South of Senegal

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I spent the last week becoming somewhat more accustomed to the lifestyle here …I am now in the south of senegal, arrived this morning in a fancy boat. I had a pillow last night, and the first warm water since i arrived, and it actually came out of a showerhead with decent water pressure. There was also an american toilet on the boat. Everything at the house i was staying at before i got on the boat was done with a bucket of cold water…but i was getting pretty good at doing my laundry and what not that way…two half buckets of water, one for washing and one for rinsing, and bar of thick yellow soap that looked like beeswax.

I spent one day going into the city, which was an hour or two depending on traffic. I ate a cheeseburger, with fried egg of course, and fries and a milkshake, all senegalesesque, but i could hardly eat half of it, not because it wasnt delicious, but because it was a bit overwhelming to eat so many calories all at once. I am getting pretty used to the food, but had a few break downs, one over this horrible dried fish, the worst thing in the world i think, and another over what they brought me in place of the dried fish, which was something like reconstituted artificial banana flavored powdered milk, hot, with pasta in it. I ate as much as i could and then excused myself to cry. Other than that the food kind of grows on you.

About midweek last week the family bought a TV, and there brother sent a DVD player from the US. Its arrival was a big event, and we spent the last few evenings watching movies in french. The electricity is unpredictable, as is the quality of any given DVD, so we were rarely able to watch one to the end. But it was fun nonetheless.

It is interesting here because the oldest guy in the house is under 25, everyone male over that age is in the US, Europe, or dead. I think it adds an interesting dynamic to things.

Tea is tasty here in the afternoon, it is strong, sweet green tea with mint leaves. They make it in a pot over a little charcoal burning stove, an dit is made two little cups at a time, a little bigger than a shot glass. The tea maker refills and continues making it until everyone has had three little cups. They even made it at the beach.

Alex slaughtered his chicken, and I fried it but after dipping it in egg and flour ; then frying in butter and squeezing lime on it. It was pretty good, I have picture of myself hunch over the little stove frying chicken. When I was battering it, i think there were about 15 people watching me. It earned me the title of best chicken cooker in the world, but i think it was mostly the butter. They call Alex the whitest african.

Well we are heading to guinea bissau for a bit, to try my hand at a bit of portuguese, and some possible areas of Spanish, hallelujah… I think there some nice islands and a national park. Talk to you all soon. Love Alana

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