starting to figure it out bit by bit

Also, there is no way to write about Senegal linearly. A) Because there are so many layers to this culture to deconstruct and understand that are intertwined and B) This country does not really work linearly. On that note, a really important thing to accept here is that nothing starts on time. You have to learn real quick to chill out, relax, be patient, and just accept what's going on. I've pretty much had to let go of the idea that I have control over of my life, which I'm quite stoked on though it can be frustrating. Sometimes the resources just simply don't exist for things to run like clockwork, and also the Senegalese value lots of other things more than efficiency and speed. Even if someone is running late, they always stop to ask how people are doing, what's going on, how's their family... Here's the standard greeting in Wolof that I have to do all the time (or as much as I can)

A: Asalaa Maalekum?
B: Maalekum Salaam
A: Na nga def?
B: Maa ngifi rekk
A: Ana wa ker ga?
B: Nu nga fa
A: Alhamdililaay
B: Alhamdililaay

Yeah, greetings are huge. They make or break an interaction (and hugely affect what price you're going to pay in the market). But it's really lovely to see how much this culture cares about and values those around them. The social networks are incredible. If you have ANY problem, you will know someone who can help you. No one really "falls through the cracks" like in the states.

My family is GIGANTIC. When I try to count them all I count twelve. There's the grandma and grandpa (the head honchos of the family), then two sets of younger parents with their kids (2 girls, 2 and 9 years old; then 4 boys, 5, 6, 11, and 18 years old). It's something else. At meals the family kind of divides in two and we eat around giant platters, sometimes with our hands, sometimes with forks or spoons. A typical meal is a lot of rice with either beef, lamb, chicken or fish stewed in a super delicious sauce that has deep sometimes spicy flavors. If there isn't rice we scoop with baguettes. Sometimes there's omelette, sometimes we have frites/french fries. Not a lot of vegetables, but sometimes there are carrots, sometimes this great thing that's like yukka (spelling?).

The house has an open tiled courtyard in the middle that branches off into other rooms. My room is upstairs on the terrace and I can look over Mermoz, my neighborhood. It's really lovely. And Hannah Rosales lives about ten feet away from me! We've been having a lot of fun being neighbors and walking to school together, playing with the kids...

Everyone was stoked about Obama's inauguration.

The cool hangout spot in our part of town in this, well, it's a gas station. But it's awesome, they have snacks, pizza, beer, juice (oh my goodness baobab juice is amazing), hard alcohol if you like, it's great. And I feel like, even though we don't have PBR here, the Portland style has stayed with us.

Downtown Dakar is absolutely nuts. The markets are crazy and because we're toubabs (white folk), we get so much attention. But one of the first lessons of Senegal is that a sense of humor will not only give you the best interaction (everyone here loves to kid around), but a sense of humor is pretty much necessary to get through a day. Being serious will only lead to frustration. But yesterday we went downtown and I bought these beads that women start wearing around their waist when they're about 20, that I think are called bin-bins, and they're to help you get jayfunday (wolof spelling, no idea) which means a big behind. Jayfunday is one of my goals being here in Senegal.

There is so much more going on, but my hour at the cyber cafe is up. I shall write more another day!

After 3 days...

all RIGHT!
So, a little preface, this blog is for family and friends alike, so this could end up being a little scandalous for some, maybe not quite racy enough for others. With that said...

HOLY SHIT I AM IN DAKAR
After about thirty hours of travel of course.

When we first arrived, we got to stay in a little apartment for two nights, to have a little space and yet be around each other, which was super nice. The other night we moved in with the families. There's the timeline, here are the details:

DETAILS (very random, but organizing observations at a cyber cafe is downright tricky)

Beautiful mosques are everywhere, though they don't seem so beautiful when you wake up to the call for prayer at 5:00 in the morning. Either Dakar or Senegal is 95% Muslim, 4% Catholic, and 1% Animism. They coexist cohesively. There is a scattering of others and non-religious, but it's not very common. Though drinking is looked down upon, that does not keep young Muslim twenty-somethings from getting their party on. Booze is sold many places and is pretty darn cheap.

We went to the Atlantic Ocean, which is massive and beautiful and hotdamn is it intimidating. Guys play soccer and work out there, but the Senegalese have been so spoiled by nice weather that no one really goes to the beach until it's (for me) an ungodly temperature.

Pretty much every Senegalese is super attractive. Men are tall and slim. Running and soccer are big, and also chubby men are seen as effeminate (French is ruining my English already, so spelling... eh). While in America the typical roles are for the men to be big and the women to be much smaller (same size at biggest), it's the total opposite here. When a women gets married, she's expected to gain weight get bigger to show that she's relaxed and happy and not stressed or working too hard. All of the Senegalese tell me that I should find a husband here, and hell, I feel way sexy here. And because hygiene and cleanliness is really emphasized in Islam, everyone smells really good too.

Children are begging everywhere. Some (maybe many) belong to these "Muslim" schools, where men basically send children to beg for money, then keep the money and feed the kids. By giving these kids money, one is supporting the problem, which the government won't attack because attacking this problem is indirectly attacking Islam.

I also learned that in Senegal, some gay men were sentenced to prison for being seen together in a rented beach house. Though there aren't hate crimes or anything of the sort, homosexuality is strongly hated on by Islam. It's been really interesting to talk to people about this aspect of society, because here, racism is nonexistant and people are very warm. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I'm working on it.

this is just a test

So this is my blog I guess!  This is my first time blogging, so if this blog isn't up to par, drop it like a bad habit.  Blog blog blog.  More when I actually leave.