A little taste of Sokone

Our professor told us he wanted our trip to Sokone to be a surprise and that it was. We left Dakar at 9 AM CFA (meaning it was closer to 9:30). The drive was a scenic 5 hours on some of the nicest roads in Senegal. Sokone is located on the main route from Dakar to Gambia and President Wade, in his attempt to get on the publics good side before elections, has financed the paving of the majority of the route. Our hotel, or auberge, was a little piece of green paradise. Grace, Lauren, and I had our own thatched roof hut; each meal was eaten outside under a canopy surrounded by flowers and birds and butterflies, and from somewhere in the distance the sound of the tam-tam.

After lunch, and dessert, and juice….we visited a center for the handicapped where people come to learn life skills as well as a few trades by which they can make a living. Right down the road was a women’s organization that produces cereal products such as millet, corn, and dried byssap juice. When we returned to the auberge around 5 o’clock we found a group of men organizing all sorts of drumming equipment and coolers and a peace corps volunteer named Casey. We all piled back into the van-all 17 of us plus drums-and started driving. After about 15 minutes we turned off any sort of road and were on a small path, usually reserved for horse drawn carts, making our way through the bush, more affectionately known as ‘ca all ba.’ It was here that our guide, Baba, hopped out and headed toward a small opening in the tall corn and I decided to ask where we were going. I turned to the man next to me, one of the drummers, and attempted to pose the question in Wolof. It didn’t take long convey my question and Tam kindly corrected my grammar, then proceeded to copy me each time I said it possibly thinking I was working on my pronunciation. It wasn’t until Lauren was laughing hysterically and I finally switched to French to ask ‘seriously, where are we going?’ that he responded. And where were we going? ‘Fii rekk,’ or ‘just there…’ gesturing toward and empty field and some overgrown brush.

Our destination, a small opening in the forest where we found a man named Armando. We had asked during the ride down to Sokone whether or not we would be far enough south to find palm wine, something we had been wanting to try but which is impossible to find in Dakar. Our professor called Baba, owner of the auberge and sort of tour guide, to give him time to search the town. Apparently Baba decided that if we were going to try palm wine we needed to see exactly how it was prepared. Thus we arrived in the middle of this forest of palm trees, with a band of tam-tam players and a cooler full of palm wine, to watch Armando get ‘inspired’ and climb a tree and tap it for juice. We learned how to make a funnel from palm leaves and attempted to climb the tree with a hoola hoop looking tool made out of rope. After a bit more dancing and drinking we headed back to the auberge for the night.

The next day was possibly the busiest day I’ve experienced in Senegal. After breakfast we headed out to explore the mangroves, which are trees that grow in the delta and along the rivers. There are a number of initiatives to protect/replant mangroves because so many have been illegally cut to harvest the clams that grow on their roots. Another women’s organization keeps bees around the edge of a large mangrove forest with two purposes. One, the bees keep people from entering and cutting the roots. Two, the women harvest, treat, and sell the honey they collect from the bees.

After visiting the treatment facilities, we headed out to Tabakouta, a somewhat touristy town just south of Sokone. Here we hopped in a pirogue for about a 40-minute boat ride out to Diorom Boumag islands. Here we swam in the delta, kayaked through the mangroves, explored l’Ile aux coquillage, and saw a magnificent sunset as headed through the land of birds. Overall it was a wonderful day. Pap Diop and Baba were great guides, we met some French vacationers who ate lunch with us and shared in interesting drink that was a mix between wine and liquor.  By the time we made it back to the auberge around 8:30, I would have been happy with dinner, some tea, and bed, but no…we had a fête to attend! All through dinner the drumming outside kept getting louder and louder and we could here people arriving.  After we were done dinner, Baba came out and said as soon as we were ready Awa, the women who organized the big celebration would come with a few friends to accompany us out.  About five minutes later we were sitting in the middle of a large circle of at lease 150 people, facing the tam tam players. The ‘fête’ lasted about an hour and a half, during which we were repeatedly dragged to the center of the circle to dance for what seemed to be about half the town. As if three toubabs dancing by themselves in the middle of a large circle isn’t enough, every Senegalese woman knows how to dance, and well. So our attempts at the ‘youza,’ a modern Senegalese dance, were quite entertaining. As was my quick display of Irish Dance, which Grace made me perform, and which amazed many of the people watching. After we had sufficiently embarrassed ourselves, at some sign invisible to us, the gathering was over and in less than two minutes everyone was gone. It was the quickest I have ever scene a party clear out.   We spent the rest of the night drinking Attaaya with a few of the men who help out at the auberge and being mesmerized by the stars, which were ridiculously bright.

Saturday morning we made a quick visit to the high school to learn about a program called Sisters to School. It’s a program started by retired Peace Corps volunteers who wanted to help at risk women and young girls receive an education. After our visit we headed back to Dakar making a quick stop in Kaolak to drop off Ishmaela, one of the auberge workers, and Jamie, another Peace Corps volunteer.

While our drive to Sokone took just about five hours, the trip home took more like seven. On the upside we stopped at a roadside stand and all bought delicious watermelons as a small gift for our families! The only critique I had of the trip was that it was too short. And possibly the fact that it came at a time when I had three large papers to write…which is what I’m off to do now. Until next time, happy turkey day to all!!!

The River Valley

I took the last post to explain my living situation in Richard Toll but failed to mention anything about my reason for being there. One of our classes is titled the St. Louis River Valley and our trip was meant to give us a better idea of the agricultural conditions of the region. We spent most of our time in Richard Toll, touring different organizations and farms. We saw TONS of rice, a sugar cane plantation, fishery, tomato farm, a pump station, and the Diama Dam which we were able to cross and enter Mauritatia for a few minutes. What I understood of the tours was interesting, however because they were in French and my farming vocab is somewhat limited, I felt as though some of the tours were less effective learning tools than they could have been. I think it would have been more meaningful if our guides talked more about the larger more global issues they faced rather than the technical details of how to make fish food for example. That's not to say I didn't enjoy our visits and the travel alone was interesting enough. Even though Richard Toll has a convenient central location, the majority of our tours were 30 minutes to an hour away. This being the first time we really ventured out of Dakar I was glad to have the chance to see a little of rural Senegal and feel for the first time that I'm in Africa.

We spent two nights, three days of our trip in St. Louis, which felt more like a vacation than anything. We stayed at a ritzy French hotel with air conditioning, a mini-fridge, and our own bathroom (fully stocked with toilet paper, soap, and a real shower!) Attached to the hotel was a French restaurant were we ate two delicious dinners, my favorite dishes being a carrot bisque and a dessert of vanilla ice cream and strawberry sorbet, really just happy to have some fruits and veggies. The staff was also very accommodating. One night we were being served steak and when asked how we would like it cooked Lauren, Grace, and I all responded medium. Apparently medium in Senegal is slightly seared but still bloody and lukewarm on the inside. The cook kindly threw it back on the grill for us. Breakfast was equally impressive. Each person received their own assortment of breads and pastries, a crepe, and bowl of fruit, not to mention the REAL coffee that came with REAL steamed milk!

During out time in St. Louis we visited a park called Le Langue de Barbari which is a strip of land between the river and the ocean which is known for its birds. We were a little early in the season and only saw a few different types but the scenery boat ride were great none the less. We also visited a wildlife preserve were we saw hundred year old tortoises, a few gazelle-like animals (I'm not exactly sure what the name translates to in english) and tons of red monkeys!

Khadit and Fatou, who are from St. Louis, were wonderful guides. Not only did they show us around the city and help us bargain some great prices, they decided we needed to see what a night out was like in St. Louis. Sooo we went to a club with them, some friends, and their brothers. Yes, they go to the club with their brothers.  We had a blast and ended up getting back to our hotel around 6 am. Whoops. Everyone was a little tired the next day but after Khadit and Fatou led a walking tour of the city we hopped back in the van and returned to Richard Toll.

That pretty much takes care of all the highlights and I'm clearly falling behind on posts so I'm going to stop here and start working on my post about TABASKI!

I hope everyone's enjoying the snow and fall weather. It's still a warm and sunny 85° here. 

The Fall Family

The first couple of days in Richard Toll I felt a little like I was living in a zoo. My family consisted of my dad, mom, two sisters, 16 and 14, and one brother, 9.  They were extremely nice and welcoming but watched my every move. My first day there I had zero time alone. If for some reason I was alone in my room, also the living room, it only took my younger sister Adja about 30 seconds to realize it, pop her head in, and ask, ‘Tu fais quoi?’ or ‘what are you doing?’ Every time I wasn’t involved in family activities, whether I was getting ready in the morning, working on homework, writing in my journal, etc., always ‘tu fais quoi?’

Then there was the fact that the family slept on the roof. Generally speaking I was very happy about this. Not only was there a wonderful breeze, I had an amazing view of the stars. The only problem was that there was an elementary school across the street from my house and each morning my family set up a little stand where they would sell breakfast to many of the students. School started at 8:15 meaning everyone had to be up, bread bought, and the spread made before kids starting arriving. In other words I got up before 7 every day, and didn’t have to be ready till 9. My last day there it was still dark out when I woke up. Then there were the students themselves. I’ve gotten used to people looking at me when I’m in public and kids having a funny reaction. Generally huge smiles and wanting to shake our hands, every once in a while it looks a little more like fear. These students however just stared. I would often drink my coffee in the doorway and watch the commotion with my sister and kids would just stand there looking at me, which my sister thought was hilarious by the way.  So my first couple of days felt something like living in a zoo, I went to bed and woke up when the rest of the family did, I ate when they put food in front of me, and I was watched by little kids like some exotic animal.

After a few days however I became more integrated in the family. I helped with dinner a few times, started washing my dishes in the morning and would run errands with my sister. One night they decided to take me to the tailor to help pick out a design for my Adja’s Tabaski outfit. I decided not to go on any more random trips with them after the tailor vehemently refused to believe I didn’t want to marry his friend and my sisters were of no help.  For days afterward they would randomly ask me what was new with the tailor and then burst into laughter. The same was true every time my crazy aunt would come over. Like my host mom she only spoke Wolof so after going through all the greetings and here telling me I was like a daughter to her, the next subject was always my relationship status. No matter how many times she visited, the conversation would always be the same (using my broken Wolof I might add) “Where is your husband?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Why not?! You need a husband. You don’t have a husband?”

“No, not yet. I’m not ready to have a husband. I’m a student. I have to finish school first.”

“No. You must marry and then you can finish school.”

A statement to which I had no answer in Wolof and at which point my sisters were just hysterical, my aunt completely serious. Then there was the fateful morning she came over with her son and told me that she would give him up for me because I was like her daughter and I really needed a husband. I then spent the next hour eating breakfast with him and waiting for my ride.

After my first two days in Richard Toll I came home from a day of visiting sugar cane fields and riceries to learn that my host dad had left for St. Louis because his nephew had passed away. It is bizarre to me the way some people here treat death. I don't know how close anyone else in the family was to the boy who passed away, but besides informing me that my dad was in St. Louis, it was never mentioned again. Even when he returned, a week later, he said nothing about why he had been gone.

While life in Richard Toll lacked a few of the creature comforts I've been accustomed to in Dakar, personal privacy and freedom, somewhat regular internet access, and a working toilet, I am going to miss the Fall family. Having kids around, helping out with meals and family chores, and in general being able to experience a different version of Senegalese lifestyle. 

I've got much more to tell but I thought I'd put some picture up now since they're all ready and the blog posts are coming a little slowly.