So I want to first start by apologizing for my absence. It
has been way too long since I last updated you all on my life here in Senegal. I
hope everyone had a very wonderful Thanksgiving, a very Merry Christmas and a
great start to 2013. My last holiday season here in Senegal was a joyous yet
bittersweet one. It’s hard to believe that next holiday season I will be back
in America (Inshallah). It’s an exciting yet sad feeling that I will be back
home so soon. I am so thrilled at the idea of seeing my family and all my
friends, but sad to think that I will be leaving my wonderful Senegalese family
and the village of Mboula who have taken me in and made me feel accepted into
their community. I finally feel like I’m a part of my village and my family and
that my work is really starting to get going, and yet here I am leaving them in
3 months. I really hope that I’ll be able to make the most of these last few
months and really enjoy what time I have left.
This past Christmas
was truly a special and most memorable one for me! My daring parents came to
Senegal to spend Christmas with me Senegalese-style! Unfortunately my brother
was not able to come along for the adventure; but knowing my brother, I don’t
think he was too torn up about spending the holidays in the comfort of America
versus the African bush. I had a great time with my parents and things could
not have gone better for us. I was shocked at how well behaved Senegal was for
them. We had no problems with transportation (that never happens here), no
digestion problems for the most part (diahrrea is a common occurrence), and no problems with the people in the village
(people did not ask my family for “cadeau,” nor did they make rude comparison
statements about my parents ). My favorite part of the vacation was having my
parents meet my Senegalese family and the village of Mboula! When my whole
Senegalese family came into my room to greet my family and my “Cheeb Momma” (Rice Momma) of a Senegalese Mom embraced my
mother in her arms, it was a moment that I will always treasure. It was an
amazing experience to share with them a little part of my life here! They got
to put their feet in my shoes and I feel like they now understand what my
experience here has been like.
For this blog, I thought it would be cool to get a different
perspective from an outsider (my Dad) on our Senegalese Adventure and hear his
thoughts about Senegal. So thank you Dad for doing this, and in his own words
here is what my Dad had to say:
Senegal with Jenn-
What a Trip
After much soul-searching and
penny-counting we decided to make the trip! And we are so glad we did. Seeing
Jennifer in the environment she has occupied for almost two years brought to
life the Skype conversations, blogs and Facebook posts we had been following.
Plus we had a blast – what an awesome vacation!
Congratulations to Air France. The trip from Miami to Paris
was great – decent food, complimentary wine and cognac, and good movies! Hardly
had time to sleep. Even the 9-hour layover in Paris wasn’t too bad, in part
thanks to the wonderful loungers we found at the end of the terminal.
Then on to Dakar and after what seemed an interminable wait for our baggage,
out into the crowded street and there was our daughter! What a change – the
somewhat shy, self-effacing young lady we last saw had metamorphosed into a
tough-talking woman haggling with taxi-drivers and shooing off touts, all in
fluent Wolof! Our first day in Dakar saw us shopping in the market, very
nice lunch at the French Institute, walks along the Corniche and finally
an excellent Lebanese dinner with Abby, a Peace Corps veteran on her way back
to New York.
Day 2 and a trip to the Isle de Goree, a small island off
Dakar and a World Heritage site to remind people of the horrors of the slave
trade. A fascinating little place with a pretty harbor, fort, and
narrow little streets brightened by
vivid bougainvillea. We had visited the French supermarket in Dakar and
took along a delightful picnic lunch. Imagine our surprise when we came
across a cousin to Lorna’s cat, O’Malley. Panic stations when we got
back to Dakar – none of the ATMs seemed to be working and we needed cash for
our trip to Jenn’s village. Eventually a very helpful security guard outside
one of the banks said he knew of a good money change and we set off behind down
a series of narrow streets to a dingy little office where an old man sat with a
garbage bag full of money. I reassured myself that our helpful guard had a gun
and transaction went very smoothly – the exchange rate was quite reasonable!
Up bright and early the next day for the long trip to Jennifer’s village. First a taxi to the sheep market where the sept-place taxis (old Peugeot station-wagons with seven seats, the most common form of transport between towns) gather.
We found a taxi with only one passenger and thanks
to Jennifer’s haggling bought out the other seats for a reasonable price and
off we went. The taxi took us as far as the city of Dhara, where we
dropped off some of our large suitcases with another Peace Corps volunteer,
Lilly. Thanks for your hospitality, Lilly. From Lilly’s apartment to the
marketplace necessitated a ride on a local horse and trap which I
managed to fall off to the amusement of the locals. Fortunately the road was
unpaved and the sand fairly soft! This was when we first got to meet Fae,
Jennifer’s best friend and fellow-volunteer in the neighboring village. Fae
has been a wonderful support for Jennifer and it was great to finally meet her.
I know they will remain friends for life after all they have been through. 
Over at the marketplace we were introduced to the bush-taxi that is the only transport to Jennifer’s village. After all the luggage was loaded, they put planks across the rails and 27, yes 27 people including us, rode the 30 odd miles over the grasslands to the village.
It was dark when we first arrived but what a warm welcome we got from the family who really have adopted Jennifer and taken her to their hearts – her Senegalese name is Fatou Ndao!
We all slept in Jennifer’s little room – the bed was
so uncomfortable Sandra and I preferred a mat on the floor. The bathroom a hole in the floor and a bucket
of cold water for showers, took a little
getting used to, but we reasoned if Jennifer can do this for two years, we can
manage for a couple of nights! After breakfast it was time to explore
the family compound and pose for a formal family photo- Jennifer with her two
sets of parents! They had decided that we would have goat for dinner – and it was certainly fresh! Actually tasted pretty good. We had brought presents for all the family
but Mama (who rules the roost) had to have the final say on who got what! Sandra tried to make friends with Baby Ida who was a little unsure of
this newcomer, but the older children loved the camera.
Next we were off to the village school where Jennifer has been helping out. The director and teachers made us very welcome and we toured the classrooms where the children sang songs for us and I managed to speak to them in French. Jennifer’s old High School is doing a school supplies drive for the school (Merci, Madame Ralicki!), so I videoed the kids saying “Go Bulldogs” for their American cousins! One of the teachers, Oussman, has been a really big help to Jennifer and we saw the mural that she had made for his classroom. We had a delightful lunch with the teachers under the trees, then it was time for the Field Day that Jennifer and Fae had organized – the egg and spoon race, the sack race, water balloon toss and finally a game of soccer, with lots of cheering from the sidelines.
The following day we spent some time with the family getting
used to the daily routines of the compound – ladies doing laundry , Jenn
watering her garden, two dads getting lunch ready. 
We visited the
village health clinic and met Dr Diallo, another of Jennifer’s supporters, and saw some more of the murals she has made. We visited with
several families, including the formidable leader of the women’s group, and the village baker.
Sandra made friends with the kids, while I inspected the local sheep. Everywhere we went we were greeted warmly, a great tribute to the
impact that Jennifer has had as the first Peace Corps volunteer in the village
of Mboula! One of her projects is communal gardens and we had a meal of chicken
with lettuce from her own garden.
After a fascinatinl couple of days in Jennifer’s village, it
was time to take off and explore some more of Senegal – back to the bush-taxi.
Actually Sandra and Fae lucked out when a neighbor of the family said he had
room for two in his car – since we needed a Woloff speaker with each of us we
split up and the lucky ladies travelled by Mercedes back to Dhara. Jenn and I
were back on the taxi at 6.00 am and were congratulating ourselves on
getting the best seats at the front until they proceeded to load a cow into the
bed of the truck! The cow was followed by five sheep and 15 people so
it was a pretty crowded trip! It was also surprisingly cold but the view of
sunrise over the grasslands was spectacular.
In Dhara we collected our
luggage from Lily and got picked up by the taxi we had booked through the
taxi-driver who brought us from Dakar. We travelled down towards the
coast and passed through the city of Touba which is a big religious center with
a huge mosque (my picture really doesn’t do it justice). It was a 6-hour
trip, very hot and dusty – the cars have no air-conditioning so you either
close the window and bake or open it and get covered in the red dust of Africa!
The road was one of the worst we encountered in the whole trip and the
potholes were so bad at some points that the driver would just drive off the road and follow a track though the bush! 
Jennifer wanted us to see the area they call the Delta du Saloum National Park, the mouth of a big river which is famous for its fishing and also for the variety of bird-life. One of her Peace Corps colleagues who works down there had recommended a hotel in a small town called Toubakouta, and imagine our delight when we arrived at this little gem of a place – a huge air-conditioned room with its own little patio, a swimming-pool and we were the only guests. Breakfast was delivered to the patio and we were very happy to relax and enjoy a little luxury.
We wandered round the local market, took tea with a local tour-guide, and had a wonderful lunch –fresh barracuda at a very posh French fishing resort just down the street. Bird-watching is the big attraction and the hotel arranged a small boat to take us out on the river. The vegetation was surprisingly familiar, mainly mangroves just like the rivers of South Florida . The highlight of the trip was a visit to one little island where hundreds of birds of all varieties come to roost at sunset . My little Canon Powershot really couldn’t do justice to this but it was an amazing sight.
Can’t leave Toubakouta without telling you about Chez Boum,
a restaurant which we had read about in the Lonely Planet guide. Boum is a very
jolly little fellow who was a chef at some of the best hotels in Dakar
before settling for a quieter life with his own little place in Toubakouta, which doesn’t look much more than a shack! The guide highly recommended the food so
dinner had to be on the agenda. We sat outside on the little veranda and Boum
asked us what we wanted. What have you got, we asked. Steak, shrimp or fish,
came the reply. Sandra and I settled on steak and Jennifer chose shrimp, not
knowing quite what to expect. First out was a huge basket of French fries
followed by one of the best steak au poivre I have ever tasted (and I have
tasted quite a few!). Jennifer’s shrimp was delicious, we had a couple of beers
and the whole bill was less that $30! 
By this time it was Christmas Eve so we got together with Fae’s family for dinner at a pizza restaurant down the street. Unfortunately they ran out of cheese for pizza so we ended up with a great shrimp dish instead. This was followed by a visit to the traditional African dance festival that was taking place in one of the courtyards at the hotel. The next day was Christmas morning and Sandra of course had pulled out all the stops to make it as homely as possible, right down to bringing along Jennifer’s FSU stocking. Jennifer had bought us some lovely gifts including personalized aprons she had bought in Italy – you know those will be put to good use!
Fae and Jennifer were in charge of Christmas dinner and they
had gone to a little restaurant on the beach and negotiated a deal with
the charming lady owner. And what a feast fish, shrimp, chicken,
calamari, rice, French fries – much more than we could put away, while in the
meantime we were entertained by a Senegalese band. After dinner the
owner presented each one of us a with shell bracelet. Definitely a Christmas to
remember.
Our last day in Senegal – time for a last breakfast
overlooking the beach, then a sad farewell to the wonderful restaurant
staff who had looked after us so well, goodbye to the quaintest hotel
room I have ever seen then it was on the road back to Dakar and our late-night flight to New York.
An awesome vacation and we have to thank the Senegalese people for their
friendliness, the N’dou family for taking Jennifer to their hearts, Fae for her
help and particularly for being such a staunch friend to Jennifer, and, of
course, Jennifer herself for being such a wonderful daughter and taking such
good care of us.
Here’s a few things my parents learned along the way:
Do’s and Don’ts In
Senegal
Do consider travelling by Air France – decent food,
complimentary wine and cognac, and good movies!
Make sure you have plenty of cash outside Dakar – not many
hotels take credit cards and banks with ATMs are few and far between.
If you get confused by the currency, 500 CFA = $1, just
remember that one “mille” equals two
dollars, so each time you are quoted a price in “milles” just multiply by 2 to
get a value in dollars. This will also make you realize how expensive some
things are in Dakar, like allowing your daughter to order a $30 bottle of wine
(just kidding, she deserves it!)
Don’t be intimidated by the touts in Dakar – “bugger off “ didn’t seem to have much effect, but “fiche-moi
la paix” worked better. Above all don’t get into a conversation or you will
never get rid of them!
There is a getting ready for the ski-slopes exercise that
involves squatting for lengthy periods – this will prepare you for the
hole-in-the-floor toilets in the village.
Make sure you fasten your seat belt when travelling on a
horse and cart – there are no sides and it is easy to fall off.
If you are a little squeamish, don’t watch them killing the
chicken for dinner – it will not help your appetite.
If you are a dog-loving charter member of the Humane Society
you may want to consider a trip to Idaho instead.
Before you agree to ride on a bush taxi, be aware that you may be sharing a regular size pick-up truck with 15 people, 6 bags of cement, 8 sacks of rice, a cow, two goats and seven sheep, not to mention the chickens tied on to the side!
Do take a trip to Sobo Bade Hotel in Toubab Dialaw – one of
the prettiest hotels we have ever seen!
Do remember that the Victorians said taking cold showers in
the morning was character-building! If you feel that you already have enough
character stick the bucket outside to be warmed by the sun during the day.
If you are expecting to see lots of wild animals, you will
be disappointed. However you will see more donkeys than you have ever seen
before and some very funny-looking sheep!
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