Hakuna Matata

Busy downtown Dakar
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I can really say that I've sketched myself a little life here now…after a few insect related traumas and a couple GI disturbances later, I've really embraced West Africa and all it has to offer! I feel like the senegalese people see us more as residents than tourists now or perhaps I've just gotten the hang of things here. Knowing languages also helps alot…in a day I can easily speak french, wolof, english when the random senegalese person finds out i can speak it and wants to practice and arabic, especially in the great little lebanese restaurant we found where they insist I practice it when we eat there. "Inshallah" meaning "si Dieu le veut" is really the only expression you need to master here. Nobody is worried about anything and everything can be justified by "Inshallah"! I now can also use public transportation and feel safe and confident walking everywhere….with my new trusty retractable knife that is ;) I've also adopted unusual habits such as doing laundry, sweeping my floor daily and cooking using a gas stove! For anyone who's aware of my cooking record, I'm proud to say I haven't sustained any injuries from this so far…i know it's astonishing! I think I might be becoming domestic…maybe even marry-able by the end of this journey.

Nothing you can't find!
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But like anywhere, some days are harder than others. Like sometimes, scratching my cornea sounds like more fun than: bargaining my cab in the morning to go to work, or looking down at my rediculously scarred legs from all my bug bites, or facing Dakar traffic…i'm positive the engineers/architects that designed this city we're all smoking crack!

They were right....It means no worries

However, luckily, the other days are easier and whatever it is, things are in fact generally getting easier! But more importantly, I've found something to feed my shopping habit……Dakar's Black Market! Let me explain. Dakar is not the place for a relaxed shopping stroll, very far from it. Quite frankly, you're too busy clutching your purse, shaking off hustlers and dodging cars. Let's just say I almost cried my 1st wk here… But now, I've embraced all its glory and thrive at the excitement of walking through downtown Dakar and bargaining (or discussing as they like to call it) various material goods. It's really a big game, some would say a rush, and it's purely a matter of swindle or be swindled. God damn it, it's good times and I'm rediculously good at it!! Senegalese locals can attest to it…a truly pivotal moment in my integration process I think. Mama Saab would be proud….

This is a common wheelchair I've seen here...kinda crazy but it works!
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Last wknd, to get away from the city, I went to Toubab Dialo a small fishing village south of Dakar…population 2000! A 2hr trek took us almost 5 hrs stuck in traffic….after questionning locals we found out that the streets were being blocked off because the president of the republic had a political meeting in Thies, a city not far from Dakar. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself…an entire city paralyzed, thousands of people stranded for hours, buses and cabs at a complete halt so that the presidential convoys could pass through…I instantly went for my camera so that I could snap a pic of this complete madness but a local quickly told me that wasn't a good idea since secret agents were most likely present…hence they would have confiscated my camera by fear that I was maybe a journalist and would share this selfish presidential act with the world! And so as the convoys finally passed by, thousands of senegalese boo-ed their president and rightfully so I think… This isn't uncommon supposedly, and now I understand the political tensions expected at the upcoming elections this February 2007. I had the chance to talk to the Ambassador to Canada and she informed me that we might be here to witness political history if the current president Abdoulaye Wade is defeated by his allie turned rival… they are preparing for the worst, violent demonstrations/riots possibly so good thing we got around to registering our names at the Canadian embassy…i bring excitement wherever i go!

Coconut vendor
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This wknd we went to "Le Lac Rose", a shallow lagoon surrounded by dunes (famous for being the final destination of the Paris-Dakar Rally) Water here is 10 times saltier than the ocean and the high concentration of minerals causes the lake to shimmer with a pink light when the sun is high. The locals at a near by village work by collecting the salt from the lake, drying it and selling the good quality salt.

Just recently, I've discovered 'Les soirées de grillades sur la plage'! It's an evening on the beach where they grill a bunch of different kinds of fish. Everyone eats, drinks, plays the African drum along side a big bonfire! It's so much fun, the food is great and after a couple drinks my African beats on the djimbe get much better ;)

Presidential House of Abdoulaye Wade...not too shabby when some of his people are dying of hunger!
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And to end off, some Fun Facts of Senegal: 1. There are tons of semi-finished houses everywhere! Since mortgages don't exist here, as soon as they have the money, they will build the 1st storey of a house and then wait until they have the rest of the money to build the 2^nd storey…hence some homes don't ever get finished! 2. I've developped an odd appreciation for sidewalks. There aren't any here , it's all sand and I'm really getting sick of walking in it! 3. There is absolutely no logic here…and coming from someone who questions everything by nature, this hasn't been easy! Example: cabs and/or buses will stop to get gas at any given moment; like when you're on your way to work in the morning…you can't ever be in a rush to go anywhere or it's safe to say you will lose your mind. Horses also share the road with cars, bikes, scooters, buses and pedestrians…think horse on the 417…enough said! 4. Buses don't have schedules or designated routes 5. Doing laundry is an event all on its own. I've been lucky enough to use the washing machine they use for the kids here but washing a load takes almost 2hrs and after all that scrubbing it often comes out as "clean" as it went in! Then you spend another hour hanging it to dry and all your clothes fades from the intense sun exposure and gets really hard…I can handle the rough towels but no unmentionnables should ever be this rough. 6. As expected, everything in Africa is huge…the ants, the bats, the grasshopers are literally the size of cats and lizards big and small roam freely. And my personal favourite: 7. There are human parking meters here…seriously. They don't have actual meters so a guy stands there and you pay him to watch your car!!

Laurence and I at "La plage de Yoff"
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Cheers for now,

Karen XOXO