27.06.08

i can't think about the 4th of july.

it seems so foreign to me that we're all going to be sitting around eating hotdogs and chips and watching fireworks...and drinking beer...i'm 21??? and i think i forgot how to ride a bike. tomorrow i am going to the market early in the morning to buy everything you need to make the plat national that is called ceebu jën. maybe i have already talked about it. i am making ceebu jaga which has fish balls and fish. then i am cooking chicken for all my friends (we bought 6). and then we are going out dancing. it is my going away party. hopefully i will be busy enough that i won't actually feel emotional. i am going to learn how to make yassa (onion sauce) and cook over charcoal. we'll see how it goes, i am sure i will mess up something. sunday night some of the other americans and i are going to do henna. and monday i have an important interview at 11am. i went to the prison yesterday to get an interview there but the guy was un friendly and told me i needed an authorization or something...power trip. i was just asking about the law, i thought that was public information. maybe with this authorization can talk to some ladies actually IN the prison...in anycase i am really hungry. and nervous about coming home. i need a job and maybe instead of hotdogs for the 4th, i'll make some ceeb.

20.06.08

well since i haven't updated since the last time...i got my ticket changed to july 2nd. we just took jill and claire to the airport on tuesday night and it was teary. really teary. maybe because i got up at 2h30 am to take the cab with them to dakar so i was tired but it was so strange being at the airport with (some of) the girls again. maren and i got there before the voyageuses did and thought about ourselves walking out of the airport last october. maren is sitting there chewing on a stick (that they use to brush their teeth here: cure dents) and i'm going through the random assortment of binbins that i bought (and bargained for in wolof) at the marché sandaga earlier that day and i realize how far we've come since that first night when i thought my eyes would pop out of my head. the airport didn't even look the same. in anycase, it feels like i'm going to have to wake up from this little dream world i've been living in soon and while there are things that i miss in the US (mostly people), i know i can't ever come back to this year. and time always goes on. sometimes that is relieving and sometimes that is scary. i think the biggest thing i've learned this year is patience and to stay close to the women in my life. even though there has been drama and frustrations this whole year among the ten of us...i never felt so strange as i did leaving the airport and having to say bye to jill and claire. it was like something was missing...and i was a complete mess. i think life is nuts. i don't know if i am ready to go back to the same old things and i have a feeling i am not going to be able to. i'm not ready for my adventure to be over though i am ready to see the people i've missed. the people i've become closest to here might not be here if i come back. i've made promises i hope i can keep. inch'allah the beautiful things in life will be strong enough to keep the people i care about close to me.

28.05.08

16 days...i think.
i hate STA. or airplanes...or whoever. i have to crunch everything in to two weeks. i had an interview with the prostitute i have had my eye on all year last night. it went well though she made me answer all the questions i asked her. and slapped me on the back a few times. oh and i visited a village last sunday for the first time. it was very nice, if i join the peace corps that is where i want to be: in a village. i did everything you're not supposed to though. before we came they said no swimming in fresh water (dangerous viruses and bacteria), no walking around barefoot (worms, dirty things etc...), and be wary of insects as our bodies aren't used to their bites/stings. so i explored a broken down school room and got stung by a two inch black wasp on my back and then took my shoes off and ran around barefoot on the bank of the senegal river where i got some gash near my ankle and then swam in the river with alot of bare-breasted african women. i figured i am going home in two weeks any ways...i might as well en profiter. and nothing happened. i still have a sore spot on my back and a scab on my ankle but nothing is turning green (or black for that matter). i have to run to my wolof party but i will add more pictures later. leegi leegi.

17.05.08

this is a picture from the mainland in st. louis to the hydrobase at sunset. i liked the tires.

i forgot to tell a toubab story in the last blog...so the other day i was going to go upstairs in my block to collect sara for breakfast and when i left my room i noticed some new little kittens running around that this cat madeleine and i named "smutty" had. (for a while she wanted to give birth in my armoire and my roommate had to chase her out at least 10 times) so i decided to surprise sara with a kitten and picked one up. the whole time there was a gardener there watching the little episode pan out (when i say kittens, these aren't cute little fluffy things...they're dirty and look as though they've been knocked around a bit but not rabid or anything, that is for sure) and needless to say was probably pretty grossed out. but in anycase i picked up the smallest one and went up the stairs and sara and i played with it for a little bit and let it down to walk around when i noticed it dangerously close to a hole in the wall where all the piping is and as i went over to get the kitten of course it disappears and all i hear is "meeeeeeeeew *thunk*" as it falls all the way in the wall to the first floor of the building. so, slightly panicked and thinking "oh shit i just killed a kitten" i went running back down the stairs to try to pry the little door off the pipe area on the first floor to let the kitten out all the while the gardener is craning his head around a bush watching me poke at the wall. so then i went back upstairs to tell sara what happened and as i get up there i hear some crashing noises downstairs and realize the gardener has broken the wooden door on the pipe area open to let the kitten out. i can't even imagine what he thinks:"stupid toubabs carrying dirty little kittens around and then dropping them down walls..." the happy ending is that the kitten made it out and is still alive and i saw it today playing with weeds. no more muus surprises for sara i guess.

14.05.08

i guess a blog isn't interesting unless someone writes on it...
...here's my attempt.
i have a plane ticket home for the 13th of june which is earlier than i wanted...and planned on of course. there are days when i cannot wait to stop standing out toubab-style. but there are also other days where i panic when i think about coming back to the US and what it is going to be like to shop for food at the...'super'market? and i sometimes get anxiety thinking about the fact that i probably won't be able to find bouye (baobab fruit) to suck on when i am hungry between meals. the other night i was realizing that there is so much to learn...i was talking to two travellers from england and scotland who asked me what i was studying at the university and when i said african literature one of them asked if i'd read A---- someone i've never heard of and i laughed and said "i don't really know that much about anything" and the more i think about it, the more i realize i don't. there are people who haven't even been to elementary school here who know more about practical life things than i will ever figure out and i am supposed to be graduating from college in a year? i think travelling is a good way to learn but i can't help but smirk when the new kids (toubabs) on campus think they've got something figured out...i still don't think i know anything about anything here. this continent has more secrets than people can ever imagine...i have a friend who lives in a village and some of the girls from the program went to visit and on their way back they were waiting by the side of the road for a taxi when mansour's dad (my senegalese pal from campus) came up and asked if he should call a taxi...they said sure and he then threw three stones in the road, after 45 minutes of waiting without a single car going by, an empty taxi showed up. i don't know if it is a coincidence but weird things happen like that all the time here. one of my best friends i made here, paco, just left for italy without really telling anyone...he just called last thursday and told us he was in italy for 5 years. i guess it is superstition that if you talk about leaving/travelling you won't ever go. it is hard to see his other friends suffer...it is like he just got promised a life and they are still stuck here living off less than $2/day. but then again it is always hard to see grown men cry.
...on a less spiritual note...
i think my roommate has forgotten about me. she uses everything i own and sleeps on my bed when she invites her friends to stay in our room. i don't think we've had a conversation in about 2 weeks. i was mad at her before because her husband came on a monday night (i was then sexiled) and stayed until saturday morning. FIVE nights. i felt homeless. finally one afternoon she left me naked in the shower while her husband's cousin was visiting in the room and that is when i was really pushed over the edge...i don't know him, or his cousin. they could be rapists and i wouldn't know. since then i don't know if we're friends anymore or just clenching our teeth until i leave...it sure doesn't seem like she gives two flying fucks about me. i am sad about it but i can't compromise myself anymore. it is like living in a maternity ward. my roommate with her big belly and the girl next door with her baby and baby-sitter (who is also married and has a daughter of her own in Thiès) our two rooms are cut off from the rest of the floor by the bathroom. i was in natalie's room the other night and i was just realizing that not all senegalese people are as maternal and authoritative as chez moi in the maternity ward. it is alot more fun not being married. or pregnant for that matter. i don't even feel comfortable in my own room. maybe she'll pop kid sooner than planned and go home. well, meeting with baydallaye...ba ci kanam.

17.03.08

this is the picture of the back door that got us detained. i was trying to copy the mauritanian emblem with my head and arms...i actually wanted to take this picture for my mom because i thought she'd think the door was pretty. oops.

17.03.08

hello.

i know, i've taken forever to write. a lot has happened since the last time i wrote. i guess i will make a list of things i've done...
1. the first weekend in february i went to the capital of mauritania called nouakchott. we had a really hard time getting a visa and sat at the border crossing for quite a few hours before getting a transit visa for 48 hours. we spent saturday walking around the city which included buying junk in an underground artisan market, nearly getting run over by the many female drivers there, visited a mosque (only outside, no women allowed inside), got detained for taking a picture of the banque nationale's back door (we were unaware it was the BN, it was unmarked, it is apparently illegal to take pictures of government buildings but thanks to maren's charm we got out of trouble and the policeman ended up giving me his number...), getting "wrappers" aka malaffa- a big cloth that you wrap around your body and head that moor women wear, ate at a lebanese restaurant where we ordered banana milkshakes and tuna/egg sandwiches (they were good), squished into a sept-place (a station wagon meant to seat 7 people) that actually carried 10 of us back through the desert to the border (tight squeeze, but everyone kept a good attitude about it and we spent a lot of time giggling at one passengers attempt to close the door), got ripped off from the man collecting money for the pirogue on the rosso, senegal side (the other side of the river is called rosso, mauritania but i got in an argument on the senegalese side which was hell on earth), hopped on a "mini-bus" that was twice it's original height because there was so much stuff strapped to the roof and then got stopped twice and completely unloaded to check for illegal substances (funny though, there were two guys who were in the mini-bus with a briefcase freaking out about where the key to lock it was...very suspicious but they didn't get caught, i guess cocaine is a problem), and finally made it back in time to eat some "nice burger" (a saucy burger with a fried egg) and drink a real espresso.

2. still in early february (not entirely sure what date) i went to park-djoudj (a bird park) with natalie and her parents. we saw pelicans, water snakes, crocodiles, a python, warthogs, a varan (that's the french word for it, it is a large lizard) and some other species of birds i don't know the names of. it was interesting but an uncomfortable drive- the road wasn't good and we got dusty.

3. this weekend...well actually wednesday morning at 3am (simon & garfunkel) [*sigh] we started driving and drove...and drove...and drove...

...and finally, after 18 bumpy-dusty-sweaty hours in a bus, made it to the tambacounda region (south-eastern corner of the country) where 19 of us toubab ladies (students from hamline university, Upenn, haverford, wisconsin-madison, and barnard) packed into the back of a 4x4 in a national park called Niokolo Koba looking for lions but only seeing water buck (strange-looking animals, deer-like heads with stumpy, strong legs and bodies), hippos, crocodiles, baboons, monkeys with yellow-tipped tails, cool birds that looked like hunchbacks, antelope, and warthogs...i think that's it. we did a land and a water safari on the fleuve gambie. that was thursday. then friday we drove to kedougou (another 4 or 5 hours) where we stayed for two nights. friday morning we got up at 7am and went to a waterfall in the mountains...it was beautiful, i felt like a mermaid jumping in with little senegalese boys. once back we went to the market and i bought some indigo-dyed fabric. saturday we climbed a mountain and visited an old village where women have tons of rings in their ears and sticks in their noses- kind of like the pictures you see in national geographic. there was an amazing baobab tree up there that was so old. in fact, all the trees were so big i felt like an elf walking around there. we also saw a dead panther that had apparently wandered into the village the night before and they killed it with poisoned meat. that was really neat. there was a "dame du village" who was 118 years old there too. the trip was excellent but i have never, EVER been so dirty in my life...i think my skin was about 5 shades lighter after my shower yesterday! it was an adventure...that is for sure. we got very little sleep but good food and mangoes and there was hardly any drama or trouble. lucky us, only sandra ended up getting diarrhea. one out of 19 is not a bad ratio.

besides those adventures i had exams and papers to write which all went pretty well i think. second semester is starting but spring break is coming up too. tom comes on sunday so i think we'll go visit the rain forest. and maybe walk down the beach to guinea bissau or interview a prostitute or two. it's quite hot here, about 38 degrees celcius which is about 103 degrees farenheight. that is an average, some days are hotter. well i have a wolof class in 8 minutes so good luck. i got 20/20 on my last exam.

27.01.08

gëj naa la gis! (it's been a while since i've seen you)

so things here have started picking up pace and i can honestly say that it hasn't been laziness that's been holding me back from writing these blogs...i might actually be able to say i am busy. a week ago on friday, natalie and this english kid dave and i rented bikes and set out to find a dam on the boarder with mauritania. it is called la barrage diama. we had a map and a pretty good idea of where we were going but NO idea how long it was actually going to take to get there. originally someone told us it was only 40km round trip (about 25 miles) but it ended up being 65km (a little over 40 miles). haha. and my bike seat looked like someone took a bite out of it. my bike was also stuck between gears the whole time and i think i pedalled twice as much (if not more than that) than dave and natalie. no matter how hard i tried i couldn't keep up (or catch up) with them. my legs weren't the problem though it was my butt cheeks who couldn't handle it. i felt like i was walking around like a penguin. anyways, about the bike ride itself...the road was good, not too many potholes and quite flat. there was only one small hill that we hit during the whole time. geographically the region we biked through is called sahel. it is the very outer edge of the sahara desert. there are some low bushes and trees with alot of spikes on them (if you ever have to sleep outside you're supposed to use the spiky branches to keep animals out of your shelter). we crossed over a stream or two on our way too. there were some cow herds here and there that look prehistoric. they have some massive horns and skin that hangs off them in layers. we stopped at one point and waited for this herd of cows to pass us on the road. they were all walking towards us and we wanted to take some pictures. they walk really slowly too. the coolest part was the noise their hooves made on the cement. kind of like tap dancing or something. but softer. we just stood there quietly listening to them clop on by. after the cows we biked past a village where a bunch of little kids came running after us asking us for pens "donne moi un bic!" "donne moi le cadeau!" (probably the only thing they know how to say in french). we wanted to pull over for a water break but this group of kids yelling seemed like a bad idea to get stuck in the middle of. after that we ran into a herd of camels. some were old and branded but there were babies too. apparently there isn't enough vegetation in mauritania to feed them so people bring them down into sénégal where there are more trees. they are so cool looking. like a mix between a horse and a goat. or a giraffe or something. they have long necks and they move so smoothly. finally we made it to the dam (which was beyond anti-climactic) but we ate some ceebu-jën with a brother and sister in a boutique. then some crazy 60 year old french people showed up and hid my bike thinking it would be funny if i came back and thought it was stolen. honestly i was more relieved that maybe that way i'd HAVE to hitch hike into town with them and not bike all the way back but in then end i caught the ladies peeking out the window watching for our reaction when my bike was gone and knew they'd taken it. silly french people. the ride back was the same as the ride there except we saw a warthog running near the road. he was so ugly! like a little dirty grey tank with short legs and a tail sticking up in the air. that same day was a muslim fête called tam xarit but needless to say natalie and i stayed horizontal the whole night and i slept in her room. which leads me to anothing subject...my roommate. SHE. IS. CRAZY. and pregnant. yesterday i was sleeping in because the maurides were praying with their big marabout until at least 6am and so i didn't sleep too much. it was loud. my roommate left for breakfast or something and when she got back she started whacking my butt with her purse saying "annie! lêve-toi!" later i saw her with a large stone throwing it up in the air trying to knock these sour, yellow cherries out of a tree outside our dorm. normally i don't care what she eats but these particular cherries make her produce nasty nasty gas. my room stunk alot yesterday when i got back. then this morning she ripped the sheet off me and dipped water on my head and pulled my legs to get me up. i swear she's losing it. is this normal for a pregnant person? anyways...i am going to scoot. cheers!

1.1.08

i know it has been a really long time since the last time i wrote anything...

well winter/tabaski/christmas/new years break is going on right now. that started around the 15th of december but students cleverly were on strike for at least a week or two before the break really started. my galpal madeleine ventured down here from milan to check out my little life. i think she really liked it. we went out with my friends (a group of tall, silly senegalese guys) and wandered the markets, etc. we didn't do too much travelling, we only spent one day in dakar but i think it was ok...she got a good look at senegalese life from my friends. we celebrated the muslim holiday tabaski (i don't know what it is in english) and watched sheep get killed for it. i know it seems normal that i would say this but it was surreal. i mean, we saw the life drain out of it. which makes sense but it was so natural and peaceful...it wasn't scary or nauseating or anything like that. according to islam, any sheep that is killed on the day of tabaski goes directly to heaven. one of the girls who was there was surprised that i'd never seen an animal be killed before. i said it was my first time and she said, "ah bon??" even the little 2 year old girl sat on a chair right behind the men and watched them slit the sheeps' throats. after that madeleine and i peeled potatoes and cut onions for 3 hours. our hands smelled like onions for about 5 days afterwards...i didn't mind but it drove madeleine crazy. we both got traditional senegalese outfits made for the holiday too. hers was blue and mine was red. senegalese people really enjoy seeing toubabs wear the teré wolof (traditional outfits). i think they feel like it shows a sensitivity to their culture that tourists never touch. one of my senegalese friends explained to me that the senegalese think white people have alot of money and hassle us alot because when they see white people, it is in the markets where they are buying little souvenirs or out and about buying expensive cups of coffee and food in restaurants etc. for them, money is for needs only. they see white people as living a lavish lifestyle consuming, consuming, consuming and they think we have all the money in the world. even in the other aspects of their life, they eat around a bowl where everyone is sharing and there is only one large dish to clean. and they don't really use eating utensiles because they have hands so they don't need them. it is simplistic and it makes sense. i never realized what a consumerist society was until i got here...on a different subject, the biggest religious leader here (religious leaders are known as marabouts) died on friday night. madeleine and i were at my friend paco's house waiting to go out and my other pal amadou got there and turned on the radio. at first everyone was just kind of quiet but then paco left the room and we heard him wail. it was the most gut wrenching sound i have ever heard. a huge, muscular, grown man sobbing. needless to say madeleine and i had no idea what to do and ended up getting our baggage and hopping in a sept-place to dakar. afterwards though, the government of senegal declared 3 days of mourning in respect for serigne saliou mbake. last night was new years eve but i didn't go out, i don't know if anyone did. the 3 days of mourning are over today though so i think i'll have one last dance tonight. well, it is time to find some food. damaa xiif. (i'm hungry)...ciao. happy new years.