The buses went on strike today. I have no idea how long the strike will be, but it means car rapide rides at all times, which will be that much more cramped without buses! At least I've discovered that there is labor organizing here.
Also, the CIEE (my program) office got broken into, including the safe, and someone's laptop and a ton of money in an unspecified amount was stolen last night. Good thing I didn't bring my computer with me!
On a lighter note, this Friday I plan on visiting the IFAN museum which is Dakar's museum of art, and have a trip to this fabled patisserie (pastry shop) downtown where the rich and famous go- it has a guard at the door! I'll just tell myself that I'm contributing to the regional economy. One of our neighbors is going to make me a boubou for pretty cheap money, so I've got to go buy fabric anyway. Yay for new handmade clothing! This woman isn't just a neighbor, but is somehow related to my host mom. At the end of our street is also my host mom's sister-in-law and her family. Small world! It must be nice having so much family around. The suicide rate in Senegal is extremely low because people realize their place in the family and get so much socialization all the time. If I say to my host family "I'm going out for a walk" (which I tried once) they don't understand why I would walk by myself for no reason, and assumed I was going to a friend's house. Also, everyone's stuff is communal. Once something is left out in the open, it's for everyone. Everyone in my family, from what I've seen, shares food when they bring it home-whether it's peanuts or donuts (mmm) and if I leave my sandals out people wear them around (which I've been doing, but they're so worse for the wear that I'm hiding them under the bed now so I don't have to buy new ones). From what I've seen, it's common to be asked for small amounts of money or things, and people are willing to give. I've let my host sisters have a little money and use my phone, and people have also paid for my bus fare twice when I didn't have enough or the right change!
To Farid: Would you like me to buy you a new "teapot" here? I have no idea how to spell the Hindi word but I know how to say it! All of them here are plastic and striped usually. Mostly kidding since I know you've already got one :D- maybe a pair of sandals?
I don't have a webcam but I do have a microphone and will look into the Yahoo/skype thing.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Mango Madness/Goree
This won't be a long entry, but here are a few photos. I can't get all of my photos up on facebook because these computers aren't compatible with facebook's uploading program, so you'll have to settle for these! If you know my family, you know that we aren't very renowned photographers, that is if we even remember to bring the camera anywhere. Add that to my self conciousness around looking like a privileged tourist and you have me-who doesn't take as many photos as some others. ---Note: okay so I can only get this one photo up, it's a view from the balcony outside a classroom at school. This is the center of campus. Note the Senegalese flag in the center and the ocean just behind :D---
As I mentioned previously, the computers here cause me unending frustration, but otherwise I try to let things slide.
A little while ago after class I was excited to eat a mango I bought yesterday because my fruit and vegetable intake is very low, and I went to open the skin when a little white worm started crawling out, so I immediately dropped it and threw it away-simultaneously grossed out and dissapointed. However last night I did get to have some bueye, which is a smoothie-like juice made from the fruit of baobab trees. It is delicious and tastes sort of like banana and strawberry combined, along with some orange.
This weekend at Goree Island was great. A cheap ferry takes you out (cheap for students anyway) and the island is carless and has winding narrow dirt streets. It's famous in history for being the headquarters of slave export in the Senegambia region, and we went to the Maison des Esclaves- the building where 300 Africans at a time were kept before being shipped out to the new world. The upstairs of the building is where commerce and trade deals were made by white and Afro-European (mixed race) merchants. We saw the cramped rooms where people were kept, and the "door of no return" where boats could pull up to load their "cargo"-never to be seen again. It is open and looks out onto the ocean. Despite the deadly history of the island (there are also WWII era cannons at various points and an old fort turned into a history museum-once the island was even bombed when the Vichy regime and the free French were fighting) it's extremely picturesque, colorful, and peaceful. Theres a little beach where we all went swimming, a church, and many many people selling tourist items who follow tourists around trying to sell them things. Since I've been to some concentration camps in Europe, forts in the US, etc. I thought of how much this place contrasts with those. At Goree, it's about unification and fun in the sun as you check out the architecture and talk with residents- the level of seriousness when touring the Maison was not the same. Maybe they don't think Europeans (and Americans) can take that level of seriousness-it would dampen their mood for buying food and tourist items. It's probably true? On Goree is also one of the most renowned high schools in Senegal-it's a boarding school for girls named after the famous Senegalese author Mariama Ba. There is a church for Catholics on the island, a hospital type building, and at the top of the island where parts of old WWII forts are people have made their homes (inside). Nothing is made on the island and everything is shipped in on the ferry-it seems even the baguettes that people generally eat for breakfast are shipped! (That might not be true).
The first week in October is our "fall break" and I and three other girls have begun planning our excursion. I think we're going to stick to the "petite cote" which is the coast south of Dakar and north of the Gambia. There is one place where the rooms are treehouses in huge baobabs. It's going to be a very nature oriented, riding pirogues (canoes) through the coastal mangroves sort of trip. Very exciting!
Got to get home for lunch-stay tuned.
Amanda
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I Am A Toubab and So Can You! / Ramadan Begins
Happy Ramadan to one and all! I started writing this post yesterday on the first day of Ramadan, but the power went out and the generators in the computer lab were being funky so I had to get off. The second day of Ramadan is equally good. One thing about Dakar is that there are a lot of power outages- for at least a couple hours every day. It's been going on for about two years now. People just light candles and go about their business. More on Ramadan in a few paragraphs.
I know that you (my family) are very anxious to hear about the continuation of my travels- my internet access is limited to the computers at school in the computer lab (which is sometimes closed and other times occupied by a class). There are "telecentres" around but most of them only have one computer or so and I haven't bothered to try one yet. We'll see how I feel when I have to finish my two final papers. I've gotten a phone though and tonight I'm going to buy a sim card, so I should be working approximately by tomorrow.
Well then! Last week I finished orientation and signed up for classes, and have now had all of my classes at least once. I'm in Intermediate French 2, Beginning Wolof, Senegalese Culture and Society (which is this semester also functioning as a class in cross-cultural communication, and I'm very excited about it), a history class called Colonization and Decolonization focusing on Senegambia (that's Senegal and the Gambia combined-Gambia being the country that is completely surrounded by Senegal except for the Atlantic), and Gender and Development (which is going to be totally awesome because it's all field trips, guest speakers, and movies and we volunteer at an organization that works with girls in one of the poorest areas of Dakar as part of our grade).
On Friday the end of our orientation we traveled to the Baobab Center (named after that lovely national tree) where we learned about different cultural concepts in Senegal and "ate around the bowl" for the first time and tasted about ten different scrumptious juice drinks particular to Senegal. One of the ladies at the center is an artist who coordinates a workshop programme to train women in different arts so that they can start their own businesses. I got her card and she is going to come do a batik workshop with some of us in the near future!
The most exciting thing about Friday however was that our host families came to pick us up! In my case it was a guy who lives down the street from my family and his little sister, who are also hosting a student. The university is in the neighborhood of Mermoz and I'm living in Ouakam, which is a 15 minute bus ride north. Our street is a block away from the far side of the airport. I'm living with a grande famille! Along with my host mother are five sisters, all between 16 and 25, two nieces (daughters of 2 of my host sisters) who are 1 and 6 respectively, and a host brother (the nephew of my host mom) who I think is 28 or so. My host father works in the Casamance, which is the southern part of Senegal, so I have yet to see him. There are also other kids from the neighborhood who hang out at our house, and there are a lot of young people my age on the street who we go visit and who visit us. At every corner there are little shops, like tailors or telecentres, but mostly minimarches, many of which are the size of a walk-in closet but are stocked with everything you could possibly need. We go to different mini-markets depending on what we need for the best price. My host brother keeps to himself pretty much and doesn't eat with us or any of that. My first extended conversation with him was last night when him and his sister decided to have a French lesson for me. So it's basically a house of women! they're always sitting in the living room talking and there's always activity and we're always going to some mini market to get some thing. The TV is always on but mostly people don't watch it (sounds kind of familiar :)? ).
I've been in about five houses by now and they're all very open so that the air can flow. For example, you have to walk outside to get to the washing area and the bathroom but it's tiled and closed off. There are a couple of small rooms beside the bathroom and kitchen that are open (no roof), and one of them has the stairway that's open and leads up to the roof, which is flat, and is where we hang the clothes to dry. There are no air conditioners, but sometimes a fan is on. It's always extremely hot and humid and I am forever sweating. Everyone is very clean and forever taking showers-so I am too (mom) :). The toilet doesn't flush and you just squat on it, which I'm still getting used to, but it's all good.
The food. The food has definitely lived up to my high expectations! I mentioned "eating around the bowl"- for meals the food is put in a large, sort of flat, bowl for everyone to eat out of. Traditionally you use your hands (everyone washes first, and only uses the right hand because your left is for the bathroom. You do everything with your right hand- like eat and accept/give gifts). We did that the first night for my sake I think, but usually we use spoons. There is no stove, so food is mainly rice, couscous, and maybe some lentils with either fish or chicken and some mostly root vegetables. There are lots of spices. I like the concept of eating from the same plate. There's this one dish whose name I forget that is more like a dessert, but we had it for dinner too. It's fattening apparently so it will give you a "fonde"-a big butt- which is desireable here :). It's boiled millet (a grain) with sugar and something else I think, and then you pour this sweetened yogurt over it, or sometimes condensed milk I think, and it's so good! My favorite drink is a popular one in Senegal called bissap. You get a bunch of dried hibiscus flowers, boil them, add mint candies which melt in the boiling water, and I think you add some ginger too. Then when it cools off you add a ton of sugar, and it turns out as this sweet red minty cold drink. Yum! I had one of my host sisters write down the recipe for me, though it's in French.
Speaking of food, Ramadan is great in this respect. Of course there's the fasting, but most of the people in my house don't fast (including my host mom)-though they do get up at 5am before sunrise. My favorite part is when we break the fast at sunset- we ate sweet bread with butter, dates, and nescafe creme. The coffee people drink here is nescafe-powdered instant coffee. This one we had last night comes in individual packets and is powdered cream and coffee, and then we put a bunch of sugar cubes in- very tasty. At the same time on TV they turned to the Arabic prayer chanting with scenes of Mecca and people praying that is special programming for Ramadan. Then dinner is between 9 and 10pm. Everyone stays up until at least midnight just hanging out.
Saturday night I went to a nightclub with three of my host sisters and three of their friends. It took about two hours for everyone (besides me) to get ready and trade clothes. We went to this posh club called the Senat (pronounced sena) at the Hotel Meridien which was verry upscale. (The kind with multiple swimming pools with different color lights in them and large palm trees.) Luckily it was free to get in for some reason. We spent another 20 minutes in the bathroom so everyone could put on makeup. There was too much "grinding" for me and mostly American hip-hop. It was okay, but we didn't leave until 5:30 am, walked a mile for a taxi, and then didn't get back home until 6:30am!! What's more, I had to get up at 7:30am for a trip to downtown Dakar with the students in my program! It was worth an hour sleep though, because we saw the major sites downtown like the presidential palais, American embassy, and Marche Sandanga (this huge market area! People follow you around trying to sell you things. It looks kind of like a flea market only much more cramped and crowded, and some people have store fronts, but they're all really small-like open closets.) We all got coconuts that the vendor chopped open for us so we could drink the milk, then chopped them again so we could scoop out the insides. My group's (6 people) guide was really cool and graduated from the university we're at a few years ago and now works at a bank downtown. After the trip he took us to the naming ceremony of his little nephew, back in Ouakam! The naming ceremony happens when a baby is a week old, and the whole family gets together to eat a lot of food and celebrate. We all got to hold the baby (there's a photo of my somewhere on my friend's camera) and eat. In the evening my host brother and sister and I went with a family down the street to the Point des Almadies- a nice beach spot north of us in the same super rich neighborhood as the nightclub. There were a million little kids and we watched the sunset as a rainbow appeared behind us before it started to drizzle out. Love the rainbows here! It's been raining often, but in large bursts so I've hardly used my umbrella. Most of the streets aren't paved and even ones that are aren't cambered, so the rain leaves huge puddles everywhere that splashes people on the sidewalks when cars drive by. The water combined with heat makes the trash that's around smell particularly bad, but luckily the trash is mostly in large piles rather than evenly spread. There are a lot of cars here, but not an overwhelming amount. Most people can't afford them, so there is a good transportation infrastructure. There are tons of taxis, but there are also blue public buses that go most places, and privately owned car rapides (mini-buses-kind of like big VW buses) that go everywhere. People drive horribly though. In a car rapide on Sunday on our way downtown the day almost became a tragedy when we hit a little boy crossing the street. Thankfully, he was able to stand up afterwards and had many adults around and we called an ambulance, so it was okay.
Contrary to Adam's (my brother) warning, there are not any children slapping me and asking for money. The only people who've asked me for money are the little boys who are talibes- followers/students of different marabouts (religious leaders). They're pretty unobtrusive and I feel bad for them, but most people I've talked to think it's exploitation and don't give money to them.
This Saturday we're going to Goree Island, which was one of the four communes (cities) where people were French citizens during colonization (as opposed to everywhere else where they were subjects). It was the main slave port in the area, although Senegal wasn't one of the biggest slave export areas. I'll have another entry to write by some time next week and will be able to include that trip, hopefully with a couple of photos. I'm still adjusting and the cultural learning curve is a challenge, but that's exactly why I came here so I'm really glad about everything!
Thanks for reading,
Amanda
P.S. I am a toubab. Did I mention this already? Originally it meant white person but it's been extended to mean any type of foreigner or outsider. I and the other students regularly are referred to as toubabs within our families, etc. There are actually a surprisingly large number of toubabs in Dakar. When I see other white people, who are mostly tourists or are wearing sun glasses and driving nice cars, I usually avert my eyes. I've discussed this with my friends in the program and they feel similarly. It's generally awkward. In the US one thinks of outsiders as lower on the power scale and usually with less privilege, but generally it's the other way around here so I've been thinking about that a lot, as I had expected. It's really weird. Why bother flaunting how much money you have, you know? Why bother pretending your back home by walking your dog, going to posh restaurants, and driving your SUV, when clearly you are somewhere else? Why not embrace? I don't know.
P.S.S. This p.s.s. is especially for my mom but anyone can read it: The sheets were a BIG hit! They loved the sheets a lot. And here it's so hot you only use one sheet and don't have anything over you, so it's really like two sheets for them. And the lotion was a big hit too, as well as the coloring books.
I know that you (my family) are very anxious to hear about the continuation of my travels- my internet access is limited to the computers at school in the computer lab (which is sometimes closed and other times occupied by a class). There are "telecentres" around but most of them only have one computer or so and I haven't bothered to try one yet. We'll see how I feel when I have to finish my two final papers. I've gotten a phone though and tonight I'm going to buy a sim card, so I should be working approximately by tomorrow.
Well then! Last week I finished orientation and signed up for classes, and have now had all of my classes at least once. I'm in Intermediate French 2, Beginning Wolof, Senegalese Culture and Society (which is this semester also functioning as a class in cross-cultural communication, and I'm very excited about it), a history class called Colonization and Decolonization focusing on Senegambia (that's Senegal and the Gambia combined-Gambia being the country that is completely surrounded by Senegal except for the Atlantic), and Gender and Development (which is going to be totally awesome because it's all field trips, guest speakers, and movies and we volunteer at an organization that works with girls in one of the poorest areas of Dakar as part of our grade).
On Friday the end of our orientation we traveled to the Baobab Center (named after that lovely national tree) where we learned about different cultural concepts in Senegal and "ate around the bowl" for the first time and tasted about ten different scrumptious juice drinks particular to Senegal. One of the ladies at the center is an artist who coordinates a workshop programme to train women in different arts so that they can start their own businesses. I got her card and she is going to come do a batik workshop with some of us in the near future!
The most exciting thing about Friday however was that our host families came to pick us up! In my case it was a guy who lives down the street from my family and his little sister, who are also hosting a student. The university is in the neighborhood of Mermoz and I'm living in Ouakam, which is a 15 minute bus ride north. Our street is a block away from the far side of the airport. I'm living with a grande famille! Along with my host mother are five sisters, all between 16 and 25, two nieces (daughters of 2 of my host sisters) who are 1 and 6 respectively, and a host brother (the nephew of my host mom) who I think is 28 or so. My host father works in the Casamance, which is the southern part of Senegal, so I have yet to see him. There are also other kids from the neighborhood who hang out at our house, and there are a lot of young people my age on the street who we go visit and who visit us. At every corner there are little shops, like tailors or telecentres, but mostly minimarches, many of which are the size of a walk-in closet but are stocked with everything you could possibly need. We go to different mini-markets depending on what we need for the best price. My host brother keeps to himself pretty much and doesn't eat with us or any of that. My first extended conversation with him was last night when him and his sister decided to have a French lesson for me. So it's basically a house of women! they're always sitting in the living room talking and there's always activity and we're always going to some mini market to get some thing. The TV is always on but mostly people don't watch it (sounds kind of familiar :)? ).
I've been in about five houses by now and they're all very open so that the air can flow. For example, you have to walk outside to get to the washing area and the bathroom but it's tiled and closed off. There are a couple of small rooms beside the bathroom and kitchen that are open (no roof), and one of them has the stairway that's open and leads up to the roof, which is flat, and is where we hang the clothes to dry. There are no air conditioners, but sometimes a fan is on. It's always extremely hot and humid and I am forever sweating. Everyone is very clean and forever taking showers-so I am too (mom) :). The toilet doesn't flush and you just squat on it, which I'm still getting used to, but it's all good.
The food. The food has definitely lived up to my high expectations! I mentioned "eating around the bowl"- for meals the food is put in a large, sort of flat, bowl for everyone to eat out of. Traditionally you use your hands (everyone washes first, and only uses the right hand because your left is for the bathroom. You do everything with your right hand- like eat and accept/give gifts). We did that the first night for my sake I think, but usually we use spoons. There is no stove, so food is mainly rice, couscous, and maybe some lentils with either fish or chicken and some mostly root vegetables. There are lots of spices. I like the concept of eating from the same plate. There's this one dish whose name I forget that is more like a dessert, but we had it for dinner too. It's fattening apparently so it will give you a "fonde"-a big butt- which is desireable here :). It's boiled millet (a grain) with sugar and something else I think, and then you pour this sweetened yogurt over it, or sometimes condensed milk I think, and it's so good! My favorite drink is a popular one in Senegal called bissap. You get a bunch of dried hibiscus flowers, boil them, add mint candies which melt in the boiling water, and I think you add some ginger too. Then when it cools off you add a ton of sugar, and it turns out as this sweet red minty cold drink. Yum! I had one of my host sisters write down the recipe for me, though it's in French.
Speaking of food, Ramadan is great in this respect. Of course there's the fasting, but most of the people in my house don't fast (including my host mom)-though they do get up at 5am before sunrise. My favorite part is when we break the fast at sunset- we ate sweet bread with butter, dates, and nescafe creme. The coffee people drink here is nescafe-powdered instant coffee. This one we had last night comes in individual packets and is powdered cream and coffee, and then we put a bunch of sugar cubes in- very tasty. At the same time on TV they turned to the Arabic prayer chanting with scenes of Mecca and people praying that is special programming for Ramadan. Then dinner is between 9 and 10pm. Everyone stays up until at least midnight just hanging out.
Saturday night I went to a nightclub with three of my host sisters and three of their friends. It took about two hours for everyone (besides me) to get ready and trade clothes. We went to this posh club called the Senat (pronounced sena) at the Hotel Meridien which was verry upscale. (The kind with multiple swimming pools with different color lights in them and large palm trees.) Luckily it was free to get in for some reason. We spent another 20 minutes in the bathroom so everyone could put on makeup. There was too much "grinding" for me and mostly American hip-hop. It was okay, but we didn't leave until 5:30 am, walked a mile for a taxi, and then didn't get back home until 6:30am!! What's more, I had to get up at 7:30am for a trip to downtown Dakar with the students in my program! It was worth an hour sleep though, because we saw the major sites downtown like the presidential palais, American embassy, and Marche Sandanga (this huge market area! People follow you around trying to sell you things. It looks kind of like a flea market only much more cramped and crowded, and some people have store fronts, but they're all really small-like open closets.) We all got coconuts that the vendor chopped open for us so we could drink the milk, then chopped them again so we could scoop out the insides. My group's (6 people) guide was really cool and graduated from the university we're at a few years ago and now works at a bank downtown. After the trip he took us to the naming ceremony of his little nephew, back in Ouakam! The naming ceremony happens when a baby is a week old, and the whole family gets together to eat a lot of food and celebrate. We all got to hold the baby (there's a photo of my somewhere on my friend's camera) and eat. In the evening my host brother and sister and I went with a family down the street to the Point des Almadies- a nice beach spot north of us in the same super rich neighborhood as the nightclub. There were a million little kids and we watched the sunset as a rainbow appeared behind us before it started to drizzle out. Love the rainbows here! It's been raining often, but in large bursts so I've hardly used my umbrella. Most of the streets aren't paved and even ones that are aren't cambered, so the rain leaves huge puddles everywhere that splashes people on the sidewalks when cars drive by. The water combined with heat makes the trash that's around smell particularly bad, but luckily the trash is mostly in large piles rather than evenly spread. There are a lot of cars here, but not an overwhelming amount. Most people can't afford them, so there is a good transportation infrastructure. There are tons of taxis, but there are also blue public buses that go most places, and privately owned car rapides (mini-buses-kind of like big VW buses) that go everywhere. People drive horribly though. In a car rapide on Sunday on our way downtown the day almost became a tragedy when we hit a little boy crossing the street. Thankfully, he was able to stand up afterwards and had many adults around and we called an ambulance, so it was okay.
Contrary to Adam's (my brother) warning, there are not any children slapping me and asking for money. The only people who've asked me for money are the little boys who are talibes- followers/students of different marabouts (religious leaders). They're pretty unobtrusive and I feel bad for them, but most people I've talked to think it's exploitation and don't give money to them.
This Saturday we're going to Goree Island, which was one of the four communes (cities) where people were French citizens during colonization (as opposed to everywhere else where they were subjects). It was the main slave port in the area, although Senegal wasn't one of the biggest slave export areas. I'll have another entry to write by some time next week and will be able to include that trip, hopefully with a couple of photos. I'm still adjusting and the cultural learning curve is a challenge, but that's exactly why I came here so I'm really glad about everything!
Thanks for reading,
Amanda
P.S. I am a toubab. Did I mention this already? Originally it meant white person but it's been extended to mean any type of foreigner or outsider. I and the other students regularly are referred to as toubabs within our families, etc. There are actually a surprisingly large number of toubabs in Dakar. When I see other white people, who are mostly tourists or are wearing sun glasses and driving nice cars, I usually avert my eyes. I've discussed this with my friends in the program and they feel similarly. It's generally awkward. In the US one thinks of outsiders as lower on the power scale and usually with less privilege, but generally it's the other way around here so I've been thinking about that a lot, as I had expected. It's really weird. Why bother flaunting how much money you have, you know? Why bother pretending your back home by walking your dog, going to posh restaurants, and driving your SUV, when clearly you are somewhere else? Why not embrace? I don't know.
P.S.S. This p.s.s. is especially for my mom but anyone can read it: The sheets were a BIG hit! They loved the sheets a lot. And here it's so hot you only use one sheet and don't have anything over you, so it's really like two sheets for them. And the lotion was a big hit too, as well as the coloring books.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
J'ai arrivé
I am currently in the midst of orientation. We are staying in the dormitories on campus where our classes are held, until Friday when our host families pick us up. The university campus is in the neighborhood of Marmoz. The Senegalese army has a post across the street, and the Indonesian, South Korean, and Saudi Arabian embassies are around the corner, as well as USAID. We can see the ocean from the classroom windows, and frequent rain showers leave at least a couple of rainbows arching across the sky every day.
There are lots of dogs and cats wandering around, as well as herds of goats (some with, others without herders), and some horse drawn carts beside the zooming cars, taxis, buses, and car rapides, which are colorfully painted cheap mini-buses that run constantly and are super-crowded (people hang off the backs). Some of us rode with student guides yesterday on a car rapide to Ouakam, the neighborhood I'll be living in. There is an incredible amount of construction going on everywhere because of recent foreign investment, apparently, and many walled off beautiful villas are right next to cramped apartments. Trash tends to be everywhere, but people are resourceful. At the beach, kids were using a large piece of plastic (maybe it used to be a top or door?) as a boogie board. I have yet to see a chain store or fast food joint, (or a large supermarket for that matter) which is cool. There are innumerable street vendors and small shops and people just selling things without shops or by the side of the street. We will be receiving a food stipend, and I plan on eating many a mango and banana because breakfast consists of a piece of baguette and lunch and dinner mostly involve meat and rice. It's great because I'm not eating tons of snacks! Did I mention that it's extremely humid here and I'm sweating my butt off, but the weather is wonderful nonetheless.
My French is very bad, and we just started learning Wolof today (the teacher is a wonderful woman! and the class is in franglish), so communication has been difficult, but it can only get better from here! Everyone is extremely friendly once you say hello, especially in Wolof, which involves an exchange of about 8 questions and a generous handshake every time you see someone. Though considering our freshness here, we're only expected to exchange about 3 greetings at a time.
Not much exploring has been done yet, but I'll have a lot more to say be next week after I've seen downtown and been with my host family. Ramadan starts next week so the stores will mostly be closed but that's not a problem.
P.S. the call to prayer from the nearby mosque may just be a call to prayer but it's mesmorizing and beautiful!
P.S.S. there's no toilet paper here.
a biendot!
amanda
Monday, August 18, 2008
Books, Music, Movies: Oh my!
In case you want to do your own research, here's an incomplete bibliography of sorts...
This summer, instead of practicing my French as I should have (I mean, in addition to this research) I've tried to do some reading on and related to Senegal, as well as watch some Senegalese movies, and listen to some famous musicians. Many of the musicians are famous enough that I was already listening to them without realizing they are Senegalese! Fancy that.
Movies
The most famous and prolific Senegalese director was Ousmane Sembene (1923-2007). I found three of his many films at my local library in Arlington, MA- including
"La Noire de..." (Black Girl) (1966),
"Xala" (1975),
and "Moolaade" (2004).
His work explores many social issues facing contemporary Senegal and gives great critique and insight into his culture.
Sembene was actually an author until around age 40 when he realized that movies were the real way to reach most people in a country where illiteracy rates are high. Additionally, Senegal's first president Leopold Senghor was a poet and during the beginning of his term especially he gave a great deal of funding to the arts in Senegal. From my understanding, Sembene somehow benefitted from this.
I read a couple of his books, which are listed in my "books" section.
Also, check out this short documentary (free online!) called "Democracy In Dakar" about the role of hip-hop in the last presidential election. The full set of video shorts is here: http://nomadicwax.com/film/democracy-in-dakar/
Here's the trailor:
Music
Popular music for young people includes rap, r&b, hip-hop, and mbalax (pronounced mbalakh) which developed in the 1970s and incorporated soul, funk, and Cuban music with Wolof (the major language in Senegal) lyrics, local rythms, and the local sabar drum. Today there is greater r&b and hip-hop influences and electric instruments. South American and Carribean sounds are also involved.
Youssou N'Dour has this style, and I've been listening to him. I also have...
Cheikh Lo
Ismael Lo and the more old school
Orchestra Baobab
Some other famous Senegalese musicians and groups include
Baaba Maal
Positive Black Soul
Xalam
MC Solaar and
Akon
Orchestra Baobab video:
Baaba Maal video from 1992. Very cute. Couldn't embed this but here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv78EPSxbvI
Youssou N'Dour video (made for global consumption, being a superstar and all-it's in French and English):
Couldn't embed this one so you've got to click the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBSDE-Dywo
Books
Unfortunately for me I didn't read any of these in French (or Wolof). :)
CIEE, the company that is running my program, suggested some books to participants. Though I didn't read two of them, the rest were great, especially the fiction. I read and skimmed a bunch of other books, but didn't write down the titles before I took them back so regrettfully they aren't listed here. There are some that I do remember and those are here.
CIEE Fiction:
God's Bits of Wood by Ousmene Sembene
So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba
The Beggar's Strike by Aminata Sow Fall
Ambiguous Adventure by Cheikh Hamidou Kane
CIEE Non-Fiction:
The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor
Africa Notebook by C.W. Gusewell
Mandinko: The Ethnography of a West African Holy Land by Matt Schaffer and Christine Cooper
Lonely Planet: The Gambia and Senegal
Muslim Brotherhoods and Politics in Senegal by Lucy Behrman
Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick by Leonardo Villalon
Fighting the Greater Jihad, Amadu Bamba and the Founding of the Muridiyya of Senegal, 1853–1913 by Cheikh Anta Babou
A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal by Allen Roberts, Mary Nooter Roberts, and Gassia Armenian
The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality? by Cheikh Anta Diop
The Cultural Unity of Black Africa: The Domains of Patriarchy and Matriarchy in Classical Antiquity by Cheikh Anta Diop
Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology by Cheikh Anta Diop
Other books, mostly indirectly related to Senegal
The Belly of The Atlantic by Fatou Diome (is related to Senegal directly)
Xala by Ousmane Sembene (is related to Senegal directly)
Notebook of a Return to My Native Land by Aime Cesaire
Segu by Maryse Conde
The Wretched of The Earth by Franz Fanon
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
This summer, instead of practicing my French as I should have (I mean, in addition to this research) I've tried to do some reading on and related to Senegal, as well as watch some Senegalese movies, and listen to some famous musicians. Many of the musicians are famous enough that I was already listening to them without realizing they are Senegalese! Fancy that.
Movies
The most famous and prolific Senegalese director was Ousmane Sembene (1923-2007). I found three of his many films at my local library in Arlington, MA- including
"La Noire de..." (Black Girl) (1966),
"Xala" (1975),
and "Moolaade" (2004).
His work explores many social issues facing contemporary Senegal and gives great critique and insight into his culture.
Sembene was actually an author until around age 40 when he realized that movies were the real way to reach most people in a country where illiteracy rates are high. Additionally, Senegal's first president Leopold Senghor was a poet and during the beginning of his term especially he gave a great deal of funding to the arts in Senegal. From my understanding, Sembene somehow benefitted from this.
I read a couple of his books, which are listed in my "books" section.
Also, check out this short documentary (free online!) called "Democracy In Dakar" about the role of hip-hop in the last presidential election. The full set of video shorts is here: http://nomadicwax.com/film/democracy-in-dakar/
Here's the trailor:
Music
Popular music for young people includes rap, r&b, hip-hop, and mbalax (pronounced mbalakh) which developed in the 1970s and incorporated soul, funk, and Cuban music with Wolof (the major language in Senegal) lyrics, local rythms, and the local sabar drum. Today there is greater r&b and hip-hop influences and electric instruments. South American and Carribean sounds are also involved.
Youssou N'Dour has this style, and I've been listening to him. I also have...
Cheikh Lo
Ismael Lo and the more old school
Orchestra Baobab
Some other famous Senegalese musicians and groups include
Baaba Maal
Positive Black Soul
Xalam
MC Solaar and
Akon
Orchestra Baobab video:
Baaba Maal video from 1992. Very cute. Couldn't embed this but here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv78EPSxbvI
Youssou N'Dour video (made for global consumption, being a superstar and all-it's in French and English):
Couldn't embed this one so you've got to click the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBSDE-Dywo
Books
Unfortunately for me I didn't read any of these in French (or Wolof). :)
CIEE, the company that is running my program, suggested some books to participants. Though I didn't read two of them, the rest were great, especially the fiction. I read and skimmed a bunch of other books, but didn't write down the titles before I took them back so regrettfully they aren't listed here. There are some that I do remember and those are here.
CIEE Fiction:
God's Bits of Wood by Ousmene Sembene
So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba
The Beggar's Strike by Aminata Sow Fall
Ambiguous Adventure by Cheikh Hamidou Kane
CIEE Non-Fiction:
The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor
Africa Notebook by C.W. Gusewell
Mandinko: The Ethnography of a West African Holy Land by Matt Schaffer and Christine Cooper
Lonely Planet: The Gambia and Senegal
Muslim Brotherhoods and Politics in Senegal by Lucy Behrman
Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick by Leonardo Villalon
Fighting the Greater Jihad, Amadu Bamba and the Founding of the Muridiyya of Senegal, 1853–1913 by Cheikh Anta Babou
A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal by Allen Roberts, Mary Nooter Roberts, and Gassia Armenian
The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality? by Cheikh Anta Diop
The Cultural Unity of Black Africa: The Domains of Patriarchy and Matriarchy in Classical Antiquity by Cheikh Anta Diop
Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology by Cheikh Anta Diop
Other books, mostly indirectly related to Senegal
The Belly of The Atlantic by Fatou Diome (is related to Senegal directly)
Xala by Ousmane Sembene (is related to Senegal directly)
Notebook of a Return to My Native Land by Aime Cesaire
Segu by Maryse Conde
The Wretched of The Earth by Franz Fanon
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
Friday, August 8, 2008
What's the story morning glories?
So the idea came up that since I will be studying abroad this semester it would be useful for me to get a blog. Here it is! Thanks for stopping (by)!
I'll be leaving for Dakar, the capital of Senegal on August 23 and returning on December 22. I will try and post my thoughts and things I may learn throughout the trip, though don't be surprised if the posting is inconsistent. Remind me to take photos and post those too.
For now, here are maps of Senegal and Senegal's location in the continent of Africa. Later I will post some music and books from/related to Senegal for those very curious family and friends out there.
Thats all for now!
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