Monday, March 25th, 2013 – Matzah in the Land of Bread

I walked over to our school in the morning to do work where I knew I would have internet. I got there right after breakfast, and stayed pretty much all day. In the morning I called the Embassy to see if I could attend a Seder. They said that it would be slightly complicated, but they would try their best. We had to send in copies of our passports, along with lots of contact information of who to call to confirm our identities. This process took a few hours to complete, and was pretty stressful. But it all ended up working out, and we were confirmed to go and given instructions on how to get there, what to bring with us, etc.

The rest of the day, or whatever was left of it, I tried to respond to emails, post blogs, and maximize my Internet capabilities. At around 4 I walked back home to shower and get ready for the seder. We took a taxi to get there by 7:30, and our taxi got extremely lost along the way. The place was a few blocks away and easily walk able, but we thought we would get lost and that a taxi was the best option. WRONG. Good thing we left really early and somehow managed to get there on time. We pulled up to an insanely beautiful apartment complex that didn’t fit in with its surroundings. We had to go through security when we got there before going in.

The seder was at a diplomat’s house. The ambassador is back home for the holiday. All of the people who work at the Israeli embassy were there, and were all very friendly. The seder was Sephardic, which was very interesting. And the Haggadot were Hebrew on one side and French on the other. Very cool. It wasn’t a long service, and the food was so delicious. I have never been more excited to eat matzah in my life. I would say that it was one of the best religious experiences of my life, and I am so happy that it worked out. Just a handful of Jewish people having a seder in Africa. Insane to think about. 

Sunday, March 24th, 2013 – Relaxbeaching

Today was a DIY day to recover from our village visit. I slept in and then decided to go to the beach with a bunch of people. We went to a private beach that was $4 to get into. The beach was beautiful, but the waves were too rough to go in. But we stayed there for most of the day. I came home for dinner and went to Lucy’s house after dinner for a while to hang out with everyone. It was a pretty relaxed day, which was definitely needed. 

Why Hello There Toubacoutta

This is going to be a long blog post. It’s all about my time in the Village. Because there was no electricity, I kept notes in a journal and am typing them all up after the fact. Here we go.

Wednesday, March 20^th, 2013 – Add that to my list of allergies

Left my home stay in the morning to head to school. I woke up with some weird red spots on me that were super itchy throughout the night. They looked like bug bites times 100. I texted our fellow in the morning saying that I might need to go to a doctor to get them looked at, but because we were leaving in the morning for the village, I wasn’t sure if we would have time. My host mom gave me pills without the package, so I said thank you but no and she got extremely mad at me. Super fun. Got to school and had a mini break down because I was breaking out everywhere, my host mom made me upset, and we were about to go somewhere new. Struggled to pay attention through our Wolof lesson.

At 10am we left for the village. The bus ride would be about 6 hours. We stopped at a beautiful resort on the way for lunch and had chicken, rice, fries, and a cold soda. Then we drove to a hotel in Toubacoutta, which is apparently a major touristy spot. The hotel was absolutely beautiful – right on a river with an amazing doc and pool. We went swimming in the pool, took pictures on the doc, and hung out for the night. For dinner we had beef, fries, salad, and crab cakes…tried the beef but didn’t eat it. Then everyone left for a traditional music performance. I was all ready to go but was noticing that I was breaking out throughout dinner in the same itchy red rash that I was in the morning. But this time it was so much more. I was breaking out everywhere, and it was not a pretty sight. So I had to stay back and not go to the performance. I took lots of Benadryl, some ibuprofen, and covered myself in hydrocortisone. One of our faculty members has her phd in something related to medicine and society, so although she is not officially a doctor, she does have a lot of knowledge about diseases. She told me that a similar thing happened to her when she went to Ghana, and that it is really common reaction in West African countries. She said it was probably something in the air that is reacting with my skin. When this happened to her, it was some chemical that mango leaves gave off in the air. She said that if I am allergic to poison ivy (which I am) then I would have a similar reaction. Pretty sure this is the case. Went to bed hoping that I would wake up itch free.

Thursday, March 21^st, 2013 – Teranga

Woke up with less rash than the day before. We left the hotel for the village after eating breakfast and stopped at a pharmacy on the way. I got some Zyrtec and some kind of cream. Took the Zyrtec and it helped a lot. There were two villages, one small one where about 10 people were staying and a bigger one where everyone else was staying. The faculty and our translators were staying in home stays too. First we got to the small village. There was a huge mob of people in color clothing and a few people banging on bowls. We had a huge dance party. After the dance party, our country coordinator called out the names of the people who were staying in the village with their families, and they danced with their families and took a picture. Then we went to the big village, which was less than 1km away, and the same thing happened: dance party, call out names of student plus homestay family, dance, photo.

My host family was a father, three wives, and about ten children. When I first got there, I gave one of my host moms my gifts: two loaves of bread and some games for the kids. I gave them two rubber bouncy balls, a mets necklace, and a yoyo. Yes dad, I am spreading mets pride all around the world. I have never seen bigger smiles. Two of the little boys played with those bouncy balls for hours. I also changed into traditional clothing right when I got there. I have lots of pictures.

I ate a traditional lunch of rice, some vegetables, and some kind of meat at around 3. I helped to prepare the lunch by grinding rice grains. Everyone ate with their hands, but because I was a guest, they gave me a spoon. Senegalese hospitality is called Teranga, and people feel as though they have to be good to deserve guests, so they treat them like royalty. After lunch, we danced outside. Everyone there only speaks Wolof, and I only knew survival phrases. But dancing is a pretty universal language.

After, Lucy and I went to a wedding ceremony at the other village. It was the day after the wedding, but there were still celebrations the next day. I could write an entire thesis on this wedding, but I will show you pictures when I get home. When we got back, we interviewed the chief of the village. We have to do a case study project comparing rural and urban life, and my group is focusing on traditional practices.

I then helped to prep dinner. Then did some star gazing…there is no electricity, and people don’t eat dinner until 9pm when it is dark. So they cook and eat by flashlight. Dinner was delicious. It was fried potatoes, eggs, and onions. They prepare three dishes, one for the women, one for the children, and one for the dad. I was placed with the dad (again, teranga). They wanted me to eat a ton, and I did, but being full wasn’t an option. It was delicious though.

Friday, March 22^nd, 2013 – “Wrestling” with heat

Today I woke up around 8 to the sound of a million animals and people making lots of noise. And the heat. I had breakfast alone in my room: bread and leftovers from dinner. I think eating alone is a sign of respect. Then I watched people build a hut from mud and straw. Then my case study group interviewed the Marabu of the village, who is the chief’s brother. The Marabu is the person in the village who has memorized the Quran. If anyone has a question or needs advice, he is the one to give it. Then we interviewed the healer of the village, which was very cool. Then we interviewed the two midwives, one of whom was one of my host moms.

After the interviews, I helped to make lunch by sifting and grinding cous cous. Hard work in the heat. Then we ate lunch. Since everyone eats from a communal bowl, the family pays attention to what I am eating and then throws that kind of food in front of me. Then we had culture and society class in the other village and we got to talk to members of the village about gender roles. Then we had learning community. After, I went back home and helped make dinner. Then ate dinner with my loxo (hand). We had to eat early because we had to go to a wrestling match. Wrestling is HUGE in Senegal – all boys want to grow up and become wrestlers. The match was absolutely insane. Lots of chanting, crazy fans, really buff wrestlers. It was a ton of fun. It lasted until midnight, and I fell right asleep after.

Saturday, March 23^rd, 2013 – Sad goodbye

Woke up this morning, ate breakfast, and had a sad goodbye to my family. Left for Dakar on the bus. Stopped along the way for lunch and rest stops. Got to Dakar, unpacked, showered (best shower of my life), ate dinner, and went to Lucys to check my email. Then we went out to a bar for a few hours to celebrate someone’s birthday. Then I came back and fell right asleep. 

March 19th, 2013 – Project Runway

Went to class this morning at our normal time for a Wolof lesson and then a lecture. We had the afternoon off. A few of us decided to get dresses custom made, which is something that a lot of people do here. Lucy’s host siblings took us to a local tailor who took our measurements. Then we took a bus to a fabric market and bought some fabric, which we then brought back to the tailor. The market was insane…but I was mentally prepared from going to India. I am just getting a shirt made, but it should be super exciting!

After, I went back to my home stay to pack for the village tomorrow. I ate dinner, hung out with the fam, and then went to Lucy’s house to send some emails, etc because she has internet. Off to a village tomorrow until Saturday night, so I will have to hand write my blogs and then do one long post when I get back. Should be interesting….

Lots of Wolof to learn and perfect before tomorrow! Wish me luck!!

March 18th, 2013 – Big Booty

Woke up this morning to my host family telling me how big my booty was in wolof. Trust me, even though I don’t speak Wolof, I totally understood what they were saying. And it was a total compliment. Great way to wake up. You can take that as sarcasm, or not. I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

After breakfast we walked to school and had a wolof lesson. Then we had a lecture on what a case study is and how we need to start ours this week, followed by a guest lecture on rural traditions in an urban context. After the lecture we had lunch, followed by another lecture: politics and development class. Then we went on a site visit to a “village” in Dakar. I put it in quotes because it was still in the city, so it isn’t quite a rural village like you may be picturing. We went into people’s homes, because everyone does that here, and they had tv’s and electricity and everything. One woman was casually breast feeding her baby right out in the open and invited us in for a while. Good thing I have seen so many topless women but no one washes anyone else’s underwear.

After the visit I talked with our fellow for a while about life and then came back home, ate dinner, showered, and did some work. 

March 17th, 2013 – St. Patty’s in the Sun

Woke up late again today…around 12. Ate an entire baguette for breakfast with some tea. Then did some homework for class tomorrow. At around 2:30 we ate lunch, which was so yummy. It was rice and chicken and caramelized onions. At 3 Ana and I walked over to Lucy’s house which is where a lot of people were meeting before going to Ngor Island. We took a car rapid from Mermoz (which is the town I live in) to the water. Then we had to take these crazy boats over to the island. You have to walk in the water in order to get onto the boat and then you just climb your way to a seat.

The island was beautiful. We were in the water and sun all day. At around 6 we walked all around the island. There are a ton of beach houses there, and really amazing cliffs that look out onto the ocean. I took lots of pictures. We took a boat back and watched the sun set on our way.

Ana and I came back home and ate dinner. We had this porridge type thing for dinner. I can’t really explain it. There were two bowls, one had really sweet grain-y type stuff and the other was like plain yogurt and you have to mix the two together. After dinner it’s shower time, then bed time. So pooped from another day on the beach.