18 April 2007
I just arrived last night and am finally in Senegal , after thelongest journey ever (via Johannasburg). When I arrived last night,at first I couldnt find Bamba , the Senecorps member I was supposed to meet. I got pretty nervous because there were a number of people asking me if I wanted a ride or a cart. Apparently, Bamba came up tome and said 'Anne' but I ignored him ! Then he found me again andshowed me a Senecorps piece of paper and I was like 'Bamba ! Phew !'It took about an hour to drive to Thies and it was all around 2 am soI didnt really know what was going on. When we arrived at MameFatou's house, she had made a meal forme that would have looked quite a bit more tastey if I wasn't so exhausted. And off to sleep I went. This morning , I first woke up slightly confused at 5 am because therewere Mosque prayers over some sort of PA system. I woke up again at 8: 30 and Mame Fatou informed about the prayers at the Mosque. I'm abit nervous, but Mame Fatou calms my nerves because she is sowelcomiong and warm. We also communicate really well in French. Idon't speak any Wolof yet, so I'm pretty clueless in a lot of otherconversations. Bamba came over for breakfast and so did Cheikh (but its pronounced Chere), I gave Mame Fatou the Chicago book and the hairdye that I brought as fits for her and she really liked them both.She made me eggs, tea and bread this morning, but I couldn't finishall of it. Then, we all went to the Senecorps construction site and to see Akema's new house for when she comes this summer. While both are 'under construction,' there wasn't anyone working on either building... this must be very Senegalese because I think bothb uildings are waiting on more supplies or more money. Akema's house will be very beautiful. I can tell its fancy even though itsunfinished. The new school is also awesome. There will be two computer rooms , a board room for volunteers, a conference room, and lots of classrooms. It would be sweet to return and teach there. The head mason of the house was really cool. He doesn't shake my handbecause he is traditional muslim , but he liked my joke about being related to Jenny McCarthy. Mame Fatou says that she is also Muslim,as are most people here. Although, she is Muslim, she doesn't go to the Mosque. She says women usually go on Fridays anyway, and even then its mostly grandmothers that go. She says its more imporant to know God in her heart. She says there are lots of nonpracticing Muislims just like there are non practicing Christians...this is all pretty interesting to me. The quarter where Mame Fatou lives is called Diakhao (Ja-Cow)... obviously that is my spelling and not Wolof, but spelling in Wolof doesn't seem that regimented anyway.The quarter has sandy roads that are lined with walls that have doors as entrances into the courtyards that start each family's home. Most of the families that live together are pretty extended, although Mame Fatou lives on her own. In the sandy roads,basically everyone is just hanging out. And there are kids everywhere. This afternoon , we took a taxi to the bank and thenwalked back. We walked thgouh downtown which had paved roads, lots ofhorses and carriages, and people selling stuff. I didn't look too closely at the things being sold because I didnt want them and I didnt want the vendors to think I wanted them either, but it was still sointeresting to walk though. It was like a senses overload. The women all wear such beautiful clothes and there are just sooo many kids. Many women carry their babies on their backs, it looks like a prettycomfortable ride. On the way back, we stopped at Bamba's house...which I think also used to be Mame Fatou's house because I believethey are cousins. We met Bamba's father who was pretty old and very polite. I love that you stop by and visit people all the time on yourway to or from some place. I get introduced, stumble through a little Wolof introduction, and Mame Fatou and the other people babble away in Wolof.
No comments:
Post a Comment