Week Recap

written Sunday, April 1, 2007


It's about 7:00 am. I have been awake since 5:00 because, as usual, the muezzin - the call to prayer - woke me up. I always lie in bed hoping to go back to sleep, until 6:00 when I have to get up for school (Peace Corps training, I mean. It's funny how I think of it as school). Today is Sunday, though, so no training today. I was hoping I would be able to get back to sleep and sleep in a bit, but no such luck. The prayers seemed to be especially long and loud this morning, probably because the Prophet Mohammad's birthday was yesterday. Most of my family members went to Traore (or something like that, I don't know how to spell it), which is the capital or headquarters of the religious brotherhood they belong to, to pray in the mosque there. So dinner last night was very quiet.

I bought a cell phone yesterday. It seems strange to have one in a country where most people don't have electricity or running water, but they're very common here and I guess network coverage is pretty good. Almost all the Peace Corps volunteers have them, even those living in remote villages without "reseau" (network coverage) so that they can get in touch with people when they are in town. It's' free for me to receive calls on the phone, so I'm hoping (hint hint!) that friends and family back in the US might call once in a while.

A note on being called a toubab: I have learned in the past week that in Senegalese culture it is very normal to point out differences between yourself and someone else, and even to tease the other person about whatever it is. According to one of my teachers, this is part of the key to Senegal's ethnic harmony - it is normal for members of different ethnic groups to tease each other and give each other a hard time, but it is absolutely unacceptable to ever be offended by it. In fact, if you become offended, my teacher says that the village elders would call a meeting of everyone in the village to tell you how wrong it is to be offended or to hold a grudge, no matter what the offense was. So for example, the Pulaar teachers at the training center will shout to me Mandinka musoo! (Mandinka woman - because I am learning Mandinka), and I am supposed to respond back Pulaar kewo! (Pulaar man!). This is normal, friendly teasing. So, now that I know that, I don't mind being called a toubab at all, and I just respond back Senegalais! (Senegalese man or woman). (Pinching I am still not okay with, though).

Fun factoids:
• The word for bicycle in Mandinka is foolee suwo, which literally means "plastic horse".
• To be educated in Mandinka culture means to master values, rather than to gain knowledge.
• The word for education in Wolof literally means "stick".