Outro

Well, I’ve been meaning to write up a little “conclusion” to my semester in Senegal for some time. But, as with all my other good blogging intentions, days turned into weeks that in turn became months – good months, mind you – and as Amelia Bedelia might say, I “plum forgot."

Until now – when, tucked away in a little corner room at the Corrymeela Reconciliation Center in Northern Ireland, I felt inspired tonight to step outside of the cool, misty green pastureland of the Emerald Isle into the much hotter, drier, dusty streets of Dakar one last time. (In my head, anyway. And my ears – I wonder if I’m the only American in Ireland listening to Mbalax right now? Wouldn’t doubt it… in fact I’d doubt otherwise.)

Farewell, Car Rapide. I miss you dearly.

I miss Senegal. West Africa, to anyone who knows me, seemed a really weird choice of program before I left. Even to me, it came as a bit of a surprise to have chosen to go to Dakar. I like cleanliness and beauty, open spaces, cool weather and lots of nature; gourmet food and a good cappuccino; quirky indie films and calm folksy music; European literature, comfortable living. Dakar poses to all this the ultimate contrast: Dirty, dusty, smelly, plain; crowded and busy; hot hot HOT (and very sweaty) without AC; so little vegetation that the 2x4 foot plot of grass at the Elton gas station was the most green I saw any given day; piles of rice loaded with oil and MSG and fried fish, eaten with hands around a big bowl; a cup of coffee consisting of Nescafé with powdered milk; music I didn’t know and didn’t understand and definitely couldn’t dance to; no news other than a tabloid journal representing each political party; a culture vastly different from my own and living conditions that most middle-class Westerners would find distressing.

Knowing all of this, I could never have anticipated how truly perfect and meaningful the semester before me would be when I disembarked from the airplane on August 21, 2011; but, somehow, each of the things that from a distance or under other circumstances could seem very unattractive to me instead became charming, or adventuresome, or perhaps something I didn’t even think about after awhile. Once it became a part of my daily life, suddenly it just seemed “normal.”

Me and my stunning host mom!

Which is one of the themes emphasized the most during my time there: Relativity, and subjectivity… How an environment or background can affect how an experience is, well, experienced. - How the “norm” isn’t judged by what you think should be expected, but by what the general populous has learned to expect. - How what seems “better” or “best” is typically determined by people who have never experienced the alternative. - How what I am impressed by as an outsider might be completely overlooked by an insider; or, on the other hand, how what’s completely overlooked by me can be of intimate value to the insider. - How the things that make the list of “wants” and “needs” aren’t universal.

There is much more on that subject, too - specific examples and illustrate these thoughts, experiences that influenced them, and many other thoughts altogether - but of course I can’t dwell too long on it. (Concision and compaction, two nouns that never seem to be very popular with me.)

A classic meal of céeb in massive quantities.

But what do I miss? MSG and oil aside, I miss the tasty food: the céebu jën, mafé, yassa, and lots of French fries. Street food, too: Millet-plantain donuts, fresh mangoes, pain au chocolat, grilled corn, Nem’s and pain chinois, peanuts – fresh, roasted, or sugar-coated, bags of water, baobab juice, and bissap.

And each of those for only 5-50¢. The acquisition of a jaayfanda was far too easy.

What else… I miss: My car rapide ride to school – easily one of my favorite parts of each day. Babacar, the friendly boutique man who sold me my morning baguette. The happy seller of phone credit by the Elton gas station. SOUL ice cream from Elton. Asalaam malekum-ing and nanga def-ing and shaking hands with every person I pass. The slow lifestyle and the welcoming atmosphere of teranga. The great friends I made in my host family, my classmates, my neighbors. I miss the beautiful boubous and bright colors, and tailored clothes for less than the store-bought version. The afternoon Biskrem and strawberry milk to accompany my homework. The haunting call to prayer waking me each morning. The mirror-filled clubs and the youza. The goats in backyards and on rooftops. Bargaining with the taxi driver (waxaaling in general; I was a pro.) Walks along the Corniche. Ataaya. Music. Activism. Thinking about things I didn’t normally think about. My wonderful host family. An intrinsic sense of community. Nighttime chats on the terrace.

I could continue with much, much more.

Moussa, King of Ataaya, at our farewell tea party.

There are, of course, the things I don’t miss at all, like the rotting animal carcasses in the ditches; the shameful persistence of the Talibe; the corrupt government, the extreme poverty; the classism; the sexism; the lack of education; being yelled at – “Toubab! Toubab!” – and never getting a break from being reminded that I’m an outsider; electricity cuts and blisteringly hot temperatures; getting stranded on an island while deathly sick; garbage everywhere; being treated differently – usually better, many times worse – for being white, or American, or female, or all three; etc.

Yet, somehow even the things that upset me the most weren’t enough to ruin my time over there, which I was enjoying superbly. Now, the further away I get from my time in Senegal the less and less are the unpleasant moments and thoughts important in my selective memory. Time and distance tend to do away with the imperfections, so I’m left with a fond, pleasantly nostalgic feeling of my semester.

I’ll keep missing it, for at least awhile yet. It’s hard not to when little moments throughout the day still remind me of things back there and keep the feelings very vivid and present. However, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to miss it. Missing Senegal highlights how much I really did appreciate my time there, and even though it was very, very difficult to leave, I was happy to go home, too. I can’t have all good things at once, and lucky for me I’m a happy kid with a great family to come home to and more fun adventures to look forward to.

Perhaps I'll get to go back one day. But until then, ba baneen yoon, Sénégal. Insh allah.

The Talibé outside Ouakam's bakery.

Some Petite Observations...

When blueprints are being considered, bathrooms get the shaft. In fact, they don’t even deserve being called such: the minimal size would be more adequately called a closet, and I’ve yet to see a bath. Instead, a seatless toilet is nearly all any “bathroom” can hold. And forget about toilet paper, people here prefer the “water system.” If you’re lucky, a shower head will be centered right next to, if not on top of the toilet. Otherwise, bucket showers are always a good second choice. Just make sure to bring a flashlight, as I’ve yet to see a light fixture in any bathroom.

When going anywhere, add an extra half hour to be dedicated to greeting people along the way. I will provide you with two scenarios to make the reason why ever so much clearer. First, let’s pretend that Etty is buying a package of pretzel M&M’s at BP:

Gas station man: Hi, did you find everything you need?

Me: Yup, that’s it.

And then I pay.

And that’s the end of that. Now, let’s take the same scenario, and just substitute pretzel M&M’s for a small package of Biskrem cookies at a convenience store in Senegal:

Storekeeper: Bonjour, asalaam maalekum.

Me: Maalekum salaam.

Storekeeper: Nanga def?

Me: Maangi fi rekk.

Storekeeper: Nanga fanane?

Me: Jámm rekk.

Storekeeper: Sa yaram jam?

Me: Jámm rekk, alxumdulilaay.

Storekeeper: Nanga waa kër gi?

Me: Nungi fi.

Storekeeper: Ça va bien?

Me: Ça va bien. Ça va?

Storekeeper: Ça va.

Now that we have our greeting out of the way, something more similar to the American scenario passes and I can finally buy my Biskrems. Of course, that same conversation happens whether I’m talking with the security guard at my school, who I see every day, or passing by a total stranger on a street corner.

And even if I don’t go through this entire discourse with my family every time I enter a room – I mean, that would be a little excessive, right? – I am still expected to shake hands and ask how everyone is doing, individually.

Needless to say, I know how everyone is doing at any given minute and have shaken more hands in these past two weeks than I likely have my whole life.

America’s Most Important Meal of the Day is of no importance here. Breakfast every morning consists of: a cup of Nescafé instant coffee and half a baguette. I avoid the margarine.

Eating “around the bowl” is a great way to save dishwashing hassle. Although it takes some time to get used to eating out of a large, communal bowl with 5+ other people, and I haven’t fully adjusted to eating rice, fish and cabbage with one hand and no silverware, it’s such an effective way to spend less time in the kitchen. Plus, who doesn’t like an excuse to lick their hands in public.

Celine Dion is the world’s favorite singer. I am constantly bewildered/amused by how much the rest of the world, outside of North America, loves Celine Dion. Senegal is no exception to the rule.

“Finish your food, there are starving children in Africa!” sounds very different when you see the children firsthand. Even in Senegal, Africa’s most politically stable democracy, poverty is rampant and the unemployment rate hovers around 50%, making America’s 9% look meager. That poverty reflects the hunger that is equally prevalent. The other night after for once refusing to finish my mountain of food, I went to go throw the leftovers in the garbage. However, Lyddie stopped me on my way. She told me, “You can’t just throw that away, Esther. Here in Africa, we always put our leftovers in a bag. That way, when a hungry child is looking in the dumps for food later on, he will find it still clean to eat. And it will be more difficult for the dogs to get it first.”

And the saddest part of the situation is that I see those hungry children every single day.

It definitely jolts my perspective, which up until now has been primarily influenced by countries whose jobless have hope enough to keep searching, whose poor usually can still eat - and when they can't, they are hidden from view. It's healthy for me to be reminded that la vie est plutôt belle in the land of Stars and Stripes, and hopefully it remains a reminder for me four months from now, when I am an ocean away from what I am experiencing in these moments.