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.