Blogs from Senegal, Africa - page 46

Tonight my roomie, Alexa, had seven Jews over (I think that’s pretty much all the Jews in Senegal) to break the Yom Kippur fast. Due to the ceremony being in my living room and Alexa’s unwaivering kindness, I was invited to the soiree. I quickly scanned the room to see if I could tell superficially if I was the sole gentile, I zeroed in on at least one suspicious chic in the group of young college students who sat huddled on our sparse supply of floor coverings - she didn’t ‘look’ like a Jew and I guessed right. Feeling a bit awkward anyway having 7 ‘strangers’ in my house, I wasn’t about to start asking Judaism questions - and was disappointed at myself for still not having learned these high holy days by heart after living ... read more

Like most holidays here, or any outside of my Christian upbringing, I become enchanted with the mysticism and exoticism of it all. Ramadan included. The past two years, I sat and listened to the mosque attentively, slowed down to feel the fasting of the people, conducted myself with the utmost respect - foregoing even a drop of water in public and wearing the most conservative pieces of my wardrobe. This year, I was more carried away with my return and blossoming social life than I was with Islam. On the first evening of Ramadan, I went to the local market with some friends, and was shopping quickly, knowing that they’d probably close their stalls early to break the fast at sundown. Darn. I had shopping to do after all! At the end of the line of ... read more

One night last week, I was ever-so-slightly kept awake by a repetitive banging noise against my patio wall. As usual here, village life means you hear everyone’s business - cooking, talking, singing, praying, crying. You get used to it pretty quickly and learn to sleep through everyone’s habits - you learn which babies cry when, which neighbor rises the earliest, which t.v. station teenagers prefer. I did find this particular ‘disturbance’ a bit curious since it was occurring sporadically and typically at night - and being that it sounded like a hammer being taken to the concrete - I found it strange for someone to be doing a little late-night home decorating? A few nights went by until I was able to completely sleep through it. Just another voice of the village cacophony now. But I ... read more

Squat 'n' Swat Imagine the scene. The sun is shining, interesting cliffs are towering around me, waves are lapping at my feet. It’s amazing. Until the pizza and ice cream I had paid too much for comes back to haunt me… Last weekend a bunch of us decided to spend Saturday at the beach. Before meeting everyone at school, I decided to splurge on an American lunch. I went to the gas station (a favorite American hangout- it feels like home) and bought a tiny pizza for 2000 cfa, about $4. Then I went to La Provence next door and tried to buy ice cream. They only had the giant-sized cups left, but I had myself all worked up for ice cream, so I bought one anyway. We all know how much I love ice cream, ... read more

They have a whole different conception of body image here. Maman keeps telling me I need to get fat. If she thinks I didn't eat enough at dinner, she accuses me of not wanting to get fat. She says that if she sends me home skinny like I am, my parents will think she didn't feed me well. One of our fellow CIEE students, Brittany, who came to Africa hoping to lose weight, was complimented by here host mom last night. Her mom was happy to inform her that she had already gained weight since she'd been in Senegal. Brittany was not thrilled. I took some pictures of our resident sheep. They live on our roof and occasionally eat our clothing while its hanging on the line. My towel has a bite taken out of it, ... read more