What I've seen so far . . .

I have now been in Dakar for 10 days, and I’m starting to get a feel for the city, though I certainly still have a lot of exploring to do. This morning headed downtown for the first time, so I’m starting to get my bearings in the larger city now that I know my way around this area. And this weekend, I’ll be making my first trip outside of the city to see a nature reserve near Gambia, which will definitely be a different side of Senegal.

Some basic observations of Dakar I’ve had so far:

There is dust everywhere. In the dry season (which is now), Harmattan winds blow in from the desert and bring lots of sand with them. So in walking along a road, it’s regular to have sidewalk completely obscured by sand (in some cases resembling small dunes). And daily practices, such as sweeping sidewalks and yards every morning, or the boy at the shoe store near my house who constantly washes dusty shoes stored in the open air, are a battle against the dust that just keeps coming.

Most stores are very small, and many food stores are just a table or a blanket along a road with goods for sale. On my ten minute walk to school this morning, I tried to remember all of the stores I passed (walking entirely in a residential area), and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, but here’s a brief list: 2 women’s clothing stores, 2 shoe stores, 2 butcher stands, 5 convenience stores, a video rental place, a games store, a cosmetics store, a restaurant, a shoelace stand (?!?!) and a hairdresser’s. Markets are also popular here, and I’m looking forward to seeing the large market downtown tomorrow.

And some observations about Senegalese culture:

Family is very important. Your family network even includes neighbours and anyone who is important in your life. They are always welcome in your home, without notice (and when people come to my house, I often don’t know who they are or why they’re there . . .).

One of their main values is called muna, and refers to patience and endurance in difficulties. When something is a hardship, people are always look to better their situation, but they must also accept the hardships that come and learn to endure them. This value is really contrary to our North American way of working constantly to improve situations. For example, last year there was a lot of problem with power outages that would last days. But people were patient, and waited for the power to come back. Eventually, some “modern intellectual types” (so labeled by my cultural orientation teacher) decided to start protesting, and many other citizens joined in. This protest was met with success in that the power has been more consistent this year (I’ve only seen 4 power outages in my week here). But what I found interesting was that my teacher presented the protests in a negative light, despite the fact that the result was positive. Being so contrary to how I run my life, it’s going to take a bit for me to really understand this tenet, but I’m trying.

Ok, I’ve obviously written way too much. And I’m going to stop now. Also, if there’s something specific that I should be writing about that I’ve left out, let me know. I’m new at this blog thing after all.

But before I finish, some pictures!

The street in front of my house. Note the sand (there's pavement to the left as well).

This is my host brother Bamba and I playing a game of crib (which I brought with me, and taught to him IN FRENCH). And I must have taught too well, because this was our second time playing and he almost beat me (notice how close the pegs are to the end). Next time he might have his revenge . . .

I went to a batik workshop last weekend at a women's collective where they make artisan products (batik, fabric dyeing, and macrame) to support themselves. This is the sarong that I made using a stencil of the baobab tree, from which my school and neighbourhood get their names.

Ok, that's really all for this time.