John's first entry! (and a little from me)


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Africa » Senegal » Cape Verde Peninsula » Dakar
November 2nd 2005
Published: November 2nd 2005
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November 1, 2005

John’s entry : Alex and I have been going to a local school to play basketball most of the days since we’ve been at Magueye’s house. We weren’t sure what to expect from the guys who would be playing there, especially since we’ve heard that basketball is a really big deal here. When we got to the court, there was a guy that was about 6’7” and another that was about 6’2”. They were both throwing the ball off the backboard and dunking it and doing reverse dunks. Alex was used to that kind of stuff, coming from the States, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to fit in. We’ve played a bunch of times since then, and seem to have gotten into the swing of things, including learning their rules for three on three. They only clear the outside of the key and after a basket, there’s no checking the ball, they just pass it to the other player and score right away. I’m sure they must have thought that we looked really stupid the first couple of times they scored on us that way, Alex and I were just standing there while they scored five baskets in a row without us even touching the ball. We weren’t sure if the game was even on…The language barrier causes a bit of a problem in these kinds of situations. Now we’ve got the rules down and I think that the guys think it’s funny when we yell at ourselves after we make a bad play.

we’ve also played soccer on the beach a couple of times. The guys are really good. They’re pretty happy to let us get in on the game. We’ve also taken the football down a couple of times, which is a cause for a lot of excitement for the little kids. We keep trying to find spots where they won’t find us, but they hunt us down every time. They run back and forth, yelling at us to throw them the ball, probably a hoard of twenty kids. As soon as we throw them the ball, they all attack the kid who caught it, tackling him to the ground. The ball squirts out numerous times, until one kid finally grabs it and has a chance to throw it back to us. We’ve even had a number of little kids holding onto our legs, trying to pull us down while we have the ball. We were a little nervous the first time, when we were throwing the ball around on the street, and the kids were tackling each other on the piles of stones, concrete blocks and goat shit. We kept looking at our friend Mustafa, and he didn’t seem to think it was weird, and no parents jumped in, so we guessed it was okay. We did end up stopping when we finally thought it was out of hand. We’ve also tried to start up a couple of games with some older guys on the beach, one on one with a quarterback and two on two games. It’s difficult game to explain in French, with the terminology, so we haven’t been very successful. It’s too bad too, because when you do get a guy who understands, he’s usually really fast and good at catching the ball.

Last week, Alex and I went to the local soccer game. We watched the team from Camberene Deux play another local team. It was the quarterfinals for the region of Dakar. It was certainly very good soccer, a much higher level than I’ve played at. There was probably a couple thousand people watching the game, and it cost 50 cents to get in. The game was really exciting and they went into a shoot-out in the end. Our team was up in the shoot-outs, but then the other team caught up and beat us in the next round. The fans were going crazy for the shoot-out, and everyone stormed the field after. There were security guards, that we thought were for riot control, but in the end found out that they were there to get the refs off the field. After seeing that, it’s easy to imagine how soccer riots start. The teams that played before were about fifteen year old kids, at a higher level than I ever played to, but a lot of them were playing in mesh sandals. What they were playing on wasn’t so much a field as a giant patch of dirt and sand. Alex and I were the only two Tubabs at the game and a little kid beside me thought I was very interesting and kept talking to me throughout the game.

November 2, 2005

Yesterday we went to meet the lady that we’re going to be renting the house from. The owner is actually a French man, but he has a local lady who organizes the agreements for him. We went over to give our deposit, and really explored the area afterwards. We’re really close to the Baobab Center, which is an American centre that organizes university students studying abroad and language classes. It’s good to have that close, so if we have any questions, there are plenty of English speaking people nearby. We also found the grocery store near us, and were delighted with the amount of stuff that they have that we’d actually want to eat. We’re planning on living on a pasta-based diet, since a lot of the food at the grocery store is marked up because only the Tubabs buy it. We’re really looking forward to getting into our own place and actually having some small luxuries…like cold water. We haven’t drank cold water since we got here, and the thought of it is like a dream come true! Our neighborhood is pretty nice, and we really appreciate all the trees in the area, Camberene Deux doesn’t have a single tree in it. The shade is another luxury we plan on enjoying…

Yesterday when we went to French class, our teacher came out ofhis room and told us that he had been up all night with Diarrhea and that it still wasn’t done (a huge overshare we think), so he asked if we could come back in the afternoon for our lesson instead. We obviously told him it was fine, and that he should rest all day. Last night Magueye went to see how he was doing, and he was still sick, so we’re off the hook for French class again today. I think that we’ll probably be finished with them, since now we’re moving out and certainly won’t be taking a taxi back here just for a French class. They were mostly helpful for John, who was in the middle of the class when we arrived. Most of the stuff was a review for Marian and I, and Alex (who had never taken French before ever) had absolutely no idea what was going on 95% of the time. John really flourished though, and has progressed quite a bit. He likes to believe that he is practically bilingual, which is like saying that he also plays basketball like Michael Jordan. However, he is getting better, and I think Marian and I are also doing better with our conversational French. Our main problem is that we know what everything should be and sound like, but it’s getting it out quickly that’s the problem! Anyway, we’re exploring some avenues for getting some relevant volunteer work, and hope to have it all set up by Monday to start.











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4th November 2005

Hiya
Hey Guys! It sounds like you are having a real experience there! Do you think you'll stay longer than 6 months? I can't wait to visit Africa, my best friend is from Johannasberg (in SA) and she is back now until after christmas. Halloween just past here for us in cold Canada. Emily was a chicken (hehehe) she looked so cute. I hope all is well with you, and look foreward to hearing more about Dakar. xoxox Barb

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