I slept in.. and it was wonderful. I won't even tell you how late I slept. It's funny though because my family will knock on my door to give me breakfast about 10 minutes after I wake up. I have no idea how they know.
We then had lunch soon after that and it was white rice with spicy chou (cabbage) drizzled on top. My mom calls me "mon oiseau" because I eat like a bird. My mom was also very concerned that I didn't drink my coffee this morning. I tried to explain to her that I only like it when I have to wake up early, but really wanted to tell her that that isn't coffee. It's mostly milk and sugar.
Then we decided to visit the beach. One of the only safe beaches in Dakar is Ngor beach. You can either go to Ngor Island or stay on the mainland. We decided that we didn't want to pay $1 each for the boat over...lol. Instead we paid just over 2 dollars for an umbrella. There were so many people there, and soo many safety violations. It just shows that there are no rules in Senegal. The host brothers in our program took us, so we weren't harassed as much. Surprisingly they were incredibly protective. We went in the water and it's impossible to walk three steps without a Senegalese trying to talk to you or touch you. We played Frisbee and soccer with the Senegalese and then it started to thunderstorm. Erika and I huddled under the umbrella while everyone else swam. Do you see what I mean?
After the rain slowed down, we decided to swim half way to the island. The water was so warm and it was nice to get away from the thousands of people. To rest, we climbed on some random boat with no one on it. When we were swimming back, we saw a perfect full rainbow over Dakar and it was absolutely stunning. Also, to the right of us, you could see the sun set. It was absolutely beautiful. When we got back to shore, we got to experience some stereotypical African behavior. All of a sudden, two guys with machetes were running across the beach looking like they were going to butcher each other. They ran straight through our tent, so we decided to boogie on out of there. No big deal.
We walked about a mile to find a cab and while doing so, I almost got run over by a car. Right before the car hit me, Boobs (that's what he likes to be called) grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. All the host brothers then joined together around the car and yelled at the driver for almost hitting me. They probably yelled at his for 10 minutes, it was hilarious.
On the way home, we got to see our wonderful monument that cost 25 million dollars to build (and I currently haven't had electricity for 30 mins). It was all lit up in cheesy neon lights, towering over the city.
I got home and promptly had dinner which was this greenish muck with yogurt drizzled on top. Surprisingly it was really good, so I ate a lot of it.
I thought I'd share with you some interesting things about Senegalese culture.
1) Toubab: All Caucasians are referred to as Toubabs here because everyone is associated with a group here. There are eight main ethnic groups here and you can tell which one you belong to by their last name. That is why a lot of times, people will approach each other by asking their last name, instead of their first name. So by calling us Toubab, they're putting us in a group. During colonial times, toubab was a french word associated with medications, so the colonized started referred to whites as Toubabs because the colonists would always carry first aid kits in case anything happened to them while they were in Africa. I find this incredibly hilarious because I feel as if I've brought enough medication for everyone is Dakar. So, all in all, I'm whole-heartedly a Toubab.
2) Le Pays de Teranga: Senegal is referred to as the Pays de Teranga, which means the country of hospitality. They believe it is their duty to bring strangers into their home and care for them. They do this because they believe that the gesture will be reciprocated if their children were to travel to your home. It is unfortunate that recently Teranga is negatively perceived by the younger generation because some believe that Teranga immobilizes the population.
3) Kersa & Fayda: The Senegalese believe that there needs to be a balance between Kersa and Fayda. Kersa is timidity or shyness and Fayda is your ego. They say you can't have too much Kersa because people are more likely to take advantage of you and if you have too much Fayda than you're too cocky and no one with want to approach you.
That's all for now. I have much more to share at another time.
Bissou! Toubab Alyssa
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