Lumoo

written Wednesday, 30 May 2007

 

 

Today I went by myself to the lumoo, the weekly market in a nearby town.  I was a little nervous to be going by myself, but it turned out really well.   I was mainly going to buy food for my family (onions, dried fish, and some spices), so I didn't have to bother haggling with the vendors because the food prices are fixed (at least, as long as they know you're going to be coming back the next week.   For tourists they probably jack up the prices like everyone else).

 

I made sure to remember to do greetings before trying to buy anything, and I introduced myself and asked the vendors' names and where they were from.   So everyone was really nice to me.  One woman, who I was buying onions and spices from, told me that her last name is Kebe.   I said, "Kebe!  In Thies my name is Fatou Kebe!"  She said that she is related to my host family in Thies, and that makes me her daughter.   So she gave me a cabbage for free.  So nice!  I am definitely going to buy from her every week.

 

So my first going to the lumoo by myself experience turned out really well, and in the end wasn't scary or intimidating at all.

 

My life here (at least so far) is turning out to be quite the rollercoaster.  Sometimes I have difficult interactions with people (mainly due to not being able to communicate easily) or I just can't get any time to myself and I feel like I'm in prison, and then I get frustrated and homesick and wonder what I'm doing here and think that maybe I should just go back home.   But then I will have a nice interaction with someone, like the woman who gave me the cabbage, or a Pulaar woman I bought a cup of coffee from - we couldn't communicate at all, except by charades, but she just laughed and talked to me in Pulaar, and I laughed back and talked to her in Jaxanke - and then I feel happy and glad that I came here, and I want to stay and learn some more.