Merry Christmas Mom

I received the best Christmas present ever this year, Logan and Pat arrived at 6:30 in the morning with only minor complications and an insight into Senegalese security, so I’m now attempting to give my mother the Christmas present she really wants and ok probably deserves. She has been asking for a blog update for about a month now and I’ve been too overwhelmed by all that has passed to know where to begin. I think at this point the only thing to do is jump right in so bear with me through any rambling or repetition.

             We made it to Logan and Pat’s apartment and let them settle in for about 20 minutes before they were thrown right into Senegalese life. Grace and I managed to convince a taxi man to take us to the monastery in Keur Moussa, leave us for the service, and bring us back to Dakar. Thankfully he took pity on our pleas of Christmas spirit, family and Senegalese Taranga (hospitality) and let us all squeeze into one car. After a few sketchy pit stops, in Rufisque and on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, we finally arrived in Keur Moussa only to find out that our driver didn’t actually know the monastery and had to ask for directions multiple times. Mass was long and by the end I thought Logan and Pat were going to kill me but I think the goat cheese and bissap wine we found after Mass made the trip worthwhile. (You’ll have to ask them for conformation, I’m sure they never would have told me otherwise.)

Christmas night we attempted to hear some Senegalese music at Balajo, a restaurant/club near my neighborhood however it turned out their big Christmas concert was not so big after all. The music was loud and at times good but the boys enjoyed the food and the music and dancing that came later in the night. All in all it was a good day even if it wasn’t my traditional idea of Christmas.

Monday morning we ventured into the fabric market called HLM. Logan made his first attempt at waxalla-ing for a towel and they tried their first juice bag. Incase I haven’t mentioned this before the good fresh local juice is sold in little plastic bags for 10-20 cents. You can generally find them at any of the large markets or garages but never in stores or at restaurants. If I want some when I’m in Mermoz or at school I go to a house around the corner that I know sells juice and cream only because Lauren’s little sister took us there one time, but I digress. After the market we went to my friends’ house in Mermoz to watch some soccer. Yes, they came all the way to Senegal and spent their second afternoon inside watching soccer. Things got adventurous again when they tried Senegalese fast food for a late lunch and discovered we have the best sandwiches ever! They generally consist of chicken or the all-encompassing category of ‘meat,’ lettuce, tomatoes, onion sauce, fries, and mayo all smashed into delicious toasted bread, and for less than 2 dollars.

Later that night we headed into downtown for dinner and ended up eating at a French restaurant near Grace’s mom’s hotel. Logan made his first real purchase in the street right outside the restaurant. Tuesday was Sandaga-the largest market in Dakar where you can find just about anything you want, and an unintended tour of the city when I got us slightly lost on a car rapide. All the same, they were able to experience public transportation and gain a better sense of the culture and how people interact. We had dinner at a bar around the corner from our school and hung out on the boys’ terrace, which had a great view of the city.

Wednesday we visited Ile de Madeline, which I believe I have already described in a previous post. Only thing to add would be that the boys experienced their first of many sketch pirogue rides. The crew consisted of our ‘captain’ and his son who was brought along to bail out the continuous flow of water entering numerous holes in the bottom of the boat. That night we had dinner and drinks downtown near La Place de L’independence.

Thursday we delivered a few boxes of cleats and balls to SOS Village des Enfants. It is an orphanage just down the street from my school and the boy’s apartment. It was a little disappointing that the donations were left in the equipment room and Logan and Pat had little to no interaction with the kids until on our way out someone offered to organize a soccer match for the following day. So, Friday morning Logan and Pat, still sore from a mini-match they played with some guys from my neighborhood, headed to SOS to play some soccer.  Grace, her mom and I attended as spectators and to take some pictures, or at least that was our intention. I ended up getting a full tour of the campus, literally every child’s room and all of the playgrounds. Grace got a new hairdo, it was beautiful I must say, and even through the language barrier her mom made quite a few new friends.

It was a fun morning and much less hectic than the afternoon we spent handing things out in Mermoz. Senegalese parties tend to end without sign and it’s the quickest dispersal of a large group of people I’ve ever seen, however the speed with which this small group of boys transformed into the entire neighborhood still boggles my mind. If they had it there way all 25 boxes would have been distributed right then and there. Kids obviously just wanted to have something to call their own, a new jersey to wear or ball to play with, parents came to get things for their absent children, older kids to get things for younger siblings, there were even businessmen and vendors who stopped by. As exhausting and at times frustrating as the afternoon was, when everything was done and over with I was left feeling quite satisfied. All the quarrels got worked out and we left behind some very happy little kids.

We also toured Ile de Goree, Ngor, ate ceebu gen and yassa poulet with my family, had papa try to speak Wolof to Logan and Pat (who he thought was my boyfriend and still continues to tease me about) and celebrated a wonderful New Years Eve. For the boys and I this consisted of a traditional Senegalese meal followed by card games in their apartment and champaign on the terrace with Grace and her mom while fireworks were lit from every rooftop around the city. I think Logan was the one who described it as being in the middle of a very colorful war zone. I was happily surprised when one of Grace’s host brothers, who happens to be a journalist, informed us that there were no firework related deaths or injuries reported that night. (Seriously shocking as many of the people lighting the fireworks were under the age of 10!) After fireworks, and a bit more champaign, we picked up Grace’s host sister Yaye and headed to club. Again you would have to confirm with the boys, but I would say it was a great way to end their stay.

I know I’ve left out lots of things but rather than ramble on and lose you’re interest I’m going to stop here and save some stories for next time. It’s just Grace and I now working on our ICRP’s so their probably won’t be too many exciting stories to come for a while and I’ll be able to catch you up on the latest Dakar news and our trip to Gambia!

Hope everyone enjoyed the Holidays and until next time.