... Halte inne in der Gegenwert.
Akzeptiere, das die Dinge so sind, wie si sind.
Bleibe im Jetzt... das gibt dir Ruhe.
-- Tage Flow
Monday, September 17, 2018
Flight Day
I think you may enjoy this challenge. Here is a pre-travel quote from my morning musings. (Use the translation button if you wish.)
Language Learning Opens Doors
Learning a language means for me learning something of the culture. A door opens into a new world. For years this has made me think of a 'stargate'. Opening the door spells adventure, change and new opportunities for communication.
Over the years, I have stepped through doors into many languages. Each time, a bond has been created between me and speakers of my 'new' language. Sometimes, as in the case of Wolof, I do not know why I waited so long to step through the door. I knew Senegalese people in Montreal many years before I left for Senegal the first time for a kind of one-month immersion course in Wolof. It is true, that I was learning French at the time I began to meet my Senegalese friends; it must have been enough of a challenge to communicate in French. Despite this valid reason, I was happy when, in 2005, I opened the door to Wolof!
Maybe you would like to see a few words in Wolof. I have just made a Quizlet to help me remember a short list of very useful words.
Finally, in my quest to open new doors to communication opportunities, I am excited to add that recently I have been joined in my French language adventure by my sister, Maggie, to some extent, her husband, Bruce, and 'toute récemment' by my sister, Rosalyn. Yeh!
Friday, September 14, 2018
En arrière
Yesterday, I chatted with my brother-in-law, Bob, about how my experience of the relative pace of life differed between my experience in Melaque and in Dakar. We were thinking about the relatively slow pace and peach we both had experienced in Melaque earlier this year. I was hard-pressed to find words to compare my experiences.
Perhaps one reason for the difficulty was that I was trying to compare my experience in a city in Senegal to a town in Mexico. I might better have compared how I felt in Guadalajara with my impressions of Dakar.
A few photos may evoke my experience in Dakar and Kaolack (cities), and the town of St. Louis in Senegal.
An additional factor in making the comparisons challenging, was that I had very different reasons for my visits to Mexico and Senegal, so I had equally different impressions.
I worked in Kaolack as a volunteer. It is a city that, due to its burning sand, and scorching dry heat, seemingly rises out of a desert. The climate was daunting and I walked to work and back, not much more. However, within the confines of the home and the spacious enclosed courtyard of the family home, a quiet order, a simplicity, a generosity, and a lack of preoccupation with amassing material things reigned. The parents and their 2 daughters who were still living at home, welcomed me great generosity.
Each morning breakfast, which consisted of of instant coffee, a piece of bread and an pleasantly greasy omelette 😃, was eaten sitting on small stools in the courtyard. We waved the ubiquitous flies away with small hand fans. Evenings, we squatted around a central dish of rice or fish, and then lounged on mats, chatting into the late evening hours.
In Dakar during my two visits, I also stayed with Senegalese families. Unlike in Kaolack, the climate was delightfully humid and warm, and the streets were busy with people walking, shopping, and waiting to enter already loaded local buses. Cars, donkey-pulled carts, and motocyclettes abounded. Despite this busy scene, life seemed to be at a slower pace than in Canada, although at a faster pace than in the small town of Melaque. In both places I felt more 'present' than I sometimes do in Canada. In Africa, I was rarely tempted to shop in order to entertain myself, or to acquire newer, more fashionable clothes--I speak as a visitor and not as a resident-- so I what I had was somehow 'enough'. In Melaque, I lived in a rented apartment. I therefore had to shop in Melaque for food, and some basic household equipment. It was fun also to look for souvenirs and suitable beach hats.
The extra time in Senegal meant I probably read more in Dakar. I am not sure, though, as in Senegal I spent most evenings with the host families. In Melaque, I spent evenings almost entirely on my own. I watched films in Spanish and wrote a blog and sometimes read.
In both places I studied language. These two activities often allow me to forget time, and, therefore, they create in me a feeling of timelessness. In that, there is little difference from my life since retirement in Canada, where spend many happy hours listening to, reading, and sometimes talking in French, Spanish and German.
Life seemed more simple in both places than in Canada for another reason. My visits provided me a welcome break from paying bills, and doing the paperwork demanded by life in Canada. Also, I have long noted that, as a visitor, I am often able to declare a moratorium on working on a plan for my life! While on holiday, I generally focus on just two or three objectives: enjoying nature, learning language, listening to new ways of thinking. These all contribute to a feeling of living a more sane, or less complicated life than I sometimes experience in Canada.
Finally, I must add, warmth, humidity and proximity to an ocean automatically exert a calming effect; the world slows down.
 |
| Melaque Cafe |
Perhaps one reason for the difficulty was that I was trying to compare my experience in a city in Senegal to a town in Mexico. I might better have compared how I felt in Guadalajara with my impressions of Dakar.
A few photos may evoke my experience in Dakar and Kaolack (cities), and the town of St. Louis in Senegal.
 |
| Dakar Suburb |
An additional factor in making the comparisons challenging, was that I had very different reasons for my visits to Mexico and Senegal, so I had equally different impressions.I worked in Kaolack as a volunteer. It is a city that, due to its burning sand, and scorching dry heat, seemingly rises out of a desert. The climate was daunting and I walked to work and back, not much more. However, within the confines of the home and the spacious enclosed courtyard of the family home, a quiet order, a simplicity, a generosity, and a lack of preoccupation with amassing material things reigned. The parents and their 2 daughters who were still living at home, welcomed me great generosity.
Each morning breakfast, which consisted of of instant coffee, a piece of bread and an pleasantly greasy omelette 😃, was eaten sitting on small stools in the courtyard. We waved the ubiquitous flies away with small hand fans. Evenings, we squatted around a central dish of rice or fish, and then lounged on mats, chatting into the late evening hours.
 |
| Hospitality teranga while licence being updated on car. |
In Dakar during my two visits, I also stayed with Senegalese families. Unlike in Kaolack, the climate was delightfully humid and warm, and the streets were busy with people walking, shopping, and waiting to enter already loaded local buses. Cars, donkey-pulled carts, and motocyclettes abounded. Despite this busy scene, life seemed to be at a slower pace than in Canada, although at a faster pace than in the small town of Melaque. In both places I felt more 'present' than I sometimes do in Canada. In Africa, I was rarely tempted to shop in order to entertain myself, or to acquire newer, more fashionable clothes--I speak as a visitor and not as a resident-- so I what I had was somehow 'enough'. In Melaque, I lived in a rented apartment. I therefore had to shop in Melaque for food, and some basic household equipment. It was fun also to look for souvenirs and suitable beach hats.
The extra time in Senegal meant I probably read more in Dakar. I am not sure, though, as in Senegal I spent most evenings with the host families. In Melaque, I spent evenings almost entirely on my own. I watched films in Spanish and wrote a blog and sometimes read.
In both places I studied language. These two activities often allow me to forget time, and, therefore, they create in me a feeling of timelessness. In that, there is little difference from my life since retirement in Canada, where spend many happy hours listening to, reading, and sometimes talking in French, Spanish and German.
 |
| Dakar is on the ocean and I lived close to beach. |
Life seemed more simple in both places than in Canada for another reason. My visits provided me a welcome break from paying bills, and doing the paperwork demanded by life in Canada. Also, I have long noted that, as a visitor, I am often able to declare a moratorium on working on a plan for my life! While on holiday, I generally focus on just two or three objectives: enjoying nature, learning language, listening to new ways of thinking. These all contribute to a feeling of living a more sane, or less complicated life than I sometimes experience in Canada. 
Finally, I must add, warmth, humidity and proximity to an ocean automatically exert a calming effect; the world slows down.
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Vision
In one week, I leave for my fourth adventure in Senegal. What will I learn? What will I share?
I hope you will be able to participate in my adventure as you read this blog. There is a translation app just to the right of each blog post.
My friends from Montreal, Yacine and Mame Fatu, now living in Senegal, have invited me to stay with them. I am excited to see the kindergarten, Sukabe, they started last year.
The new school term starts in October and my friends are aiming to open two more schools this year. I had the fun of finding three Canadian flags to bring with me, one for each school.
https://www.facebook.com/SukabeSn/videos/2023845490995488/?t=16
Suburbs of Dakar, in which the 3 preschools are found may give you an mental image of where I will be:
I may travel in Senegal. I have booked a room for a few days in St. Louis, and one in Dakar close to my friends' home. In the latter, it seems I can do yoga on the beach. I will see "sur place" if will keep or cancel these reservations. Melo's Patisserie in Dakar is a place I may well visit.
Il me tard d'y aller.
I hope you will be able to participate in my adventure as you read this blog. There is a translation app just to the right of each blog post.
My friends from Montreal, Yacine and Mame Fatu, now living in Senegal, have invited me to stay with them. I am excited to see the kindergarten, Sukabe, they started last year.
The new school term starts in October and my friends are aiming to open two more schools this year. I had the fun of finding three Canadian flags to bring with me, one for each school.
https://www.facebook.com/SukabeSn/videos/2023845490995488/?t=16
Suburbs of Dakar, in which the 3 preschools are found may give you an mental image of where I will be:
- Maliaka Plage
- Guediawaye Golf (Camberne 2)
- Keur Massar (Quartier Firdawsii)
I may travel in Senegal. I have booked a room for a few days in St. Louis, and one in Dakar close to my friends' home. In the latter, it seems I can do yoga on the beach. I will see "sur place" if will keep or cancel these reservations. Melo's Patisserie in Dakar is a place I may well visit.
Il me tard d'y aller.
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