Present to the Past

As I did not have access to my blog in Senegal due to some technical problems, I am completing my story now. 

I did not visit St Louis, but did stay for 2 nights in Yoff in a lovely Airbnb, take an unplanned day trip to Theis with Mame Fatou, and an exciting and at times frightening motorbike ride to Mbour and Toubab Djello. 

I spent 3 days going door to door with a team of 3-4 people in the Cité des Douanes and Camberen 2.  I also spent several days with Mame Fatou visiting the three Sukabe centres before and after the October 4 school term start-up. I think I took every form of public transport except le car rapid: clandos, cours, taxis, Dem Dikk city buses, 

and the sept-place.  I 'bathed' daily in clouds of black diesel exhaust fumes and sand churned up by cars and charets (horse pulled transportation carts).  I waited hours for repairs at a roadside mechanic, visited the bustling fish market and great market of Mbour, and stayed in the gorgeous-looking Mimosa hotel at Toubab Djello.  I ate ciubujen, many a baguette, fresh fish on the beach, thick maize meal porridge with milk, drank Nescafe, and ate regular Canadian dishes such as spaghetti and chicken soup. 

I watched TV in Wolof and in French, and laughed and chatted with my friends, Yacine and Mame Fatou, in French. I held children in my arms, and received one proposition and one proposal for marriage, both of which I turned down. :-) 

I experienced three weeks of heat so intense that water dripped constantly from my face, , and my clothes looked like I had showered in them. 

Most mornings of this unusual holiday, I set my alarm for 5:30 am so as to eat breakfast at a "Jeanne" hour, and be ready to leave the house by 7:30 am. 

Eating was a challenge. Senegalese meals are delicious, but I found it difficult to adjust to the  relatively low protein, high carb breakfasts (baguette et beurre, ou baguette et chocolat /beurre d'arachide), and the long spaces between meal times which are roughly at 10:00 am, 3:00 pm,  and 9:00 pm.  I am thankful my hosts gave me the go ahead to make myself snacks between meals. 

Everywhere, I experienced Senegalese friendliness, good humour, and welcome: teranga. 

Three weeks of hearing and speaking almost only French and Wolof (very little speaking of Wolof :-)) made my immersion experience complete.