A familiar place

My third day. I know they are going to pass quickly. I am loving being back. It is all so familiar. My friends and I continue to remark how quickly the last 13 months passed. It really feels like just yesterday that I left. Time continues to prove itself to be a funny thing.

My luggage arrived yesterday morning. It's great to have some clothing options again. I spent 3 hours doing my laundry from the first two weeks of the trip. Back to the good old method employing 2 basins of water, a bar of soap, and my own two hands. Exhausting. The maids don't think I do an adequate job, but it's good enough for me. :)

My luggage is here, but my newest obstacle is that my phone doesn't work and in an attempt to make it work, all the phone numbers were erased from my phonebook. Being the technology-dependent person that I am, I didn't write the numbers elsewhere. So I'm scrambling around with my e-mails trying to get people's phone numbers here. (All of you at home, I lost your numbers too. You should send them to me in an e-mail.)

The heat and humidity are here in full force, much like when I arrived in September 2006. I'd forgotten what it is like. My skin is always sticky. Yesterday, I took 3 showers! Common greetings, after asking how you are and responsding, "I am here only," and then asking if you are in peace, one often proceeds to ask how the heat is. "Hard/difficult" you respond.

Let me continue to paint the picture I started in my last entry. The surface of Dakar has changed since I was last here. The road consruction that was well underway when I left is now complete. The road network involves all types of round-abouts, tunnels, bridges, dividers, merges and most importantly, SIDEWALKS! Some intersections are completely different (for those of you that were here--there is now a giant bridge merging the VDN with Route de CAD). What's best though, is that there are all types of public art displays on these new roundabouts and bridges. Gives Dakar a whole new impression.

But the people here are not pleased. Great, they say, they have nice new streets, but food and utilities are more expensive than ever. The bakers are on strike because they want to charge more for bread due to increased price of wheat. Rice, boy do you hear about the increased price in rice. The average Senegalese eats rice from breakfast, lunch and dinner. The double in price has hit people hard here.

There are more blackouts than ever before. I'm talking 3-4 per day and lasting for hours at a time. Despite this, their electricity bills continue to increase. And what's worse, no one knows when the blackouts will occur. The government could at least create a schedule. Additionally, people have gone days at a time without running water in their homes.

This time I am frustrated too. Maybe I was last time, I don't know. I know that in the beginning, sickly enough, I was charmed by the blackouts. But really, two years later and the situation is worse, it's unbelievable. It is not a way to live, they say, and I completely agree.

There's nothing to do during the poweroutages, coupures as we call them here, but sit them out and wait. You light a candle and wait. The other night, I was sitting with friends in Vince's courtyard. Power went out. But we lit a candle, continued sipping on our beers, and someone played music on their phone. In this case, it's not so bad, but still... there are no excuses. It is not acceptable.

It's funny being here without other tubaabs. I am blantantly aware of my gender again. Since I don't have many girl friends here in Mermoz (my neighborhood in Dakar) it is always Hannah and the boys. The story of my life. However, it's different here than at home. You would never see a Senegalese woman sitting with men until 2 in the morning. Maybe last time I was more comfortable with it since there were other girls with me, but this time... I don't know. I'm less comfortable breaking this social norm.

But it is still good to be back with the MOZ boys. I'd forgotten what it's like to sit for hours and understand nothing around me, but my coping mechanism of getting lost in my thoughts has come right back to me. It's funny when I stop and think about it. Why do I love it so much here... sitting for hours and not understanding the conversations around me? I can't explain it.

I have a sense of belonging here. I know people wherever I venture in the neighborhood and can greet them by name. (It's embarrassing how many names I've forgotten though. And I'm shocked by how many people remember and recognize me. I guess I was the tubaab that never left. Yag naa fii.) The pace of life is slow and I appreciate that. It's funny because when I'm at home, I love being super busy. I feel in my element when I'm at school and I go from class to meeting to project to work to exercise to dinner to meeting and finally get to my homework around midnight. But that is not the case here.

Yesterday, for example, I had to go to the telecenter to call the airport about my bags. They didn't answer on my first attempt. So the boutique vendor got me a chair and offered me a Senegalese coffee. I sat in the boutique/telecenter, sipped cafe touba, made small talk with those that came in, and just sat and watched the street life and waited. I was probably there for over 30 minutes before I got a hold of the airport. This whole situation would never happen at home. But that is a kernel of what I love about the lifestyle here and what my day to day life looks like.

Okay that's all for now. I'll continue the painting in my next entry. Leegi leegi!