Mosques: good / bad?; Hospitality!

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MY MOSQUE; YOUR MOSQUE
The mosques near my apartment resound with prayers over loudspeakers five times a day (and some extra episodes that I am not sure about). Since I find them less than pleasant, a contradictory set of issues has come up for me to ponder. I heard the news that the Swiss people voted in November to ban minarets (the spiral towers that top mosques). That rankled me. There was no question of noise because the four (only 4!) in the whole country and they do not broadcast prayers. The vote was surprisingly strong (57%) when it had not seemed to be a major issue. The results have been widely condemned as anti-foreigner fear-mongering. So where is my irritation about my mosque neighbors figure into the picture? Isn't my attitude pretty hypocritical? Another lesson here. (I guess as long as I feel a pulse when I check my wrist, some lesson is waiting).

ANTI-AMERICANISM
While I would not really call it anti-Americanism, I encountered my first frostiness (not really unfriendliness) about U.S. Many, or even most, people are very favorable about things related to the U.S. and quickly speak of wanting to visit, and even to live there—notwithstanding that they don't really know it. The person I recently met is one who otherwise was very nice to me, interesting, one I enjoyed talking to and will be meeting often. He works for the United Nations and no doubt meets many different nationalities. His opinion of U.S., however, seems to be tainted by the ugly American stereotype of pushy, arrogant, shows-off who are not uncommon in cultural symbols. He does mention very specifically being skeptical about Americans for having elected George Bush twice, the second time very convincingly. Other people are usually very pro-Obama, all the more because he is such a contrast to Bush for them.

TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION
Go figure that I am discovering technology developments here. I am teaching a literacy class to adults (in French no less). The institute where I go has equipment for CDs and cassettes of the kind language classes often use. The extra is that this one also has a USB port. So I can record something online, save it to a flash drive and play in class. What will they think of next?

UNDERSTANDING HOSPITALITY
Senegalese are proud of being hospitable. I eat the midday meal with the other teachers who live in the apartment where I am. We have a housekeeper who comes daily to clean up (if rooms are not swept daily the grit on the floor is quickly apparent) and she is an excellent cook. Whoever is around at 2PM can expect to join in. It may be a friend or relative of one of us, the lady who comes to do the hand laundry (there are no washing machines).

Only at restaurants are people served individual plates. Everywhere else there is one large serving dish which everyone eats from. The explanation for this is that when each one has a plate, it would not be easy to accommodate an additional visitor. If a guest arrives and each person has a plate, it would not look like there may not be enough, so the guest would probably decline an invitation to join in. With a communal dish, there are no clear delineations per person. It is a more welcoming system, more than platters from which each serving is taken. Even room at the table is not an issue because the food is placed on a cloth on the floor. There are small stools but some people sit on the floor. Not quite comforting in health standards. Excellent for hospitality.

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