Dakar Ain't So Far

I had another great weekend out of town. We need to fit them in while we can, because I will be going off to my site in less than two weeks! I'll be sending out some sort of mass email with more info about my site, but they recommend we don't post that in public places for fear of identity theft.

That said, I spent this weekend in Dakar, which is the capital city of Senegal and probably the biggest in West Africa. I hadn't really seen it before because we flew in at 4:30 a.m. and left quickly on a bus for Thies. I had been to African "cities" before and so had my doubts about how big Dakar would actually be, but it is every bit a big, urban, modern city as most cities I've been to in Europe or the States. Or at least close.

Now a short break away... a name I've been hearing as a walk or bike down the street since I arrived is 'Toubab' (too-bob). It's actually a nickname for anyone who's French, but it's generally applied to any white face and the kids love to shout it out as you go by. It's not necessarily derogatory, the Senegalese just love to point out their physical differences (it's not taboo hear to point out and laugh about the fact that someone is a different weight or race than you - and noone takes it personally).

Anyway, for everything in Senegal, especially in Dakar where they have more white tourists there is a 'Toubab price). So when I arrived via public transportation in Dakar and had to find a cab to our hotel, the cabs were offered to us at 3000 cfa each (about 6 dollars). This may seem cheap but by Senegalese standards it's outlandish. After some arguing in French and some dramatic storming off I managed to talk them down to 700 each, which is a more appropriate price. The entire weekend pretty much went like this, having to negotiate prices.

My favorite part of the weekend was a meal we ate at 'Point des Almadies) which is the Western most tip of Africa. We ate at a restaurant right on the beach, so last Sunday night I was about as close to you all as I could possibly be while in Senegal. The food was incredibly fresh. You order family style, so we had a platter (we're talking heaped up lunch tray style) of clams come out first, then a platter of raw sea urchins that were still moving - you just have to scoop the goop out of the middle. Then a platter of the biggest muscles I had ever seen. Then, came the skewers of grilled seafood: tuna, lotte (a white fish), huuuuge pieces of calamari, and king prawns. All of this food cost a total of 26 dollars, split among 7 people. So we each paid less than four dollars for the whole thing. Not bad.

Anyway, I have a busy week ahead of me, two men that i'll be working with in my village are in town for a three day workshop, so i'm really excited.

More letters emails and posts!

Love Boubs (another nickname for Boubacar)