Advertisement
Published: September 5th 2005
Edit Blog Post
Goree Island
This is a view of the island from the top of its hill. The path leading down to the village is lined with art and souvenir stands and with people trying to sell you thier goods. This Saturday we had a fieldtrip to Goree Island. According to brochures, over 20 million African slaves passed through the island on their way to their new homes. According to the Lonely Planet guide book, the island didn’t actually serve as a holding point for slaves and only a few passed through here. Either way, the island is a popular tourist attraction, largely for African American tourists. At the House of Slaves, built around 1750, you can see the cells that slaves lived in. The island also many shops and stands selling handmade goods and snacks.
After visiting the slave house, we ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant. I had chicken with French fries. It was ok, but there chicken had too much fat on it. So I started feeding this skinny, pitiful looking cat that was slinking around under the table. As I picked off a piece of fat, I just nonchalantly dropped it. The cat was starved, and he caught the pieces before they hit the ground. I began to slow down on my feeding job when I cleaned off an area of meat I wanted to eat. And the cat got mad! He started putting his front
The Ferry
This is the Ferry we took from downtown Dakar to Goree Island. (This pic is just for you, LP, my boat-loving friend.) paws up on my chair (my feet were up under me as usual) and stretching his claws out. He was hissing and meowing. I was scared! A lot of animals here carry rabies, and I didn’t want to go get a $300 dollar shot. Anyhow, I ended up feeding it most of my chicken to keep it from attacking me, and I learned my lesson.
Before leaving we spent some time on the tiny beach. It felt great to swim, but it was nerve-wracking to expose so much white flesh. I mean I already feel very white all the time, but it was even worse in a swim suite. The water was nice and cool though. How refreshing! 😉
On Saturday night a bunch of CIEE students went out to eat and then out to a club with live music. Unfortunately, I didn’t join them. I had a headache, so the plan was to go home after Goree, take some tylenol, eat dinner, then take a taxi to the club to join everyone else. However, when I got home and discussed this plan with Maman, she told me she wasn’t comfortable with me taking a cab by myself,
On the ferry
Here are some of my fellow CIEE students: (from left to right) Joy, Jenise, and Elizabeth. so why didn’t I just stay with the family. I was a little disappointed, but I was still a little tired so I didn’t push it.
Instead, Maman, Papi (my 12 yr old brother), Mohamed (my 18 yr old brother), and I got in the car for a little outing. We drove to the gas station, which Maman referred to as a supermarket, and bought some jelly for breakfast and some cookies. Then we went to the amusement park. After getting Papi’s hopes up, in the parking lot Maman decided that it was too late for the park that night. I felt so bad for the little guy. Then we went to the promenade that borders the ocean for a walk. They showed me this giant ugly statue with a fountain on it, but I couldn’t figure out its significance. Then we drove home a different way, via a different gas station where we bought Nutella. Compared to everyone else’s evening, mine was pretty lame, but I still had fun. It was nice to go out and not get constantly harassed. I mean, I still got stared at, but that’s easy to ignore. I feel so much less out
Cliff
This is the view from the top of the hill on Goree Island. You can barely see a little pirogue in the background. of place when I am with locals.
On Wednesday night last week, my roommate Lauren asked for permission to go over to her friend’s house who lives in the neighborhood. After discussing it with Pappa, she allowed Lauren to go, with the stipulation that she return by 11PM. When Lauren got back at 11, Pappa informed her that it was good that she had obeyed her curfew, because now she would be allowed to go out on the weekend. Lauren and I had to avoid meeting each other’s eyes because we knew we’d bust out laughing. The other day, I mentioned to Maman that I might go to the Gambia (a neighboring country) for fall break. She informed me that the Gambia was too far, that I would go visit her family in central Senegal instead. I just changed the subject. I don’t mind having to ask permission during the week, but my fall break is mine…
I was studying Wolof in the living room earlier this week, and my little brother was sitting next to me “helping”. One of the words we learned was co-wife,
wujja. I asked Maman what she thought about having a
wujja, and
Door of no return
The light is shining through the infamous "door of no return" through which slaves were supposedly put directly onto ships. The door goes from the slave pens directly out to the ocean. her response was an emphatic “jamais, jamais, jamais!” (never, never, never!) I asked her why not, and she directed me toward Pappa. He said he would like to have another wife, that wives are useful. Lauren and I told him that Maman was great wife and that he didn’t need another. After he left the room, she told us that she didn’t care what people thought, that she would leave Pappa if he married another woman. She said she worries about it a lot. He is gone all day and might be searching for another woman rather than at work. She told us about a family next door, where a woman had recently learned that her husband had another family. Apparently that is a fairly common occurrence.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.196s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 74; dbt: 0.1387s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Daddy
non-member comment
Comments from Howell Family on Labor Day
Granny - we miss you and love you bunches, please hurry back home. Mitch - Thanks for the show Mike - send lots of pictures, it is the only way I will ever get to see this place. (I gave him the blog address) Daddy - miss you a lot !