It occurred to me the other day that alot of what has become commonplace for me would strike the random passerby as a little odd. I decided to try and take my sene-goggles off to share the oddities of my life.
*One hundred and eleven degree days being perfectly standard.
*Instead of asking if 'm afraid of something, people ask if you have courage. Not sure what it is about that phrase, but I really love it.
*Appreciating how damn hard it is to get anything to grow in Africa.
*Having literally every conversation revolve around how hot it is.
*Everyone and their mom asking you if you have a husband, then asking if you'd like one.
*Being incessantly complimented on my jayfondae - i.e. big butt. Nice.
*The temperature dropping 30 degrees in the span of like an hour when a rain storm is on the approach.
*Children doing things like sucking on batteries, or playing with machetes.
*Eating with my hands out of giant bowls, while sitting outside on the ground.
*TOUBAB! Toubab! T-T-T-Toubab!
*Mosquitoes. Spiders. Creepy-crawlers. Absolutely enormous spiders.
*The early evening sound of millet being pounded.
*How foreign a car or moto sounds in my village.
*How "Senegalese" every taste/flavor seems.
*How absolutely dark is can be at night here.
*Communicating across languages, resorting to every trick of charades that I've ever learned.
*Waiting for cows, donkeys, goats to cross the road.
*Greetings. "How's it walking? It is walking. How's your mother? She is there. Peace only."
*How amazing it is to get rained on as you are walking back from the well with water that you just pulled balancing precariously on your head, trying not to trip on the goat in front of you.
15.8.11
mancala
The two women are stooped over the ground on their small, hand-crafted stools. The lines of age have been etched into their faces by decades of back breaking work and the harsh rays of the ever present sun. Their bodies are swathed in seemingly endless roles of bright, exuberant fabrics. The tops of their heads are adorned in creations so elaborate, jutting out at every imaginable angle, they could be modern art, yet these practiced hands throw them together with incredible ease. These two village mothers are perched under the shade of a bold and imposing baobab tree, one of the few beings in the village that has endured the harsh conditions of the savannah longer than them. Their hands are moving swiftly over the surface of sand, deftly carving concave depressions into the earth. One pulls out a swatch of cloth from the depths of the fabric billowing around her, and emerges with a cache of smooth, rounded stones, which have been carefully sought out and saved. As the circles have been impressed into the ground, and the stones carefully parceled out, the game is about to begin. Interested family members have begun to gather, and anticipation is growing. The first woman whispers “inchallah” under her breath, and in a flash of movement, her hand has scooped the first handful of stones, and she drops them one by one into a succession of divots in the sand. The game has suddenly broke into a flurry of motion with hands roaming to and fro, sweeping stones across the ground, reshaping the cups of sand that hold them. There is an air of tense excitement permeating through the small gathering – where will the next move be? Suddenly, a hand rests abruptly over a pile – she is thinking, tentatively weighing out her options. The game is nearing its close, as mini mountains of the smooth, rounded stones lay at either end of the board. The time for strategic play has arrived. A hushed whisper ripples through the crowd. With a precise movement, her hand traverses the playing field, reaching for the adjacent cache of stones, and the game resumes its flurried pace. A clear leader begins to emerge, and within moments the last stone has been placed, and the victor rocks back on her stool, throwing her head back with a smile radiating off of her face, and with a resounding clap she exclaims “Alhamdulillah!” The less fortunate one shakes her head back and forth in her hands, indecipherable utterances spilling from her lips. And with that, the curious few who assembled for the match slowly recede back into their daily chores. The first women sweeps up the stones and pockets them, as the second returns the sands to their original state, and with that, the two women rouse themselves up, their statures still strong and proud despite their age. As they stroll towards the compounds entrance, they swoop down, each reaching for a benwar, which they place with agility on the tops of their heads. With the sun slowly sinking in the sky, they head in the direction of the well, their brightly colored silhouettes cutting a sharp contrast with the gentle tones of pink and yellow stretching across the sky. They chatter animatedly about the game, as they head down the lush, green bush bath, resuming their roles as women of Senegal.
pcv cribs
Welcome to my humble abode...
...my bedroom...
...the living room/office/my closet...
...my awesome bike and painting supplies..
...the kitchen/laundry room...
...the backyard that I really don't know what to do with... Suggestions??
Thanks for stopping by!!
7.8.11
ramadan, rashes, and the rains
Just a quick update on my general state of being:
*Ramadan has begun. Not too bad so far. I was sick the first few days, so I wasn't able to try fasting, and even after, my family wanted to make sure I was A-OK before they were going to let me give up food. They are very concerned about making me "very, very large!" so when I go home to America, everyone will be able to tell how wonderful Senegal is based on how fat I get. I definitely am not planning on fasting for the entire month, but when I get back to village I would like to give it a try for a few days. I'll let you know how that goes. I anticipate being very, very hungry.
*It is more humid that one can possible imagine at the moment here in Kaolack - never thought there could be 100% humidity without rain, but never fear, Senegal managed to make that a reality. My skin has decided not to get along with the humidity, and I am at various times covered with heat rash. Luckily, a cold shower, some talc powder, and a good dose of an antihistamine do wonders.
*Rainy season is in full force now, and man oh man can it rain! For the past week at site it has rained every day, ranging from just a few light showers to full on hurricane strength gales. One night the lightening was so crazy, you didn't even need a light to go out because the entire sky was constantly ablaze. Crazy! It is still deafeningly loud inside the hut since I have a tin roof, but I am starting to get used to it; just need to get passed the sense that the roof is going to cave in on me! The main bush path that I take to get from my village to the road has become more of a river, which I learned the hard way when I tried to bike out this morning. It was literally a lake that I had to trudge through, in flip flops, with my bike. Lovely. I tried to fight my way through the bush in an attempt to stay dry, which partially worked, but since it is the rainy season, the bush is no longer sparse, but teeming with flora. So I was basically bush-wacking my way down the road. I felt like I was in the Jungle Book or something, and it is a serious shame that no one was around to witness my battle against the bush, as I can only imagine how ridiculous I looked. Needless to say, I will not be taking that particular bush path for a while.
Tomorrow I am off to another village to plant some trees for a live fence, then going home and hopefully painting some murals in the next couple of weeks, so I will be sure to take some pictures!
Jamm & Love
*Ramadan has begun. Not too bad so far. I was sick the first few days, so I wasn't able to try fasting, and even after, my family wanted to make sure I was A-OK before they were going to let me give up food. They are very concerned about making me "very, very large!" so when I go home to America, everyone will be able to tell how wonderful Senegal is based on how fat I get. I definitely am not planning on fasting for the entire month, but when I get back to village I would like to give it a try for a few days. I'll let you know how that goes. I anticipate being very, very hungry.
*It is more humid that one can possible imagine at the moment here in Kaolack - never thought there could be 100% humidity without rain, but never fear, Senegal managed to make that a reality. My skin has decided not to get along with the humidity, and I am at various times covered with heat rash. Luckily, a cold shower, some talc powder, and a good dose of an antihistamine do wonders.
*Rainy season is in full force now, and man oh man can it rain! For the past week at site it has rained every day, ranging from just a few light showers to full on hurricane strength gales. One night the lightening was so crazy, you didn't even need a light to go out because the entire sky was constantly ablaze. Crazy! It is still deafeningly loud inside the hut since I have a tin roof, but I am starting to get used to it; just need to get passed the sense that the roof is going to cave in on me! The main bush path that I take to get from my village to the road has become more of a river, which I learned the hard way when I tried to bike out this morning. It was literally a lake that I had to trudge through, in flip flops, with my bike. Lovely. I tried to fight my way through the bush in an attempt to stay dry, which partially worked, but since it is the rainy season, the bush is no longer sparse, but teeming with flora. So I was basically bush-wacking my way down the road. I felt like I was in the Jungle Book or something, and it is a serious shame that no one was around to witness my battle against the bush, as I can only imagine how ridiculous I looked. Needless to say, I will not be taking that particular bush path for a while.
Tomorrow I am off to another village to plant some trees for a live fence, then going home and hopefully painting some murals in the next couple of weeks, so I will be sure to take some pictures!
Jamm & Love
curious critters
I have decided to start a running list of things that I have found co-habitating in my hut with me:
- spiders. everywhere.
- two lil mice
- a very large frog. he is very loud.
- more crickets than one can imagine
- cockroaches. yuck.
- a chicken that one time
...stay tuned for more roommate updates
- spiders. everywhere.
- two lil mice
- a very large frog. he is very loud.
- more crickets than one can imagine
- cockroaches. yuck.
- a chicken that one time
...stay tuned for more roommate updates
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