Le "Drop-Off"

Family and friends,

Please forgive the irregularity of my posting habits. Senegal has given me (and the group) so much to think about - so many new lenses through which to view not only our own lives, but those of the Senegalese as well. SIT (the School of International Training) set up a cultural learning activity during which we were dropped off in downtown Dakar to seek people to answer a sheet of questions on the subject of Senegalese culture. Certain groups went to the Centre Culturel, others to le Theatre National, other to markets and others to mosques and cathedrals. My group (which was really only me and another person) started in the bank district and walked through the markets. 

The markets here are like many "craftsman" markets around the world. One can walk through at the risk of being harassed and pressured into buying local crafts. Of course we experienced this firsthand today. There are many tactics that the venders use to lure a person into buying an item or even to steal their money. Sometimes, one person will ask you to come into their shop or will stand right in front of you so you can't walk. Then, a cohort will approach from behind and ask you to come with them. The other person, who, of course, is in on the whole scheme, pulls you back toward them. Before you know it, there are two (and usually more) men on either side of you, pressuring you to take a look in their shops. Other people told stories about how they were lured into indoor shops where the vendors would either change the price of the item being purchased (after the money is in their hands) or simply not return the change, claiming that the price should have been the amount of the bill that was used to pay. In some cases it was necessary for the boys to pretend that the women were their wives, yes, wiveS, in order to pull them away from men who were proposing to them or offering to be their "guide."  

After touring the bank district and walking through the markets, we ate a nice pizza in a French restaurant and headed back to the streets for more haggling and bartering. It was interesting to return to the office at SIT and hear stories from the other groups. One group, upon realizing that their destination, the Theatre National de Senegal, was closed for Ramadan, asked a guard if there was any way they could see the inside. Not only did he allow them to enter from the back of the building, he dropped everything was doing to give them a tour of the complex. They were able to see a rehearsal for a play, President Wade's private box at the ballet, a rehearsal for a musical, and the private gallery. This is just the surface of the level of generosity in Senegal. Yes, at markets the vendors are pushy and even scary, but EVERY person one sees in public will say salutations unless they are on their mat praying. 

Here are a few more photographs from today's excursion;

The statue of the Senegalese soldier outside "le Senat"

The grand mosque in Centre-Ville. To comprehend the amazing size and stature of the mosque, know that this picture was taken from more than a mile away across the bay.

The restaurant Mawouli has a hole in the roof. No problem though, we'll just eat while holding our umbrella!
Ew! Is this real? Ew!

The cathedral in Centre-Ville. Senegalese will openly tell you that it is not important whether or not you are Christian or Muslim. Their conception of race and human blood is extremely unusual to me. Several people have approached me in the streets (without me asking them to) and told me that they encourage such diversity. This is relieving yet strange in a land where homosexuality is illegal and women have very few rights. This country is completely fascinating!!!!

Tomorrow I will move in with my host family, whose connection to an American celebrity I shall reveal in my next post.

A demain...

-Ryan