One of the top 5 things to do in Dakar is to buy fabric and take it to the tailor. It's a bit overwhelming, but that's why everyone looks so beautiful here:
Experience #1: I decided to take some fabric to the end of my street and get a simple pagne made. I was told that the appropriate price was 1000 cfa, so I go down there and he says it's 1500 cfa because there's too much fabric. Now, I'm thinking that I should be stubborn about it and just walk away, but he knew where I lived and knew my mother, so I thought that if he made a pagne and a fular (something to go around your head) that 1500 cfa was okay. I also asked him 3 times if he was ripping me off and he said "Non". So, I walked back to my house and my mom was in the courtyard so I asked if 1500 cfa was the right price and she was not happy. She said it was supposed to be 1000 cfa (which is only about a dollar difference), so she told me to go back and say that's unacceptable and if he didn't give me the right price I should ask for the fabric back. I told her that it was fine and that I'll know better next time and she said: "Non. Tell him your mama said no!" Now, I'm freaking out because the tailor said that it'd be ready in 15 mins, so it was probably already done and who wants to go up to the guy making your clothes and say: "My mama said no! Give me a better price." So I walked out the door and came back to say that I couldn't do it and she had the maid accompany me. When we got to the tailor, she must have asked him what he charged me, and you could tell he knew he was in trouble. The maid said "1000 cfa" and that was all it took. When we were walking back, I said "Jerejef (thank you)" a bazillion times because that was the only thing I could say and she laughed. I started talking to her in French and she was talking in Wolof (we both didn't understand each other) and it was a cute cross-cultural moment. When I walked into the house, my mama said that I can't be an American and pay whatever they ask for... she said it wasn't the Senegalese way.
Experience #2: This weekend, I found out that my Tata owns a variety of tailor shops around Dakar, so Erica and I went to her with Erica's brother, Youssou, to get the rest of our clothes made. It took about 15 mins by taxi, but it was worth it because she charged us 5000 cfa for each piece (that's about 10 dollars !!!). We got there and ended up having to walk 10 mins to some random house, where her husband called. He said that she'd be there in 10 mins because we were Americans (I hate it when that happens). So then we walked all the way back and went into this tiny shop with about 4 men at sewing machines. You could barely move 3 steps inside. Our Tata had us look through magazines, but we couldn't find anything that we liked so she had us draw it out. Oh lord was that a struggle. I took at least 45 mins to describe it all and, in the end, we were so tired that we basically just went for the easiest choice. Unfortunately, the clothes won't be ready until Oct. 15, but again, the price she gave us was unheard of in Senegal. She took our measurements and we headed out and by that time it was pitch black outside. Erica and I just stood there for a couple minutes trying to breath because it was so overwhelming. We had to walk to the main road to find a taxi, which was difficult because the roads were flooded, and when we got home we chugged a bottle of water.
All in all, crazy experiences... but so much fun. I can't wait to get more fabric and do it all over again.
When we got back home, I was waiting for dinner in front of my Tata's house (Erica's mom) and I went into my house to see if dinner was ready. When Erica sat down for dinner, her mom asked why I wasn't having dinner with them and actually got mad. Erica promptly called and told me to come over NOW to dinner with her family. I was just confused and walked over there, and her mom aggressively told me to sit and asked why I wasn't eating with them. She said: "We are the same family, so I should eat with them." All I could do was laugh and eat everything that was shoved my way (which was a LOT). I also made the massive mistake of saying I liked the onions, which gave her reason to shove all the onions my way and then get another bowl of onions and poor them in my space in the bowl. When I was done, I almost thought they'd have to roll me into my house because I was soo full.
Never a dull moment in Senegal :).
Bésuba! Alyssa
I remember one time my Peace Corps friend Megan got in a big argument with a man at a copy store because he wanted to charge her 1 1/2 cent per copy, rather than the advertised 1 cent. Her father was with her and he thought she had lost her mind because she was arguing over pennies. But people were always trying to rip us off, so we became combative. When I was in China last month, I couldn't bargain at all. I lost my skills! Now I'm a polite American who doesn't know how to haggle! You'll have to help me out =)
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