I love this country so much. Today, we woke up early in order to be at Centre Baobab at 8:30, waited around for about an hour, and then finally got on the bus and left. I love Africa time. We went to Sangalkam, a village about an hour drive away from Centre Baobab in Dakar, where we visited two schools and the Sangalkam Health Post. The health post's biggest issue is malaria, because Senegal isn't a big area for HIV/AIDS. In fact, Moctar's best friend just died of malaria 10 days ago. It's a serious issue here, but the health post can only do so much with the funding that it is given. Especially with the increasing number of people it treats (currently 40-50 people per day) due to population growth and people moving due to flooding.
After touring the health center and talking to the doctor (yes, one) there, we walked to our first school - the kindergarten. The children were so cute (some of the older ones sang Senegal's national anthem to us, to which we responded with "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands") and it was a joy giving out our gifts (lots and lots of school supplies) to them. We listened to the director of the school tell us about it, and then we got to play with the children. Now, this was a little difficult because Senegalese children don't learn French until about age 7. All of them only spoke Wolof. There was a
lot of "na nga def?" being whipped out by us Americans. This was just another experience in my life where I got to see firsthand how bonds can be created between people, even where there are language barriers in place. One little boy had a hat on that he would pull down over his eyes every time I looked at him, so we made a "peek-a-boo" game out of it. He would pull his hat down, I would peek up from underneath its brim, and he would laugh and laugh. Then I would pull my head scarf down over my eyes, and he would stare at me until I moved the scarf away, and then he would laugh and quickly hide his own eyes. He was so adorable.
After the kindergarten, we went to another school for kids a little bit older. There, there were three different classrooms and a big communal area, and the students were between 6 and 9 years old. They also loved our presents, and the teachers were extremely grateful as well (especially since they had just founded the school one year ago).
After visiting Sangalkam, we took our trusty bus over to Lac Rose, where we ate a delicious lunch at a resort-type area. It reminded me so much of the place where we are our group dinner on Caye Caulker in Belize, it was truly amazing. Yes, there were French tourists everywhere, but it was beautiful and enjoyable kommem. Also, it was very cool being the only tourists there who knew any Wolof. I thanked our waiters and waitresses in Wolof (jerejef), said hi to several people (asalamaale'kum), and responded to lots of others when they said "na ng def?" (maangi fii rekk). I love Wolof. It's such a cool language and I would absolutely love to learn it.
After lunch, we went outside, some people went swimming in the pool and I met Joe (which is not his real name). Joe lives in the village right next to Lac Rose and talked to me about Senegalese life, culture, and family. It was really interesting to talk to him about his country - I always love hearing different people's perspectives. Little did I know, he was our guide around the sand dunes by Lac Rose. The sand dune ride was
sweet. We all hopped in these very open, very loud car/truck/heavy duty machinery type vehicles, and took off on a tour around the lac (which, unfortunately, was not very rose). The color of the water changes depending on the rain though, so the lake will be more pink in winter.
When we got out of our truck thingies to look at the lake, we were immediately attacked by vendors offering us "cadeaux," trying to get us to bus their things. Unfortunately for me, I only have huge bills in CFA, which means that I can't buy anything ever because no one will break a 10,000 CFA bill. That's $20USD by the way.
Oh no - I'm starting to fall asleep while writing. Again. I get to exhausted so suddenly here in Senegal.
Anyway, after that, we went for a little dune ride over to a traditional Peulh village. The chief of the village only spoke Arabic, Pulaar, and Wolof, so we had another man (his cousin?) guide us around the village. Basically, I learned that Peulh society is sexist with a capital "S," but also I've never met such kind sexist people in my life. The environment of the secluded village with curious children and kind, open adults reminded me so much of Frank's Eddy. I couldn't believe how much of my Belize experience I've relived today. It is amazing to be in this kind of environment again, but it seems completely wrong to be here for only a week. Yes, I'm studying abroad in France and yes, this is just an introduction to Senegal, but I still feel like I'm being robbed of a true, meaningful, experience when I think of how soon we are leaving this country.
Anyway - I bought a few petits cadeaux in the village, and then we got back on the dune riding machines. We drove around, and then drove right up to the ocean - it was the most beautiful scene in the world. Long story short, I of course ended up in the ocean, with ALL of my clothes on, had a long, wet bus ride back, but all was worth it.
In other news, I ate some beef at dinner. No on understands the concept of vegetarianism. And now I'm about to get ready for bed. Shower? Probably not. I will wash my face/brush my teeth though. Let's just hope I don't get sick from this dinner!
Tomorrow will be a long, beautiful day. We're going to a fishing village where we are spending the night, and taking dancing and drumming lessons. I'm so excited!
I'm really missing la famille a ton, so I'm trying not to think about it too much. That's really the only way to do it - enjoy life knowing that you are loved, but don't get caught up in the fact that you aren't always with the ones you love. C'est la vie - et sa passe vite. Enjoy all of it, every last Baobab tree, every last sip of Bissap juice, every last word in Wolof.
Love, Josie
