Lunch

After deciding we were fed up with fried falafel, pizza, schwarma, and paninis (not what you think: more like cheeeeeeez inside of a large pressed, heated baguette), we (a number of us: okay, half the group, which is six people) decided that we refused to eat fast food for lunch everyday and that we were going to make fresh food for lunch each lunch hour.

We have lunch from 12:30 until 2:30 (very traditionally Senegalese. They like their food. And their rest. And their ataya. And they're...doing nothing) so we are planning to spend every Saturday in Casino Sahm, the local (and only?) supermarket in our region of Dakar. It's a bit like Shopko, but also a bit like Fred Meyers. It's also a bit Senegalese. For example, there are around 9 different varieties of Nutella like products to choose from. There is Nutella, of course. But then there is Chocopain, Choco-lion, Choco Mousse (that what we have at my house. The logo is a insane rabbit wearing a cape), Choco King, and of course the store brand Casino-Sahm version. The Senegalese love the stuff. Understandably so.

Last Sunday we made the Casino tour and bought a number of different things. We bought some pasta, some beans, corn, veggies (some...), salad dressing, olives, etc. But the store is missing a number of things that are assumed to be in grocery stores in the US. For example, Casino Sahm does not sell sliced bread. There is no such thing as whole wheat here (tragically), they do not sell plain yogurt, flip flops (okay, this one might be a stretch, but remember when I said this place was like Fred Meyers? They sell bras, backpacks, highlighters, and toilet plungers, but NO FLIP FLOPS), cinnamon, chocolate chips, solid cheeses, or milk.

No milk. No milk that comes from cows, that is. What is powdered milk, anyway?

So, this past week we have crafted some lovingly-made home-cooked meals and manged them on the sunny patio. We don't have to wade through taxis, we don't have to pump exhaust through our lungs as we march towards the fast food place. Instead, we just eat egg scramble and fruit salad with (sugary) yogurt and sip at our bissap juice.

I don't think we'll ever go back to fast food. Unless its two-for-one-pizza Tuesdays...

A Little Day Trip

Today we took the ferry to L'Ile de Goree. I took more pictures than normal, as it is a tourist destination and your don't stand out if you have your camera in your hand. They're posted here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cschuele/LIleDeGoree?authkey=Gv1sRgCNulgK3a79KTWQ#

And they have captions to go along with them, so be sure to do some reading!

La Korite

Yesterday was the celebration of the end of Ramadan which means, apparently, that all we did was eat and nap. When we were debriefed on the subject and the "fete" (party) which was supposed to happen, we were told that we would be encountering tons and tons of people, cook all day long, and be fussed about by our host sisters so that we would look wonderful in our Korite dress.

None of these things really happened. Instead, I woke up at 10, ate baguette and Nutella (standard breakfast fare) and drew pictures with Kadijah. Naomi (my host aunt) let me borrow a dress of hers. Immediately, the house was laughing and commenting how jolie I was looking. See the picture, it could have been worse...

After dressing up, we ate some delicious lamb, French fries, and the first fresh vegetable I have seen in Senegal (carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce!) After that, I napped for three hours. For the rest of the day, we did nothing. Kadijah and Amadou climbed all over me. I read about 1/3 of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Finally, the sun set and we walked around the neighborhood, Kadijah and Amadou in their sparkling new outfits. Total, we left the house for 20 minutes. When we returned, I ate some more delicious rice/millet pudding stuff and went to bed. What a very uneventful holiday...

Best part of the day: Letting Kadijah get a hold of my camera and take about 10 pictures of her fingers.

Ca c'est ma famille. Kadijah, Naomi, et le bebe, Maimouna? (I think there's one more syllable in there...

Photos

Here are a few photos I've taken, if you can't access them, let me know.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cschuele/DakarI?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbM6aXXuIubDA#

Kadija

Hello all,

It's about time that I sent out another one of these... In most recent news, I moved in with my host family this past Friday night. The first two days were a bit distressful as there were probably 20 unknown faces meandering about inside the house for my new baby host brother's baptism. My family consists of my father Pape, his wife/my host mother Soucane, my little sister Kadija (4), my b(r)other Amadou (2) and the new baby whose name I have completely forgotten. There is also a maid named Marim and another woman who might be a maid, but also might be an aunt or a sister...I have NO idea.

This little anecdote will be about Kadija as so far, she is my favorite family member. She is 4 years old and has little beads in her hair and wears blue jeans. I would otherwise be able to understand her simple French were she not a human flute. Her speech is sooooo fast and sooooo high pitched that I am better off guessing what she is saying that listening...

Last night, she spent the entire evening in my lap, poking my skin and freckles. She asked if they were Henne (Henna tattoos) and I told her no, they were natural and the sun made them. Of course, this made her jaw drop. She was also enthralled with my slight sunburn and my blue eyes.

Later, she tinkered with my watch and its light-up and beep functions. My Clown Tent bracelet was also a hit, but was taken away when she yanked on it on my wrist.

Essentially, Kadija played with every single thing I was wearing. I was a veritable toy. We watched about 2 hours worth of TV, talked about bug spray, tied ribbons around our fingers, and kicked her little brother off the couch.

Little kids are the same everywhere...