Learning more about Senegal

I haven't even been here a week, but I feel like it's been longer. I've seen so much and been doing so many new things. SOme aspects of life here are difficult to get used to. FOr example, you can't walk 5 minutes on a busy street without been asked by a little boy for some money. They wear tattered clothes, sometimes no shoes, and always look dirty. I've given some money, but I can't give to eveyrone. ACtually, yes I could, and that's what the difficult part is. Because I always feel guilty about the inequality between us.

Other things are easy to get used to. A friend and I went to buy a cell phone today. SOme other friends had bought phones for about 15,000francs ~ $30. So, we set out towards downtown to look for the same shop. We found a couple shops, but they wanted $80 for a phone. NO thanks. WE left, and then met some people who run an art shop. THey invited us inside to take a look, and showed us how they make sand paintings, which are really cool. They take like 10 different kinds of sand of various colors from beaches around the ocean and lakes in Senegal & the Gambia and use that like paint - sprinkling it over glue to make pictures. It's really beautiful. ANyway, we were talking and ended up telling them we were looking to buy some phones. This one guy Adama insisted on going with us to barter for a phone. Actually, it was more like us going with him. He took us to a little stand that sold phones, among other things, and bartered in Wolof for a phone for 15,000 francs~$30. I didn't understand a thing. But, I am really amazed at the willingness of the people to help each other here. I mean, you wouldn't find someone selling art in the US just get up from their work and walk you a half mile to a store and find you a good deal on a phone. ANd that's just for a stranger.

I've also made many friends with street vendors. A man named Mamadou Cocro sells shoes during the day and phone credit cards at night. He was a Guinean refugee at one point, and has been selling things ever since he was little. He always makes a point to tell me how we are all the same and the only difference is our skin color. How it is so good that we come to Senegal and make friends here. It's made me think a lot about postcolonial impacts and how a lot of the postcolonial world views white people.

I've been learning the Wolof language. It's totally unlike anything I've ever learned. Even though Senegal is a French-speaking country, most people use Wolof in every day language. Most people in Dakar understand and speak French, but they are much more likely to use Wolof. My favorite thing to say is "Baxnaan, ce deg deg" which is pronounced "Bahknan chadeugadeug."