Lazy Dakar Days

Salaam Aleikum!

And already I'm realizing how my time here is going to fly by. My whole vacation got off to a lazy start. Staying in the house until 2 or 3 in the afternoon and then finally venturing out to see friends, old colleagues, etc. I've made a schedule for myself so I can get everything accomplished. I'm planning on heading back to the village on Sunday. I can't wait to get back there, though I will miss having the time here with my friends in Dakar.

The weekend went well. Saturday was rainy. At night, my friend Vince's little brother, Olivier, hosted a xawaree (une soiree--much like a house party, but with a Senegalese twist) in their courtyard. It was targeted for teenagers. The place was packed. My friends and I danced in the space we could find, a bit away from the young'ns. :) They tell me I haven't forgotten how to dance, que je danse bien, comme une Senegalaise. The highest compliment of all! I finally left the party around 4:30am. They don't mess around here. Most of them didn't even show up until midnight. Ha!

Sunday, I slept until noon, ate lunch and then took another nap. I told you these days are lazy! Finally, I made my way three house down to my friend Malick's house, where we spent the afternoon visiting with his mother and watching traditional wrestling. However, our neighborhood was cursed with a power outage just before the "grande lutte" -- the match everyone had been waiting for. We heard it on the radio instead and watched the reruns later on the news. Oh the government.

I can deal with power outages, but Sunday night they (the State-owned water utility, I presume) turned off the water. This is unacceptable. You can't shower, flush, drink. You have to be careful about how you use your water reserves. The water didn't come back until 11am on Monday. With no electrity you can light a candle, but with no water... there are no wells here in the city and water is expensive to buy.

Finally, Monday afternoon I set out to fix my cell phone problem. I waited for a technician for 3 hours in his boutique only for him to tell me that the problem is that my phone does not have the proper band for the new service they have here. A wasted afternoon, but such is life. The other boutique vendor and I made small talk about the US and Senegal. He, like everyone else, complains about the government. Just that morning, Wade, the president, announced he's going to try and change the constitution to extend his term from 5 years to 7 years. Yikes! Affaire bu graw -- a grave affair.

Monday after dinner, I finally saw my friends in Liberte 2-- Abdou, Djily, El Hadj, and others. For those of you that know them, they haven't changed a bit! Djily gave me a ride home on his motorcycle. Exhilarating!! He gave me a small tour of town, showing off the new roads of Dakar. We cruised along the ocean front boulevard -- La Corniche. Breathtaking.

But with the water back on, it has rained all day yesterday and today. If only the water utility and the Rain Gods could coordinate! (Although yesterday morning it was sunny, so I went on the rooftop terrace to sun a bit, but despite my use of sunscreen the powerful Senegalese sun got the best of me.) I spent the afternoon with a family in Cipres. Megan, Jayna, and I were good friends with this family. Their daughter moved to Seattle and we visited her there in January. It was great to see her family again. They are so kind. And it's good for my Wolof, because only her brother speaks French (and English too, actually), so I get good practice expressing myself and understanding what they are saying to me. Also, I met a family friend of there's. She is looking to be a nanny in the States for 3 months. Anyone or anyone you know, interested? She speaks French and wants to improve her English.

Today, I again spent the morning in the house and then went to visit my family's former maid. I was close with her when I lived here before so it was nice to see her again. She now works in a different household.

The rain has yet to cease, but I suppose they don't call it the rainy season for nothing. It's rarely a heavy rain, more a consistent light tropical rain. The power was out for 5 or 6 hours this morning and two or three times throughout the night. I know because my fan stops blowing. So hopefully we won't be cut off again today.

So my first week here is complete. The rest will pass too quickly, but I'm finally getting my act together about seeing people and doing things.

Tomorrow I have plans for Marche HLM to buy fabric and bring it to the tailor. In the afternoon, I hope to see Diarra from Macalester. That's all for now.

Jamm ak jamm. (The sheep bleating outside the cyber cafe say hello!)