Another post! I am in class but we are on a break!

January 28^th, 2011

Things seem to be settling in a little bit more since I last wrote, and it helps a lot that I am learning a lot of Wolof very quickly. We started classes on Monday, so this is the first weekend that is a real break for us, rather than just more fun activities. It’s Friday afternoon around 6, which is usually when we eat at home. The sun is still shining away here, though. It usually gets dark around 7:30, and when the sun goes down, it goes down fast. You don’t want to be caught in the dark alone. Today, we ended class around 2:30, after three full hours of Wolof. I feel like I am learning a lot of Wolof, but it’s all jumbled in my head and I can’t really form sentences. We’ve really only had three classes so far, but it goes so fast that sometimes I feel really lost. Today we learned what felt like every single verb we would ever need to use, but when I came home I still could barely understand anything that people were saying in Wolof. I was proud of myself for picking out the occasional word here and there, and I did learn the word for ironing. In theory, I can form simple sentences like “Maangiy jangi ba ci kanam,” (I am going to school so see you later!) but it really gets all jumbled. We’re also diving straight into grammar, which is completely different from French and English: instead of conjugating the verb based on tense, you conjugate the pronoun. So “laay” is first person present and “laa” is first person past (I think). Goodness gracious! Also, I had a little bit of a private linguistic anthropology moment in class today: to ask if someone has brothers or sisters, you literally ask “Do you have olders and youngers?” And you always specify older or younger siblings when you are talking about them. I thought that was pretty cool, and it also displayed the importance of age and the respect that comes with it in Senegalese and Wolof culture.

Today, we also went to the tailor! On Wednesday a whole group of us went to Marche HLM, which is the main fabric market. It was quite crazy and there were so many fabrics, African patterned and otherwise, to choose from. I ended up choosing an African printed fabric which is blue and cream colored and has stylized birds on it, and I could only get six meters of it, which is way more than enough to make an outfit. I also got a three piece packet of more Indian style fabric, which was pink and orange. Each of them were 4000 CFA, which is about $8. Today I went with Marie-Louise, one of our maids, to the tailor, where I paid 10000 CFA to have two outfits made. I think I got a taille baisse, which is like a two piece dress, and a shirt with pants, but I honestly have no idea what the tailor is going to make. I just pointed at some dresses in magazines that I liked and he flagged them. I’m going back on Wednesday to see what he comes up with, and I know it will be a surprise either way! With my limited French and Wolof, I sometimes feel really stupid. Also I had no idea what I wanted in terms of an outfit, but I’m sure I will like it when I see it.

Speaking of markets, yesterday Katie, Ian and I went to these Moroccan markets in downtown Dakar, near Marche Sandaga, which has a reputation for being one of the craziest markets. And let me tell you, it is quite insane. We were basically the only toubabs (white people) there, which made us such a target for people trying to sell us stuff, especially if we stood still. At one point the three of us had I think six or seven people trying to talk to us, which was quite overwhelming. After we escaped the craziness of Sandaga, we went back to the Moroccan markets, which were a bit calmer. I ended up buying a very interesting garment: at first glance, it looks like a dress, but you first wrap it around your chest, then swing it through your legs, and that comes around so you can wear it like a coat. And then you finish it off by tying a belt around your waist. So it’s like pants, but very loose fitting and more like a skirt actually. I really hope that I can wear it in the US, because although it’s probably not the same quality as a tailored piece, it’s very comfortable.

My family situation is also settling in, as is everything else. Funnily enough, I have talked more with the maids, who speak extremely limited French, than anyone else in the household. They are so nice and welcoming, and I especially like talking with Fatou, who speaks no French. Usually, we don’t really have actual conversation, but I try to practice my Wolof by reciting the days of the week or some equally mundane thing, like all the verbs that I have learned, or all the different body parts. She thinks it’s pretty funny, and I feel stupid when I can’t even understand the most basic sentences. But she is really great at helping me learn. It does make me uncomfortable how materially privileged I am compared to her and Marie-Louise though. This afternoon she asked me for the equivalent of 50 cents so that she could buy a phone card to call her mother. Of course I gave it to her, because unlike when people approach me on the street, I would have felt extremely selfish saying no. I hope a pattern of asking me for things doesn’t develop, because I would have a very hard time saying no. Though, I really should try to help out the maids as much as I can: even though I live in a comparatively well off family, the maids earn barely anything and they work all the time, I don’t think they ever get time off either. Fatou joked that starting Monday, I should be the one to buy the attaaya tea, and while we all laughed, it makes sense since I have comparatively so many more resources. I think I will buy the ingredients for attaaya, though I have no idea how exactly to make it. I know it’s a little block of green tea (I think it’s green, at least), mint leaves, and a whole lot of sugar. I wouldn’t be surprised if each little glass of attaaya has a full ½ cup of sugar in it…and I’m talking little glasses, too. I should definitely be taking more pictures around the house, especially when we make attaaya.

My proud accomplishment today was that I took the car rapide! Car rapides are quite hard to describe, and I don’t think I have a picture of one, though I will take one tomorrow and try to post it ASAP. They are buses that are extremely brightly colored and painted with all sorts of religious imagery and sayings. Most of them have eyes painted on the front, along with “Alhamdoulilah” (praise God) written in big letters. Regina, my German host sister, was planning on taking one to her class this morning and so I tagged along! Car rapides are very small and cramped, but even though we felt like sardines in this one, I’m sure you can fit double the amount of people in there. It’s only about 50 CFA, or about 10 cents, for my commute, which takes about 30 minutes walking. The man collecting money didn’t ask me for it, though, and Regina said if they don’t ask, you don’t have to pay it. So I stepped off the back of the bus, which was probably still moving a bit, without paying, and got to school quite early. It was a good experience though, and now I am not nearly as intimidated by it as I was before. Barely any toubabs take the car rapide, so Regina and I stood out a bit with our pale skin and blonde hair. I will definitely do it again, though!

Ba ci kanam!