I was recently afforded with the wonderful opportunity to
host a dear friend from Berkeley, Jessica. Being a host is always strenuous and
exhausting, but is also a refreshing reminder of the parts of Senegal that are unique and thrilling,
much of which I have forgotten as they have blended in, becoming a rudimentary
part of my life.
Here are a few of the little things that happened and that I
had to ask of Jessica; is this typical in America as well? Generally her
response was no.
-A man who had been waiting for 2 hours for a car to be
filled, gave up his seat so that Jessica and I could travel with two of my
friends whom we had randomly ran into.
-Hearing the piercing screams of children after they have
been beaten; my instinct is to shelter them, but my sensible self knows that
there is nothing I can do
-Sitting five people in one row, the car door has no latch, thus
refusing to stay closed and routinely flies open
-An unfortunate driver has a flat tire on the side of the road;
we stopped to exchange our extraneous good tire for his bad one
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| Typical transport? |
-Sitting, reading, playing cards, practicing patience, doing
nothing all day long
-When eating chicken, being able to detect which part of the
chicken you are eating
-We got to a Restaurant and everything on the menu was not available
-I blew my nose into my skirt, it was dirty already…
-After speaking to the fabric seller in Jahanke and learning
that she too is named ‘Fanta’, we receive a large discount
-While sitting in a transport vehicle, I am handed a baby
from a stranger to be looked after while she goes to the shop and to talk to
people for an hour
-The world is my garbage can, why wouldn’t I throw an old
paper out the window?
And something that I especially need to watch out for, is talking
about people right in front of them. No one understands English anyway right? Additionally,
Senegalese culture encouraged my frankness as it is typical to label a person according
to their physical attributes. There is always the ‘blind man’ the ‘fat lady’
the ‘toothless man’, etc….
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| I sure will miss these views from cheap hotel rooms. |
These are the things that make adjustment to life in America
difficult post Peace Corps. It will be tough to go to a store and not want to
break a large 10 dollar bill, is change superfluous in the states? Or to eat
with a spoon and fork. Or to spend 15 dollars on a meal! Yikes!
So with all that said, be patient with me and try not to be
too disgusted when I drop an Oreo in the dirt and pick it up to eat without
thinking twice…
