A very random insight about universality

So today on the car rapide on my way to school, a mother climbed on with her baby strapped in a sling around her back. The baby was definitely the happiest and liveliest baby I had seen since I've been here. He was cooing and goo-gooing and laughing and making all kinds of funny, happy baby noises. Everyone on the bus was waving to him and wiggling their fingers at him and, in general, doing all the universal baby gestures.

I happened to have a stuffed chipmunk finger puppet in my backpack, and I pulled it out and wiggled it at the baby, and he absolutely loved it... he was smiling and making more cute noises, and it made me realize that babies and children are the same in ANY country. It's kind of a comforting thing to realize that before children grow up and are inundated with biases and propaganda and their parents'/society's ideas, they are all the same, and they all appreciate the same things. Maybe this is less insightful than I originally thought, but it was a nice thing to think about, no less.

Also, today I was called a "true Senegalese" by the fruit vendor down the street from school. I stop every morning to buy a mango, and each morning he tells me it will cost 200 francs. In the true Senegalese fashion, I have to act all indignant at the concept of him charging me that much (about 40 cents American) and argue for him to bring it down to 125 Francs, which he says is too cheap, so then I have to force him to compromise at 150 Francs. After lots of laughing and arguing and cajoling, I get my way, and I walk away feeling proud of being able to haggle as well as proud of being stingy and only having to pay 30 cents American. But anyway, he told me that I argue like a true Senegalese, which is quite the compliment, because they are FEROCIOUS here, when it comes to getting the best price.

When my host sister, Khady, takes me to the market place to go shopping, she fights so hard with all the vendors who try to rip her off. She is such an empowered, take-no-shit-from-nobody type of girl, and whenever she takes me to buy something, she always tells me "Laisse-moi parler" as in "Don't say a word, let me take care of this," and then she argues with the vendor until he gives me a fair price. If he doesn't, she yells at him and says it's too expensive, then summons me to walk out of the store with her. Then the vendor always chases after us and ends up giving her the price she wanted. She is so confident and wise... definitely someone to look up to!