Monday, February 2, 2009

Six more weeks of WHAT winter?

After that title, which is a propos of nothing in this post except the date (I don't think there are groundhogs in Senegal) here we go again.

I have been asked to write more about the ways I have changed since coming to Senegal, and since we are fully into a new year now, by American, Muslim and Chinese standards, it seemed like an appropriate time to mark change and look at progress.

I sat down for a minute to think and came up with a list, in no particular order of importance, of ten ways that I have noticed that my priorities, standards, perspectives or habits have changed since I came to this country almost eleven months ago. Next month will mark a year here… Amazing how time seems so fluid. Six months ago I thought the days seemed never-ending, and now the weeks seem to run into each other.
This should be item #1.

Speaking of time, it is perfectly acceptable to take two hours for a nap after lunch, and starting meetings an hour and a half past the time indicated is standard. I also know that even though people often say lunch is at “noon” it is never actually at 12 pm, and could be at any time between 1 and 4 pm, depending on the number of people being served at the particular gathering, the importance of the event, or the weather.

2. What I used to think of as “small” sums of money have taken on greater importance, in the relative scheme of cost of living here.
Take 200 f CFA, for example, (equal to about $0.50).
Doesn’t seem like much, but here it can buy any of the following:
1 Coke from a corner store
1 apple
8 medium onions
8 small packs of peanuts from a street vendor
2 packs of tissues
1 clando taxi ride across town + 3 boxes of matches
200 fCFA phone credit = 10 text messages or 3+ minutes calling time (in Senegal)
What would you use your 200 f CFA on?

3. I look at objects I buy in terms of what will happen to the unused part when I’m finished. I know some of you out there are already quite aware of that, but in the States I felt much more distanced from the actual “cradle to grave” process, if you will. Here I work with city cleanup projects and see where trash goes, and what goes into it. An empty pen prompted me to write this post, as I looked at the beautiful shiny hollow aluminum and plastic housing, thinking about how utterly useless that shell was now that the ink inside of it was gone. How long will that ‘packaging’ take to biodegrade, after it served its use for approximately 3 weeks? How much other packaging is avoidable?

4. Going between three languages while having a single conversation with one person is totally normal. In fact I have a hard time keeping to just one language when conversing with people with whom I only have one language in common. In any given conversation I may use elements of French, Wolof, Arabic-influenced phrases, and even English slang. I also now know a few greetings in Serere and Pulafuta.

5. I find my day somehow lacking if no one asks me about my marital status, nationality, religious affiliation or preference for rice and fish.

6. I regularly start conversations with small children on the street.

7. Half a bucket of water is enough to take a full shower and wash my hair, and I felt disgustingly dirty in the hot season if I didn’t shower 2 times a day.

8. When you wash your own clothes by hand, clothes that look clean and don’t give off obvious odor are in fact clean.

9. Instant coffee is a delicious treat I look forward to every morning when I wake up.

and last but not least...

10. Sixty degrees Fahrenheit is COLD!