Give You My What?

Being white here is not only uncomfortable because everyone stares at you, that I've actually gotten used to. Being white comes with the association of having money and it is that association that has caused me the most discomfort. My host family in Dakar has a distant family member, Mansous, the brother of someone's mother's someone, and I'd place him at about 25 maybe 27 tops. Today, after dinner my host mom, Hawa, Mansous, and I were sitting around chatting and by chatting I mean Hawa and Mansous speaking in Wolof to each other and Mansous occasionally trying to speak to me in French. That's the thing even though almost everybody here speaks French, everybody prefers speaking in Wolof, leaving me out of most conversations. Anyways, Hawa was trying to have Mansous translate something she wanted me to know. She wanted to tell me about her friend Wilma from Holland who came to visit 10 years ago and after she left she sent a chunk of money to Hawa. Now, the money wasn't for Hawa, it was the people in her mother's neighborhood who are very very poor. Hawa then went on to ask me for my support in helping her help the poor. I tried telling her that I don't have a lot of money but I don't know if she understood.  After this exchange, Mansous asked me if I had and iPod. In hindsight, I should have just said "no" but I responded "yes". He asked me if could give it to him. He asked me to him my iPod. He asked me to give the one thing that I truly treasure. I have many possessions that I would be more than willing to share, give up, or leave in Africa but my iPod? For those who don't know, two months ago my iPod erased allll of my music, I shed actual tears. Thats is how important my collection of music is to me, it's not the actual player, it's what's on it.  When I conveyed its importance he said that that way okay but then asked if I could send him one when I got back to my country. Hawa and Mansous don't seem to understand that I am a 20 year old student who is here working for without pay- I'm actually paying to work here- who just got finished paying off a few tickets to the states of California and Oregon. I am not by any means a well established woman who has extra cash floating around to be able to provide them with what they are asking for.  It's hard telling them that I don't have that kind of money but it's the truth and when they ask me for such things I get put in such a sticky spot between yes I would love to help you and I'm sorry but just because I'm not from Senegal does not mean that have endless piles of loot laying around. I hope to be in a place where one day I can give back but for now, the color of my skin is not green.