how Senegalese culture is similar to Jewish culture

This weekend was a good one! On Friday, because I have no classes on Fridays, I took my two little sisters to the beach in Ouakam, which was SO FUN. They rarely have the chance to go to the beach, so I could tell how thrilled they were to be playing in the waves and in the sand. The problem with Senegalese beaches is that they are not safe at all, so one person has to be sitting at all times with the stuff that we brought (namely, my purse) or else it'll get stolen real quickly. Thus, I didn't get to play with the two of them together, but only one at a time so that someone was always sitting with my purse. However, it was still so fun, and me and Ndeye Thioune chased each other in the waves and I spun her around and threw her in the air and it was just really fun. However, there are so many rocks on the beach, and every time a big wave rolls in, it pounds the rocks against your legs with such force that it actually really hurts and causes some bruises, so in the future, I will have to find less rocky beaches.

That night, I met everyone at the French Institute for a delicious Western-style dinner where I was able to eat a FABULOUS salad. Oh, how I miss fresh green vegetables. As Ryan said in response to the Chinese restaurant that is right near school as well as to the French Institut cafe with the delicious food, "It is dangerous to know that this is here." As delicious as Senegalese food is, I have hit a road-block when it comes to fish and large chunks of meat. I miss American meat products where it is cleaned and de-boned and made very appetizing before we buy it in a supermarket or in a restaurant. Here, you have to pick out the bones and fat yourself because they are careful to use EVERY SINGLE part of the meat. This makes it so much less appetizing, and I am more and more tempted to become a vegetarian when I return to the States, because the thought of meat in all its glory is starting to gross me out. But anyway, long story short, it is always so nice to go out to dinner with my friends because we can get away from the traditional food and eat some nice home-style comforts.

On Saturday I woke up late, ate breakfast, napped, ate lunch, and then napped again. Talk about a relaxing, and much-needed activity! After I woke up for good, around 4:30, Marie (my 12-year-old-sister) and I went to watch Ndeye Thioune (my 10-year-old-sister) in her Koranic school confirmation ceremony. My guess is that it is similar to a bat mitzvah, where she stood up in front of a whole bunch of people and recited something in Arabic (which, she later told me, she has no idea what it meant, which is so endearing and reminds me of my own 7th grade self when I read from the Torah) and basically committed herself to being a devout Muslim and accepting Islam as her faith. She wore a veil and looked so grown-up and proud of herself, and I was really proud of her too. After that we went to Maman's sister's house and ate fataaya (spicy, fried fish dumplings... reminded me a little bit of Indian samosas... DELICIOUS!) and I played with some adorable little kids.

Furthermore, one woman (I think she is my Maman's sister's daugher... thus, my cousin?) kept telling me how nice and handsome her brother was, and was I married, and did I want to marry her brother. I told her I wasn't sure because I didn't know him yet, so her response was, "Well follow me and come meet him!" So she dragged me into her house and introduced me to her brother, which was strange and awkward to say the least, but he was very good-natured about it. Then she kept asking me if I liked him and if he seemed nice, and why wouldn't I want to marry him. I told her I'd think about it, and she told me I should come back tomorrow to get to know him more. I told her I'd think about that too. What's nice and comforting to me, though, is that this behavior is totally normal to me, and I am not entirely weirded out because, coming from a large Jewish family, I am used to being introduced to "handsome young men" who are eligible and whose mothers/grandmothers want them to marry a nice Jewish girl. Thus, I felt right at home being introduced and displayed like a showhorse to all the young Senegalese bachelors who want toubab wives.

On Sunday, I went with Ryan and Rodline to La Village Des Arts in Yoff (the Northern part of Dakar), which was this AWESOMELY COOL. It was this little bohemian village of artists' galleries/workshops, and we went from room to room and looked at this beautiful Senegalese art in all different types and styles. I had been craving some sort of cultural experience, so it was awesome to be so immersed in such beautiful art. After that, I met Shannon and her 20-year-old host brother, Aziz, at La Piscine Olympique, where we taught Aziz to swim, and that was just such a fun, silly experience, plus it is so nice to play in the water when it is a million degrees outside.

On a completely random yet inspiring note, Ndeye Thioune said something so profound yesterday, but I'm not even entirely sure she realized how profound it was. I went with Marie to la boutique to buy bread for lunch, and on our walk, there were 3 different interactions where people said "Bonjour, toubab" to me! When we got back to the house and were eating breakfast, Marie said, "Did you hear all those people say toubab?" and I said yeah but that I chose to ignore it. Then Ndeye Thioune said, "Next time someone calls you toubab, you should say, 'Je m'appelle Allison.'"

What was funny about this is that Ndeye Thioune, as she is only 10, doesn't know much French because it's a language that kids pick up in school, while they speak Wolof in most everyday life. So my French language skills are pretty rudimentary and basic, but hers are even worse than mine, so conversations between the two of us are quite funny and broken. But she said as clearly as day, and quite philosophically, that I am more than just my skin color, and that I have an actual name besides toubab. Despite being only 10 years old, that is some pretty wise advice, and I will actually use it next time someone addresses me as toubab. It's true... I am not defined by my race and/or my differences compared to the Senegalese, and by introducing myself as Allison and/or Aicha Binete (my Senegalese name), I will let other people know that I am more than just a white foreigner.

So today when I stopped at my usual fruit stand to buy fruit for lunch, I argued with the vendor for quite a few minutes about how I did not want to pay 550 francs (a little more than a dollar) for an apple and a pear, and how I was only willing to pay 500 francs. He finally gave in because "nous sommes des amis," as he always tells me, so he is willing to give me a good price. But then he told me I was a "baol-baol" and to ask someone at school what that means. I asked Adji, one of the program directors, and she told me it is someone who is really stingy with money, and that it is sort of an insult, but at the same time, one must be careful with their money here, especially being a white foreigner who is easily taken adventage of. Thus, I am choosing to accept this as a compliment, and again, something my relatives back home in the States would be proud of!

So Marie, my sweet little 12-year-old sister, left us today because (be prepared for a long, convoluded description of Senegalese family dynamics) it turns out she's not even related to my Maman or family by blood. I only find out a little bit of details, day by day, as they relate to why Marie and Ndeye Thioune live with us. Okay, so my Maman works at an elementary school as something (still have not gotten the details about what it is exactly that she does) and Marie is a student at her school, and she loved Marie so much that Marie came to live with her during the summer vacation? And as for Ndeye Thioune, her father died a few years ago, and her father was my Maman's brother, and Ndeye Thioune has quite a few brothers as it is, so my guess is that it just lightens the burden for her mother if Maman takes care of her instead. I have gathered that Marie and Ndeye Thioune both "earn their keep" by doing chores around the house for Maman and helping with cleaning/running errands, but like I said, the details are still murky to me. In short, I get the sense that families in Africa have much looser definitions than the American idea of the nuclear family.

But anyway, so the past few months has been summer vacation for Senegalese children, so that is why Marie has been living with us. Now that school started for the kids in Senegal today, Marie is moving back to Yoff to live with her family and go to school close to her house. I was DEVASTATED to say goodbye to her last night/this morning, because I have gotten so close to her. We've gotten close to one another because I read to her from my copy of Le Petit Prince every night, and teach her about stars and planets and constellations, and she teaches me words in French and Wolof, and shows me how everything is done in the house. She is so sweet and grown-up, and I'll really miss her. She will be coming back to stay with us for a few days in November for the celebration of Tabaskie, but that is such a long way away, and the house will be so lonely without her. Furthermore, she always worked as a translator between me and Ndeye Thioune because Ndeye Thioune, as I mentioned, mostly only speaks in Wolof, so she'll say a lot of things to Marie who translates it to French so that I can understand. Without Marie here, I'm scared that me and Ndeye Thioune will have nothing to say to one another, so it will be a quiet household in general, without Marie here.

Anyway, so here are some pictures of my weekend. Hope you all enjoy. The first one is of Ndeye Thioune (left) and Marie (right) at the beach. Look how happy they look! The second one is of this sweet little darling who I made friends with at Maman's sister's house and who was so content to sit on my lap and play with my hands. The third is of me helping to pound this mixture of peanuts, sugar, and bread, which is kind of the texture of sand and a really nice sweet taste. Maman makes these huge quantities in bulk and then we all helped her to put them in these little baggies, and then she sells them to the little kids at school in these little plastic baggies for 25 francs.

Anyway, that is all for now. I will write more tomorrow!