Adventures in French and Wolof

Well, I've been in Senegal for a a week and a day, and it kind of feels like a month and a day. When we need to, we can adapt to anything and do it quickly, at least that has been my experience so far. But, adapting doesn't always mean that you mix perfectly into the culture, not that I expect to, but I've had some funny examples of me not totally mixing in lately.

Yesterday, my friends and I decided to go to the beach. One of the girls from madison and I took a taxi out to Goree beach (with the help of my host mother in getting a reasonable price, because you bargain for everything). Once we arrived, we walked out onto the sand, and immediately a man was calling me over, and said i had to pay a dollar for a ticket. Since, I knew that some beaches you have to pay to use, we gave him the money. Next thing I knew, people were handing us bright orange life jackets and Carly (my friend) and are were thinking, what's going on, we know how to swim! Finally, we realized that the life jackets were necessary for a boat ride to an island across the bay with some more beaches. So, we decided that we might as well go there since we already paid and Senegal doesn't really "do refunds." The problem was, we were wearing long skirts and carrying beach bags, and the boat didn't come all the way to shore. Consequently, we waded out into the water, clambered onto the boat, and then stumbled all the way to the other side of the boat. It was really funny because we were offbalance and awkward, and all of this was going on with us speaking French mind you. Fortunately, there were two girls in Burkas right in front of us who were freaking out and making us look like we fit in!

Besides the boat adventure, the time at the beach was great. It was nice sand and I paid a dollar for and umbrella and a mat to lye on. It was relaxing, and a little touristy because I saw the most tubabs(white people) that i've seen anywhere since I arrived. But, touristy was nice, it's nice to have a bit of a change and see something semi-familiar. Speaking of familiar, last night my family had french fries and onion omelettes for dinner. The combination is strange i know, which is the general tendency with meals here, but the food was my favorite since I arrived. I'm guessing people are interested in hearing what I eat, so here goes:

Breakfast consists of a baguette smeared with butter (not so good for the lactose intolerance) and coffee (not so good cuz it's yucky....) but it gets me going i guess. Oh, and today I had a chocolate with my breakfast, I'm not sure why, happy Sunday I guess?

Lunch is rice with some type of meat or fish and some random vegies thrown in. In general, it tastes good, but as I'm eating I'll taste something that's a little sketchy or i'll bite down on a bone, and then I have to force the rest of the meal down.

Dinner is random, one night we had a porridge like concoction I assume due to the heat because it was cold. Sometimes its noodles or rice or omelettes.

Interestingly, lunch and dinner are served in large bowls, and we all sit around the table and eat out of the bowls. The women eat with their hands, but the men and I eat with silverware (I guess my gender is kind of ambiguous at times here). I think that's mostly due to personal preference. As we eat, my host mom or sister will pick apart the fish or meat which is in the middle (the rice is on the side) and distribute it. When I say distribute, I mean that they pick off hunks and chuck it into each person's section. We are expected to eat the pizza slice area in front of us, but I've noticed that everyone always pushes food into my area. Hospitality in Senegal includes telling your guest to continue eating even when they are full or have food in their mouth. Pretty much every meal my family says, "Sara keep eating. You need to eat. Do you like it. She hates it. Eat more. You're not full, keep eating." This is fairly entertaining to me, but after a while I'm like, ok, i'm full and then I shout something in Wolof and leave the table so that I don't burst. In addition, they don't drink anything while they eat, so you eat more than you normally would because your stomach isn't full of water or other liquids. Basically, I will be a Jayfonde the rest of my life.

Today I went to the market with two girls from Madison and we went fabric shopping. You buy the fabric there, and then you take it to a tailor to have something made for you. I pretty much got ripped off, I paid around $12.00 for something worth $7.00, but I liked the fabric, I can't bargain, and I figure there's an add on for being a tubab. After I bought my fabric, I kept looking around, because they have some beautifully tye dyed fabrics. Unfortuantely, I have no idea normal prices, so I went into a shop with two little boys working there, and they told me it was $100.00. After some haggling, I got it down to $30.00, and I had the money in my hand when my friends convinced me I was being majorly ripped off. I probably was, the boys went down to $20.00, but I figure I'll ask my family and then maybe go back. It was a fun trip though, the markets are full of life, but when I say market I mean market. The shops are little stands made out of whatever they feel like using and the street in mud, which was slightly problematic because some of it was wet.

Besides those adventures, I have been spending alot of time with my host family. I like them alot, especially my sister Nathalie. She thinks I'm crazy, which I can live with, but her son Isaa is very entertaining. The family situation is much easier to deal with than walking down the street or going places because I'm comfortable there. But, it is still awkward and I look forward to going to school!