for now). Le mer was absolutely gorgeous!! Unfortunately it is too dangerous to swim in, apparently there is a crazy strong under toe. The beaches of Dakar are a hot spot for lutteurs to get in shape. Lutteurs are wrestlers and aside from football (soccer), la lutte (wrestling) is the most popular sport to watch. It's not like WWE and there are no Hulk Hogans walking around with colorful bandanas and tight undie like garments. The wrestling is more traditional, however, a few years ago they made boxing moves legal in a separate la lutte league. The wrestlers who win matches have a good chance at making a lot of money and those are the wrestlers who hold celebrity status here. The other night I even caught a bit of a reality TV show that follows one of the more popular lutteurs around! Who would have thought, firstly that there'd be reality TV show here and secondly that that they would follow wrestlers?! Anyways, it was funny watching them in training all along the beach and since we couldn't swim, we decided to join in, poking fun at their exercises only a bit ;). I decided to take that opportunity to get some of my first exercise in sic arriving. I started jogging up the shore, Amidou (or at least I'm pretty sure that's his name) following. He kept saying lets head back "tu es fatigue?" but I kept going. I'm guessing that the women here don't do much physical activity, judging not only by everyone continuously asking me if I'm tired after barely exerting energy but also by the fact that I've never seen a girl, not once, out playing football in the many, many football field they have here that are always being played on. I hope that by my being here and continuously telling people "Je ne suis pas fatigue" that the men and women alike who are able to witness my assertion of energy will realize that women can do more than cook and clean but can also play sports and jog- that being born a woman does not mean that I am confined to housework, it's not written in my XX chromosomes.
When we first got there, we sat outside for bit, Hawa trying to make me sit in one of the two chairs that her mother had but in I have always felt is more custom to let your elders sit in the chairs even if you are a guest. So I took up a spot on the floor mat and they Hawa, Dieynaba, and Hawa's mother all looked at me like I was crazy for sitting on the floor and offering my chair to Hawa's mother instead. Always being offered a seat is another thing that makes me feel uncomfortable here. But what really did it on Sunday when a group of four girls kept hiding behind a corner, peeking around and laughing. This more than anything makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable, like I am a monkey at the zoo or something. They continued this for the entirety of our stay there. God there was one girl inparticular who could just not get enough- she would walk by and I would say bonjour and she'd just start laughing. It was like c'mon girlfriend is this really still amusing after the 12th time?? Oh the woes of being a Toubab.
When we had first arrived at Hawa's mother's, there was a boy around my age making a cage like thing to keep their family sheep (everyone here has sheep-they are everywhere!). He had been working on it for over an hour and a half when it was time to eat lunch. We all went inside, ate a platter of Thieboudienne, me having say "mi haarii" multiple times before they excepted I couldn't eat anymore. After we finished eating lunch inside, we went back outside. I was feeling pretty lame just sitting there not being able to take part in conversation since it was all in Wolof, so I decided to get up and help the kid make the den for the sheep. The women looked at me like I was possessed, "Allison, tu es fatigue, tu es fatigue" ( you are tired)- which I was definitely not, all I had done all day was sit there. So I helped him out for a bit and when we finished we started kicking around and empty 2 liter sprite bottle- playing a little football (soccer). This really took the women by surprise! I'd been playing for just over a minute and Hawa was calling to me "tu es fatigue", I assured her that after a minute of playing "je ne suis pas fatigue" (I am not tired!). After playing for five minutes, she repeated "tu es fatigue", even though I was not I sat down just to appease her. I was stoked to hear that in a few minutes, this boy (Amidou I think is his nam) was going to take me Dieynaba and le petit Abda to the beach!
The beach was about a five minute walk, though a little forest and a walk way filled with garbage (I have been waiting to do a post about the garbage situation here- it'll come soon so i'll spare the trash talk for now). Le mer was absolutely gorgeous!! Unfortunately it is too dangerous to swim in, apparently there is a crazy strong under toe. The beaches of Dakar are a hot spot for lutteurs to get in shape. Lutteurs are wrestlers and aside from football (soccer), la lutte (wrestling) is the most popular sport to watch. It's not like WWE and there are no Hulk Hogans walking around with colorful bandanas and tight undie like garments. The wrestling is more traditional, however, a few years ago they made boxing moves legal in a separate la lutte league. The wrestlers who win matches have a good chance at making a lot of money and those are the wrestlers who hold celebrity status here. The other night I even caught a bit of a reality TV show that follows one of the more popular lutteurs around! Who would have thought, firstly that there'd be reality TV show here and secondly that that they would follow wrestlers?! Anyways, it was funny watching them in training all along the beach and since we couldn't swim, we decided to join in, poking fun at their exercises only a bit ;). I decided to take that opportunity to get some of my first exercise in sic arriving. I started jogging up the shore, Amidou (or at least I'm pretty sure that's his name) following. He kept saying lets head back "tu es fatigue?" but I kept going. I'm guessing that the women here don't do much physical activity, judging not only by everyone continuously asking me if I'm tired after barely exerting energy but also by the fact that I've never seen a girl, not once, out playing football in the many, many football field they have here that are always being played on. I hope that by my being here and continuously telling people "Je ne suis pas fatigue" that the men and women alike who are able to witness my assertion of energy will realize that women can do more than cook and clean but can also play sports and jog- that being born a woman does not mean that I am confined to housework, it's not written in my XX chromosomes.
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