More on the eating ceremony

Sooo... some people, particularly my mother, are curious about the eating habits of people in Senegal.

Yes, everyone eats out of the same bowl, but it's not because they don't have enough plates for everyone, it's because everything is done in community here. In fact, the language I'm learning - Jaxonke - uses the same word for "my" and "our." they just don't even bother to make the distinction. A kid can't say "hey, that's myyy toy" because the other kid would hear "hey, that's ourrr toy."

Before the meal, everyone washes their hands with a bowl of clean water and soap. Some families use spoons, whereas others (like mine) use their hands. But as I explained before, they exclusively use their right hands. You cut vegetables and meat, and scoop up rice all with your hands.

I don't mean to paint a picture of a mad dash for food either. We had an entire session on eating etiquette. You only pull rice from in front of you, and after cutting off a piece of vegetable or meat, you put the big piece back in the middle so everyone has equal access. If you want something on the other side of the bowl, you can't just reach for it, you have to ask someone to pass it over.

We're in Ramadan right now, in which Muslims fast from sundown to sunset for an entire month. Every evening i break the fast with my host family at dusk by drinking water and eating "mono," which is a sweet porridge made from millet and eaten with big wooden ladel-style spoons.

About 2 hours later the main course is served. The national dish here is cheib ou gen (butchered the spelling on that) which means "rice and fish" in wolof. A base of rice is covered with fish and vegetables, usually a carrott or too, manioc, egg plant, cabbage, and something i have never seen before. There is also often some kind of sauce.

Many of the sauces here are peanut based or leaf based (bissap leaves are a favorite).

Later in the night a sweet drink made from peanuts or a sweet bissap juices is often served. And if I stay up late enough there's usually another dinner served.

Anyway, I'm out of time, so I'll write more later. Write your responses because I can read them all!

Love Andy

Post 1, 9/27/07

Hi everyone,

I only have a couple mins so I'm gonna give you the quick details before a more legitimate blog later.

I am in Senegal.
I live with a family of about 20 named Cisse in a city named Thies - pop. 500,000.
I have already spent 5 days in the bush, eating almost nothing and crappin in a hole.
I am learning the lanugage Jaxonke, I'm the only one in my program learning it because it's an obscure minority language. That means I'll be sent to the Kedegu (sp?) region, which is in the southeast, and the most beautiful part of senegal, with mountains, forests, and waterfalls. I'll be a 2-hour bike ride from the nearest city.
Because of this, i will have access to internet cafes as often as i have access to mail, so I my elaborate blogging scheme is not nec. I will be able to do it all by myself on a computer most likely made before I was born.
My address here is:

PCT Andrew Jondahl
Corps de la Paix
b.p. 299
Thies, Senegal
West Africa

Letters are better than email, cuz I have time to read and reply with thought, rather than a mad rush. But email and facebook are good too, cuz I'm all about immediate gratification.

In Senegal, you have to greet everyone you see, even as you ride your bike down the road.

If someone hands you something, you have to take it with your right hand. Never touch anyone here with your left hand, it is most definitely dirty.

More on that later, about to run out of internet time.

Love you all, keep in touch.

Andy