Monday, October 20, 2008

may the force of Africa be with you

We are all excited here, even so far away, for the showdown on election day. Volunteers and Senegalese alike, that is. Believe it or not, even somewhere so far away-seeming as West Africa, people are excited for American change.

Even my host father, Ibou, a normally very serious and sometimes severe man, has been making jokes recently, like when I got back to the house one evening last week, after being out all day.

(note: Ndiaye is my last name, taken from my host father's. 2. one way to honor someone when you are greeting them is to repeat their last name, as they repeat yours. 3: obviously this is translated from the original Wolof)

Ibou: (as he sees me) Oh, who is this? (pretending to be surprised to see me, like I've been gone so long) Ndiaye, Ndiaye, Ndiaye. (extending his hand)
Me: (taking his hand, shaking it) Ndiaye, Ndiaye, Ndiaye.
Ibou: Well, Ngoné Ndiaye, how are you?
Me: I am here, Ibou Ndiaye, how are you? Did you pass the day in peace?
Ibou: I am here, peace only. And you? How are you? I hope you are well?
Me: Peace only, thanks be to God. I am very well. I hope everyone here is well?
Ibou: Yes, indeed, praise the Lord, we are all in peace.
But where did you go today?
Me: Well, I went to the school, talked with Monsieur Loum, went to the mayor's office, to the market... and then stopped by Gnilan's... and after that... (thinking in an English/Wolof blur) After that, now I'm here.
Ibou: Did you see the mayor?
Me: No, we didn't see the mayor. You know, he's never there. But I saw Mamadou Sarr, and we talked about the trash project.
Ibou: Oh, good. (seeming to be actually interested in the events of my day.) Ok.
Because you missed Barack Obama. He came to visit you, but you were out.
Me: What? Wait, who came?
Ibou: Obama, Obama, Barack Obama.
Me: Oh really, he came here, to the house?
Ibou: Yes, here! He greeted your mother, and your sisters Soukeye and Deanor, and your brother, Pape Sambou... but I said you were out, and I didn't know when you'd be back.
Me: Really? (laughing a little)
(then more seriously) That's too bad. Maybe he'll stop by again soon.
Ibou: (straight-faced) I don't know, he said he had to go to France tomorrow.
(and then a minute later, he laughs)

Friday, October 17, 2008

just some new photos.


I just uploaded a bunch of photos from Korite, so check them out. Pretty outfits, people I know, and so on. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/offtoseetheworld/

me and my sister Deanor, in our Korite best.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

7 months in.

This post is overdue, but I wanted to note that ... Ramadan is finally over! Hooray!

At the end of the month, we did not eat our sheep after all. Because the day after the feast to celebrate the end of the fast, our sheep gave birth. In our backyard. I am not used to seeing animals actually bring offspring into the world, so it was a bit of a new thing to me. That whole day was a lesson in patience and cultural adaptation, really. The day after Korite, I hoped to be able to do some laundry in the morning, all quiet-like. But first my brother had untied the sheep in the backyard, where the faucet is to get water, and I was slightly distracted from filling my bucket by the head and foot of a miniature sheep stickily protruding from the once singular sheep's back end.

Almost as soon as the entire small creature was exposed to air, storm clouds started to rapidly gather overhead, dashing my hopes of line-drying my wet clothes, and starting my whole family to worrying about whether this newborn should be left out in the downpour. Meanwhile, there had been a funeral for an elderly woman who had lived next door, and the mourners who had filled the street were starting to pile into our house at the first sight of gray sky. After some minutes of rapid discussion, the back door was opened and mother and baby were herded into our small kitchen just as the first drops were starting to fall. Closing the door behind them, I tried to make my way back through the corridor to my room, almost tripping over people filling up the hallway, looking at me oddly, not knowing that I actually live there, and had much more right to be in the hallway than they did, even if I am a white person in a black world.

Needless to say... I only managed to get 2 shirts and 2 pants washed and suffered much indignation at feeling unwanted in my own house (after carefully fostering a sense of belonging over the last several months). By late afternoon I finally got out into town and away from the bedlam, had a successful trip to the market and visited with my sitemate who was sympathetic to my cause. All in all, at least it was a story to tell! Days like these make me rethink how "adjusted" I really am so far here. The next time a farm animal gives birth in my kitchen maybe I'll be a little less surprised!