Another amazing and adventurous day in Dakar! It started slow, jet-lag mixed with sleeping on a small firm triangular pillow did not allow for a great night of sleep. Luckily two cups of Nescafé and some Skype time with my parents brightened the morning :)
After some down time, Tom, Abda and I ate lunch, "dejeuner" in French. Today was another rice, fish, and steamed vegetable combo but this time the rice was bright yellow and tasted very similar to curry. After every meal, except breakfast, Attaya is served. It is like nothing I have ever tasted before; it's a very strong tea that has a lotttt of sugar but it surprisingly doesn't taste sweet, more bitter than anything. It is served in these little tiny glasses that are probably equal in size to a double shot. Usually, there are three rounds of the tea and as you move from the first to the second to the third the taste becomes less potent.
Tom had a plan for us after lunch. Tom had visited and lived in Dakar for three months two summers ago and while he was here he made some really good friends, Abda included. But along with Abda was an American girl who he was taking French classes with. One day she brought him to Ouakar, a neighbor just north of the centre, or main downtown area, of Dakar. In Ouakar there is a small pottery shop and in the back of the shop is where the pottery is made. Tom loved the place to much that during his first stay here the pottery shop became one of his main hang out which became very apparent to me later. So, after lunch, Tom and I took a taxi to Ouakar. If you think taxi drivers in San Francisco or New York City are crazy, they have nothing on the taxi drivers here who will go on the wrong side of the road to pass a "slow" moving car in front of us. However, on we took the side streets to get to Ouakar because as Tom has told me the main streets are always jam packed accompanied by honking and a strong smell of old cars burning gasoline. The side streets are dirt roads, some of which are very narrow. However, one of the side street we were on took us right along the ocean, "le mer", for about five minutes. What I thought were a bunch of seagulls on the beach were actually eagles! Weird, right?
Anyways, when we arrived at the pottery shop about fifteen minutes later is when it became apparent to me how much time Tom had spent there. He was greeted by everyone with large embraces and the widest of smiles. We first met the owner of the shop who was extremely pleased to see Tom again and very welcoming towards me. Tom told me the coolest thing about the owner, he mostly employs deaf and handicapped men and boys. He gives them lessons in ceramics- how to use the wheel, what tools to use to create different effects, basically the basics of ceramics. I was so astonished and amazed that such a person would be here in Ouakar giving the deaf and handicapped such a beautiful experience- truly looking out for everyone, making sure that everyone have an equal chance to be creative and also make an income.
One of my first impressions of Senegalese people is that they really look out for one another. In America it is a lot about what can I do to better myself, what can I do to advance myself in society. But here it is what can I do to better the life of all Senegalese people, what can I do to help our society grow as a whole. I think that there is a lot to be said for a country that does not have a lot money yet tries to help everyone at the same time. I had a conversation with Abda today that very much relates to this concept. Ngaari Laaw, the organization I will be interning with, holds a Water Festival each year for the purpose of helping those in the Fouta region, in north Senegal, to understand the best way to use the water that is available to them, which is not much. Another part of the festival is bringing the people in the Fouta region buckets and buckets and buckets of fresh water that they can use. The fresh water is costly and even though Ngaari Laaw does not have much money, they provide the water because they understand the necessity of water and feel, as we all should, that everyone should have an equal opportunity to fresh water. To better the community rather than bettering oneself is of Senegalese culture that I find so inspiring.
Another part of Senegalese culture I came into contact with today was the French influence. For those who don't know, Senegal was colonized by the French in the late 19th century. Senegal gained there independence in 1960, however keeping the French language and baguettes. Dakar has also kept the popular French combo of coffee and cigarettes. After the pottery shop, Tom and I went with a friend of his, who's name unfortunately escapes me, back to his family's house. We hung out in his friend's room listening to the music of popular artist here. As I would back home, I had Tom's friend make me a list of the artists we were listening to. If you are interested, look up Fallou Dieng or Youssou N'Dour for starters. Back to my little french culture experience, on our taxi ride back from Tom's friends, we took the main roads back. The taxi driver was in need of some coffee, so we pulled off on the side of one of the roads where there was a little stand selling Nescafe and, drumroll please.... cigarettes! The ultimate french combo!
That was pretty much all the excitement for the day except one more thing- when we returned back to our flat we stayed downstairs and spent time with the family that lives there. I had been wearing a sun hat all day so I took it off. Le petit Abda came over and sat next to me so I decided to put my hat on his him. After that, he wouldn't take it off, he kept smiling and nodding his head back and forth making the hat, which was too big for his tiny head, sort of spin around on his head. It's crazy that such a small thing like my sun hat could be such an amusement for him.
Day two is coming to an end. So far no stomach aches from the food but sad and itchy to report four bug bites despite the massive amounts of bug spray I keep applying.
And I almost forgot to talk about the title of this post!!!! In Wolof, the language mainly spoken in Dakar beside French, Toubab means white person. When Tom, his friend and I were walking from the pottery to his house in Ouakar, not once but twice a small child said "Bonjour Toubab" so nonchalantly.
Until tomorrow mes amis, Toubab over and out.
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